“I really should get back—” she started to say the moment the door closed behind me.
I cut her off. “I’m going to need you to stop seeing Chairman Edgerton.”
She gaped at me, and I studied her eyes as her brain churned through what I’d just asked—strike that—demanded of her.
But she regained her composure quickly. “No.” Her face was calm as she spoke, irritatingly so, and her focus on me was suddenly unwavering.
“It really wasn’t a question.”
“And I really don’t need your permission to date whomever I wish.” Her voice was quiet and controlled.
I chuckled. “Date. Is that what you call this? A date?”
Her face remained impassive. She might well be young and beautiful, but her sweet innocent look was nothing more than an illusion. She was not of the world of normals—normal people, normal homes, normal jobs. And she had, without doubt, learned that not everyone in the normal world was there to be her friend. She’d certainly figured out I wasn’t.
“
This
is whatever David wants it to be. Tonight
this
is a date.” Her voice remained soft, but there was an adamancy to it that was impressive.
“And after you leave here? What will it be then?” I was silent for a moment as I waited for an answer I knew she wouldn’t give me. “At what point in the evening does he usually acknowledge what you
really
are?”
Her eyes flitted away for a moment, but she glanced back, crossing her arms on her chest. “And what’s that?”
“A prostitute,” I responded bluntly. “Or do you prefer high-priced escort? Call girl? I’ve seen David’s financial records. You’re clearly not some run-of-the-mill street walker.”
She stared. It was an impressively blank expression, but her shoulders were tense and her lips twitched as she pursed them. The silence between us stretched on uncomfortably, but I refused to say anything further, knowing her discomfort would compound with every passing second.
“You know
nothing
about me—”
“I’m paid to know
everything
about you.”
She was silent for a moment, nodding slightly as though coming to terms with what I’d just said. “Paid,” she repeated.
“Paid.” I focused on her, refusing to look away.
She moved toward the door then, and I stepped out of her way. But she didn’t reach for the door handle. Instead, she looked at me.
“Are you paid to be an asshole, too?”
I smirked. “Well, I’m not paid to be kind if that’s what you mean.” I crossed my arms on my chest and leaned casually against the wall beside me. “I’m not even paid to be kind to the chairman. I’m paid to make sure people like you don’t ruin the reputation of people like him.”
She scoffed, finally reaching for the door handle. “I don’t take responsibility for the ruined reputations of men,” she commented over her shoulder. “They tend to make the choices that ruin their reputations all on their own.”
I sure as hell couldn’t argue with that.
When she finally tugged on the door handle, I reached out, holding it shut. I closed in behind her body, leaning down to speak against her ear. Her head cocked slightly to the side, and I heard the subtlest of gasps escape her mouth.
“And that’s precisely why I have a job. I’m not protecting him from you. I’m protecting him from himself.”
I released my hold on the door, and she eyed me over her shoulder for a moment before yanking it open and walking briskly from the room.
I followed her down the hallway, and when I caught sight of the doorman again as we neared the doors that led back out to the terrace, I nodded in the direction of Gabrielle. The man stopped her quickly.
“One moment, miss.”
She stopped still, her shoulders rising and falling quickly in a huff of frustration.
I stepped up beside Gabrielle, but when I opened my mouth, I spoke to the doorman. “Please show Gabrielle safely out of the hotel. If she requires transportation, see that it’s arranged.”
“Excuse me,” she hissed as she wheeled toward me.
I watched her calmly. Calm was what I did best. And not even a stunning woman with a delicious-looking mouth could make me falter.
“It was good to meet you, Gabrielle, but I expect we won’t be seeing one another again.”
“How dare—”
But I was already walking through the doors to the terrace, ignoring her outburst. I could hear her arguing with the doorman, but the sound faded as the door closed behind me.
David was standing in another small group of people, laughing and tipping his drink in agreement to something that had been said, but it didn’t take more than thirty seconds before his eyes scanned the crowd, looking for Gabrielle. He found me instead.
“Have you seen Gabrielle?” he asked as he approached me.
“She’s no longer here.”
David cleared his throat. “And why not?” he asked quietly, lowering his head.
“You know why.”
“Dammit, Keegan,” he spat out through gritted teeth. “Her…employers are known for their discretion. She’s not a risk. Besides, I’ve already seen to it that she’s only
dating
me at the moment.”
I laughed, but it wasn’t humor. “They’re ‘
known for their discretion
’?” I rolled my eyes. “That’s an oxymoron, Chairman. If they’re
known
, they’re not
discreet
. You should know better. If you want a girlfriend, get one,” I hissed quietly, hiding the conversation from those around us. “Make sure she’s at least in the ballpark of your age, educated, with a clean background, and, for the love of
fuck,
make sure she’s not a goddamn prostitute.”
I cleared my throat as I looked around. There was no one near enough to us to hear the conversation, and beyond even that, no one was paying us any attention.
“I enjoy her. Is that such a crime?”
“It is when you pay for the enjoyment.”
David glared at me, and I stared right back.
“You won’t see her again. Do you understand?”
He hummed in response but failed to agree. “She’s already planning on attending an upcoming event in a few weeks.”
“I suggest you find a more suitable date. She’s been advised that her…
relationship
with you is over.” I nodded at David as I started walking away.
“I’m not going to stand for this.” David’s words chased angrily after me, and a few heads turned in our direction.
I walked slowly back to David again, smirking as I did. His fists were balled at his sides, and his lips were pursed angrily.
“Tell it to the Malcolms,” I said, referring to my current employers, Malcolm Trainor and Malcolm Leeks. “As long as you accept their support, you accept me dictating how you conduct yourself. It’s that simple.”
And then I did walk away. I walked all the way back through the hotel to the elevators and down to the large, lavish lobby. I passed the same doorman who’d assisted me with Gabrielle shortly before. I reached in my pocket, grabbing one of the folded hundred-dollar bills I’d tucked in there for just such occasion, and I reached my hand out to him, palming the money and passing it off to him as he shook my hand.
“I didn’t catch your name.”
“I’m Connor Gallahan.” He smiled at me broadly when he looked down and saw just what kind of bill was in his hand. “Thank you, sir.”
I shook my head. “Not at all. She was no trouble, I take it?”
“No. We staff a chauffeur, and he drove her home.”
“Very good. Thank you.”
And then I left.
One crisis averted. Countless more on the horizon if my suspicions were correct.
Chapter 2
Gabrielle
“HEY,
Casey,” I groaned as I entered the kitchen early on Saturday afternoon, staggering in something close to a Z-line to the coffee maker. I’d made the mistake of taking a nap, and now…well, now it was going to take coffee, lots of coffee, to wake me back up.
Casey peered up at me from the magazine laid out on the table. “Gabrielle.” Her voice was curt, and she looked back down, scanning the page even as she opened her mouth to speak again. “Where were you Wednesday night? Thought you were going to be at Mission One for meal service.” The accusatory tone was unmistakable. I was used to this from Casey.
I paused as I reached up into the cupboard for a coffee mug. Admitting I was getting my ass handed to me by a handsome dick of a man rather than at the food shelter serving the homeless wasn’t exactly how this conversation was going to go. “Uh…library.”
“You spend more time at the library than anyone I know.”
I laughed quietly. Truth of the matter was I absolutely did not spend that much time in the library at all—it was the digital age after all—but it was one of my go-to excuses when I got called out for being missing in action yet again by Ms. Philanthropy herself. It was either that or my mysterious restaurant hostess gig in the city.
“Yeah, well…books.” I nodded, saying nothing else.
Casey smiled smugly at me but nodded as though my comment actually made sense. “You gonna go to mass with us this evening?”
I cringed.
“Most of the girls prefer Saturday evening to Sunday morning. Besides, you’ve missed twice in the past month alone.” And more accusation.
I tossed out an “Eh…” but nothing more.
“You know, it’s kind of your responsibility to set a good example—”
“Yeah,” I cut her off. “I’m aware. But Jessa and I were thinking of going to the movies tonight.”
That seemed to pacify Casey. “How is your sister? Starting her senior year of high school. That’s an exciting time for her, I bet.” There was little chance Casey actually gave a shit what was going on with Jessa.
I nodded. But Casey didn’t quite understand Jessa’s life or what any of it actually meant to her, so this really wasn’t a conversation I felt like having with her, not that I cared to converse with Casey about anything. Jessa wasn’t a typical seventeen-year-old. She couldn’t be. It simply wasn’t a luxury she had any more than being the typical older sister was for me. We just…managed.
I held my coffee cup up, yawning before I could speak again. “See you later.”
“Mm-hmm…” trailed after me.
I didn’t even make it to my room before the cell phone in my hand vibrated.
Forward From: DE.
Missed you Wed. night. Make it up to me tonight. Peninsula. 8 p.m.
End Message.
I set my coffee on the desk just inside my room and stared at the screen. The message was from David, but not directly. It was a relayed message through The Service. The Service being the middleman between my body and whatever man chose to pay for it. The Service wasn’t even something I fully understood, except to say they relayed messages from my clients, which I then agreed to, and a thousand dollars in cash miraculously showed up in a discreet manila envelope in my mail two days later. Shady? Yeah, most likely. Profitable? Yeah, most definitely. And it was all about the profits.
I sighed as I let my head drop back to stare at the ceiling. I finally swiped my finger across the screen of my phone, but it wasn’t David’s message I responded to. It was mine and Jessa’s long-ass string of text message history.
Rain check tonight? Matinee tomorrow? Offered a shift. We could use the money.
“Shift” was code for “meet a john,” but…I was the only one who actually knew that code. Jessa was just as convinced as the rest of the world that shift meant a hostess gig I had at an über fancy restaurant in Chicago. Like I would actually haul my ass all the way from Milwaukee to Chicago for some lousy restaurant job. No. I would not. I would, however, haul my ass all the way to Chicago for a thousand dollars a night. That I was very willing to do.
Whatevs. Guess I’ll just get drunk.
That was an easy response,
Guess I’ll freeze your bank account.
Two seconds later,
I’ll cutta bitch.
I smiled. Jessa tended to pull the smiles out of me easily when little else could. My final message,
I’ll talk to you tomorrow, kiddo.
For half a second I thought about the handsome asshole Keegan and his warning to stay away from David. Keegan had thrown me. There was no doubt about that. I’d noticed him watching me almost instantly upon David’s and my arrival.
He was handsome, very handsome. His hair was brown, his eyes blue, and the suit he wore was professional and well cut. But the perfect tailoring of his clothes didn’t hide the fitness of his body underneath. His expression had remained cool, and there was something very collected and calm about the way he carried himself.
I’d caught his focus on me regularly. He might be mid-sentence in a conversation with someone, but his eyes would land on me and stick for a moment. He never smiled, and he never nodded at me; his eyes would just stop for a moment too long before moving on.
And then he’d finally spoken to me. At first, he looked like every other penis-head man in the world. All men seemed to have a distinctive penis-shaped brain to me at this point, and I’d assumed Keegan did too. But the conversation had been casual, and after only a few minutes, I’d liked him. He’d been nice to me, he’d been interested in me, and he hadn’t used overt masculinity to try to impress me. Instead, he’d used an easy sense of humor and a genuine laugh. But then he’d taken that barside conversation he’d engaged me in and made me feel like an idiot seconds later when David approached. It was, near as I could tell, his way of emotionally slapping me in the face before he verbally did.
But for all the offense Keegan had caused me, not seeing David now wasn’t really an option. Because whatever David might be worth to the world, he was worth the vast majority of my income at the moment. I had only a few regular clients, and non-regulars were few and far between. I preferred it that way very much, and since meeting David six weeks prior, I’d learned quickly he didn’t like to share. I was convinced, at this point, I was being kept on…retainer…if such a thing existed in this industry.
When I finally responded to David’s message, I was already headed to the bathroom adjoined to my room to get ready.