Chapter 8

It had been three days since I last answered a call from my father or Fred. They knew I was at the condo, but they hadn’t bothered to come get me yet. That worked in my favor. The silence felt temporary, like a pause before something inevitable, but I was grateful for it. Danica and I still hadn’t found a man willing to be paid to play the role of the father. I was starting to lose hope.

“Aub! Holy shit, he said yes!”

I nearly jumped off the couch at Danica’s scream. I had been scrolling through my Facebook friends list, my thumb moving mindlessly, already convinced it was pointless. She burst into the living room and shoved her phone screen in my face, barely able to contain herself.

“Look at him. What do you think?” she asked.

The photo showed a guy who looked harmless and relatively innocent. Clean smile. Soft eyes. The kind of face people trusted without thinking twice.

“Who is he?” I asked.

“I met him at a club about four months ago. He looks like he has money. When I messaged hi