Pleasure Extraordinaire 3 (PURSUIT)

by Liv Bennett

  Not to mention how much I love working on this project as it was the reason to give up on the warm space on the bed beside Ace and expose myself to L.A.’s morning chill to come to work. I was created to crunch numbers and give meaning to them. Why can’t I just enjoy working hard on computations, making graphs, and drafting reports but instead have to dedicate my attention to intrigues and mysteries?

  As if it’s ordered from Michael himself, the other employees seem to be all focused and meticulous about the project today, much to my relief. And, I wind up completing my part by lunchtime. With the plan to devote my afternoon to the rest of the project in my mind, I collect my purse and jacket and head out for a quick lunch.

  Edrick, however, has other plans for my afternoon, and my lunch break for that matter, and hauls me out for shopping for dresses and evening gowns I should be wearing for the weekend. After the shopping, he drives me to Pleasure Extraordinaire, per Michael’s order, to check if the preparations taking place there are glamorous and elegant enough to honor Michael’s guests. In other words, if the call girls are sexy and willing and if the alcohol is abundant.

  Ace and I avoid showing any affection to each other in Edrick’s presence, although I’m sure he’s aware of our relationship.

  Ace usually has only two other girls besides Laila in Pleasure Extraordinaire for clients who enjoy a company of a girl or just want to try it. However, for the party, he hired twenty new girls from a high-class agency that caters to men.

  I wasn’t aware that many girls would be called for or if they’ll all get a chance to show their talents, considering the small size of the group who’ll attend the party. A part of me whispers to myself that it’s an attempt on Ace’s part to divert attention from me to the new girls, but I can’t help feeling protective about them. They are very young to begin with, their ages ranging between eighteen and twenty-one and they must be in this business for reasons other than simply enjoying serving perverted men’s sexual desires. Money must be the main reason, or perhaps they’re forced into it.

  Ace looks cold and distant too as he walks Edrick and me through the suites where the party will be held and the guests who will accommodate in. All this preparation and money spent must mean something in Michael’s book. Also, my presence beside him as his girlfriend.

  Edrick picks out the dress I should wear at the welcome reception. It’s a vine-red, knee-length dress with long sleeves. More on the conservative side than I’d have imagined. Though I’m not complaining about the choice of my dress, the outfits Edrick hands the girls to put on are outrageous. All two-piece, transparent lingerie that will leave nothing to the imagination.

  JJ, Nick, and two other male escorts I haven’t met before are expected to join the reception, but only as a partner to the girls in a dance show. I assume there won’t be any ladies among Michael’s guests, but I faintly remember the wife of the Minister of Internal Affairs will accompany her husband for the trip. Goes to show how much the Minister cares about his wife’s entertainment.

  When Edrick deems everything is set for the weekend, he advises me to get at least nine hours of sleep in case the reception tomorrow night lasts till dusk. It sounds more like an order though, but I’m happy to oblige orders that are for my own good.

  Ace sends one of the young boys to escort Edrick out and closes his office door behind him, leaning against it. He looks helpless like an animal doing the walk of death to the slaughterhouse.

  “I don’t want those girls being abused by Michael’s people,” I say and slip my arms around his waist, resting my head on his chest.

  “Neither do I. I hope it won’t come to that, but it’s probably wishful thinking.” He digs his nose into my hair and sniffs deeply.

  I feel physical pain at the thought of the girls, especially Clarice, one of the two virgins on the girls’ team, being forced to comply with a bunch of pigs’ sexual desires. She claims to be twenty, but the innocence on her face and the fear in her eyes tell me she can’t be older than sixteen, maximum seventeen. Jesus, how did she end up working as an escort? Since she’s also the prettiest among the girls, I have no doubt she’ll be requested as the first. I would seriously prefer having all the guests perform anal sex on me than having Clarice go through the terror of her life by losing her virginity in a demeaning and painful way.

  The girls, Chloe, Ace’s business, me… So much is at stake for a handful of greedy perverts. The next days will make or break us all.

  The Evening

  I spend Friday night at Taylor’s home. We order take-out food and watch the last episodes of Frat House, feeling grateful to the producers for coming up with such a great show that can pull out laugh after laugh from me during one of the grimmest times of my life. When I pop the news to Taylor about the possibility of the show being canceled, she groans loudly as if in pain, while Adam voices his full agreement with the decision. It’s beyond my grasp how someone can’t enjoy the story of four hunky college guys running after sexy co-eds for one-night stands. Oh, wait. Now I see how.

  On Saturday morning, I wake before dawn and stay in the bed Taylor assigned to me, contemplating the hours ahead. Finally, I decide I can’t control whatever will happen to me but what I do with it is all up to me. I can choose to allow the horrible events to drag me down or accept them as part of life and be grateful for not facing challenges worse than this.

  It’s not like Taylor is fighting against cancer and living her final days—now that has the power to change me fully for the worst, but not a bunch of sex-crazed men. There are families who lose their fathers to war or parents who bury their dead babies. Taylor and Adam have been yearning to have children for so long and lost their baby during stillbirth. However, they didn’t let it destroy their lives but came out of it stronger than ever. What’s being forced to have sex with a few men in comparison to that kind of pain? I’ll be doing it to protect someone.

  And besides, why should I give any man more importance than he deserves? If I let those filthy men hurt me, I’ll be doing exactly that. If anything, they should worry that the events upcoming might be used against them. If not today, very likely in the future.

  With that conviction, I get up, start my day with a long, hot shower, and have a light breakfast with Taylor and Adam.

  As the hours pass, however, I can’t help the fear creeping back into my heart. Each time I feel like I’ll faint with anxiety, I repeat to myself that this will soon pass.

  I change into the vine-red gown Edrick chose for me, but ignore the Louboutins and go for my humble but comfortable flats when I remember reading about the quality of shoes being one of the most important determining factors for several concentration camp survivors. I’ll not have even a tenth of the difficulties those people had to face in the hands of Nazis, but there’s no disadvantage to putting on a pair of comfortable shoes in case things get heated up, and I might need my fight or flight instincts to survive.

  At five p.m., Ace receives a text from Edrick about the guests’ upcoming arrival in fifteen minutes. Ace hurries to take a last-minute assessment of the suite the reception party will be held in while I walk to the entrance with the girls, Nick, and JJ.

  My heart is beating so hard while waiting for the door to be opened I can feel the drumming in my mouth. I don’t know if JJ has the slightest idea about what is awaiting me, but he gives me warm, encouraging smiles each time our eyes meet. Laila is standing by him, both across from me, and I can tell by her hand fidgeting that she doesn’t feel comfortable either. The girls are wearing the silk red robes Edrick picked up for them together with several-inches-high heels.

  Ace finally shows up and opens the front door. We watch two stretch limousines and three black SUVs park in the garden. First the bodyguards in the SUVs leave, and as soon as they’re done scanning the surroundings, one hurries to open the door of one of the limousines. A blonde woman, possibly in her early forties, gets out first, glancing around behind her sunglasses. She heads directly for the stai
rs without caring about the people back in the limousine or the bodyguards. Her tall, delicate figure beneath her army-green skirt suit moves fluently with each step, fearless as if she’s going to her own house.

  A man, also tall but with light-brown hair, catches my attention. He climbs out of the limousine like a celebrity, straightens his black jacket, and takes his time while talking to the bodyguard who opened to the door.

  Michael is the next one to leave the limousine. I draw in a sharp breath at the sight of him, re-living the last minutes in his office as if they happened just now. His face is all friendly smiles as he listens to the bodyguard talk with the other man, then points toward the front door with his hand so both men move up the stairs. Two other men follow them, but I can’t tell if they’re bodyguards or part of the guest group.

  I’m momentarily distracted by Ace as he welcomes the blonde woman, shaking her hand, guiding her inside. When Michael arrives, he heads directly toward me. I have no idea how he expects me to behave in front of his guests. Shall I kiss him on the lips like the two lovers that we’re posing to be or just give him a quick hug? He stares at me blankly as opposed to my gaze that’s full of questions.

  Where’s Chloe? Did you hurt her? Will you let her go tonight? Will you set me free?

  He leans down, kisses my cheek quickly, and takes my hand in his while he introduces each of the guests. I work very hard not to yank his hand away from mine and find the solution in concentrating on the new faces.

  Demyan and Devora Vasilyev; the Minister of Interior Affairs and his wife. The two men who arrived last are the minister’s two brothers, Vas and Pavlo Vasilyev. I can’t make any specific assumption regarding the age of the two brothers, but they can’t be younger than thirty or older than forty-five. Both with dark-brown hair, they wear expensive-looking navy-blue suits as if they’re here for a business meeting or a political discussion, not to flirt around with call girls.

  I don’t miss the appreciative look on Devora’s face despite the glasses covering up her eyes as she shakes hands with Ace. While Demyan Vasilyev only acknowledges Ace, Vas and Pavlo go through the entire two lines to introduce themselves and ask the names of the girls and how they are. I try not to think of their attention as malicious, but the way they’re eyeing some of the girls, especially Vas, gives me shivers.

  Although Michael introduces me to Demyan as his girlfriend, he only nods at me, without caring to utter a word of acknowledgement to me. In normal situations, I’d take his attitude for rude, but now I’m content with being ignored. I hope he continues his uncaring attitude toward me and the girls too.

  Only Devora speaks English without an accent, and I wonder if she lived in the States as a child. She also completely ignores the girls, while even Demyan doesn’t hesitate from taking careful looks at some of them. Not in a jealous wife way, though, but as if we’re invisible.

  With Devora and Ace in the front, Michael, Demyan, and I behind them, we walk to the suite for the reception. Michael’s grip around mine is tight and possessive. I try to take long strides trying to match his speed. Vas and Pavlo have already started their entertainment program on the way to the suite, because they begin laughing and joking with the two of the older girls behind us, while speaking Russian to each other in between.

  I dare take a look back and see Clarice between Laila and JJ, looking pale and worried. If no man touches her and she keeps her innocence intact throughout the weekend, I’ll consider it as a success.

  As soon as we enter the suite, a group of four musicians starts with a romantic tune, and I realize I didn’t pay enough attention to the effort Ace put into the preparations of the party all this time because of my stress. The suite is large enough to host fifty guests easily. The lights are dim, almost orange in tint. A huge oval table with ten chairs around sits close to the door with six additional tables of four spread around the large room for guests who may prefer to have some privacy. Red loveseats and leather armchairs look inviting right before the stage.

  And, the smell. Oh the smell. Ace either discovered the most enticing floral room fragrance or paid someone lots of money to dilute an expensive female perfume, because it smells heavenly fresh and sweet.

  The décor, the music, the smell. Nothing is overwhelming to the senses, everything is in perfect harmony.

  Four girls move toward the stage, shrugging out of their robes on the way to display their flawless bodies beneath their skimpy pieces of clothing, and take their places together with JJ and Nick before the musicians for their dance performance.

  A server hastens to collect their tossed robes from the floor and disappears behind the stage. As if on cue, the rest of the girls start spreading around in different directions at the same time and stroll leisurely, I guess, to lure their clients into some action. With that sickening sight, the magic of the suite comes crashing down in my eyes. No amount of classy décor can take away the cheapness of having girls walk around almost fully naked, up for grabs by the men.

  Michael lets go of my hand and takes his place on one of the red leather armchairs at the center of the sofa set. Demyan, Vas, and Pavlo follow suit and sit in the chairs around him. Ace pulls out cigars for them and signals the servers to bring out the liquor.

  I remain standing still, close to the entrance, not knowing if I should join the men or the girls who are now walking around aimlessly. If Michael wanted me beside him, he’d have made his wish clear, and if he’s not calling me at the moment, then I shouldn’t disturb him.

  As I start to move toward Clarice, who’s watching the dance show with a chaste smile on her face, Devora calls me by my name. “Lindsay, isn’t it? Your name is Lindsay.”

  I spin on my heels abruptly in the direction Devora’s commanding voice is coming from. “Yes, ma’am,” I find myself saying.

  Devora smiles, casually sizing me up. I realize her eyes are light green and beautiful, adding a friendly tone to her otherwise stern face. “Lindsay Doheny. I thought your name was familiar. Now I know why. You’re Taylor Garnett’s sister.”

  “That’s right.” I bite my lip quickly not to spill out another embarrassing ‘ma’am’. “Have you met my sister?” I ask, although the odds of Taylor meeting the wife of a Russian diplomat and not telling me are close to zero.

  “No.” She shakes her head, narrowing her eyes as if contemplating what or how much she should share with me. “But, I have heard a lot about her.”

  “She’s the CEO of Edelman Construction that runs a project Michael has in northern Los Angeles,” I add nonchalantly to prompt her to spill out what she might know about Taylor.

  “I know.”

  “I hear most of the condos are already under contract or already sold.”

  Her smile widens, and her eyes leave mine to find Michael in the group ahead of us. “You don’t need to give me any information about the project. I know every detail about it, perhaps even more than Michael knows.”

  “Oh.”

  She returns her gaze to me, searching my face inquisitively. “Your sister has an admirable career. But what I don’t understand is why you chose to pose as a girlfriend to Michael? Is it the money?”

  Her words have the effect of a cold shower on me. Being compared to my sister in such a bad light when all I was trying to achieve was to set my career straight hurts more than I expected.

  “Yes. I needed money,” I admit without going into details of the miserable job-hunting period I had.

  A waitress offers us champagne. After a few seconds of trying to decide if I have the luxury to allow my mind a little light-headedness, I mirror Devora and take a glass for myself.

  “You poor little thing. You came in for the money, now you can’t get out even if you try,” Devora says in a teasing tone.

  “How do you know?”

  “You should know everything about the person you’re doing business with. That’s rule number one when going into deals worth hundreds of millions of dollars. In your case, if you can manage to
keep your mouth shut, you should be able to save your little ass after the project is over.”

  “Which project are you talking about?” I ask, curious to see if it’s the construction project she’s hinting at.”

  “Oops. Have I said too much? Like I suggested, keep your mouth shut!” She lifts her finger to place it on her lips, motioning for me to keep quiet and then grabs another glass of alcohol.

  Shit. I knew my recruitment had something to do with the construction project. Now I have to find a way to figure out the real connection between the two incidents. I scan around the suite in an attempt to hide my thoughts from Devora and realize Ace is glancing at me while I sip from my drink. His expression is pained yet filled with tenderness and longing, and I wish I could go hug him and steal a lustful kiss from his parted lips.

  “Oh, I see money isn’t the only thing you get out of your arrangement with Michael,” Devora says, catching me off-guard as I stare at Ace. “He’s adorable in every sense. Not pretentious or a narcissist like most American men are, but a thoroughly handsome guy who behaves as if his looks are nothing special to brag about. I almost think he’s Russian. He has that wild masculinity about him that our men have.”

  I tear my gaze away from Ace to look up at Devora and see her grinning devilishly. How could she guess Ace has Russian blood?

  “Is he as good in bed as his looks?” she asks.

  “Just like you suggested a second ago, I’m not allowed to talk about anything regarding Michael, including his family members. I assume you’ll understand, considering the secrecy of your own visit to the States.”

  “Smart girl, but our visit here is no more secret than Michael wants it to be. We don’t care if the FBI finds out why we are here. It’s only Michael and his irrational fears.”

  It reminds me of another irrational fear he has: people finding out about his homosexuality. Looks like that’s not the only thing that’s eating at him. “Does that mean you’re free to share it with me?”

  “Of course it does, but I won’t. Why would I trust an American girl? It’d be as illogical as the Russian government giving up on nuclear weapons or accepting the USA to rule the UN. However, I will tell you this much.” She moves closer to me and leans down, still staring at my face with her devilish smile. “We’re not here for a friendly chat or sightseeing. We’re here to take back what the US took from us: Afghanistan, Ukraine, the entire Russian Empire.”