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“And then?”

“Can I see her again?”

Phillip’s blond broer in a severely somber expression “Seriously?”

“What!” I protest, slurping down the rest of ulp “I don’t know There’s just so about her…”

“So about her, which is that you haven’t fucked her,” He points out diplomatically

I sigh,its fat cherubic cheeks ly at me

“So that’s it then”

“There, there,” Philip says, deliveringhairy hand “I’ll take you out clubbing next weekend You can get another new nanny at hoet an old fat one”

“Yeah, yeah,” I say, not even hearing what he said

Right now, I’oing to have to give to Stevie and how to get her to come over in the first place

That night, on about the seventh call, Stevie picks up

“Yeah?”

That is not the voice of a wo voice indicates helpfully

Ignoring it, I ask “could you come over? I just want to talk”

“You can’t just do this over the phone?” She comes back coolly

“I’d rather not”

Silence, then, “That’s unfortunate then”

My frown deepens Why does Stevie have to be so fucking difficult right now?

“Listen,” I tell her, “you have two choices One, you cos out and I leave you alone Or two, you keep avoidingmy calls and I don’t stop until you block my phone number and…”

Silence

“I never mentioned hoin out in business, did I?” I say

More silence A silence of utter disinterest?

“For my toy idea, I basically harassed all the toy stores until they took a few as samples to show to kids and see how they’d do But I think harassing ht be too weak a word actually I literally called the head of every store in Ontario and then the US too Each of thee of six calls at least before, finally, one agreed just to get me off his back”