by Cynthia Dane
“I don’t think neither Dr. Christens nor Mr. Bolivar think of you as ‘winnings,’ Judith.”
She slapped her hand against the back of the couch. Monica did not flinch. “What are you talking about? Of course they do. They’re men, and they think with their dicks. If there’s one thing this business has taught me, it’s that I will be a body first and foremost. That’s fine. I’ve got it, so I’ll freely use it if I want! If some European playboy wants to throw a fifth of a mil to fuck me whenever he desires, wherever he desires, then I’ll damn well let him! Who the fuck are you to get in the way of that?”
They stared each other down. Judith knew she had crossed a line, but her pride prevented her from immediately apologizing. She could be impertinent like that.
She could also be really, really defensive, even if she didn’t know why she felt so compelled to be.
“I’m your boss,” Monica coolly said. “And your friend. Or at least I like to think so.”
“Then shouldn’t you be celebrating with me? My pussy made you bank. You can hire all the extra girls you want now with my cunt going into overdrive milking that man’s cock.”
“I sure can, but is it worth the fallout between you and these men?”
“What are you talking about? Seth will deal with it. He needs me to be his muse before anything else.”
The façade surrounding Monica finally began to wear away. She bit her lip, furrowed her brows, and plainly said, “They’re both in love with you. I don’t mean infatuated with the idea of you and in lust with your body until they find someone new. I mean those two gentlemen are both fantasizing about marrying you.”
“What are you talking about?” Judith flung herself against the couch, the energy transference jostling Monica where she sat. “Miguel is a playboy who fucks anything that turns him on, and Seth is… well, he’s Seth. He’d rather lock himself up in his studio than ever deal with a wife. He saw enough of that shit in his old practice.”
“If you can’t at least see that Dr. Christens wants you more than he wants his own life then you are seriously delusional.”
“Fine.” Back me into a corner, why don’t you? “Whatever you say.”
Monica was quick to fire back, “They’ve both said they love you, haven’t they?”
“What if they have? They’re not the first.”
“Don’t make me say it, Judith.”
“Say what? Go on. I’d love to know what you think. You’re offering your opinions for free anyway.”
Don’t you dare say it…
“You love them both too.”
“You. Are full. Of shit.” Judith stormed across her room. Not that she knew where the fuck she was going. She was trapped in her den of flesh and sin with the one woman who knew her better than anyone else. “I don’t love any man, let alone them. They’re clients. Full stop. My job is to make them think I love them so they pay me more money. See? It works.”
Monica slowly folded up her paper, head bent down. “Starting today,” she said, “You are to service no men but Dr. Christens and Mr. Bolivar.”
The room turned so still that Judith thought she had died.
“What?”
“You heard me.” Monica’s voice remained soft even after Judith’s outburst. “Until the wedding. At the wedding, I will inform Mr. Bolivar of his good fortune, if that is what you want.”
“Of course it’s what I want.” Judith couldn’t let go of the other thing. “I want the man with the most money.” A lump formed in her throat. What was wrong with her? Was she getting emotional over this shit? “No clients for two weeks? Am I on some sort of probation?” She turned toward Monica again. “Don’t you know I need the money?” Her parents’ collective debt wasn’t going to pay for itself.
“I said no services. That doesn’t mean no clients. You can still entertain. Just no sex of any kind.”
“Why?”
“Because you need to distance yourself from this job!”
When the woman finally snapped, she damn well snapped. That baby has no idea what it’s in for. Even Judith shuddered, feeling like a puppy crawling into the corner with its tail tucked between its legs. “I don’t understand. Why are you punishing me? Didn’t I do a good job? This is what we both wanted…”
“It’s what we wanted, but it’s not what we need. The two can conflate sometimes.” Monica forced herself up, hands bracing against the back of the couch as she steadied herself. One hand darted to her stomach. “You have been presented with an amicable opportunity. These men could change your life, in more ways than one! I would be so stupid to simply take the money and not point out that this could be so good for you personally.”
“I…”
“For fuck’s sake, Judith, you’re over thirty years old!” Monica’s knuckles turned white against the couch. Was she sweating? Was she even okay? Oh my God. Don’t you dare have a fucking baby on me! “Do you think you can keep doing this forever?”
Judith wiped tears away from her cheeks. Stop fucking crying, dumbass. “Plenty of lesser women do this until they’re too old to screw in a light bulb, let alone some man’s dick. At the least, they can be Dommes. Men love that shit. Besides…” Judith snorted. “You know I want to be where you are someday.”
“Yes. Plus, you won’t make it far in this business if you don’t understand the body and the heart. I wasn’t married when I opened this place, but I had been in love for a long time. I knew what it’s like. Now I’m happily married, having the most ungrateful baby to ever gestate, and I wouldn’t change any of it if you handed me a billion dollars of my own money and said I wouldn’t have to work another day of my life. I love this job as much as you do. I also know that if you keep going on the path you’re on, it will eat you alive from the inside. Maybe you don’t mind the physical stuff, but one day you’ll wake up at forty-five, fifty-five, sixty-five and wonder what’s missing from your life.”
“What are you trying to say? That I should throw away my career for one of these men?”
“I’m not telling you to do anything but think. You’ll still make plenty of money until the wedding. I need you at next weekend’s bachelor party, after all.”
“Yeah, you’re a bitch. There are going to be two dozen of the richest bastards in the world at that party, and you expect me to not work any of them?”
“I’m not the bitch here. Perspective is.” Monica shook her head. “You think I didn’t know about all the freebies you gave Seth?” Whoa, did she call him by his first name? “Or all those heart-to-hearts you had with Miguel? You love those men as much as they love you. Again, I’m not telling you to do anything other than have a good long think about what your long-term plans are. You’re right when you say that your biggest asset is your body in this business, but you’re going to get older. Your beauty will fade and your skills won’t be able to make up for it. You might have another decade in this gig if you stay right where you are. You think any of these other girls are going to be here this long? They’ll fly this coop as soon as they’ve made their small fortunes or decide to get married and retire from this life. You’re the only one here who has made it their life. That’s not a bad thing, Judith, but… you need to be realistic about it. You have the brains and personality to take over this place one day or run your own location. I respect you as an employee and love you as a friend. Please, think on it. You can make whatever decision you want, but give it two weeks.”
“Two weeks of not making any money…”
“If it bothers you that much, you can double your commission until then. There. Does that make up for it?”
They both knew it wasn’t about the money. It was about the power yanked from Judith’s grasp. No limitation had been put on her like this before… her brain told her it was ridiculous, fucked up, and so totally not fair.
Her heart heaved a sigh of relief.
***
“Don’t look over at the camera,” Judith said, standing between Miguel on her bed and the s
ecurity camera in the corner behind her. “It can’t see our mouths moving. I’m taking every precaution.”
“Dare I ask?”
He had waltzed in here both frustrated and high on alcohol. The fun kind, at least. Whatever was bothering him, Miguel was ready to let loose with his beloved and have some old-fashioned fun. In a minute. Goodness knew Judith needed it too.
“I want you to tell me your personal phone number. Don’t worry. I’ll remember it.”
“What? That’s against the rules.”
“That’s why you need to keep it secret. I’m not supposed to be able to contact you without Monica’s help. It’s supposed to protect me while making sure you understand our boundaries. Those boundaries apparently no longer exist. Give me your number. Now.”
“What are you going to do with it?”
She turned up the charm, grazing her hip against his chest. “What do you think I’m going to do with it? I’m going to call you at all sorts of hours.” Her fingers danced on his shoulder. “I’m going to make you stroke your cock to my voice, and then some.”
Eventually, she got his number out of him. The next time she saw Seth on Sunday, she extracted the same exact information from him.
She had money to keep making, after all. And some thinking to do… apparently.
Chapter 30
SETH
Seth hated not knowing whether he won the silent auction or not, but he had plenty to distract him. Like finishing up his final collection for Joy’s approval and then shipping it up to New York for the gallery opening. He received his itinerary and forwarded it to Monica, who forwarded it to Judith. Dinners, brunches, press junkets, interviews with his beautiful model… Judith would have more of the spotlight than Seth, and that suited him fine. She was the star of both his literal show and his figurative one.
He also had her nightly phone calls to look forward to.
He was surprised when she asked him for his number. He was pretty sure that was verboten at the Château… and that thought was confirmed when Judith told him to keep the exchange to himself. He was not allowed to contact her, aside from the usual ways, but she called him almost every night, sometimes at a reasonable time, and sometimes after midnight, when he was locked away in his studio or settling down to bed. The echo and splashes of water told him that she was in her bathroom every time. Probably to avoid detection.
At first he thought these calls were supposed to be erotic in nature. Sometimes they were, with Judith begging him to talk dirty to her… or she would start by talking dirty to him. “I’ve been thinking a lot about you. I wish you could touch me. Not with your cock, but with your fingers and lips. I want to feel you all around me again. Why do you only come up twice a week?”
Most of the time she simply wanted to talk. About herself. About him. Could he tell her more about his favorite artists and why he liked them so much? What were some of the silliest stories from his practice? Was med school really that bad? Which was worse: organic chemistry or being without her for days at a time?
For the first time ever, she was free with everything about herself as well. She was frank about her father’s death and what it had done to her family financially. Her mother’s illegal activities to pay off her late husband’s death and how it led her to prison for way longer than she should be incarcerated. How one of the reasons Judith found her work so alluring was because she was the master of her own business while still controlling her beautiful body.
“People always assume that because my father died and my mom’s in jail I became some kind of prostitute. That’s such bullshit,” she said one night, her bathwater splashing with extra vigor. “Don’t they know that we come from all walks of life? That we do this for different reasons, and have different goals? We’re human like any other woman. You think I’m a normal girl, right?” Of course he did. Why would he think otherwise? So she had an unconventional life and they had an even more unconventional relationship… life was quirky and strange and wonderful. “I’m tired of those hurtful stereotypes. Why can’t I do this because I like it and am good at it? Isn’t that what we’re told to do? Find a career we love and make money off it?” He couldn’t argue with that.
There was an underlying… issue to everything she talked about. When they met for their usual sessions, she was somewhat aloof until they wound up in her bed – or against a wall out in the backyard. It was as if something plagued his dearest Judith and he was open to every aspect of her life but that one. The one thing he most wanted to experience. What’s wrong, my love? Can I do anything to make it better? Probably not. She was still a mystery in many ways.
“I wish you were going to the wedding with me,” he said the night before the big day. “I know you have other obligations with…”
“I’ll see you there anyway. Don’t worry. What, you think I’ll give you the cold shoulder because I’m with him? I’m not that merciless. Besides, I want to keep you happy too, right?” She laughed. “You have to promise to not get jealous, though. He and I look good together.”
That was the worst thing she could say, and now Seth seriously thought about not going at all. Then I won’t get to see her Sunday, so… He would go, for a glimpse of her and maybe a kiss. Fuck, I really am a total fool in love. Seth wasn’t sure what he thought of that.
Nothing good, right now.
***
Seth’s relationship with weddings was a mixture of curiosity and impartiality. There was a lot of artistic value in a nicely thrown wedding, as often seen at the ones he had to attend to stay in good social standing, but at the same time… weddings.
“I’m not drunk enough for this yet.” Seth sat next to his friend in the audience, gathered that day in a big, beautiful garden behind Ethan Cole’s petite mansion in the Hills. How hundreds of guests had managed to be crowded together in this otherwise tiny venue remained a mystery to everyone but the wedding planner, a conspicuous woman in black and a microphone wrapped around her head. “Have any bottles of tequila in your pocket?”
Zack patted his friend on the shoulder. “You missed the open bar. Told you to go check it out… but you refused.”
Seth saw the definition of an open bar in the room cordoned off for guests who arrived early and couldn’t yet be seated. Champagne, wine, and sparkling cider were all offered, but none of those things were strong enough to help Seth deal with a wedding.
A wedding where the love of his life showed up on the arm of another man.
Judith and Miguel were fashionably late to the wedding of a man neither knew well. Miguel looked his usual handsome, devil-may-care European self in a suit, but it was Judith who made Seth nearly lose his mind.
Her bright red dress hugged her hips… and a lot of other things too. A thick collar turned into a sporty keyhole halter that framed her breasts and wrapped tightly around her abdomen. In the middle of the keyhole was a flurry of stuck-on rubies that made her light skin twinkle with every slight turn. It was sexual without vulgarity. Beautiful. Flirty. Tasteful. 1000% Judith and tailored to her voluptuous body. Her hair was let loose in strawberry blond waves that fell on top of her shoulders and down her back. The way she clung to Miguel’s arm so she could walk in red stilettos was soft and demure.
It was killing Seth.
Their eyes caught for a brief second as they meandered down the walkway in search of a suitable place to sit. She sat on the end, flashing Seth a warm smile before turning her attention to the person who said hello in front of her.
“Stop looking at her,” Zack said. “You’re supposed to pay attention to the bride, not your mistress.”
Good thing those two were sitting a couple of rows back. It made it easier for Seth to stare ahead and occasionally pretend that Zack had something interesting to say. (He never did.)
Guests continued to file in one, two at a time until every seat in the audience was taken and some had to find places to stand before the ushers brought in extra chairs. The procession was not like most weddings. W
hile a live four-man orchestra played music on the ground, a catwalk had been built surrounding the garden. The bride and her party would not be walking through the crowds today. Instead, Ethan Cole’s bride appeared on a balcony overhead, arms laced with a khaki-casual man who looked like her father. They traced the circumference of the garden up on the catwalk, her flowing skirt trailing behind her until she stood right above Seth. This is crazy even for a man like Ethan Cole. He was one of the richest men in the area. If his bride wanted to float on the air, she damn well would.
The whole ceremony took place on another balcony, microphones projecting the vows. Seth glanced over his shoulder and saw Judith rubbing the length of Miguel’s leg. Yes, the wedding was much more interesting today.
The happy couple were pronounced and retreated into the house as husband and wife. The crowd, whom had stood to clap and offer whistles of congratulations, took cues from the ushers to see themselves out and toward the many shuttles waiting to whisk them away to the reception.
“I said stop looking at them,” Zack chastised, catching his friend in the act again. “You’re going to make yourself sick. Come on. Let’s go to the reception. I’m sure you can get plenty of booze there.”
Seth followed Zack to his car in the front driveway. Other cars were pulling out while other guests opted to the take the shuttle and leave their cars in this high-security lot.
“Remember, I have to drive us home.” Zack followed a stretch limo down the driveway. “So you need to drink for the both of us.”
Chapter 31
MIGUEL
Nobody was more beautiful at the wedding than Judith. Not even the bride could compare to the gorgeous charms of the nation’s most charming woman. Everywhere they went, and with everyone they met, Judith reclaimed the title by sweet talking and flirting. I can barely keep my hands off her. He did, out of propriety, but it wasn’t easy. Judith had kept her hand on his leg for the entire ceremony, and now Miguel felt liable to rip off that dress and have her before the happy newlyweds could go off to consummate their marriage.
