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I shook my head. “I can’t do it, Elena. Sorry.”
The Madam sighed. “Mr. Bryson mentioned you might respond that way. He had his lawyers reach out. They have some… stipulations… in case you refused.”
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“Let me see what they said in their email.” She pulled out her tablet, brow furrowing as she read. “Here it is. If you don’t agree to return, they’ll file a breach of contract claim against you.”
“What do you mean, breach of contract?” I blinked at Elena, not understanding the legal jargon she was spouting at me.
The Madam scowled as she re-read the email from Cole’s attorneys. “It says that if you don’t agree to his new offer, he’ll take the money back from the first contract. And then he’ll sue you for damages.”
My stomach plummeted. “Damages? What the heck does that even mean?”
Elena’s scowl deepened. “It means money. Lots of it.”
“He can’t do that.” I shook my head. “I’m not exactly a lawyer, but isn’t that illegal? You can’t go back and undo what’s already been done. He hired me, I stayed with him for two weeks, and that’s that. I did everything I was supposed to do.”
“Not precisely,” she said. “His lawyers mentioned that in the email. You left before the contract term ended—by twelve hours, to be exact. His camera security has you time stamped as leaving his building before noon on Friday. Contractually, you were his until midnight.”
I threw up my hands. “That’sdumb, Elena. We both know it. And if he’s threatening to sue me for damages, so what? I’ll give him his money back. That’s all I have.”
Elena’s maroon lips puckered in distaste. “His lawyers anticipated that. They’re not just threateningyou, Jenny. They’re also threateningme. If you don’t comply with his request, they’re going to go after my business and all my personal assets as well.”
I blinked at her. “Are you fucking kidding me?”
“No,” the Madam said, “I’m not. I already ran this by my counsel, and she says that they can absolutely move forward. It might not hold up in court, but Mr. Bryson is a billionaire. He has all the money in the world to throw at making my business crumble and ruining my life. If he pursues this, I’ll go bankrupt trying to fight him.”
“Fuck, Elena, I’m sorry.”
“Me too. But it’ll all be okay once you sign the amendment and do what he wants,” Elena said, her voice firm.
“I’m not going to do that,” I said. “I can’t go back.”
She arched an eyebrow. “Why not? What happened? Did he do something to harm you?” Elena almost sounded hopeful. “Because if he did, we can fight him. I’m not letting someone hurt one of my girls.”
“No, it was nothing like that.” I didn’t dare tell her about his father’s threats. “It’s just that I don’t want to be with Cole.”
Elena’s eyebrow raised higher. “He’s a client, Jenny. I don’t expect you to want to be with him. I expect you to be his escort.”
“I was. I did what I was supposed to do,” I said stubbornly.
“Apparently, it wasn’t good enough,” Elena said. “He wants more.”
I wrapped my arms around my chest, wishing a hole would open in the floor and swallow me. “I don’t care if I have to return the money—I’ll do it.”
I didn’t want to go back to turning tricks again, to Loopsy and Fat Vinnie. Or waitressing at Sizzler. But this was my heart I was talking about. I couldn’t go back. All hell would break loose if I did, including my auntie Theresa. Cole wouldn’t want to be near me if he knew the truth.
It was better this way.
“Mr. Bryson doesn’t need court-awarded damages,” Elena said, her voice soothing. “He has more money than God. What he wants isyou. He wants you back for a month. He said it would be very lucrative if you agreed. He hinted at more than a million—he mentioned a bonus and said it would be sizable.”
But I couldn’t even think about the money. “Amonth?” I cried. “I can’t do that!”
I felt tears threatening. Cole had me backed into a corner. If I said no to Cole, he would have his lawyers go after Elena. She had two daughters she was trying to care for, and none of this was her fault.
But if I said yes, Cole’s father would punish him and help my auntie Theresa ruin my life once and for all. Lewis Bryson had explicitly threatened me—if I told Cole the truth, he’d make me pay.
I was backed against a wall—a billionaire’s wall—but that didn’t make it feel any better.
