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“You’re that chick who won the Summit a few years back. My sister told me about you. She was really taken in by you and… whoever you’re with. So, my aunt’s turning you out too? That’s interesting. Candy has always been in the underground ventures, but I didn’t think she was movingotherpeople’s women around. I hope she’s giving you the cut you’re worth. She’s been known to include all sorts of bullshit fees.”
This wasn’t the man to confess anything to. Not in the slightest. “She treats me well,” Mitch said through her clenched teeth. “I’ll have you know, though, that this is highly irregular. I’m not Candace’s to give to someone for a night.”
“Yeah, I’ve heard you’re an ‘entertainer.’ If it’s anything like the videos from the Summit I’ve seen… well, those are hot.” Christopher stood up, but not with any indication that he was in a hurry to put his hands on Mitch. Nevertheless, she kept her aloof distance. “You’ve got a real talent. I doubt there’s a person on this whole ship who wouldn’t love to sleep with you.”
Was that a compliment? “Thanks.”
“Which is why I wanted to grab you before Candy used you to rope in someone else’s interest. Women like you don’t do multiple jobs in a night. People like me pay a lot of money to ensure our exclusivity for an evening.”
This man had a way of putting things into an infuriating perspective.
“I’m on my period,” Mitch blurted. “Thought you should know.”
“All right? Not sure why I care but thank you for sharing.”
Mitch was finally intrigued by his standoffish demeanor. “I’m not here for you, am I?”
“No. I thought Candy told you.” Christopher took off his jacket and hung it up on a hook by the door. After loosening his tie, he said, “It’s my sister, Violet. She’s a big fan of yours, and she’s in a funk. Won’t come out of her room because she’s… well, in a mood. I had hoped this party would lift her spirits a bit, but I see that someone skilled with their own sex is required. I don’t care what you do with her. Do whatever she wants. She’s my sister, so I don’t care to know the details. It’s weird enough sending someone to see her for whatever she requires.”
Mitch was a tad relieved she wouldn’t have to fight her way out of this room, but she knew the danger wasn’t eradicated yet.Candace slapped me. That’s all I need to know.The rules of the game had changed.
“Where do I find Ms. Violet?” Mitch asked. “So I may lift her spirits?”
Christopher pointed toward another door near a TV mounted on the wall. “At the other end of that hallway. She knows I’ve got a present for her, so knock twice before going in. Odds are high she’s left it unlocked.” Christopher paused with a weary sigh. “There’s a reason I’m in charge of security. We’d all be dead if it were up to her.”
Mitch kept her clutch tucked behind her, hand covering the opening that brought her a bit closer to Vanessa. “I’ll return to the VVIP area when Ms. Violet is happy.”
“Oh, good luck with that. I’ll take her being lessmoody.”
I need a new kink.Mitch’s reputation followed her like a specter breathing down everyone’s necks and breathing half-truths into their ears. It was bad enough that she thought this man might want to put his hands on her. Being sent to a woman she had never met?God help me.
Christopher’s phone was back in his hand by the time Mitch helped herself through the other door. A long and narrow hallway connected him to his sister’s suite, with one other hallway breaking off at a ninety-degree angle. Mitch assumed that one led to another exit, and none of them were guarded.
She knocked twice on Violet’s door before turning the handle. The sickly-sweet scent of marijuana and a powerful air freshener greeted her.
So did the darkness, since the only light on in Violet’s suite was a lamp with a red handkerchief pulled over the shade.
“Look what appears on my doorstep without me lifting a finger.” A wispy, irreverent voice surprised Mitch from behind. She pivoted on her pump, encountering a feminine figure sitting in the front corner of the room. “The most prized female to ever hit the circuit.”
Mitch’s eyes adjusted to the darkness. Violet Pell-Martin was every inch a spoiled heiress with delusions of modeling grandeur and the hubris of a social media influencer who knew the worth of one of her sponsorships. Except Violet didn’t need a corporate representative sliding into her DMs and promising her thousands of dollars to shill a product. She was painfully wealthy, and it reverberated in the way she pushed herself up as if the whole weight of the world threatened to bore her to tears.
“You’re familiar with me?” Mitch candidly asked.
Violet snorted with disdain and disbelief. “I’m a regular attendee of the Summit. I was there for your award-winning performances. Rumor even has it that I was a judge that year.”
She stepped past Mitch, flopping down onto a pile of pillows and blankets that must have covered a bed shoved up against the wall. Either that, or Violet preferred her seafaring life to not include a mattress.
“Were you a judge?” Mitch kicked one of her legs open now that she had Violet’s attention. God only knew what she could see in this darkness, but if Mitch noticed that Violet wasn’t wearing a bra beneath her sheer dress, then Violet probably saw everything. “Are you the one I have to thank for cementing my celebrity status that year?”
“Please, don’t kiss my ass without putting on fresh lipstick. Ugh.” Violet sank deeper into her pillow pile, her long and straight black hair disappearing into the depths of velvet and silk. “Is this my brother’s idea of a pick-me-up? Or is this entirely orchestrated by Candace? I smell one of her birthday presents from a mile away. You all wear her stupid old lady perfume.”
Mitch’s tongue wrapped around her teeth as her cheeks sucked in and she quickly thought up a decent reply. “I was informed that you, out of everyone else on this boat, might appreciate my company. I’m not being paid, if that’s what you’re insinuating. I came here of my own volition when I heard that a Ms. Violet was… alone.”
“You almost make me believe it.” Violet’s laughter was strained to the point that Mitch realized that was what shereallysounded like. This was a woman who was never truly herself. When she was, even she didn’t believe in her own predilections and desires. Mitch would have felt sorry for Violet if it weren’t for the disgusting amount of wealth surrounding her.Then again, it’s probably that wealth that made her a shell of a personality…“That you really came all this way to see me.”
Mitch came a few steps closer. “I could give you a massage,” she said. “Or a dance. Your godmother finds me particularly talented atdancing.” Not the kind of dance her high school theater teacher would have approved of, but all Mitch did in theater class was build sets and occasionally play lineless roles that took great use of her awkward stare and general discomfort with attention.If the me of then saw me now…Of course. Mitch hated attention, but Michelle loved it. That was how she compartmentalized the two warring sides of herself.
Violet propped herself up, her elbow seemingly disappearing into the floor. The optical illusion of the pillow pile would have threatened to draw Mitch into its black hole if it weren’t for Violet’s imminent request.
