Page 34 of Dream Date With the Millionaire
She took a breath. And another. “Well, you know I’ve told you how I grew up.”
Bryce nodded. “You didn’t have it easy. No father. No place to live at times.”
“We’re very different.”
She’d mentioned that before. Maybe he could ease her concerns. “In some ways, we are. No matter whether someone’s family has money or not, I believe a person has to make their own way in life. I’ve done that. And so have you. I respect how much you’ve overcome, Dani. I just wish you didn’t have it so tough, but look at the person you are now. Where you are. That’s what counts.”
Dani looked at the floor. “I’m not very happy with where I am now. I mean I’m happy I’m with you, but not…my job situation.”
The sadness in her voice squeezed his heart. He’d been wrong about what she was worried about. He rubbed her hand with his thumb.
“When I graduated with an MBA, I thought I’d finally made it. Put the past behind me.” She got a faraway look in her eyes. “I was sure I had everything I needed. A dream job, a cool apartment, a new car, enough money to more than cover my expenses, student loans and still be able to help my family out each month and then…
“I was laid off from my marketing position at Clickznos at the beginning of the year.”
“One of the buyout casualties.”
She nodded.
He squeezed her hand.
“I’d recently been promoted and gotten a big raise.” Her voice sounded almost wistful. “I suppose the signals were there, but we were working too hard to notice them. We assumed things were okay, that we’d be taken care of, but all but a handful of us soon found ourselves on the street with a ‘thanks for your hard work’ goodbye and a pitiful, almost insulting severance package.”
He placed his arm around her. “That had to be tough.”
She nodded. “I had a savings account, but I also help my youngest sister pay for college and my mother with her medical insurance so the money didn’t last long. I had college and grad school loans to pay for. Bills started piling up fast. I did what I could while I searched for a comparable job. I downsized and moved into this place. I sold my car. But I couldn’t wait any longer for the perfect position to materialize. I needed a paycheck so I took a job that under normal circumstances I would have never considered.”
Her worried eyes watched him. Waiting.
So this was what she’d been keeping from him. Relief flooded him. That explained why she didn’t mind him not discussing his work. She hadn’t wanted to discuss hers either.
He remembered what he’d checked on her profile. “You’re in sales?”
“Kind of…sort of…but not really.” She blew out a puff of air. “It’s complicated.”
“Life is complicated,” he said. “We can work through anything if you believe we can.”
A beat passed. A clock ticked.
“I have a job.” She cleared her throat. “It’s just not a job I’m particularly proud of.”
“Nothing wrong with flipping burgers.”
“Except when it doesn’t pay.”
He stared at her. “Then what…”
She stared at her lap.
Lap dancer? Okay, that was a leap from fast food, but she had the looks and the body. Plus the money was good.
Bryce smiled. Not exactly the job he’d imagined his girlfriend doing, but he wasn’t about to judge her, especially under these circumstances. “You found a job that worked at the time. I could never hold what you do against you.”
“Sure?”
“You’re more than your job, Dani. More than what’s on the outside. I like your tenacity, your character. I care for you.”
Relief filled her eyes. The tightness disappeared from around her mouth. “I really needed to hear you say that.”
He kissed the top of her hand. “So what do you do?”
She straightened and took another breath. “I’m marketing director for Hookamate.com.”
Bryce flinched. He let go of her hand as if it were a grenade with a missing pin.
Lines creased her forehead. “Bryce…”
He looked away, trying to come to terms with what he’d just heard.
I’m a spy.
Hookamate.com.
Everything clicked into place.
He swallowed. “I don’t believe this.”
Her gaze implored him. “You said my job didn’t matter.”
“That was when I thought you might be a stripper.”
She stiffened. “A stripper?”
“Or lap dancer.”
“That’s so insulting.” Her chin jutted forward. “I really thought you were different from other guys, but you aren’t. You think I can only use my body to make a living, not my brain.”
