“Believe me, you can. I do.”
I twisted out of his arms. “Let me clarify. You can’t be in love with me and be in love with another woman, too.”
“Evie, stop.” He took a step toward me. “Let’s talk about this. Just don’t go in there.”
We’d had time to talk. Months and months. If he wanted to leave her, he would have done it. “Does she even know you’re here?”
He tore his gaze away from mine, guilty.
I took in an enormous breath, letting it make me feel strong. “You shouldn’t have come.”
He nodded toward Payton, a sneer on his face. “She’s a whore, and she’ll drag you down.”
I didn’t understand her reasons, but she’d never betrayed me, and she’d certainly never hurt me the way he had right now.
“Get out of here,” I said, turning away.
Payton didn’t judge. She loved me unconditionally, the way a true friend did. So I left him standing there and returned to my friend.
“You okay?” she asked.
“I’m fine,” I lied. “Let’s go have some fun.”
Immediately inside the door, a large black man was perched on a stool with a clipboard and an earpiece. The room was small and dark, and the focus was the white door across from us with the black club logo on it.
“Hey, girl,” he said to Payton, a genuine smile on his lips. He buzzed us through the white door, and as it swung shut behind us, I heard him say into his earpiece that we had arrived.
This room was wide and short. An oversized couch rested on one side and a bar on the other. The friendly-looking bartender also gave Payton a genuine smile when he saw her. He was also wearing an earpiece.
“This is the holding room,” Payton said, directing me to the bar. “Sometimes the client needs a few minutes before parting with that much money.
“Or for the Viagra to kick in,” the bartender said. He’d said it like a joke, but I was sure he was serious.
“Two shots of tequila,” Payton announced. The bartender didn’t hesitate.
“Is that okay?” I asked. I wanted the help the alcohol could provide, but what about the contract?
Payton knocked the shot back. “Joseph just doesn’t want us plastered. A little lubrication isn’t a bad thing.” Her fingers nudged the glass toward me. I snatched it up and downed it, ignoring the burn.
“Thanks,” she said to the bartender, and pulled me away as soon as I’d set my glass on the bar top. This door spat us out into the center of a long hallway, facing a seemingly endless bank of doors. She didn’t have to say what kind of room was behind those doors. I’d find out soon enough.
We didn’t go into the rooms. I followed her to the end of the hall and up a set of stairs. I could hear female voices coming from the room on the right, but she went left.
Into Joseph’s office. He was seated behind a desk in a black suit and black shirt without a tie, a row of darkened video monitors behind him. The contract had detailed that the sessions were videotaped strictly for security purposes. Payton had reassured me it wouldn’t wind up on the Internet.
I wasn’t that concerned about it. A grainy black-and-white video of a woman with a blindfold on would be tough to identify. Plus this club made serious money, why would they jeopardize their operation for a few extra dollars selling amateur porn?
“Evening, ladies,” Joseph said, rising from his seat. “You both look lovely.”
“Thanks,” Payton said. I struggled to find words and just nodded. I was more nervous now fully clothed than I’d been when I was naked before him.
“Do you have the contract, Evelyn?” he asked.
My trembling hand dug it out of my purse. The paper crinkled when I handed it over, but then I couldn’t release it.
“I need a pen,” I blurted out.
Payton looked at me, startled. “I thought you signed it already.”