Oh. The whole night. That was more than I was expecting, even if I wasn’t sure exactly what I was expecting.
“Before we go upstairs, I wanted to ask how much this is going to cost?” I asked her quietly. That was the biggest thought weighing heavily on me. While I wanted this, I wasn’t sure I could afford it. I was paid decently well as a personal assistant, but I had a tight budget. An entire night was probably too far out of my budget range.
“Oh,” her smile widened, “I think you misunderstood, Mr. Baker. Our fantasy fulfillment program runs strictly on donations from anonymous benefactors within the Society.”
Anonymous benefactors?
“So I don’t need to pay anything?”
“No,” Elena said. “All you need to worry about is breathing and feeling. Just let yourself take it all in. Immerse yourself wholly in tonight’s experience.”
“When you say anonymous benefactors,” I cut her off. “What are they getting out of it? From me. What are they getting out of it from me?”
No one did anything for no reason. I knew all about ulterior motives and secret agendas. My mind ran a little too rampant with possibilities. What if this whole thing was taped for their amusement? What if there were pictures? Or blackmail?
“May I?” She held out her hands, motioning for me to take them. I did, and she stepped closer. Her heels and my slightly shorter height meant we were eye to eye. Her expression was full of compassion and soft things that I couldn’t quite put words to. “It’s okay to be nervous about tonight, Mr. Baker.”
“Liam,” I corrected without thinking.
“It’s okay to be nervous, Liam,” Elena repeated gently. “Everyone always is. You are safe with us.”
My chest tightened hard enough for me to punch out an uncomfortable breath, and she squeezed for reassurance.
“There are no secret motives here. Any benefits given to our program’s benefactors do not come at your expense. The Society’s owner works all of that out separately. It’s never something you have to worry about.”
“Are you sure?” I replied a little stupidly.
“You are wanted here, Liam,” she told me, her voice dropping a little further. “Just you. Not for your money. Not for your experience outside in the real world. And not for anything else. Just you. We want you here tonight as you are.”
Just me. As I was. I wasn’t sure what to do with that. I was far too used to having to bring something to the table to be wanted—personally and professionally.
“Now, we’re going to stand here until you’re ready,” she continued. “If it takes an hour, then it takes an hour. The Conductor is patient, and so am I.”
“What’s the Conductor like?” I asked. “I think it’s… I don’t know what to expect.”
“He’s brilliant,” Elena said.He.So, the Conductor was a man. That little piece of knowledge thrilled me. “And his attention to detail is impressive. You’ll be in very,verygood hands tonight.”
“Promise?” Maybe it was a stupid thing to ask of her. I didn’t know her, which meant I shouldn’t have trusted her, but some part of me did. There was something warm and comforting about her that I wanted to lean into.
“I promise.”
“Okay.” I gave her hands a light squeeze as I blew out a deep breath. The nerves didn’t vanish, and I didn’t think they would any time soon. But they were manageable. I squared off my shoulders and glanced at the elevator doors over her shoulder.
I wanted this. No matter how crazy it was that this whole thing had come about, I did want this. I wanted to meet the Conductor. I wanted to let him take my fantasy and, for one night, show me what it’d be like to be truly wanted. There was nothing shameful about that.
“Okay,” I repeated a little louder. “I’d like to go upstairs now.”
CHAPTER 04
Owen
ELENA: The Client is heading to the elevator. Please note: he’s anxious.
ARS?
The Society maintained an Anxiety Response Scale when dealing with clients. While anxiety was normal, some clients were incapable of going through with their fantasies. It happened more often than people imagined. As a result, we maintained a carefully curated scale to gauge how to handle them.
If Elena was mentioning Liam’s anxiety, it was something I needed to take into consideration before moving forward.
