Forrest had seen parts of that anger, but Rourke had always been so controlled. Forrest had never seen him be anything but professional, which was annoying. He wanted to see the real Rourke, not the one that hid behind his image and stupid, fucking rules.
“Hypothetical question. If I was to pursue a relationship with Rourke, would you and Sloan accept it?”
Conall’s narrowed his eyes thoughtfully, and then he exhaled loudly. “Forrest, I can’t say yes to that. Men get jealous, andifyou did start a relationship with Rourke, he’d want you for himself, which means you’d give up your job as our whore. Like I said, you bring in thirty percent of our earnings.” He winced. “I want you to be careful. Rourke’s committed to making the Virtue profitable, and if taking you away would make this brothel lose money… I don’t think he’d do it.”
Forrest’s gut clenched, and he untangled his legs from Conall’s, drawing his knees to his chest. He curled his arms around his knees, holding on tightly. “So what you’re saying is that you don’t think Rourke would want me because I’m the highest earning worker here?”
“Possibly. Yes.” Conall’s pain for Forrest shone through his eyes. “Rourke’s loyal to Sloan, and he wouldn’t do anything that would make Sloan angry, which includes losing profits.”
“What if I leave this place then?” Forrest raised his chin. “I’ll quit.”
Conall sent him a look that made Forrest feel like a child. It was the kind a parent gave their child when they were disappointed in childish behavior. Forrest was used to receiving those kinds of stares from Mrs. Brassard. He never expected to get one from Conall. “Don’t be an idiot. You can’t quit, you only just signed your renewal contract, and you belong to us for another five years.”
“Belong to you?” Forrest shoved himself to his feet. He felt the tears burning in the back of his eyes, but he refused to cry. Not here, not now. “You’re all the same. I’m not a fucking object, I’m a human being. I don’tbelongto anyone but me!”
Conall seized his arm before Forrest could storm out of the room. “Stop. Now.” He spun Forrest, and they glared at each other, now standing in front of the couch. “Youdobelong to us, Forrest. You signed a contract saying just that. I’m not going to fucking apologize because you’ve suddenly decided you’re worth more than a hole for men to use. You came to us. I remember that very well, and I know you do too. Remember what you said to me?”
Forrest shook his head, and Conall grasped his cheeks between his fingers.
“Say it. Say what you said to me.”
The tears grew harder to hold back and Forrest closed his eyes so that they didn’t escape.
“Forrest, say it!”
“I said I’m yours to do with what you want. I love sex, and I want to fuck for money.”
“Exactly.”
Forrest snapped his eyes open again. “I can change my mind.”
“You can.” Conall’s jaw tightened. “That’s why we gave you the chance last year. You didn’t take it ,and now you work for us for another five years. The Killough Company gave you a substantial amount of money to stay with us.”
Forrest would have asked Conall what happened to him, but he’d always been about making money. The Exotic Virtue came first and foremost to Conall Morrissey, even above his friends.
Forrest crossed his arms, suddenly feeling vulnerable. He’d never cared about being nothing more than a product before because he craved a man’s touch, no matter where it came from, but things had changed. Rourke had started in the Virtue and Forrest’s desire to be loved weighed heavier than his need to be fucked.
He had all the money he saved up stashed away in a bank account and as tempted as he was to grab his shit and run, he wouldn’t get far. The Killough Company would find him first. If there was one thing Forrest knew about Killough, it was that he hated being made a fool of. Forrest would end up dead in the Hudson if he tried. Why didn’t he run when he had the chance?
Conall waved him back to the couch. “Don’t you want to hear how we’re going on the detective issue? I’ve got news.”
He didn’t because Forrest didn’t care about some stupid detective and the fact that she might take down the company. At this point, he didn’t care about this place at all. He nodded anyway, though, and moved to sit on the couch again. Keeping his arms curled around himself, he leaned into the back cushions.
When Forrest didn’t speak, Conall spoke again. “We took your suggestion, and we followed her, tried to find out what kind of guy, or woman, she liked. Turns out she’s got a crush on a barista in a coffee shop she visits.”
“How’d you work that out?” Forrest asked quietly, the numbing sensation growing inside him.
“Well, every morning she runs the exact same route. She stops in a coffee shop and buys a latte. Stays there and flirts with barista before she leaves. When she gets outside, she dumps the latte without having even a sip.” Conall grinned. “She’s the kind of person who works too hard on her body to ruin it with calories.”
“What makes her interested in the barista? Doesn’t seem like the kind of guy a detective would be into.”
“Nah, I think he’s exactly who she’d be interested in. Think about the powerful women with her personality that come into the Virtue, Forrest. The majority of them get off on the power they have. They want a man who’s weaker than them, that’ll do their bidding. A barista certainly doesn’t have more strength than she does.”
“And she’ll have power over him, too, especially in bed,” Forrest finished.
“Exactly.”
“So what are you going to do about it?” Forrest glanced at his watch. Workers weren’t allowed to have phones unless they were booked in for phone sex or were on their days off, so their only means of telling the time were watches and alarm clocks in each room. Nine thirty. Forrest had a few hours to kill before work. Today he had a late shift, which meant he was having a sleepover with a client who would pay quadruple the price to sleep in the same bed with Forrest. He didn’t know who it was yet. Sam gave them their roster a few hours before they began work, so they could get ready for any special needs.
