27. Ariyan
ARIYAN
“As I said to you before, Mr. Sinclair, my dog is not interested in fighting ever again.”
He swore at me over the line before he cleared his throat.
“What would it take to make him interested?”
With my phone in hand, I turned to stare at the art piece hung on my office wall, admiring the way the artist had drawn those splatters of blood gushing out of Holofernes’s slitted throat.
The beauty of this piece was in its rawness.
The unfiltered face of revenge drawn by a female artist, nonetheless.
“Well, Mr. Sinclair. I will leave that for you to decide,” I said, well aware that we were currently in the midst of a bid over El Embriagado fighting in the big boys’ league.
It wasn’t a question of if he’d do it, but for how much he’d do it for.
After all, Mr. Rivas saying he wouldn’t fight for me again was irrelevant, as I knew it was only a matter of time before he’d come running back with his tail between his legs.
A knock on my door told me it was time to finish this call, and so I did, unbothered by Sinclair’s repeated attempts to convince me to let my dog fight in their pits.
His words meant nothing, as all I cared about was money.
He knew it, I knew it, his boss knew it; therefore, they were just wasting all of our time.
“Come in,” I said before one of my men walked into the office.
“We have a bit of trouble, sir.”
“And you couldn’t handle it yourself?”
He shook his head. “It’s the ambassador, sir. He’s asking for you specifically.”
For God’s sake, I hoped to avoid this particular client, but oh well.
“Stay here,” I told the guard before walking out of my office. Per usual, when we held an exclusive party, the halls of this establishment were clear of unwanted guests, or in other words, witnesses.
Needing to endure this nuisance once a month was almost unbearable, but getting inside the elevator, I kept telling myself it was only a matter of time before it would all be over.
All I had to do was make sure the boss and his shadow, Alejandro, didn’t suspect anything while I executed my plan, and I’d be free in no time.
The elevator only had buttons up to the thirteenth floor. To access the fourteenth floor, where the action took place, one had to enter a combination of floor numbers that changed daily and served as a password.
What I love most about you is how officious you are, Ariyan. Nothing goes past you, not even a little country mouse.
I grimaced, remembering his words, before the elevator dinged, and the doors opened.
With red walls and dimmed light, this floor looked nothing like the rest of the hotel.
So much so that you’d think you’d waltzed into another universe.
You did, in a way, as this place had rules of its own.
Here, you could do anything your heart desired, from wanting to be spanked and breastfed like a baby, up to the most vile cravings one could imagine.
And we, the hotel staff, had to ensure those needs were met and supply our clients with what they came here for.
Why? Because they had money. Filthy money. The kind that ran this corrupted world.
Walking down the long hall, I passed by a katana, a single-edged longsword I’d imported all the way from Japan that now hung on the wall for decor.
It was beautiful, from the ornate details to the blade that could slice through flesh as if it were butter.
I wished I had the time of day to stand and admire it, but unfortunately, I didn’t, as I had a job to do.
I walked toward the last room in the hall and stopped in front of it, first pulling out a pair of gloves from my slacks pocket and putting them on before knocking. The door was soon opened by one of the guards working on the floor, and I walked in.
“What seems to be the problem?” I asked him, but before the man could answer, the client stormed out of the bedroom.
With his silk robe open, I could see his flaccid cock dangling around underneath his big belly like loose skin, reminding me of the comb of an old rooster.
“Fucking finally,” he rasped, spit flying out of his mouth, some of it left to hang on his beard. “I’ve been asking for you for hours.”
Despite my immense repulsion, I kept my expression composed.
“Ambassador, you know how happy I am to have you here—”
“So why aren’t you here to welcome me when I arrive?” he barked, waving his hand in the air as if to flash the golden watch adorning his wrist.
“As much as I appreciate you taking a liking to me, I have other clients to take care of.”
Crossing the room, he stopped before me, and the reek of sweat coming off his body made my eyes teary. For crying out loud, with such a sour body odor, I’d suggest he change his diet.
“And yet I’m sure no one is paying as much as I am.”
Funny how you all think the same.
“Ambassador, it is my job to make sure you’re satisfied—”
“If you want me satisfied, then stop sending me stupid bitches who don’t know how to suck a cock like the one lying in my bed!” he hissed before his eyes locked with mine. “Instead, why don’t you get in there?”
I held still for a moment before my lips curved into a thin smile.
“Unfortunately, that’s impossible. But if you will, I’d like to arrange for you to meet up with a different siren that perhaps could be a better match. In fact, we have a new professional that I’m sure would be just to your taste—”
“You’re my taste,” he said, and before I knew it, he reached down and grabbed my ass.
I froze, body going cold as the same images replayed in my mind like a rolling film, showing me rivers of blood.
Just give me a break and fucking die, you piece of shit, the voices in the back of my head screamed. But not before I gouge out your eyes and slit your throat, you fucking whore.
“Yeah, you’re just my taste,” he murmured, his reeking breath fanning over my cheek. “Such a sexy man you are… I’m sure my cock would never go down with you. What do you say, how much will it cost?”
Biting my tongue until I tasted blood, I relaxed my jaw and forced a smile.
“Unfortunately, Ambassador, I’m not up for sale.”
He squeezed my ass in his dirty palm. “Come on, sweet boy. How much for a ride?”
I lifted my stare to meet his ugly eyes. Grabbing his hand, I removed it from my body, then cleared my throat. “Gentlemen,” I told the two guards standing by the door. “It appears the ambassador has exhausted his time with us for tonight. Please escort him out.”
The ambassador’s eyes widened with rage a second before he raised his hand and slapped me, hard enough for the sound to echo around the room long after the hit.
“My time here will end when I say it does,” he hissed.
A metallic taste filled my mouth as I pulled out a handkerchief to clean the blood from my face. Slowly tapping the expensive cloth that smelled of fabric softener to the corner of my lip, I then moved it to my nose. Once done, I looked down at the handkerchief, which was now stained with blood.
What a pity. I’d only just bought it.
“You’re tired.”
“What?” he snarled.
Looking up, I showed him my best smile.
“You had a long trip coming here, and therefore, you must be exhausted, Ambassador. Hence why I’m sure your hand just slipped. Am I right?”
He stared at me, eyes so ugly, the color of mold.
“What are you—”
“Unfortunately, we’re fully booked tonight; therefore, my men will escort you to a different hotel, where you’ll get your much-needed rest.”
His face reddened, and it looked like he was ready to hit me again. Fortunately, the men behind me grabbed him before he could, then escorted him out of the room to the sounds of his protest.
It was no surprise that a man like him didn’t take no for an answer.
To his kind, “no” was just another challenge, a word to ignore before the conquest. But for someone like me, or at least the someone I used to be, those two letters were all that he had left—the last resort before your body was violated and torn into shreds by scavengers.
I’d been there before, in a place where “no” served as an incentive and nothing more.
It took me years to learn that instead of protecting, this one word was merely a double-edged sword.
It satisfied a predator’s hunger, falling into their primitive desires while turning you into a body to defile with their cocks and their hands and their mouths.
In my previous life, I met men like the ambassador on a daily basis; Only they had no silk garments or expensive watches to hide behind.
Their filth was out there for the world to see, and in a way, it was better, making it easier to avoid.
But as I said, it was in another lifetime, and now, I had more than a meaningless word like “no” up my sleeve.
I had power.
Strength I’d fought tooth and nail to gain, and a man like the ambassador wouldn’t be the one to take it away.
Still, an accident like today reminded me of the past more than I’d like to admit, enough to make me yearn for the loneliness of my office.
But first, I had something to do, and so I walked over to the bedroom, where a young man was lying on the bed, his face a bloody mess.
The second I walked into the room, he flinched, so I stayed put.
“I won’t hurt you,” I said, holding one hand before me. “I just wanted to check on you.”
His blue eyes, red from crying, met mine, and for a second, it was like staring into a mirror. However, I was never as docile as this boy was, with golden curls and rosy cheeks suited to an angel.
“W-will I-I get fired now?” he asked, voice wavering, while trying to cover his naked body with the blanket.
The poor guy was shaking like a leaf.
“Do you want me to fire you?”
Grasping the sheets tighter, he quickly shook his head and moved on the mattress to get closer to me.
“N-no, no, please. I-I need the money—”
Closing the distance between us, I took off one glove before I brushed my hand against his cheek.