She was young and pretty, exactly what I expected her to be. She sat on my couch with her back straight, her posture perfect, her tight pencil skirt tugged slightly up her creamy thighs. The glasses she wore almost made her look like a porn star, but I guessed that was the point.

I was barely listening as she talked. She was exactly the right kind of woman for this, and I knew she’d be great, but there was just something about her. I couldn’t put my finger on what exactly was drawing me toward her, but it was really bothering me.

I hadn’t heard from Charley since that day three weeks ago. There were a hundred different times when I’d wanted to call her and talk to her, even just to hear her voice, but that was just weakness talking. Bull wasn’t weak and didn’t beg women to come back. She betrayed me and broke my trust, so we had to be finished.

But that didn’t mean I wasn’t thinking about her. Truth was, ever since I threw her out of my life, I couldn’t stop thinking about her. I couldn’t get her out of my head, no matter how much I wanted to.

She wasn’t the only person I cast aside that day. Rafa had called me a few times over the last three weeks, but his last message had been two days ago. I hadn’t given that piece of shit a second thought, except for when I saw his number blowing up my phone.

The message, though, that kept echoing in my mind. “Bull, listen. You should call me back, otherwise I’m going to fuck you so hard you’ll be crying. Better hire someone to help out. Call me.”

The bastard was still threatening me. I didn’t care what he thought he was going to do, but I knew I needed to try to protect myself, even if I couldn’t exactly.

Which was why I found myself sitting across from one of the most highly recommended PR girls in the business.

“Any questions?” she said, and looked at me with that perfect smile. Lacy Gray was a consummate pro, and much younger than I thought she’d be.

“Not really,” I said.

“Listen, Mister Dixon.”

“Bull,” I said. “Please.”

“Okay, Bull. I can help you. Let’s not pretend like you don’t have a really bad reputation. If it weren’t for your skills on the field, I doubt you’d still have a job.”

I laughed. “Yeah. I’m aware.”

“But you’re getting older. You’ll start slowing down. You have a good career ahead of you, but you’ll need someone to help you navigate it.”

“And you can help me?”

“I can.”

“What if something major happened? What if they caught me with a dead hooker?”

“I’d spin it. Or I’d use my contacts at the police to keep it out of the media. Or we’d bribe whoever could be bribed.”

I grinned at her and instantly liked her. She was no bullshit, even if she was playing it up a little hard.

I leaned back against my couch. A storm was coming, and Miss Gray had no clue what she was getting into. But if she was half as good as she said she was, she might be able to help me keep my job at least. I didn’t expect to get through this completely unscathed, but I hoped to at least remain employed and getting paid. Maybe my already shitty reputation was about to get worse, but I could handle that.

Suddenly, my phone started to vibrate. I made a face. “Sorry,” I said as I took it from my pocket. I stared at the number for a second, very surprised.

It was Charley.

What the hell was she calling for now? It had been weeks, and we hadn’t so much as spoken a word to each other.

“Excuse me,” I said, and stood up. I walked across the room and answered the phone.

“Charley?”

“Hi, Bull.”

There was a short pause. “What’s up?”

“I need to talk. It’s pretty important.”

“I said everything I needed to say a few weeks ago, Charley.”

“I know, but this isn’t about any of that. It’s really, really important.”

“It’s a bad idea. We’re finished.”

“I’m at your building. Your doorman won’t let me up.”

I blinked, surprised. Charley didn’t seem like the crazy stalker type to me, but maybe I was wrong. She was downstairs, totally uninvited and out of the blue. This was very, very weird.

But something was telling me to give her a chance. Maybe it was something in her voice that I couldn’t exactly understand, but I felt like I needed to let her up.

“Fine,” I said. “I’ll have him send you up. Five minutes and then you’re gone. Get it?”

“Okay,” she said.

I hung up the phone and then called the front desk and let the doorman know that she was fine to come up.

The elevator slowly drifted up. I walked over to Lacy. “I’m sorry,” I said. “This won’t take long.”

“Take your time,” she said, because of course she’d wait. I was going to be very worth her time if she landed me.

She’d have plenty of work on her hands soon enough.

The elevator dinged and I walked over. Charley stepped out, and the first thing I noticed was how tired she looked.

“Bull,” she said. “Thanks for letting me up.”

“I’m not giving you an interview,” I said right off the bat. “And you can’t take pictures. I don’t know what you wrote, and I don’t fucking care. As far as I’m concerned, you and me are done. Get it?”

I hated myself for saying it, but I knew I had to be hard if I was going to get through this.

If I let my guard down for a second, I knew I’d forgive her and give it another chance. It was so stupid and weak of me, but I couldn’t help it. Just seeing her brought back all those fucking feelings, intense desire and calm need, all of it mixing together in this one beautiful person. But we were done, and I couldn’t go back on my word.

“This is hard,” she said.

“I get it. It’s hard, but we have to be done.”

“No. I mean, what I have to say. It’s hard to say.”

I felt impatient and sad all at once. “You should go.”

“Wait. Listen, Bull.”

“No. I decided I don’t want to hear it anymore. I don’t care what you have to say. I gave you a shot and you fucking stabbed your little dagger into my back, so get the fuck out.”

“Bull,” she said, exasperated.

“What do you need me to say to get you to leave?”

“Bull, I’m pregnant.”

I stared at her, practically stumbling backward. “What?”

“I’m pregnant. I haven’t slept with anyone but you in, god, months I guess. I’m pregnant with your baby.”

“Holy fuck,” I said. “Fucking hell. When?”

“I just found out.”

I took a couple steps back, not sure exactly what I was feeling. It was part panic, part fear, and part something I couldn’t exactly name.

Something like pride mixed with joy.

“I don’t know what to do,” I said.

Just then we heard another voice, snapping us out of the moment.

“Pregnant girlfriend?”

Charley and I both looked over. Lacy Gray was standing there a few feet away.

“I can help with that. Give me a call, Bull.” She handed me her card and then got into the elevator. The doors slowly shut.

I shook my head and felt like this wasn’t real. I felt like I was losing my mind. The room felt tiny, and it was getting smaller every second.