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I slipped my phone out and went through the motions of what was required of me. This wasn’t the first time I’d used the agency. And it wouldn’t be the last.
Her phone bleeped, then she powered it off and set it back in her purse. “My name’s Cherry,” she said, straightening up and needlessly pulling the bottom of her hem down.
“It’s not, though, is it?”
Her face lost that smile for an imperceptible moment before it was back again. “It is, Nick. But you can call me whatever you want.”
I reached for my wallet and opened it up. “I want to call you by your real name. Can you do that for me? Please?” While I walked toward her, I pulled out a large bill and dropped it on the table beside her purse.
Those bright, sparkling, eyes gazed down at it briefly. “My name’s Cherry.”
Ah, a game. I liked games.
I sat down on the plush couch, her eyes following my every move. “I like your tenacity. What I’d really like is your name.” Then I added two more large bills to the pile.
This time, she bit her lip, and I knew that resolve was being tested. “Nick, with all due respect, my name is Cherry.” One hand went to her hip.
The smile that overtook my face surprised me. I added three more bills to the stack. “I want your real name. It’s not that big of a deal.”
The stricken look she gave me made my heart clench.
Which also surprised me since I didn’t think I had one. Even still, I set more money down. “Going to ask you one more time. Then all this,” I said, tapping the pile of green with my finger, “goes away. Now think hard and see if this jogs your memory at all.”
Five more bills.
Not so much as a flinch.
Oh, this one was going to be fun to break.
“Because I admire the fact that you didn’t throw out a bogus name, I’m giving you one last shot.” I placed an obscene amount down as I kept my eyes on her.
Not even a peep.
Unbelievable.
“Too bad,” I said, scooping up the cash and folding it before I stuffed it back in my wallet. “Something tells me you could have used it.”
That something was the fact that a woman as gorgeous as her was working as a high priced call girl instead of doing—anything else. Beautiful people like her normally had options the rest of the plain Jane’s in the world didn’t.
So, whatever ‘Cherry’s’ reasons were for being here had to be strong ones.
And for some unknown reason, I wanted to know what they were.
I’d pay just about anything to have her sit down beside me and tell me exactly what in her life had led her to this point.
Meeting a client in a hotel suite for paid sex.
The really infuriating part of this—besides the fact that I was giving thought to someone else’s life and feelings—was that I couldn’t get her to tell me her real name.
If I couldn’t even do that, then what hope did I have of her telling me anything of real substance?
Zero.
Nada.
Zilch.
I didn’t often lose, but when I did, I gave up the ghost fairly quickly. No sense in beating a dead horse and looking like a whiney asshole.
