I remembered him specifically, because he’d said disturbing things. Comments that for the only time made me contemplate whether or not I wanted to continue as an escort. The memory was as clear as if it were yesterday, even though it had been last year.
I also remembered he’d wanted a threesome, and I was pretty sure it had more to do with watching his friend than it had to do with me. But I wasn’t one to judge. I had been the one getting paid after all.
He looked me up and down, first starting with my breasts, then lower. When he finally looked at my face, it took him a moment, but there was no mistaking when he recognized me.
Something sinister washed over his face and it sent a chill racing up my spine, numbing me. And I couldn’t afford to be numb, not right now. I couldn’t afford to be off my game, because this guy thrived on control. On power. That much I knew.
This was the moment I had feared. The moment that I knew would eventually come, but I hadn’t expected it to be so soon or so close. And of all men, it had to be this one. The one who’d churned my stomach.
“Grace…” My name came out of his mouth, slithering over my body. “It’s nice to meet you.” He held out his hand, and I wanted to puke at the thought of him touching me, but I had appearances to maintain.
If I remained numb for any longer people would notice. Marta would notice. So I took a deep breath and got my head in the game. I reached out, only because I had to, and I couldn’t help the chill that skittered up my arm as soon as my hand touched his. Like the ice cold soul he carried around with him had somehow penetrated my body.
“It…it’s nice to meet you…too, Scott.”
I’d never gotten his name when he had been a client. It wasn’t really necessary to know it, considering I’d just been paid to screw him and his friends. I chanced a look at Marta and I wished I hadn’t. She looked on, curiosity and confusion staring back at me as she witnessed our awkward encounter.
“It’ll be great to have you around the office, Grace.”
The sound of my name on his lips made me want to hurl. Good thing I wasn’t into eating breakfast or my disgust would have greeted him as a mess on his shoes.
“I am overwhelmed by the beauty in this room.”
Just like the snake he was, he slithered out of the kitchenette, a smug look on his face that I’d never be able to get out of my head. Funny how Marta had used the perfect adjective to describe him, because there was something inherently creepy about him.
I’d been with probably hundreds of strangers, some kind, some angry, some rough, but only one had ever made me feel unsafe and like I had zero control over what was going on. I had every inkling that he’d had a box of Barbie dolls without their heads underneath his bed as a child. If not Barbies then small, dead animals that he’d killed with nothing more than a magnifying glass and the glare of the sun.
At his exit, Marta rushed me, jabbering words I couldn’t comprehend. I smiled and nodded like a good girl, all the while willing away the shudder that wanted to take over my body.
I left the office that night with my head spinning in circles. I made my way to the animal shelter. Somehow I managed to have a conversation with Alexandra, the owner of the rescue organization. As she got the newest member of my brood ready, she told me his story. Apparently, he’d been brought in by a young couple who had found him shivering and hungry on their doorstep. They knew he belonged to the old lady down the street, who a week earlier had been wheeled out in a body bag by paramedics. Like the old lady, the cat’s name was unknown. He was approachable, but standoffish. Who wouldn’t be if you’d been left all alone by the only person who had loved you? I definitely knew how the cat felt. My parents had left me high and dry, and if it hadn’t been for Everly and her grandmother, I would have ended up all alone.
Alexandra squeezed Mr. No Name into my cat carrier. He was huge, thick, and furry. The complete opposite of the scraggly little ones I already had waiting for me at home. I reached my hand inside the carrier, but he shied away.
“Come on, big guy.” I was patient and waited for him to make the first move. He nuzzled my hand in a moment of weakness then made his way back to the end of the carrier. “It’s okay. You’ll like me eventually. You have no choice.”
As we made our way home, it was impossible not to focus on the scene that had happened earlier that morning.
I had been recognized.
Taking this job had been a deviation of my original plan, and it was coming back to bite me in the ass. I couldn’t risk anyone else drawing unnecessary conclusions. I had to be extra vigilant in my actions, making sure that everything I did was squeaky clean. But that presented a problem. Not only because I lived with an escort, but because there was a six-foot-two-wall-of-hot problem I had somehow managed to fool around with. Again. Against my better judgment.
That blow job in the change room had been intense, and once again he’d had me begging, admitting things I never wanted to say out loud. But his voice was damn near irresistible and I’d let him direct me all night long if it meant I got to hear the rough grumble against my ear.
Ben had me wanting to be a bad girl, and I was trying to leave that girl behind. Unfortunately, I’d made him a promise. One he’d reluctantly accepted. I had the sinking feeling that he wasn’t used to people helping him. That he wasn’t used to people stepping up and being there for him. But I was going to have to back away. I’d give him a few more pointers, but as soon as we finished up the swag tonight, I was done. We’d be back to having mutual acquaintances and only seeing each other at social functions.
Ben Lockwood was everything I didn’t want in my life. And I was going to have to distance myself if I had any hope of finding my happily ever after.
Chapter 10
Ben
Grace seemed to be uneasy tonight, and I wasn’t sure why. With the number of times she’d checked her phone while we worked the swag bags, I couldn’t help but feel that once again, she had somewhere better to be.
We were back in the casting room, standing on opposites sides of the long boardroom table as if both of us were trying to keep our distance. The couch on the long wall behind Grace held our finished products. Although we’d been at it for an hour, it didn’t look as if we were making any progress.
We weren’t even halfway to our goal of five hundred bags. Partly because we were only two people, but also because most of the time we’d spent together had more to do with playing around instead of helping our best friends.
“You all right?” I opened up a new black bag and sat it down, reaching for a bundle of gift cards.