Meeting Mr. Mogul: A Billionaire Contemporary Romance by Mel Ryle Read Free Book Online Page A

spreading my hands in exaggeration.
    He smiled at my actions, but it faltered when he took in my overall appearance. “You look worn out. Did something happen at work?” he asked, his voice thick with worry and his eyebrows scrunched together.
    “I’m fine, Dad. I am doing well at work,” I replied dismissively, not really in the mood to pretend.
    “You know you can tell me everything, right? I will find out about it eventually,” he coaxed, his soft voice sounded less intimidating.
    “I know.” I sighed as I took a seat. “Okay, I’ll spill,” I relented, giving him a sad look. “I quit my waitressing job,” I declared dejectedly.
    “You quit? I thought you liked it,” he asked, raising his eyebrow in alarm.
    “Well, I sort of exaggerated on the ‘like’ part,” I admitted reluctantly.
    “I knew you didn’t like it. You know no matter how much you try to lie, I’ll always figure it out, you know?” he asked, smirking at my discomfort.
    I snorted then grinned in return. “Yeah, I know,” I nodded in consent.
    For the first time in months, I didn’t lie to him anymore. So, I told him everything that had happened. I didn’t hold back and just let go. I didn’t know that it would be a relief to get everything out.
    “I’m so sorry for lying to you, Dad,” I said after a short pause.
    “It’s okay, peanut. I get why you had to lie,” he said as he grabbed my hand and gave it a gentle squeeze.
    For the rest of my visit, I gave my father an overview of my life within the past month. I told him about my work as a waitress and a bartender. And I also told him about why I got fired. That part was pretty hard to tell, but I was able to get it all out, especially since my dad smiled when I told him about how I made Mr. Mogul look like a naughty preschooler being punished. He looked pleased by my actions.
    Around dinner, I finally excused myself and left. For the first time since I arrived, I felt relieved and free. Though I still have some debt to pay, I didn’t have any other burdens to carry. I didn’t understand why I lied to my father in the first place.
    I bought dinner at the fast food joint beside the hospital before heading home. I was walking to the bus stop when I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket. I balanced the plastic I was holding with one hand and took out my phone with the other. A quick glance at the number signified that it was from someone unknown. Out of curiosity, I answered it.
    “Hello, who is this?” I asked.
    “Andy. This is Jack. I’m sorry for calling you out of the blue. I just wanted to ask if you could come to work early today.”
    “Jack?” I asked in surprise. “Oh, sure,” I added when I recovered.
    “Great! See you then.” Then the phone line went dead.
    I glanced down at the phone in confusion, not sure what that conversation was about. Then it dawned on me that maybe he’s going to fire me because Mr. Mogul found out that he still hadn’t. What am I going to do? If that happens, I’d be back to square one: jobless and hopeless.
    Before my imagination got the better of me, I got a hold of myself and made my way back to Terry’s apartment in one piece. My thoughts were so clouded that eating dinner became a bad idea.
    Since I lost my other job, Jack changed the time I was supposed to report for work from midnight to eight in the evening. Because of that, I decided to show up at around quarter to eight. That was still considered early, right?
    I texted Terry of my plans before leaving the apartment so he wouldn’t panic when he came back from work and found it empty. However, I forgot about the possibility that he might want to catch up and failed to tell him about my new schedule this morning.
    The bus ride to the club was long, which gave me enough time to think about the possible reasons Jack called me in early. As I finally stood outside the club, which wasn’t packed, I was thinking about running away until Jack came out of the club. For some