Under the Billionaire's Shelter - Jamie Knight Page 0,20
make-over to make the poor wretch look presentable, and send them on a series of dates with handsome young men until they find true love.”
“Sounds great,” I snaked.
“Great. I’m glad you think so. Because I signed you up.”
“You did what?!”
“It was an online application. Easy as pie.”
“But all those things you just said about an old hag, a poor wretch… Is that what you think of me?”
“Oh, no, not at all!” she quickly reassured me. “That’s why I’m sure they’ll pick you; you’re nothing like the stereotype of a middle-aged woman. You are still smokin’ hot, and a lot of guys are really into the single mom thing. That’s the cunning part. You barely meet the minimum age requirement and there’s no way you can lose, especially considering I used the bikini shot from vacation last year as your profile picture for the application. I know no other candidate could compete with you. It would be like challenging a fish to a footrace.”
“Thanks?”
“You’re welcome. But you haven’t heard the best part yet.”
“What’s that?”
“In addition to true love, in addition to hot sex with an athletic, muscular hottie, there is also a significant cash payout.”
“How significant?”
Rather than saying it out loud, Mercy opted for the super spy approach of whispering the figure into my ear. I damn near fell off my stool.
This whole idea sounded like it could only lead to mortifying embarrassment. I didn’t want to be paraded around as one pathetic candidate out of many on some reality TV show for other people to point and laugh at and talk about as they gathered around the water coolers at work.
And yet, for that kind of price tag, I would gladly sell my dignity. I wouldn’t need it once my child and I were set for life financially.
Sign me up, I thought to myself, and then I remembered Mercy already had.
I guess my best friend really did know how to look out for me.
Chapter Two - Tobias
It was almost a meditative experience. The rumble of the engine, the warm sun on my face, the dulcet tones of Delirium emanating from both the front and back speakers, enveloping my mortal form in a veritable bath of sound.
The honk came sharp and loud. Slowly opening my eyes, I noticed that the car in front of me had moved another ten feet. The red-faced gent behind me was desperate for even the most incidental amount of advancement.
It was like World War I all over again. He was even using quite colorful German swear words, shouting out his window, to express his deep discontent. Perhaps it was my Union Jack bumper-striker, accessorized with the phrase ‘Rule Britannia’ that set him off. Neither Germany nor America had the best of histories with Old Blighty.
There was no real cause for worry. It was not as if they could start without me and I was as invincible as it was possible to be in terms of job security.
Still, I was not the only one in the world, so I tried to make an effort. For the sake of others if nothing else. People really weren’t that bad, all in all. Just scared and a bit short-sighted.
“Good morning, James,” I said to the valet.
“Mr. Ford.”
“Please, we’ve been over this, it’s Tobias. Mr. Ford was my father.”
“Yes, sir, Mr. - Tobias.”
“Much better.”
Surrendering my vehicle to his able hands, I made my way through the sliding glass doors to the white marble lobby of the studio building. The whole thing wasn’t ours, of course. The building had over thirty floors. One would need to be a trillionaire to afford such extravagance, and Jeff Bezos and I fell out some time ago.
The studio only took up the first ten floors.
“Good morning, Tobias,” Mike said, keeping his military bearing behind the security desk as I signed in.
“Good morning, Michael,” I replied cordially.
The competition for elevators was stiff with only two to go around and all. That was a clear oversight by the architect.
“Thank you kindly, Adam,” I said, as he held the elevator for me.
“Not a problem, Tobias.”
“Good morning, Tobias,” Eva said, from right behind me, her tone one of milk and honey.
“Good morning, Eva,” I replied, keeping things professional.
My office was on the sixth floor, right above the actual studio where we filmed most of the interior shots. More and more, the board wanted things “out in the world.” It was something I could really do without, despite perfectly understanding it from an entertainment perspective.