2. Lucrative
Faith
“Faith. Faith. Wake up,” said a quiet voice.
I opened my eyes to find Gina standing over my bed, wearing a silk robe. “Come with me.”
For a moment, I was confused. Then everything that had happened came flooding back, and shame swept over me.
I threw on some sweats and followed Gina silently down the hall to her office.
“Coffee?” she asked, her voice husky. Even with no makeup and in her pajamas, the Madam was beautiful. She looked tired, though. Dark circles bloomed beneath her eyes. Last night must’ve been a long night for most of the employees.
“Sure.” Gina quickly made us two coffees with cream, and I gratefully accepted my mug. “Thank you.”
“No problem.” The Madam sank behind her desk. “What happened last night, Faith?”
“I’m not sure.” I fidgeted in my seat. “Did Mr. Blackwood tell you he fired me?”
Gina winced. “He did. But he didn’t explain why. That’s why I wanted to talk to you.”
I nodded. “I did something wrong, but I don’t know what. We were… together… and then after, he threw my phone on the floor and fired me. That was it. No explanation.”
“You said you were together,” Gina said carefully. “Do you mean that you had sex with Mr. Blackwood?”
My cheeks heated. “We did stuff,” I admitted. “But we didn’t have sex. I mean, not technical sex. I’m still a virgin.”
She nodded, looking thoughtful. “Did you do something to displease him?”
“I must have,” I said helplessly. “But I don’t know what.”
“Can you tell me exactly what happened during your time together?”
“Um… He…” I swallowed hard.
“Faith, you’re a sex worker at a private sex club,” Gina said, not unkindly. “Just spit it out.”
I took a deep breath. “Mr. Blackwood went down on me, and I had an orgasm. Then he had me kneel on the floor. I gave him oral sex, but only for a minute. Then he pulled out and masturbated.”
Gina nodded as if she heard this type of thing all the time—which she definitely did. “Did he orgasm?”
“Yes.”
“Did he ejaculate on you?”
“Y-Yes.”
Gina arched an eyebrow. “Did he seem to enjoy himself?”
“I thought so,” I said.
“Okay.” Gina stared out of her window for a moment. The sun had just risen, casting a rosy glow over the lush grounds. “I’m going to meet with him shortly. I don’t want you fired, Faith. There were a lot of requests for you last night; I had to turn patrons away.”
Wow. If things hadn’t gone so wrong with Cassius, I might’ve had a chance to make two million dollars. But I thought of Darren Payne and shivered. I didn’t really want to be with anyone else.
“The platinum-level membership was very popular. It already sold out—all the virgins are spoken for,” Gina continued. “We need to hire more virgins, and soon. It doesn’t sound like you did anything wrong and shouldn’t be terminated.”
I stared at her, shocked. I didn’t think there was any chance I’d be allowed to stay. “Doesn’t Mr. Blackwood have the final say?”
“He’s the owner, so of course he does,” Gina said smoothly. “But I don’t want to have turmoil with the staff when we’ve just opened. The other girls need to feel secure. This isn’t sending the right message, and I will explain that to him.”
I nodded.
“I’m sorry that this happened to you,” Gina said gently. “You didn’t do anything wrong. The good news is, if I convince Mr. Blackwood to let you stay, I have a list of patrons who want to purchase platinum-level rights to you.”
“Thanks, Gina.” I forced a smile at her. “I’m not holding out much hope because Cassius—Mr. Blackwood—seemed pretty certain he wanted me gone. But I appreciate you trying.”
Gina nodded. “I’ll check back with you shortly. Please don’t share this with the other girls. I don’t want anyone hearing about the situation until we have a final decision.”
“Thank you, Gina.” I headed back to my room, careful to be quiet. I didn’t want to wake any of the other girls and face their questions.
I tried to fall back asleep and failed. Instead,I took a long, hot shower. I used all the expensive toiletries, the luxurious shampoo, and body wash and then carefully applied my makeup. I would probably never see these luxury brands again; I should enjoy them while I could.
Restless, I paced the room until Tate stumbled in. She was still wearing last night’s cat-eye eyeliner and had mascara streaks beneath her eyes. Her hair was a rat’s nest, but she smiled at me as she headed straight for her bed. “Did you have a good night, unicorn?”
“Ha. Sort of.” I turned away as Tate unselfconsciously stripped out of her clothes and climbed underneath the covers. “How about you? You looked awesome up onstage.”
“Thank you.” Tate yawned. “It was fun.”
I whipped my head at her. “You thought last night was fun?”
Tate laughed. “I take it you didn’t?”
I shrugged. “That’s not exactly the word I’d use to describe it.”
“I know I’ve been teasing you about being a virgin.” My roommate peered out at me from under her comforter. “It must’ve been hard being in a sex club when you haven’t experienced anything like that before.”
I nodded. “It was overwhelming—I guess that’s the right word.”
“I bet,” Tate said. “Did you end up with anybody? I didn’t see you around.”
“I went into a private room with one of the patrons, but we didn’t… you know.” I fingered the diamond pendant. “I guess I’m the only virgin left.”
“No, Macy’s still Team Virgin,” Tate said. “One of the patrons paid platinum for her, but he hasn’t popped her cherry yet. He says he wants to wait and make it special.” Tate waggled her eyebrows. “I bet Macy’s going to get platinum-level banged and platinum-level engaged. You should have seen how her billionaire looked at her last night! He was a total puppy dog.”
“Wow,” I said. I couldn’t wait to talk to Macy and hoped I got the chance. “What about you?”
“Hmm, let me see.” Tate rolled onto her back and looked up at the ceiling. “I whipped one patron onstage—that was a good time—and then I spent some time in the dungeon with a few subs. I ended up spending the night with one of the other patrons. He asked me to peg him.”
She yawned again. “It was a long night!”
When I blinked at her, clueless, she laughed. “You don’t know what that means, do you?”
“I’m pretty clueless,” I admitted.
“Well, as a Dominatrix, I get asked to do all sorts of things. For men who are this rich, it’s revitalizing for them to relinquish their power. It’s really about my partner being able to relax and have me take over, you know? So down in the dungeon?—”
We were interrupted by a knock on the door. Gina, now fully dressed, stuck her pretty face into the room. “Good morning, ladies. Faith, can you come with me for a moment?”
“Of course.” I didn’t hold out much hope for good news; I was already packed and ready to go.
“Bring your cell phone,” Gina instructed.
I obediently followed Gina down the hall back to her office. “I have good news,” she said as she closed the door behind her. “Mr. Blackwood has agreed to let you stay. There are a few conditions, of course.”
My heart rate kicked up. I can stay. Maybe I could keep Lucas in the treatment program after all.
I licked my lips. “What are the conditions?”
“You have to turn over your phone, of course,” Gina instructed. “Mr. Blackwood said that although he will not utilize your services further, he believes you should be compensated as agreed. So, he’s going to honor the platinum agreement. You’ll still be paid two million dollars, Faith.”
My jaw dropped.
“In addition, Mr. Blackwood recognizes that you’re in high demand at the club. So he’s allowing another member to purchase platinum rights to you. Once that happens, you’ll be paid the full fee.”
“But—that means I’m going to make four million dollars.”
Gina’s eyes glittered. “That’s right, Faith. I told you the club would be lucrative.”
“I don’t know what to say,” I stammered.
“You don’t need to say anything. Just dress to thrill today. We’ll be having a pool party, and members will enjoy the grotto as well,” she said. “Make them want you, Faith. Start a bidding war.”
“I’ll try.” I shook my head, still not believing my good fortune. “Thank you for giving me another chance. I won’t let you down, Gina.”
Gina nodded at me. “There’s just one more thing.”
“Yes?”
“Mr. Blackwood said it would be best if you stayed out of his sight.” Gina’s expression turned neutral, unreadable. “Please do your best to adhere to his wishes.”
I rose to leave. “Y-Yes, Gina.”
I couldn’t believe it—four million dollars. I’d never even dreamed of that amount of money. With it, I could take care of my brother and myself for the rest of our lives.
So I didn’t understand why tears burned my eyes as I left the Madam’s office and hurried back to my suite.
I chose not to think about it.