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I wrung my hands together as we waited on the stairs. The house was large and magnificent though I’d expected no less. And when the door swung open, it was a butler who answered.
I wanted to laugh. Sure, why not? A butler. Who actually had butlers these days?
Crankiness was not becoming of me. I plastered a fake expression of contentment on my face as he ushered us inside and to the sitting room where the family was already gathered. Katherine was as pristine as ever in a silver gown, and she could spy the tension between Jameson and I from across the room. It was her in, and she knew it. Already, I could see the wheels turning in her brain, and I had no doubt that before the night was through she’d be coming onto him again.
It shouldn’t bother me. But it did.
Everything about this situation bothered me. I wasn’t really an escort. I couldn’t keep my feelings out of this as much as Jameson wanted me to. I’d given him something that was important to me. A part of myself I could never take back. And now I was yesterday’s garbage.
My eyes burned as the maid called out for dinner, and I spent the next hour pushing food around my plate and participating in conversation when spoken to. Lily was at my side, and I could tell she knew something was up. She kept trying to engage me in small talk, and I did my best to comply.
After dinner, we went back to the sitting room. More fancy drinks. Some Christmas music. Jameson excused himself and disappeared down the hall when he got a phone call. I was both relieved and curious though I didn’t know why.
Katherine got up a moment later and made the excuse of needing to use the powder room, but I knew better. Red hot jealousy boiled in my veins. If she wanted him so badly to begin with why did she go and sleep with his brother?
I tossed back my drink and gratefully accepted another one. And once that one had finished too, and twenty minutes had passed, I couldn’t take it any longer. I made my excuses and wandered off in search of the bathroom. But really, I was looking for Jameson. I found him in the hall with Katherine, and it looked like they were arguing. But her hand was clutching his tie, her body pressed against his, and he wasn’t pushing her away.
When he saw me, his face paled, and I turned and walked back in the direction I’d come from. He caught up to me before I could make it back to the others.
“Harper, I’m sorry.” He sighed in frustration.
Whether it was with me or Katherine, I couldn’t be sure.
“It’s okay.” I lied through my teeth.
“I just went to take a phone call, and she came onto me again. It’s just…”
“Jameson.” I mustered up a fake smile, and a carefully controlled voice though on the inside I was crumbling. “It’s okay. It’s just a business transaction, you and I. Right?”
He flinched, and I twisted the knife a little deeper. I wanted him to know I could be as cold and calculating as he expected. As he wanted.
“It doesn’t mean anything. So do whatever you like with Katherine. It makes no difference to me.”
Hurt flashed through his eyes, but I ignored it as I gathered up my dress and walked back to the sitting room. Lily knew right away something wasn’t right, but I steeled myself and told her it was.
I accepted another drink and gave myself props for making it through the rest of the evening like everything was just fine and dandy. I listened to the conversation flow around me, but inside I was making a plan.
The drive back to the house was slow. Jameson didn’t try to talk to me again, and I was grateful. It was going to make what I had to do so much easier. Once we were upstairs, I waited for him to perform his nightly ritual.
The moment he stepped into the bathroom and turned on the shower, I put my plan into action. I tossed everything that I’d brought with me into my suitcases haphazardly and wheeled them to the door. Then I made the bed up with the pillows beneath it so it would hopefully buy me some time.
And lastly, I scrawled out a note for him. Simple and to the point.
Jameson,
I’m sorry. But as it turns out, I’m not as business minded as you.
Please keep the rest of the money and have a great Christmas.
Harper
As I snuck down the hallways and out the front door into the cool evening air, I felt a stab of guilt for not saying goodbye to Julia and Lily. They’d been so wonderful to me, and they didn’t deserve this. But it wasn’t my place, and there was nothing I could say without giving Jameson away.
