So, pretty much, they want me to consider them my full-time job while only promising me three hours of billable work per week “initially.”

Companies are broken.

And I know it’s because of the question, because the refusal came minutes after I asked them if asynchronous work was possible. A week after doing an hour-long interview. If they hadn’t liked me, they would’ve sent the email days after the interview, not after I suggested working asynchronously.