Page 7 of Purchase Power
“Good evening.”
Such a voice was unexpected. Probably because it was younger – and deeper – than Lucy anticipated. Lest she be fooled by her own ears, however, she kept her head down and savored her last few moments of unmolested freedom.
She supposed she should say something in return. Maybe get up and greet the man. Put on a fake smile and remind herself what all of this was for – like her pocketbook, and her future career as a tell-all writer.
“Ah, good…” Lucy stood up and turned around, prepared for the pinnacle of living in the quintessential romantic comedy, where the schlubby loser of a guy is guaranteed the hottest girl on the block by the end of the story. Instead, the words were knocked out of her lips, left rictus before she had the chance to collect either one. “Evening?”
Her squeak made the man in a three-piece suit take an unexpected step back.How old is he? I seriously can’t tell.The man dressed and carried himself like he was nearing fifty and had been around the rich-guy block a few times before. Yet his skin was unwrinkled, his hair evenly dark, and the stubble on his face perfectly kempt. The light behind his bright blue eyes took Lucy back the most. A wary demeanor overcame the young man standing before her, yet those eyes harkened to a youthful vigor that her mysterious buyer had not quite squandered away yet.
Not quite…
“You must be Lucy.” He extended a large, smooth hand, creased only with a starched white cuff and one opal link. Lucy was hesitant in shaking it, not because she thought herself above touching the man who had parted with tens of thousands of dollars for her body, but because she still wasn’t convinced this was anything less than an apparition. The real man would step inside at any moment. For all she knew, this was another manager of the club. The face who dealt with the financials after convincing the old men to open their wallets and purchase some young, nubile ass.
“Y… yes.” Her grip on his hand was stronger than she intended. For every professional who taught her the gift of a firm handshake, there was a dating guru who insisted that women shouldnevershake a man’s hand too hard, lest they be seen as “intimidating.” Lucy’s grip slackened at the wrong moment, however, and it fell like a limp noodle from the stranger’s grasp. “Lucy Craig! Are you…?”
“Gabriel.”
Lucy sucked in her breath. “Wow. That’s a name.”
The man tilted his head. “It’s my last name. Guess you can call me Noah.”
Noah Gabriel?Yeah, that was aname!Lucy’s mouth was so dry that she was afraid to speak, not that she had anything constructive to say.
She should have followed that gut instinct, for the moment she found the saliva, she said, “You’ve got a seriously biblical name there, Mr. Gabriel.”
He remained as nonplussed as when he walked through that door. “Suppose so. Never really thought about it.”
What the hell am I supposed to do?Was it appropriate to ask him questions about her upcoming living situation? Should she offer him sexual services? Where the hell were they going with this? Was he waiting for her to make a move?Anymove?I wonder if he knows much about baseball. Bet he’s a fan of the Yankees.Lucy was trash at sports teams, but if there was one thing easy to look up, it was baseball stats.
“Are you all right?” Noah asked her.
“Huh?” Lucy snapped out of her consuming thoughts. “Oh, yeah. Sorry. Was thinking about baseball.”
The corner of Noah’s mouth twitched. “Baseball,” he flatly said. “Don’t tell me you’re thinking of England, too.”
“What’s England got to do with baseball?” She made the connection the moment she said that, her embarrassment over her own ignorance coloring her cheeks. “Sorry. No. Not thinking about England. Or the Queen. Or cold showers.” On a normal night, she might need a cold shower around this guy. He wasgoodlooking. The more Lucy set aside her nerves and looked at Mr. Noah Gabriel with a critical eye, the more convinced she became that this was a cosmic fluke. Or a joke. There was no way some thirty-something hottie with a chiseled jaw and fiercely independent blue eyes was looking tobuyher. He might hit on her at a bar, but spend that kind of cash to call her his mistress for a month? Something wasn’t…
Oh, my God. He’s filthy disgusting rich.His wealth must have gone back generations, whoever the Gabriels were. This was the kind of rich kid who went to all the private schools, had every tutor and nanny under the sun, and learned from an early age that money didn’t actually exist and he could throw it at whatever he wanted, for whatever struck his fancy.Do I want to know how many times this kid’s been arrested, only for daddy to show up and get him off the hook like it’s never happened?Lucy’s imagination ran the gamut of drunk driving to the kind of heinous crimes certain TV shows focused on for the sheer titillation. It was that last one that nearly did her in, though.
“I’m sorry,” Noah said, interrupting her thoughts. “Is there an issue?”
Yeah, my issue is that I’m now realizing what an idiot I am, and that you’re probably going to ruin my sanity!This was a trap. No way a younger hot guy like him was buying girlfriends for a month.He must be married.Lucy glanced at his left hand. No ring, but that didn’t mean anything, especially on a night out at the sex club.Easier to fuck a chick on the side if she signs a million NDAs and you put her up in a nice place for a month.It always came back to money and getting away with everything.
“Forgive me, Mr. Gabriel. You’re a bit…” The awkward laugh peppering the air made Noah tilt his head in the other direction. “Not what I expected.”
“Oh? What were you expecting, exactly?”
“Uh…” Lucy nearly tripped over her feet as she turned her whole body toward him. “I mean… in my experience, the men who participate in these things are a bit… older.” She said that with a smile so fake she was close to fainting.
“Sorry to disappoint you.”
“I didn’t say I was disappointed.”
“If I may say, Ms. Craig,” Noah continued, his voice rising with confidence, “I have a few experiences of my own, and they tell me that the women who participate in these… events… aren’t usually as forward as you.”
So it’s not his first time doing this, huh?That only made Lucy feel a little better, since it might mean his previous partners had no complaints to tell the club.That’s what I’m telling myself. Yup.“If you don’t like it, sir, simply let me know now, and I’ll tone it down. Yet I can’t help if I’ve got a few nerves that need some calming. As I’m sure you heard in there, this is my first time doing something like this. I’m… uninitiated?”
While the perplexity on Noah’s face certainly aged him, it wasn’t enough to make Lucy feel like she was in more capable hands.What in the world is he thinking? I’m blowing this. I’m making things worse.Lucy needed to buck up and accept what she had signed up for. Clearly, she was not giving the man with deep pockets the experience he wanted.
