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me?”
    “Well, no offense or anything, but if you gotta to pay someone to date your daughter, there’s gotta be something wrong with her.”
    “There’s nothing wrong with my daughter. There’s something wrong with all the boys who can’t see how wonderful she is.”
    “So, she’s ugly?”
    “Absolutely not!” she snapped. “She has a small weight problem, but she’s beautiful and that’s exactly how you treat her. Take her out, show her a fabulous time, and make her feel like she’s the most gorgeous creature you’ve ever seen.”
    “Basically you want me to blow smoke up her ass?”
    “Stay away from her ass, but yes…whatever you have to do.”
    “Exactly what do I get out of this and how long do I have to do it?” I asked.
    “In return for you dating my daughter, I’ll pay your unpaid balance to the bank. If I heard correctly, you have ninety days. When the ninety days are up and as long as my daughter’s happy and you’ve done your job correctly…I’ll pay it.”
    “You can’t be serious.” I choked. “You’re gonna pay me eight thousand dollars to date your kid? How old is she anyway? She not like some high school kid or anything is she?” I asked.
    “Is that all you owe? Sounds perfect. Yes, I’ll definitely pay you eight thousand dollars and no, my daughter’s not a high school student. She’ll be twenty-one next month; you’re kind of an early birthday present.”
    This couldn’t have happened at a better time. Actually, it was kind of freaky how convenient it was, but at this point I’d be willing to do almost anything. I couldn’t refuse if I wanted to. It’s not likely that another opportunity like this would fall into my lap.
    Eight grand was pocket change for this woman.
    “Make it fifteen thousand and we got a deal,” I said.
    If I’m doing this, I might as well get something out of it, too. Lucy was going to look good with her new paint job.
    The car wasn’t moving anymore and the silence in the small space was suffocating as she thought it over. I still couldn’t believe this was happening. It was wrong to lead some poor, fat girl around making her think that I wanted her, but I knew I could pull it off. We needed this money—I could do this for Jenny.
    “Fine,” she gave in. “I’ll pay you three grand to start.  We’ll call it a courtesy payment. There are a few rules, though. You screw this up and you will not get the other twelve grand in ninety days. Plus, I’ll personally make your life a living Hell. I’ll make it my mission to make sure that you and your loved ones lose everything…and Mr. Michaels, I’m filthy rich. Don’t think for one minute that I can’t ruin you.”
    “What are the rules?” I snapped.
    I wasn’t too happy with being verbally threatened.
    “First of all, don’t put your filthy hands on my daughter. I understand that you’re probably going to kiss her. You’ll be dating her for at least three months and I know that kids do that sort of thing in that time period. You’re not allowed to do anything more than that. The last thing I want is my daughter getting knocked up by some countrified chop shop boy,” she huffed. “Do you understand?”
    “Well, golly jeez, Miss, I think I reckon I understand what you’re sayin!” I said sarcastically with my deepest fake southern drawl.
    Kissing? Hah! It wouldn’t even go that far. I could make this girl feel like a princess without touching her. Playing women is kind of my niche.
    “How can I find her?” I asked.
    “She works. As much as I hate it, she’s the manager at Franklin’s Jewelry store downtown on Meeting Street. You can find her there. Also, she spends a lot of free time with friends at a little café called Mirabelle’s. Are you familiar with these places?” she asked.
    “Yeah,” I said, as I opened the limo door to get out.
    “And, Mr. Michaels…my daughter better not ever find out about this agreement, do you understand?
    “Yeah, I got it!” I