Total pages in book: 95
Estimated words: 91536 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 458(@200wpm)___ 366(@250wpm)___ 305(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 91536 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 458(@200wpm)___ 366(@250wpm)___ 305(@300wpm)
She moves on quickly. "How much did you make last year?"
"Mama, I didn't share my tax return with Ivy. It's only been three months," he says.
"So, share now. How much?" she asks.
"Almost two-hundred thousand dollars," he says.
Her eyes go wide. "More than Daniel."
He beams. I recognize the expression from Meredith. It's younger sibling pride. The thrill of finally beating the older sibling.
She waves her hand. "Let's not go too deep on such a boring topic." She looks to Ivy. "And you're a therapist, yes?"
I nod.
"Do you work for an employer?" she asks. "Or do you run your own practice?"
"I run my own business." I don't see clients anymore, but I do make money talking to people.
“And how does that do?”
"Well enough that I pay my own bills and save," I say. Well, as long as we don’t lose our sponsors.
"But it can grow or shrink at any time?" she asks.
"It's like any business, yes." I nod.
"And right now? Is it growing or shrinking?" she asks.
"Uh, I don't have the numbers offhand," I say.
"Mama, give Ivy a break. She didn't come here expecting an audit," he says.
Amara nods, accepting this concept but not quite backing down. "Can you ballpark it for me? How much do you expect to make this year?"
"Not as much as Romeo," I say. "But enough. And we do well. If you give me five minutes, I can check a few numbers, let you know how things are growing." Or continuing to decline.
She nods and motions for me to go.
Romeo objects. "We aren't here to go over my girlfriend's business."
We're not. But now that she's asked, I'm curious. How did the last two episodes land? How are we doing?
I've been caught up in this strange set of family circumstances I haven’t even been thinking of it.
As Romeo and his mother affectionately bicker, I sneak to the bathroom inside, and I pull up my podcast app.
We're there. On the front page.
Featured.
My episode on Romeo went viral.
My emails are flush with people who want more details, listeners who think I've gone too far, advertisers looking to buy promotion on an up-and-coming podcast.
Everything we want.
I forward an email to Meredith.
She replies with a text.
Meredith: I saw! We're killing it, Doctor O. Pretty soon you won't even need my stories anymore. Keep milking that cash cow, girl. With how well episode two went, I’m promising the listeners a series.
Which is fine.
I've got another two days here.
That's plenty of time to get to business.
That's what I need to do now.
Get more material.
I return to the table, give Amara a run down on my finances, and the growing size of my audience, uh, client list.
Then I suggest our evening activity.
We've tackled money.
Now, we're moving to sex.
On our terms.
My terms.
And I know exactly what I want this time.
I want to put my other skill set to use.
I want to record this. The two of us, together, solely for my own purposes.
For once, I want to record something that’s only for me.
For this one time, I want the experience to be all mine.
Chapter Thirty-Four
Romeo
Mom gives me and Ivy a moment to go over our findings. Ivy uses the opportunity to ask me to meet her upstairs. In only that silk robe.
So, when Mom insists on a little follow-up, it's not exactly easy to concentrate.
She picks this moment to go over my business plan.
I struggle through the details. It's all simple. One shop to start, as a proof of concept. A focus on single-origin coffee from Mexico. Pour overs and French press and the latte drinks everyone loves. Plus, treats from both our home countries.
Like a fusion restaurant.
Only coffee.
With plans to expand to three shops in Orange County if the first excels in its first ninety days.
It's not the world's most expensive endeavor, but it's not cheap either.
"I'm not sure about this business idea, Romeo," she says. "But Daniel and I have talked, and we both see it: you're more mature now. More adult. You're standing up for Ivy. You know how to work with someone now." She pulls me into a hug. "I know it's early, but I still see good things for you two. Good enough to consider this a very early wedding present."
Everything I want.
And the only thing I can think about is how much I want to fuck my fake girlfriend.
Exactly the priorities they're worried I have.
But I manage to shake my way through the rest of the conversation.
I manage to make it all the way up the stairs before I fully give in to my desire.
She asks if I want to record our fuck.
I should say no. That's the smart thing.
But I don't.
After all, this is the one place where I know how to give her what she wants. How the hell can I turn that down?
The set-up is simple. And safe.
No video.