Page 31 of Call Me Baby 2: Side B

“An honest one,” I bite back.

“Now stand up.”

He rises tall to his feet.

I stand in front of him, my gaze sliding down all six-foot-three of him. “Notice the height difference?” I lift a brow. “Rule one: don’t ever stand over me.”

He moves to sit again. “Yes, ma’am.”

Fucking ma’am.

“Call me that again and you finish this interview on your knees.”

He grins. “Yes, Baby.”

Celie’s wide-eyed with her hand to her face, shakin’ with that oh-no-you-didn’t giggle.

“Application says your penis is four-point-five inches,” I say. “Cutting it close. Is that measurement taken erect or flaccid?”

“Hard.” He kicks back, thighs wide. “Ain’t tryna waste your time. I read the fine print.”

I stand freakishly still, my hands laced behind me. “Stand up.”

He sits there as if it’s a trap.

I bend closer.

“Rule two? I decide when you can break the rules. I say stand, you stand.”

He stands at full height again, amused, looking down through light brown eyes and thick lashes.

I don’t step back, leaving an inch between us. “This job doesn’t come with perks. You don’t come. You don’t get head. You don’t fuck me. And you sure as hell don’t fuck anyone else.” I rock back on my heel. “A grown-ass gentleman with a respectable career, and you wanna be a one-woman mouth pet? Explain that one to me.”

A vein ticks at his temple.

“I’ve seen too much shit to play the game,” he says, exhaustion riding his voice. “I manage crisis cases, sit in grief circles. These kids? Some of ‘em hustlin’ for lunch money, sleepin’ two to a couch.”

His gaze moves over me—hips to lips.

He’s not afraid of me.

He’s seen worse,

done worse,

survived worse.

“You think I’m tryna come home and fake it? Smile through date night and surface-level convo?” He shakes his head. “Nah, I take charge all day. Fight systems, break cycles, hold shit down. Don’t even wanna think after days like that, just let go. Let your rules handle me.”

The only reason he’s here is 'cause he’s tired after being a hero from nine to five.

The only reason I’m here is 'cause I need someone on-call to eat my pussy.

I’m seriously a piece of shit.

“Sit down.”

He sinks back into the chair, eyes locked on mine the whole way down.