The Breakup Contract

Serena Lin, founder of Serendipity Communications, has spent three years keeping Liam, a twenty-three-year-old college senior, in a comfortable arrangement: his mother's surgery paid for, a condo, clothes, living expenses, and no interference in his life. When he finally stands in her living room and declares he will no longer let her trample his dignity, she agrees to end things on the spot, calling it a contract that has simply expired.

Unmoved, she walks out and returns to work, where her assistant Lulu notices her mood is bright rather than broken. That afternoon she heads to a studio to audition male models for a beverage campaign, a dozen young men waiting to be chosen.

Liam wanted dignity; Serena keeps her wallet and her freedom, and the only person she intends to treat well now is herself.