Page 6 of At His Beck & Call

“Beth—”

“No, Liss. I don’t want that life for you.”

“Butyoucan do it?” I snap. “You really think I couldn’t handle it? Because you’re so much stronger and more worldly than me?”

She closes her eyes. “That’s not what I said.”

“It’s what you think, though. It’s what everyone thinks. Put me in a box lined with silk and never let me do anything for myself in case I break in two.”

“Lissa,thinkabout this. You do not want to sleep with men for money,” she says, lowering her voice to a murmur. “Your only sexual experience is withJames,for fuck’s sake, and he was the shit to end all shits. I won’t let you sell yourself like that. Not after everything you’ve been through.”

“But you can?” I bite out.

“Yes. Because you might not want to hear this, but you wouldn’t have the first clue how to please a Sterling House client, and it would most likely be a horrendous experience that would only hurt you more.”

I stand up, anger coursing through me as I look down at my best friend, all hopes of a swift resolution to my problems fading with the firm, determined gaze staring back at me.

“You seriously won’t help me?” I ask, as people around the restaurant turn to look at us.

“I won’t set you up for such a heavy fall, no,” she insists. “I know this job; it’s not for you, Lissa. We’ll think of something. I’ll… I’ll ask Pippa for a new client. Someone bigger. I don’t need as much money for my parents, I can?—”

“I’m not relying on you to save me, Bethany. Not again.”

Bethany scowls in frustration. “Stop being so stubborn. I want tohelp.”

“The only person who’s going to help me is me. I’ve had enough of other people controlling what I can and can’t do and being indebted to everyone. I thought you were different.”

“That is completely unfair,” Bethany protests, throwing her napkin down and rising to her feet.

“Why do I even need you for this?” I ask angrily. “What if I just show up and demand Pippa interview me?”

“You can’t just walk in off the street,” she says, her eyes darting around warily. “You can’t go in there without a recommendation.”

“Well, there’s a first time for everything,” I say coldly, turning on my heel and stalking out of the restaurant toward the door.

“Liss!” Bethany shouts after me, but I don’t stop. I don’t turn.

I’m done waiting for permission to live my life. I’m going to do this, with or without Bethany’s help.

Chapter 3

Lissa

As I leave the restaurant, I feel a twinge of guilt over what I said to Bethany.

Well, more than a twinge. My best friend has always been there for me, through everything I have gone through over the past two years, and now I’ve blown up at her for merely trying to protect me.

But the panic quickly smothers the guilt. Ineedto find a way to raise this money. Short of moving out of my apartment and using the rent money to pay for Henry’s care while we live in a tent on the street, Sterling House was my best bet.

So I would have to sleep with some crusty old CEO once in a while. Is that the worst thing in the world?

As I head toward the store to buy myself some lunch, lamenting the loss of the glorious-looking food that I have just abandoned, my cell phone begins to vibrate.

All thoughts of Bethany, Sterling House, and my financial worries fly out the window as I see the school’s number on the screen.

“Hello?” I say, running across the road in front of a cabby who beeps at me angrily.

“Hello, is this Mrs. Davenport?”