Page 47 of The Master

“Isti.” I glanced at Finley and watched color drain from his face. That seemed a bit overdramatic, but I wasn’t going to call him on it. “I think it was written by a woman named Isti Mollen. I had a relationship with her years ago, and our break-up was…less than cordial.”

After a few seconds of silence, Ashlee lifted both eyebrows. “And…?”

“And what?” I fought to keep my expression blank.

“I figured thesheyou were talking about was an ex-girlfriend.” She crossed her arms, an annoyed look on her face. “I’m not stupid, Nate. The way the letter was written, the things she said…”

“I don’t understand.” I was pretty sure Ididunderstand, but I was going to play dumb as long as possible.

Unfortunately, Ashlee knew me well enough to guess what I was doing. Her eyes narrowed. “Bullshit. We both know there’s no way some random ex went through all the trouble of finding my address, writing a letter, then slipping it under my door. This woman is more than some cast-off. Who is Isti Mollen?”

She wasn’t going to let it go. I could refuse to tell her, say Isti was in the past, and it didn’t matter. I wouldn’t be lying. Somehow, however, I doubted Ashlee would accept any of that as a legitimate reason not to actually answer her question.

I would’ve asked Finley what he thought, but I had a feeling he wouldn’t be any help. He would’ve wanted me to tell Ashlee the entire truth and trust her not to be pissed off. I wasn’t really worried about her being angry – well, except for being mad because I’d kept this from her. What I was afraid of was her being disgusted by what I’d done. How could she not be?Iwas.

But I couldn’t keep hiding this. I needed to tell her.

“A couple months after I graduated from college, the label I’d tried to start tanked. I’d invested every penny, and almost all of it was gone. I couldn’t go to my parents and admit that I’d failed. I convinced myself that I could find financial backers, people who would invest in the label while I got it back on its feet.”

I’d told her a version of this before, but I’d left something out. Someone, actually.

I blew out a breath and went on. “I ended up at an arts fundraiser and was introduced to a wealthy woman named Isti Mollen. She was in her mid-forties at the time and had a…reputation.”

I stood up and walked to the fireplace, then to the couch again, rubbing the back of my neck as I paced. Years had passed, but I still felt like I did the night when I’d chosen to go home with Isti.

“To put it bluntly, she told me that she’d fund the label if I fucked her.”

Ashlee’s eyes widened slightly, but nothing else about her expression changed.

“She liked fucking younger men and knew that they’d be attracted to her money, so she thought she’d cut the bullshit and go right to an exchange of what everyone wanted. She never called us escorts, but it was money for sex, no matter how she worded it.” I picked up Finley’s picture and looked at it without really seeing it and then set it down again. “I was with her for a little over a year.Servicingher. She was…” I shook my head. “Anyway, she caught me having sex with one of her maids and kicked me out. That’s how I ended up on the street where Finley found me.”

That was it.

The whole story.

Now, I just had to wait and see if this changed things. Or, more accurately,howit changed things. Because there was no way what I’d just said could be forgotten.

Thirty-Two

Ashlee

I didn’t knowwhat to say. How was I supposed to respond to what he was telling me? Obviously, I knew he’d been with other women. Him having been with an older woman wasn’t anything I cared about.

Him sleeping with a rich woman for money…that one was going to take some processing.

My poor brain, however, was on a bit of an overload. Between the legal stuff, this whole Monafuckery, and now finding out about Nate’s version ofPretty Womenand the ex who apparently thought she needed to try to intimidate me…

My head hurt.

“Ash–” Nate’s phone rang, interrupting whatever he was going to say to me, and I felt relief at the reprieve, even if it would only be until the call was done.

When he stepped out of the room, I let my shoulders slump. I didn’t remember that Finley was in the room until he cleared his throat. He took a couple steps toward me but stopped before he reached me, his expression saying he wasn’t sure what to do.

Fortunately, I had a question that would keep him from needing to figure things out. “Did you know? About Isti?”

“I did,” he admitted. “But it wasn’t my place to tell you about her. I hope you can understand that.”

I nodded, suddenly exhausted. “I do. And I’m sorry I put you in such an awkward spot. Again. I never meant for things to get so weird between all of us. Maybe it would’ve been better for everyone if I’d just left things alone when the sperm bank wouldn’t give me your information.”

---