“Why are you giving me all these extra privileges?”

He laughs. “You don’t know?”

“Because I’m engaged to Alex and you don’t want to lose his account?”

“You really just say it like it is, don’t you?”

“Unfortunately, yeah.” I can feel the giraffe spots appearing on my neck.

He pulls his keys out of his pocket and twirls them around on his finger. “It’s not Alex’s account I need. It’s you.”

“I don’t—what?”

“I’ve been dealing with professional athletes for a long time, Violet. Don’t forget my dad was pro. Being married to one of these guys is a full-time job. You’re brilliant with numbers. I haven’t seen you make a bad decision yet when it comes to managing Miller’s account, or any of the other ones I’ve handed you, so if being flexible buys me more time with you as a member of my team, that’s how I’m going to play it.”

I don’t even know what to say. I mean, I know I’m good at what I do, but coming from Stroker—who is definitely not an ego stroker—this means an awful lot. I open my mouth to speak, but all I make is a sound that’s kind of like a whine. I start to tear up.

He waves a hand in my direction. “Okay, you’re gonna get emotional, and that’s not my area. Go find Charlene and have some lunch. We’ll talk next week.”

“Okay,” I choke out as he rushes down the hall, away from my teary reaction to his niceness.

I dab at my eyes with the back of my sleeve and text Charlene, asking her to meet me in the foyer with my coat and purse so I don’t have to deal with anyone else. Less than two minutes later, she comes speedwalking around the corner and almost slams into me.

“How’d it go? Are you crying? What happened?” She jabs the down button on the elevator frantically.

“I got the account.”

“Are these tears of happiness then?” She rummages around in her purse and pulls out a shredded tissue. Then she tries to blot my face with it.

“What’re you doing? Did you blow your nose with that?” I shield my face with my hands.

“No!” She inspects the tissue. “At least I don’t think so. But seriously, why are you crying?”

“I’ll explain when we’re eating.” The elevator doors open. There are people inside, so we smile politely and don’t say anything until we’re on the street.

“So you got the account, but what? Did something happen with Alex? Is he okay?”

“Alex is fine. At least I think he is.” I stop in the middle of the sidewalk and check my phone, to make sure.

I have six new messages from him. There are lots of kissy faces and emoticons with heart eyes. He’s also discovered how to make a jizzing penis out of the alternate symbols, as well as boobs.

“Alex is fine.” I show her my phone.

“Are those boobs?”

“Yeah.”

“What’s between them?”

“A dick, I think.”

“Right. Okay. He must be feeling better then.”

“Yeah.” I pocket my phone. I want to tell him in person that I got the account.

“So if Alex is okay and you got the account, why the tears? Are you PMSing? Wait. Oh my God, are you pregnant?”

“Seriously, Charlene?”

“Sorry. Jimmy’s been watching a lot of bad reality TV and then giving me a play-by-play of the episodes at lunch. I really miss you.” She side-hugs me. “So you’re definitely not pregnant?”

“No.”

“Okay, great, because I think we need drinks.”

We’re seated immediately. The host knows me, not just because we eat here at least once a week, but also because of Alex. We order drinks and then haul ass to the buffet.

Once we’re back at our table, Charlene returns to asking questions. “So you got the account, and you’re happy about that, right?”

I shove a dumpling in my mouth and nod while I chew. “Definitely happy. Nervous because it’s a big deal, but happy.” I give her the rundown, including the shitshow with the DTF mouth-fucking slides.

A forkful of noodles unravels on to the table. “Oh my God.”

“Yeah.”

“How did the Darcys react?”

“Well, Mitch has seen me mostly naked and heard me come, so, you know, it could’ve been worse.”

“What about Bunny?”

“She didn’t seem too concerned about my tongue in Alex’s mouth.”

“Well, that’s good, right?”

“Yeah. Definitely. She was really nice, offering to do lunch and Botox, or whatever.”

“I love that lunch and botulism are a thing.” Charlene pulls a face.

“Right? But she seems nice, despite that. I’m having a hard time getting past the swinger rumor, though. I keep examining her motives.”

“I honestly think Jimmy was being an asshole, but I can find out for you.” She picks up her phone and types away.

“What’re you doing?”

“Asking Darren.” Her phone rings, so she answers it. “I’m having lunch with Violet right now, so that’s not possible… I can’t excuse myself for a minute… Mmm-hmm. I understand that, and I’m okay with it.” She starts playing with the pearl necklace under her infinity scarf. “Yes, Darren. Which pink one? But I thought—of course. Right. I definitely want to be ready for that.” She touches the back of her hand to her cheek. “My question? Oh. I thought so. Thanks, sexy.”