Page 24 of The Hook Up
“Dead lions?”
“She said there were dead lions and that if I didn’t turn in the permission slip for the zoo field trip, I might not get to go.”
“Deadlines,” Ellie said, resisting the urge to smack her forehead. “The lions are all okay, sweetie. And I’m sorry you’re missing the field trip.”
“Me, too,” he said. “But I’m glad I can go to work with you.”
“So am I,” Ellie said with only the tiniest twinge of guilt. Her deepest, darkest, secret self wasn’t thrilled by this unexpected schedule change.“I called Polly—you remember her, right?”
“The nurse who taught me how to make fart noises with my armpit?”
“Right,” Ellie said. “A skill for which we are forever grateful. She’s going to come pick you up at ten. Do you remember what that looks like on the clock?”
“The big hand is on the twelve, and the little hand is on the ten.”
“Exactly. That’s in thirty minutes.” Ellie pulled into the parking lot and wondered which car was Ty’s. Maybe the motorcycle? They were meeting at the main First Impressions office today, rather than Speak Up. Some sort of public presentation seminar had taken over the other building for the day.
“Grab your backpack, sweetie.” Ellie held the car door open for Henry, then took his chubby little hand in hers.
Ty had been tied up with a client when Ellie called to explain the scheduling snafu and to ask about changing the time.
“His schedule is pretty tight right now,” the receptionist had told her. “Video is crazy hot these days, so he’s booked months out.”
“But my son?—”
“No worries, hon. We’ve got lots of parents working here,” the woman said. “We know how it is. Just bring him with you. We can find a way to keep the little guy entertained.”
Which is how Ellie found herself leading her six-year-old by the hand, hoping like hell he didn’t ask her what was in the tote bag she carried.
Well, sweetie, those are vibrators mommy planned to hold up for the camera…
Um, no. While she certainly didn’t lie to her son about what she did for a living—“Mommy sells grown-up things”— she wasn’t about to advertise it.
“What an adorable little boy,” the receptionist cooed as Ellie led Henry past the front desk. “What’s your name?”
“I’m Henry,” he announced with pride as he shoved his glasses up his freckled nose. “And I know all about how that baby got in your tummy. Want me to tell you?”
Ellie grimaced and started to apologize, but the woman just laughed. “You’re such a smart young man,” she said. “And I’m sure your mommy is very proud of you for learning about babies and grown-up things and about how some things are best to only share with people when you know them really, really well.”
Ellie shot the woman a grateful look, earning herself a smile in return.
Henry furrowed his brow. “What? I didn’t show her my book. Or my penis.”
“And I’m very glad about that.” Ellie grabbed his hand again. “Come on, baby. We’re almost there.”
She led Henry around a corner and down a narrow flight of stairs to the video studio. The door was ajar, but she knocked anyway.
“Ty? I’m so sorry I’m late. I had a little mix-up with Henry’s school schedule, and I tried to call, but—oh, crap!” She spun Henry around by the arm at the same moment a horrified Ty threw a jacket over his computer monitor.
A computer monitor that, if Ellie wasn’t mistaken, showed a very large image of a banana, a pair of kiwi fruit, and one strategically-placed cock ring.
“Wow, hey,” he said, stepping back from the monitor like it was the most natural thing in the world to have a coat over it. “This must be Henry?”
“I’m Henry,” the boy confirmed, sticking out his hand. “Why do you have fruit that looks like a penis?”
Ty didn’t miss a beat. “Isn’t that better than having a penis that looks like fruit?”
The boy seemed to mull that over and decide the stranger had a point.
