Worthy: Cassius and Faith

9. Agreements

The girl,Faith, was sitting in the Madam’s office, tears in her eyes.

“I asked you a question,” I reminded her sternly.

She looked at me miserably. “I wanted to ask you for a favor, Sir.”

I turned to the Madam. “Is there some sort of problem?”

“Not at all, Sir,” Gina said quickly. “We were just discussing the final agreement.”

My gaze flicked back to Faith. “Come with me,” I instructed.

“Yes, Sir.” Faith rose stiffly to her feet.

I hadn’t inspected her figure earlier, but it was lovely and ripe, curved in all the right places. I felt my cock stir again. Down, boy.

“Bring your phone. And the agreement,” I added.

I stalked down the hall to one of the other administrative offices, which was empty. “Sit,” I ordered, motioning to the chair across from the desk.

I locked the door behind us.

Faith glanced at me nervously, but then she seemed to gather her courage. She stared straight ahead, clutching her phone.

“What seems to be the problem, Faith?”

“It’s not a problem—not exactly,” she said haltingly, still staring straight ahead. “It’s this agreement.”

“Eyes on me,” I commanded coldly.

“Oh! I’m sorry.” She looked at me wildly, then took a deep breath. “I’m sorry, Sir.”

“That’s better.” I took the seat behind the desk, satisfied as she kept her gaze locked to mine. As I’d assessed earlier, Faith was a quick learner. But I was disappointed that she was already crying in the Madam’s office and asking for special favors. That behavior spelled d-r-a-m-a, and neither I nor the club had use for that.

“What’s your issue with the agreement?” I asked. “It’s standard operating procedure for a private club. Employees aren’t allowed access to personal cellular devices except during designated times. We have to protect our members’ privacy, and we need all employees focused on providing an immersive experience.”

“I understand that, Sir.” Her wide blue eyes stayed trained on me. “And I wouldn’t have a problem with it, but I have a younger brother. He’s fourteen.”

“Everyone has someone, Faith,” I said coolly.

“I know—of course.” She took a deep, shaky breath. “And I’m not trying to be difficult or ask for special treatment. Except, I guess I am. My brother’s really sick. He almost died last year. He’s living at a cancer center, and I usually check in on him several times a day.”

I hesitated for a moment. I hadn’t expected that. “Can’t your parents check on him?”

“No, Sir. I don’t know where our father is—we’re not in touch—and my mother isn’t involved. It’s just Lucas and me.” Her eyes filled with tears.

“Are you his legal guardian?” I asked.

She shook her head. “I don’t know how to do that. I thought I needed a lawyer, and it would be too expensive. But I’m over eighteen, so he designated me as his emergency contact—that’s how I got him in the treatment program. Sir.”

“I’m sorry to hear about your brother. And I understand you’re in a difficult position.” I dropped the tone of disapproval from my voice because I did understand—more than she knew.

“He thinks I left town because I’m nannying for a rich family. He won’t understand why I can’t call him,” Faith said, her voice hoarse. “I’ve always been the one to take care of him. He doesn’t have anybody else, Sir.”

Fuck. This girl. How could I not feel sorry for her?

But I had to be the boss. I had to adhere to the rules—my rules.

“Unfortunately, we cannot issue any special exceptions or exhibit preferential treatment to our employees,” I said.

Faith kept her eyes on me. She blinked back her tears and nodded in acknowledgment.

“If I let you keep your phone, it’s not fair to the other girls,” I continued. “Like I said, everyone has someone. If you can’t follow the rules, you are, of course, free to leave. Per your contract, you’ll have to return two-thirds of the signing bonus.”

An uneasy silence descended over the room as Faith weighed her options. I realized I was holding my breath. I didn’t want her to leave, but I had a duty to maintain the integrity of the rules.

“I understand, Sir.” Her slender throat worked as she swallowed hard. She raised her chin. “I don’t want to do anything to jeopardize my job. It’s how I’m paying for Lucas’s treatment. I need this—I’m doing it for him.”

“I respect that, Faith.” And I did.

She picked up a pen from the desk and signed the agreement. She placed her phone on the paper and slid it across the desk.

“Will that be all, Sir?” she asked, her voice now void of emotion.

“Yes, for now. Please see yourself out.”

I watched as she rose, her long, elegant legs carrying her away from me as fast as she could.

Fuck, I thought again. This girl.

Later that afternoon,I sat alone in my house, gazing out at the vast, lush grounds. The club opened tomorrow. Everything was in place. I was excited to share my vision with our patrons, to watch them be dazzled by the property, the beautiful girls, and the decadence of the club. But my thoughts kept veering from my accomplishment and the club’s grand opening.

Instead, I kept thinking about Faith. Over and over, our conversation replayed in my head. Our meeting had disturbed me.

Every time I thought about the girl, my dick got hard. That could be taken care of—and would be, promptly. I’d decided that tomorrow night, I would pay ten million dollars to bury myself in her. I would take Faith’s virginity and be done with it. My attraction to her could be controlled. It could be sated. And this could be accomplished within the confines of the contract my legal team had drafted, just to my liking.

No, my attraction to her wasn’t what troubled me.

It was her story and my reaction to it.

Faith was alone and caring for her younger, ill sibling. She had the weight of the world on her shoulders. She was too young and inexperienced for a role like that, but she’d taken on the responsibility. She’d come to work at the club, and agreed to sell her virginity, for her brother’s sake.

Her story resonated with me. Not that I’d ever been a sex worker—of course not. But from a young age, I’d had the responsibility of being the head of the family. My parents died when I was eighteen. Rhodes and Sterling had still been in school. I’d put my own life to the side to care for them, taking over the helm of Blackwood Enterprises while making sure my younger brothers didn’t flunk out of school or go down a dark path.

It had been difficult. In many ways, it still was. I didn’t ever want to let my brothers down—I was all they had. So when Faith described her brother’s dependence on her, it hit home. I had empathy for her.

I wasn’t sure if empathy was an emotion, but it was certainly a feeling. And I didn’t have any room in my life for one of those.

Gina called me, breaking my reverie. We discussed several items, including the setup of the dungeon area and the schedule for the club employees the following day. “One more thing,” she said before we hung up. “Did you let Faith keep her phone?”

“No, I didn’t.” I pulled the phone from my pocket, running my fingers along the cracked case. “She signed the agreement and turned it in. I’ll get it to you eventually.”

I hung up before she could ask more.

Then I held tight to Faith’s phone—which, for some reason, I’d kept in my pocket all day—and willed time to pass more quickly.

Tomorrow night, I would take my virgin.

And I would get Faith out of my head once and for all.