AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I’m just going into a meeting. I won’t be able to text.” He was quiet. “Don’t worry about tonight. I’m going purely out of obligation, but it will be a late one.”
She frowned. “What’s going on?” Cold fingers of dread began to run through her. “Are you… I mean… are you afraid I might embarrass you?”
“Of course not,” he responded sharply.
“I used to go to parties like that for a living, you know.”
He let out an exasperated hiss. “Yes, I do know, Jane, and so might any of the other guests in attendance.”
She didn’t say anything. Her chest felt like an elephant had sat down on it.
His next words held a tone of apology. “I don’t mean to seem insensitive, but it’s very possible you’ve been employed by at least one of the guests who will be there. These are mostly male television executives. Just the kind of client you would have serviced.”
She gripped the edge of her chair. “You make it sound so dirty. How do you do that?”
“It’s not… I don’t mean that. I just think it would draw unwanted attention to us.”
“So you are embarrassed by me. By this.
” She nodded. It answered a secret question she’d had for weeks. All that time they spent together was in his apartment. No dinners out. No drinks. Just hiding out. With the exception of Karina, their relationship had flown completely under the radar.
“I’m not easily embarrassed, Jane.”
She squeezed her eyes shut, but it did nothing to assuage the pain. “I have to go.”
“Jane,” he spoke firmly, in a way that stalled her from disconnecting the call. “Our deal stands. Tomorrow night, I expect you to be at my place.”
“Screw you.” She hung up, her eyes burning with tears. She made a guttural sound of annoyance and threw her phone down on the sofa. He had an incredible talent for making her feel ashamed of what was a perfectly legitimate job.
She neatened the sofa cushions and tidied the lounge, then moved onto her bedroom. She did every chore she could think of to keep busy. Washing, grocery shopping, cooking. In the late afternoon, she logged onto her internet banking to pay some bills and froze when she saw the amount in her account. She’d been too busy to check up, but evidently, Carter had transferred money to her. More than she’d specified. More than she wanted.
She glared at the screen, anger bubbling through her. He thought he owned her, and the problem was that he kind of did. She’d agreed to this arrangement, and she’d taken his money. And now, she forced herself to admit, she’d gone and fallen in love with him.
She dropped her head to her hands and let out a wail. It was the worst. She had vowed to keep her emotions separate, and instead, she’d gone and fallen head over heels for a man who was ashamed to be seen in public with her.
Anita returned from school, and for several hours, Jane was able to keep up a façade of normality. But as soon as her younger sister had gone to bed, she fixed Jenna with a desperate stare. “We need wine.”
Jenna looked at her, surprised. “What’s happened? Why are you here? Why do you need wine? What’s going on?”
Jane padded into the kitchen and pulled a merlot from above the fridge. She poured it into two coffee cups and handed one to Jenna. The one with a chipped rim, she kept for herself.
“Carter had some party to go to tonight. He didn’t want me to go with him. He thinks I might have ‘been with’ one of the men there.”
“Who? Which one?”
“Not any specific one. Apparently he thinks I’ve hooked up with half of New York. And because he also apparently thinks I’m secretly a hooker, he’s convinced I’ve had sex with all of them. That would have been awkward for him, so he’s benched me for the night.” Hysteria threatened to bubble from her. “But that’s okay. Because he’ll probably find someone else to fixate on tonight.” She took a big gulp of wine and sobbed at the same time.
“Oh, Janey.” Jenna came around the kitchen bench and put her arms around her friend’s waist. “Come on. It’s not that bad.”
“It’s a mess.” She sobbed against her friend’s shoulder. “I think I’ve done something really stupid.”
“What?”
“I think I might love him.” She closed her eyes. “I know, I promised I wouldn’t get serious. But I couldn’t help it. I was in way over my head.”
“Janey, Janey, Janey. You have to stop seeing him. This is going to ruin you. Trust me, as bad as it feels now, it’s going to feel worse if you keep going on like this.”
“I know.” She bit down on her lip and stepped back. “I know you’re right. I can’t believe I thought there was a way this might work out.”
