“Look, Zack, I’m going to level with you. I have no desire to fire you. Had you been a model employee, I would have been willing to overlook this as a momentary lapse in judgment. But the fact of the matter is, you’ve been headed for the chopping block for a while. You can still save yourself, but it would be a temporary solution.”

Zack opened his mouth, but Colette interrupted him. “You’re not suited for this job, plain and simple. You’re good at phone sex, when you bother, but you’re not good with clients. It’s obvious that you think you’re above them. Clients are more perceptive than you give them credit for. That’s why you’ve never taken off, despite your talent. I’ve been pushing you to get into porn for this reason. You would have been great at that.”

Colette looked him up and down, and Zack swore he could see dollar signs in her eyes. But then she shrugged. “Your whale just slapped a bandage on your bleeding career. I didn’t think for a second that your sudden devotion to your job was going to last. You were never going to become the next big name in phone sex. Though I have to admit, I didn’t predict that you’d end up falling for a client.”

“I didn’t—”

“Please don’t insult me by lying to my face,” Colette said sharply. “I’ve worked in the sex industry my entire adult life. I know when attraction is manufactured and when it’s not. Besides, you’re an easy read. I believed you when you said you weren’t moonlighting because you weren’t, but now I ask you this: did you enter into a relationship with a client?”

Zack paused for a fraction of a second before saying, somewhat truthfully, “No.” His own words echoed in his head: “You can’t break up with someone you’re not technically with.”

Colette stared at him for a long time. Zack fought the urge to fidget.

Eventually, she rubbed her temples as if to ease a headache. “Very well. If you’re determined to deny it, then we’re finished here.”

“You mean I’m fired?” Zack asked.

“No, I mean you can go back to work. Like I said, I don’t have enough evidence to move forward with these accusations, and there’s no sense in firing someone who I believe is going to burn out in a month anyway. Besides, you look like shit. Even I’m not heartless enough to fire someone who’s clearly brokenhearted.”

She considered him. “But don’t think that means I’m going soft. I expect you to go out there and give it your all regardless. You might want to think about rebranding yourself, be it here or wherever you end up next. Wesley Darkling clearly isn’t working for you.”