NERTHUS
I don’t know how long I have still been holding the phone to my ear, even if he hung up right after he had fired me.
“No! I’m dissolving your contract. You aren’t worth all this trouble.”
Not worth the trouble.
“No, Arawn. You can’t do that. Please, I’ll-” I try to plead.
Oh my God, I can’t get back working as an Escort.
He disintegrated my entire client base.
“You will what?” He growls, chuckling slightly. “See, that’s exactly the problem. I engaged you because I thought you were able to keep apart business and your silly feelings. But I seem to have thought wrong.”
“This is not true. I told you that I was only doing my job. I-”
“Well, not good enough.” He says before finally ending the call.
And what a lovely way to end it all.
Not good enough.
Wow!
As I finally get out of my paralyzed state, I move to sit down on the bar stool beside me, fearing that I might faint on the spot.
Taking a deep breath, I dial Jenna’s number, my heart blooming as she picks up.
“Hey, ho, buttercup!” She picks up in a good mood with a giggle.
“Hey, luv. Do you want to go annoying Gigi tonight?”
“Oh, sure! Did your hulk give you a free evening?”
“Uh-huh!” I answer and she whoops.
“Oh, cool! I will pick you up as soon as I’m done here. Is that alright?”
“Sure! See you in a bit.”
“Can’t wait.” She says, disconnecting the call.
I slump onto the counter and take a deep breath. I let the cold surface soothe my running head for a bit before I get up to dress myself in a cute outfit for the bar.
As much as I would like Jenna’s mood to be contagious, I don’t seem to get into it. I do my best to force up a happy mask, to the extent that my face starts hurting.
“So, what got you in this happy mood?” I ask, and she grins like a little girl holding her favorite ice cream.
“Ah, everything is just going the right way, and Dario is actually cute. It might be a thing.”
“Wow,” I say, trying to overpower my heart squeezing. “I’m so happy for you! You deserve a nice guy.”
“Thank you,” she says with a happy squeal, running to a lantern to have her swing around the pole.
“You are crazy.” I laugh, as she comes back to walk by my side, breathing loudly.
As we reach the bar, we are not surprised to find it packed. We push through the crowd to get to Gigi, and he greets us with a silent “Hey” and a wave as he finally sees us.
I wouldn’t say that this is what I needed to get him out of my system, but I enjoy my time with Jenna fully as I get her to fill me in on her happy life.
All to dodge talking about mine.
We stay until Gigi closes the bar, and we get to drink a cocktail with him in peace.
“Oh, look at her.” He smiles, and I squeeze her leg with a happy smile.
“All thanks to you!” She grins at me, making me move my hand dismissively.
“Ah, don’t say silly things. You would have met him at the club anyway. Look at how beautiful you are. As if he could ever have resisted you.”
She laughs, and I tap her leg. “Well, we want to plan a short getaway soon. But he fears asking for it a bit. Maybe you could put in a good word for us with Mr. Rodberg.”
“Yeah. I don’t think so.” I say, distorting my face.
“Ah, come on.” Gigi laughs, making a slapping motion into the air. “You have him at your feet. Get her a little vacation.”
Taking a sip, I force another painful smile. “Yeah, about that.”
Gigi and Jenna look at me worried as I clear my throat. “I might will be needing that job you offered me.”
Their jaws drop in unison. “What?”
“He fired me today.” I shrug, while I would like to scream.
“Oh my God.” Jenna throws her hands over her face, “Why didn’t you stop me?”
“What?” I ask, and she sighs.
“Why did you let me gush about my love life while you were hurting?”
“You have to be fucking kidding me!” I react by holding my hands up, scoffing. “You people have to stop acting like he was my boyfriend. I mean, he is a job. He was a job. And he said the same, that I was too affectionate. What the fuck?! Am I spreading pheromones of some sort?”
“No, but…”
“But what?”
Jenna shrugs, looking at me pitifully.
And how I hate that look.
“You seemed to like him.”
I nod repeatedly, feeling like suffocating. “Okay. This is my cue!”
Getting up, and taking my coat, I get around the bar to press a kiss on Gigi’s cheek, before hugging Jenna.
“I wish you a good night, babes.”
While Gigi waves after me, Jenna just looks crushed. As soon as I face the cold November air, I take a deep breath and start walking back home.
Maybe I should fuck Jensen. Just for the spite of it.
***
My days pass leisurely as I try to convince myself that I’m not only waiting for a text from Arawn.
But even if he seemed to be obsessed with me just a few weeks ago, he doesn’t contact me once.
What I hate the most is that I don’t even write Jensen to get to know his offer as my hope for Arawn to appear on my fire escape with flowers while getting soaked in the rain is still high.
But as my building doesn’t have those…
And I’m not really a pretty woman…
I think I can forget about that…
Even after three days, he hasn’t called me once. And funny enough, I don’t get anywhere without taking my phone just so as not to miss his call.
So, pathetic.
I’m childishly eating popcorn while watching a movie, sitting on my couch upside down, as my phone finally rings. As I pull myself up to snatch it hastily, I nearly choke on a popped treat.
Great.
“Hello?!”
“Amber, darling!” Luciana’s voice blares over the phone, making me smile.
“Luciana, hi! How are you?”
“Oh, I’m fine, love. How are you?” She asks theatrically, and suddenly a sense of panic rises in my throat.
“Listen, I’m sorry to call you up this late, but I wanted to ask you if you could cover an engagement tomorrow evening!”
“An engagement?” I gulp, practically able to see her nodding.
“Yes, darling. My client is just looking for a bit of company for an evening event. And you would be just his type. No sex and nothing complicated. Easy peasy.” She laughs, making me shake my head.
Easy peasy.
“If it’s just that, I think I can gladly cover it. Will you send me the information on Aria’s phone?”
Luciana cheers, clapping her hands. “Thank you so much, darling. You are a lifesaver.”
“You are welcome.” I smile, clearing my throat. “Can I ask you why you called me?”
“Oh, well.” She makes a little break before continuing. “I got a booking from Mr. Rodberg tonight, and so I thought to try my luck.”
I actually clench my shirt over my aching heart as her voice fades into the background.
But stupid me, for whatever I expected.