Page 18 of At His Beck & Call

As I pass down the hallway back toward the elevators, I peer through the glass panels of some of the offices. There are peoplein a few, but the rest are empty. The staff who are still around look young, like junior lawyers.

I reach the elevator and press the ground-floor button as my phone buzzes.

Pulling it out of my bag, I see a notification from my bank. Five thousand dollars has just been deposited in my account. I stare at it in disbelief.

Five grand? For sitting in a chair for five minutes?

I glance back down the hall at Mr. Heath’s door, but there’s no sign of him coming out. As I step into the elevator, I scroll through my contacts until I reach Sterling House and hit call. A secretary answers immediately and puts me through to Pippa.

“Hey,” she says happily. “I just got off the phone with Oliver. He’s pleased, well done.”

“Uh… I thought the interview was unpaid.”

“No. Usually, our clients use this as an initial deposit.”

“It was five grand.”

There is a small pause. “Yes, that’s fairly standard.”

Standard?

“But I didn’t do anything.”

“Define anything,” Pippa says, sounding amused.

“I sat in a chair, answered his questions, and then left.”

Another pause. “Well, I can double-check with him to make sure it’s not a mistake, if you like?”

“I doubt he makes mistakes,” I say automatically, and Pippa chuckles.

“You’ve already got him figured out, I see. Don’t worry about it, Lissa. He’s going to pay you in a way that he’s comfortable with, and that’s what matters. I hope he explained his needs to you, but if you ever have any issues, worries, or concerns at all, don’t hesitate to call me.”

“I will, thanks."

“I hope this will be an exciting new chapter for you. Try to enjoy yourself, okay?”

Then she hangs up. I pull the phone away from my ear as I descend in the elevator, reaching the ground floor and stepping out. The lobby is loud and unpleasant after the quiet of the eighteenth floor, and I take a moment to observe the world moving around me and think about what Pippa just said.

Do I not usually look like I’m enjoying myself?

I know that Bethany loves this job. She has told me so many times. Only occasionally has she had a client she disliked, and she walked away from those situations without a second thought. Her last client took her to Bali with him, and they had sex nonstop for three weeks.

But Bethany has an incredible sex drive. I don’t. Not really…

I can’t even remember the last time I touched myself in that way, and by the end of our marriage, James would only have sex with me when he was pissed off.

I close my eyes, shuddering at the memory. He never forced himself on me, but the sex wasn’t loving or pleasurable. He would just use me like a hole to fuck and then pull out, never thinking about my pleasure at all. Sex became a thing I hated.

How the fuck am I going to do this convincingly? And why would he want someone like me for this job? He's incredibly hot with tons of money, probably… he could certainly have any woman he wants.

Clenching my fist, I place my phone in my bag and walk through the lobby and out into the sunshine. It’s a beautiful, bright day, and there’s a raised square of bricks in front of the office filled with crocuses and daffodils. The happy little flowers lift my mood.

Five thousand dollars. Holy shit.

I check the time. I have about half an hour until I need to pick up Henry, and there’s a store not too far away that I know sellscheap women’s clothing. I don’t want to splurge on anything or spend money that I need for Henry on myself, but I can’t keep borrowing clothes from Bethany.

On the way, I pass a designer store with a beautiful pale-pink suit in the window. I stare up at it longingly and then walk on by. One day, maybe, but not right now. My son is my priority, and for the first time, I feel a thread of hope that everything might just be okay.