We sit on the floor, side by side. My jeans are pulled back up, and her dress is smoothed out, but I imagine I look as disarrayed as her, that my face is as tired and content as hers. She rests her head on my shoulder, and it feels so natural I don’t once think about pushing her away. Not like with other women, who I’d never tolerate being this close.

 

“Wow,” she says, after a long pause.

 

“Wow,” I agree. “I didn’t know you’d be so…”

 

“Forward?” she offers.

 

“Yeah, forward,” I agree, my voice lazy.

 

“I went a bit wild,” she admits. “I just couldn’t help it—”

 

“You wanted me too badly.”

 

She giggles. “Do you always have to be so cocky?”

 

“Not cocky, Red. It’s just a fact.”

 

“I guess so,” she sighs. “Yeah, fine, I wanted you badly. Is that a crime?”

 

“No,” I laugh. “Not even close.”

 

I won a woman over with my programming skills. I’m hardly able to conceive it. Not with my fists or my bike or any of that. I won her over with my skill as a programmer. She doesn’t know it was me, sure, but I did it, and she was so happy she… she must’ve been working on this for a long time. She must’ve been hungry for it. And it was worth it. Damn, well worth it.

 

“Good,” she says. “But don’t expect me to be like that all the time. This was a…” She trails off, and then I feel her shrug from the movement of her cheek against my shoulder. “This was a special occasion, I guess you could call it.”

 

I wrack my mind for an excuse to see her again, for anything I can take her to. This week is going to be busy, with jobs Monday through Friday, as well as the billionaire’s Silicon Valley party on Saturday. Then a thought occurs to me, and I decide to run with it. Why not? If I truly believe that Eden is different – and I do, I really do – why shouldn’t I treat her differently than other women?

 

I jump to my feet. She darts her head away, startled, and stares up at me. “Going somewhere?” she asks.

 

“Not far,” I reply. “Wait here, okay?”

 

She throws that pouty expression. “Maybe I’ll go,” she says. “Maybe I’m done with you now you’ve given me what I want.”

 

I can’t help but laugh. Sexy, funny, and crazy in bed?

 

“I think that’s supposed to be my line, isn’t it? But then, you’d know. You’re the feminist.”

 

I unlock the office door, go to the bar, and kneel down to the safe. Then I enter the code and take out a wad of cash, about two thousand dollars in twenties, bound together with a rubber band. I return to the office and close and lock the door behind me.

 

Eden is sitting at the desk, typing on the keyboard. When I enter, she leans back in my chair. “I think I like this chair,” she says. “It makes me feel like the boss.”

 

I smile. “Careful, Red. Don’t make me wrestle you out of it.”

 

I walk around the desk, standing over her, and then drop the wad of bills in her lap. “I want you to come to a party with me on Saturday. It’s a fancy party. Black tie. I want you to buy the nicest dress you can find. A dress that really highlights your figure.”

 

Eden picks up the wad of bills, which is almost as big as her fist and weighs it. “You’re serious?”

 

“Yeah. Give me your phone number, and I’ll text you my driver’s info and the time.”

 

She looks up at me. “You can’t buy me, Maddox.”

 

I stare down into her eyes, and I must look intense because her eyes flit around the room. “Not buy,” I say. “Spoil. Tell me you don’t want to be spoiled.”

 

She moves her fingers over the money. “How much is here?”

 

“Enough to make you look even sexier. Now, what’s your number?”

 

I see the moment she accepts that she wants to be spoiled. Her lips twitch, and her eyes look afresh at the money. Then she nods; a small movement.

 

“Okay, Maddox,” she says. “I’ll give you my number. I’ll come to the party.”