Love Like Her (Against All Odds #3) - Claudia Y. Burgoa Page 0,31
phone. “Let’s talk about the last woman you were with. How long did you wait before having sex with her?”
“I refuse to answer.”
“Why? It’s not like she’d know.” She arches an eyebrow. “She’d know that you told me, wouldn’t she?”
“What have you been posting about me?”
She shrugs. “Nothing you haven’t authorized before. It’s like today. I ask questions. You respond to them. If I don’t like it, I tell you what I’m going to say. Then, I discuss everything with my audience.”
“And you want to tell your audience that I have my own toy collection?”
“Listen, I might get a few sponsors that will offer to pay us if you try their products. What do you think?”
“No.”
“I’ll give you the money they pay,” she offers.
I rub my chin. “How much are we talking about here?”
“It depends. Sheila gets twenty percent of that, but I can give you the rest,” she offers. “You’ll just have to report how you used them.”
Before I can answer, the main door opens, and it’s Nyx. She points at me. “Where have you been?”
“The last time I checked, here,” I respond vaguely.
“No, you weren’t here all week. I’ve been calling you since last Friday, and you’ve been sending me to voicemail.” She shows me the house keys. “I came to check on you, and your car was gone. All week.”
“Stalker much?”
“Eros, where were you?” she insists.
“Out of town.”
“And you didn’t tell us?” Persy asks, surprised.
“Why did you leave?” Nyx crosses her arms.
“I didn’t know I was grounded, Mom.”
“You and Persy were ignoring my calls,” she complains. “I ended up co-signing Callie’s lease.”
“Don’t blame me,” Persy defends herself. “I already told you, you shouldn’t have done it.”
“Aren’t you living with her?” I ask Persy, confused. “How come she couldn’t find you?”
“I was in LA with Sheila,” she responds. “I did answer her phone call and told her not to sign that lease. She didn’t listen.”
Nyx sighs and closes her eyes for a couple of seconds. “Well, what was I supposed to do?”
Persy and I shrug.
“Exactly. Someone had to do it.” She rolls her eyes and goes to the kitchen. After grabbing what I assume is a cup of coffee, she heads toward the stairs. “I’m going to use your printer.”
“She’s pissed.”
“Mostly with our parents,” Persy says. “They enable Callie, and then they expect us to fix her shit.”
She gives me that curious look. “So, where were you?”
“I went to San Francisco.”
“Why?”
“This is off the record, right?” I want to make sure that she won’t be posting my crappy life. She nods. “I had a job interview.”
“That’s… far,” she pauses. “Why not try to get one here in Denver?”
“I already tried. It’s almost impossible. Either I have too much experience, or they can’t pay my salary.”
Her shoulders slump. “Are you moving?”
“I don’t think so.” I tell her about the business idea. The conversations I had with Otto. He’s a wise man with a lot of experience. I omit some parts, including Liv. Persy doesn’t need to know about my complicated friendship with Olivia.
“That’s great advice,” Persy says after I tell her what Otto said to me about doing what I love. “It’s also true. I do what I love, and I’m soaring.”
I arch an eyebrow. “So, you’re telling me I should start a podcast and talk about sex?”
She slaps my arm playfully. “You never take anything seriously.”
“Life is better when you laugh at your own misery.”
“I had no idea you’ve been miserable since birth.”
“Why do I put up with you, Joy?” I call her by one of her middle names.
“Because you love me,” she concludes. “This business sounds like something you’d enjoy. What do you need to start it?”
I show her the spreadsheet with the budget. “I need seed money to launch it.”
“How long will it take you to pay it back?”
“I don’t know, a year or two. It all depends on the return.” I show her the three possible scenarios.
Liv helped me a lot with the vision and the business plan. While I was in San Francisco, I made a few calls. Gil, my godfather, liked the idea. He said he’d loan me the money if he hadn’t invested it all in producing a show. If I can wait a couple of years, he’d love to be a part of this venture. However, he promised to help me with his contacts. He agreed that I should start it in Costa Rica. He also has a few ideas for where I could expand the company once it’s profitable.