Total pages in book: 126
Estimated words: 124077 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 620(@200wpm)___ 496(@250wpm)___ 414(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 124077 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 620(@200wpm)___ 496(@250wpm)___ 414(@300wpm)
But she knew something now that she hadn't known two nights ago–she couldn’t go on with this line of work any longer.
Stripping had always been a dicey choice, but it had put food on the table and clothes on her kids’ backs. Now, however, it had put them in harm’s way. They were in danger because of her stripping–she had to end it here and now and never look back.
“I can’t do this anymore,” she said, more to herself than to Candy and Crystal who were crowding around her, looking at her with wide eyes. “It’s not safe.”
“What else are you gonna do, though?” Candy asked. “How are you going to pay your bills?”
“I’ll find a way.” She was still staring at the card.
Behind her, Candy was still asking what had happened, but Terra barely heard her.
Maybe calling Taurex was a mistake. Maybe getting mixed up with him would bring an entirely different kind of trouble into her life.
But Viktor Orlov had stood in a private room and shown her a picture of her children taken outside their home. Suddenly the giant bull-headed alien didn't seem nearly as frightening as he had before.
Terra pulled out her phone. And before she could change her mind, she dialed the number on Taurex's card.
10
TAUREX
The phone rang twice before he could answer. The tiny cell phone was made for human-sized hands, and it felt fragile and delicate in his grip. At last he managed to press the right part of the screen to answer the call.
“Hello?” he said, holding the tiny thing to his ear. “Who is this?”
At first there was just breathing on the other end–light and quick, it sounded like someone who was upset–maybe even frantic.
“Hello?” he said again, wondering who it could be. He was certain it wasn’t a SPAM call, as the humans called the junk calls many of them got almost constantly. Taurex paid for a premium service to block such calls which would only waste his time.
At last a hesitant female voice said,
“Er…Taurex?”
“Yes, this is Taurex,” he acknowledged. “Who is this?”
“It’s Terra. Maybe…do you remember me?” she asked.
Did he remember her? Thoughts of her erotic dancing had been echoing in his head for days. But more than that, he remembered the glimpses he’d caught of her thoughts when he touched her–the images of her life and the way she was doing what she had to in order to keep her little family safe and fed.
“Of course I remember,” he said, trying to keep his voice gentle and not too eager, though his heart was pounding at the sound of her soft, warm voice. “Are you all right?” he added, since her breathing still seemed to indicate she was upset.
“I…I wanted to know if the offer you made me was still good,” she said, not answering his question. “You know–the offer of a job?”
Taurex suddenly remembered that he had offered her a job–but what job? He hadn’t really had anything specific in mind–he just wanted to get her away from the Strip Club.
“Yes, of course the offer is still good,” he heard himself saying. “I’m in need of a, er, a new, um…”
He looked around his cluttered office. There were stacks of papers everywhere. He was excellent at making business connections but the level of paperwork the Earth’s governments required to import things from other worlds was a whole new level of bureaucracy which he found bewildering.
“I need an office manager,” he said at last, which was partially true–he did need someone to manage his office.
“I can do that,” she said eagerly. “I know you work in the Imports business. I’m also training to become a certified accountant,” she added.
“Oh, that would be helpful too,” Taurex said quickly. “When can you start?”
The truth was, he couldn’t wait to see her again. The connection between them when he’d touched her had made him long to spend more time with her. He still believed she was his fated mate–though it would clearly take some time to convince the curvy little human of that.
“I’m available immediately,” was her prompt reply. “That is–as long as this is a clothed position,” she added.
“You never have to take your clothes off if you don’t want to,” Taurex assured her. Though she was beautiful naked, he was more interested in securing her as his mate than he was in ogling her gorgeous, curvy body.
“Good. I’m done stripping,” she said flatly, and he had an idea there was a story behind that statement. He wondered if he would ever get to hear it.
“I work from a home office,” he told her. “Though I’m thinking of branching out into a larger building for business purposes.”
“That’s fine. Where should I report to tomorrow?” she asked.
Taurex gave her his home address–it was the penthouse suite in the brand-new Montanna building downtown. He waited, listening to the scratching of a pen and the crinkle of paper on the other end as she wrote it down.