Read Online Shopping for a Billionaire 2 by Julia Kent - Free Book Online

it.
    “WHAT?” Her ex, Todd, ditched her and the boys three years ago. He’s played “Daddy for a Day” here and there. More there than here. It’s been seven months since anyone has seen him.
    He has never paid her a dime in child support. Tyler never even learned to say the word “Dada” or anything close to it. He occasionally says “Puh-puh” for Papa, which is what Jeffrey calls my dad.
    I just get a big old smile. When you have a speech disorder and you’re four years old, “Shannon” isn’t exactly top on your list of easy words. A smile and hug is close enough to my name.
    “I know!” Carol exclaims, then lowers her voice. She doesn’t speak ill of Todd in fro nt of the boys. Ever. I give her huge credit for that, because I don’t know if I could stay that classy in her shoes. “An actual check from the state.”
    “That means he got a job working over the table!” Carol has a child support order. Todd owes close to five figures in unpaid support. He refuses to get jobs on the books, and never files taxes. She’ll never see that money.
    “Something like that,” she says, her voice hiding something.
    “How much was the check?”
    She pauses, then says with a laugh, “$11.61.”
    I snort again. “Don’t spend it all on one place.”
    “I spent ten dollars on my birth-control pill copay and the rest on Pokemon stickers for the boys.” Again, that pause. I hear her gulp something quickly and then Tyler’s distinct whine.
    “I’ll get water for you, honey! Just a minute!” Carol tells him. She says quietly into the phone, “He’s incarcerated. The pay is from his wages at a prison in Ohio.”
    “WHAT? Does Mom know?” For years Mom has made jokes about Todd finding his way to prison, but we all wrote her off as just being angry.
    “Not yet. I’ve barely found a way to manage all this filthy lucre. Let me breathe a few times before tackling Mom and Dad’s reaction.”
    “Don’t run out hiring financial planners just yet,” I crack.
    Her bitter laugh makes me cringe. “Yeah. Right. Now his back support obligation is reduced!”
    “Eleven dollars? Oh, Carol. That won’t even buy a pack of diapers.” Mom and Dad help her as much as possible, but…
    “That’s why I need to get Tyler toilet trained,” she says with a resigned tone.
    I feel myself weighed down by the weight of her weariness. Suddenly my date with Declan feels trivial. A bit flighty and selfish. I want to tell Carol I’ll help her.
    “I can’t tonight,” I tell her. It feels icky, like I’m rubbing her nose in my happiness and romantic promise.
    “No, no, Shannon, don’t feel bad!” she protests. “You should go out with him! What’s he like? Does he have a helicopter?”
    What is it with the women in my family and their obsession with men who ride in helicopters? “He’s hot,” I whisper.
    “Hot Guy!” Amanda shouts from behind me.
    “Hey!” I shriek. “Josh is the one who does that to people!”
    “Hot Guy!” he says in a falsetto, standing right next to Amanda when I turn around, heart thudding out of my chest. Assholes. Maybe they’re both part vampire. And not the hot, sparkly kind.
    “I am having a private conversation,” I say archly.  
    “About Hot Guy,” Greg says, poking his head in my doorway. Now all three of them are staring at me.
    “Hey!” Who knew private was code for everyone flood Shannon’s office and turn into MI5 spies ?  
    Carol is laughing hysterically on the phone.
    “You can talk about Hot Guy whenever you want on company time, Ms. Three Point Seven Million,” Greg croons. Eww. It was so much better when he made us reuse plastic silverware and groaned about toner ink costs.
    “What does he mean, three point…huh?” Carol asks as I wave Josh and Amanda off like they’re evil spirits. Greg hovers. I pull a tampon out of my purse and he scurries off like a vampire walking past an Italian restaurant in Boston’s North End.
    That trick works every time.