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Her temper was flaring but she contained it with effort. “I’m not making it up. The agency is well regarded. I was their highest paid, most requested escort.” In his pockets, his knuckles were white, as he balled his hands into fists. “They still didn’t hesitate to fire me when they heard about you and me. Their standards are beyond reproach.”
“How long did you work for them?”
She had told herself she wouldn’t tell him too much. She tried to frame her answer in a way that was vague enough. “A while.”
He shook his head. “Why so evasive?”
“Because it doesn’t matter.” She fixed him with a solid stare. “I was paid to date hundreds of men in that time. Probably thousands.”
He made a noise of impatience. “I can’t believe you liked that.”
She quirked her lips. “It paid the bills. It would be impossible for you to comprehend what it’s like to have that kind of responsibility, but I couldn’t afford not to work.”
“How old are you?”
“Twenty three.”
He let out a small sigh. “So you started for the agency at what? Twenty two? Twenty one?”
“Does it matter?”
“How old?” He pressed, so that his face was only inches from hers
“Nineteen.”
He swallowed the curse that had formed on his tongue. “Why?”
“I told you. I needed money.”
“Who needs money that badly at nineteen?”
She arranged her face into a small smile. “We aren’t all born with a trust fund, Carter.”
He stood up and thrust his hands into his pockets. “You must have earned a hell of a lot more than you needed to cover rent, though. How do you not have money now? What am I missing?”
He was shrewd. He was persistent. And he was damned right. There was far more to the puzzle than she was allowing him to see. But with good reason. She had kept Anita a secret for a long time, and she wasn’t prepared to break that habit now. Her personal life was entirely distinct from her work life. And technically, her relationship with Carter was ‘work’.
He sat back down, reaching over and latching his fingers with hers. “I’m trying to get to know you. I just don’t understand how someone like you could end up selling yourself to men who are at a loose end.”
“How can you be so… childish?” She sipped her wine. “You said it yourself on my birthday. We all prostitute ourselves in some way. We all sell ourselves all the time. People buy your media or whatever because they believe you. You’re a product and I’m a product. The difference between us, though, is that I don’t have a lot to offer, Carter. I know that looks are probably all I’ve got going for me. So don’t you dare judge me for exploiting that.”
He continued to stare at her, but her words were doing strange things to his body. “What the fuck happened to you, Jane?”
She froze, her glass midway to the table. “What? What do you mean?”
“I’ve never met anyone like you. And yet you seem to believe looks are your only asset. Why?”
Her eyes dropped to the tabletop. “I’m not smart. I’m not interesting. I’m not well-read. I graduated high school with an average grade.” She forced herself to look him in the eyes. “If I was three dress sizes bigger and had a bad skin rash, you’d never have noticed me.”
“That is completely untrue.”
“Bullshit. You just told me your type. Leggy. Blonde. Skinny. You go for looks. You could have said, ‘smart, funny, opinionated’, but you opted to describe a physical type. That is what you’re attracted to. For lots of people, looks are what make the world go around. So I sell my looks. I make pleasant conversation with people I barely know, to help them get through a night that might otherwise be uncomfortable. I’m social training wheels. And the fact that I look good in couture seems to give men confidence in situations that are nerve-inducing.”
“You are so very, very wrong, Jane.”
“Am I, Carter?” Her dark brown eyes scanned his face. “I’ve had four years of meeting men like you. Well, maybe not just like you. You’re pretty unique. I’ve spent the last four years talking to men who exist in your orbit. Do you know what those men would remember about me? My cup size. That’s it.”
He spurted his wine out and looked at her with reproachful eyes. But his smile showed his true amusement. “Well, your cup size is impressive.” He put his glass down and toyed with his fingers. “I think you’re fascinating. Looks aside. You challenge me in a way that I find… refreshing.”
