Page 42 of Words of Love
For a moment, the question startled her. “Nothing.”
“Nothing?”
“Help doesn’t have to be reciprocal.”
He sat back, his mouth turning downward. “I don’t take something for nothing. Ever.”
Brooke experienced a stab of sorrow over the idea that he was more accustomed to transactions rather than kindness. But instead of turning her down, he was moving slowly toward a negotiation. And while shewouldhelp him for nothing, she wasn’t a fool.
“Okay.” She pursed her lips. “You can pay me.”
He lifted his eyebrows. “Pay you.”
“We can first do a trial run. If you think my advice is working, then we can continue the arrangement as a business transaction. If not, we’ll just part ways.”
“How much do you want?”
“Your call.” She twisted a loose thread of her T-shirt around her finger. “I’m not getting myGazettesalary anymore, and I haven’t yet had any other opportunities. And obviously I can’t live on air, so if you feel you need to reciprocate, then you can pay me what you think my advice is worth.”
Maybe he’d even pay her enough to help offset the costs of attending the Freelancer’s Convention in New York. If they were even out of here by then.
Sam shifted his gaze to the window. She could almost see the cogs and wheels turning around in his razor-sharp mind.
“I’m not going to tell anyone your secret.” She rubbed her hands over her thighs, not sure if she could articulate all the reasons she neededproofthat she was moving forward toward self-sufficiency and independence. “But if it helps, you’re the only person who knows I’ve been rejected from a few dozen jobs already. No one…not my family or my friends, not even Aria…knows that I’ve even applied anywhere yet. Like I said, I need to have something to show people. So you and I both have good reasons to keep this arrangement a secret.”
With a mutter, he pushed to his feet and stalked to the window. Tension lined his shoulders. Silence stretched between them. Brooke tapped her foot, her nerves jittery.
“All right.” He turned, folding his arms over his chest. “We can work together for a day or two as a trial period.”
“Deal!” Excitement flared through her, and she smiled so widely that her cheeks hurt. “During the trial, I’ll give you unlimited sessions about romance. Fictional, that is.”
“Why unlimited?”
“Given the fact that you had John take Patricia on a fishing tripdatewhere he showed her how togut a trout…” Brooke shook her head in remembered despair. “We have a lot of work to do.”