Free Beautiful PRICK by Sophia Kenzie Page A

dollars.”
    “Great. Perfect. Hold on for a sec.”
     
    There’s a shuffle on the other end of the line, and then I
hear him yell to someone that he’s just about done.
     
    “Do you have to go?” I question when I hear him return.
    “I do. It was just a short break. I gave Jules five hundred
dollars to give to you. That should hold you over until your new debit card
comes in.”
    “No, no, no.” I quickly protest. “I don’t want your money.”
    “Right, she’s still giving it to you.”
    “Johnny, no, I’m not going to spend it.”
    “Great. Then you can give it back to me when your card gets
in. Think of it as a buffer. Just in case.”
     
    There’s no use fighting. He’s right. I’ll need something.
     
    “Thank you.” I whisper, genuinely thanking him.
    “You’re welcome. Hey, call me if you need anything, okay?”
    “Okay.”
    “Bye kid.”
     
    Again, with the kid. As if I don’t already feel like
a child after this entire phone call.
     
    I unlatch the door and let Jules in, apologizing for being a
bit of a lunatic. She steps into the doorway, but is sure to keep her distance.
She runs me through everything she did, and asks me if she might have missed
any credit cards or ID cards. I shake my head, promising that she did a very
thorough job at getting my life back. She then hands me a brand new set of car
keys and five hundred dollars in twenties.
     
    “Thank you so much.”
    “Of course.” She smiles, and she looks just like Johnny…
only she’s a girl… and she’s pretty, really pretty. So, in that sense, she
looks nothing like Johnny.
     
    “And it was nice to meet you. Baseball is for Sissies is
still my favorite movie.”
    Jules politely laughs. “I actually get that a lot.”
     
    Her accent isn’t as strong as Johnny’s. It’s just a hint.
     
    “Do you still act?”
    “Oh God no. I’m a lawyer. I don’t have to be in court today,
so apparently my brother thinks I have time to run his errands.”
    I instantly feel ashamed. “Oh my God. I am so sorry.”
    “Oh no, no, no.” She waves her hands at me. “I’m happy to do
it. It’s not every day my brother thinks of someone other than himself. You must
be pretty special.”
    “I’m not special.”
     
    That didn’t come out the way I meant for it to come out.
     
    “I mean, I’m not special to Johnny. I’m just his assistant.”
    “Oh, sure.” She winks at me. Then she whispers through her
sly smile. “You know, I don’t believe that for a second.”
     
    She warmly blushes at me while she walks out of the still
open door.
     
    “Julia! I mean,Jules!” I
clear my throat. “You left your phone.”
    “Oh, no.” She calls back as she opens the back door of a
town car and steps inside. “That’s your new phone. Your numbers should all be
programmed in there, including Johnny’s.”
     
    She gives me a little wave before she closes the door and
tells the driver where she would like to go.
     
    Wow. Julia Braylock was just in my apartment. She talked to
me. She told me I was special.
     
    Wait. What did she mean by that? Did she really not think I
was just Johnny’s assistant? Did she think something was going on between us?
     
    I can’t stand the man. Although,he’s
being overly nice to me in my current state of just getting mugged, I’m pretty
sure he can’t stand me either.
     
    But I guess that’s not what Julia thinks.
     
    I’m not special to Johnny. I’m just his assistant.
    You know, I don’t believe that for a second.
     
    Am I missing something?

 
     
    CHAPTER FOURTEEN
     
    I can’t sleep. I’m tossing and turning. I feel like he’s
watching me. He, them, those guys. I want to scream. I want to run. I want this
feeling to go away. I want to feel normal again.
     
    I hate that I can’t. I always thought I was stronger than
this. I never let other people have this affect on me. Why now? Why these
people? Why am I, all of a sudden, weak?
     
    Because they took away my power. And, I