Page 32 of Kings of Desire
‘So, to sum things up, I get to have the unspoiled version of you for a night, and your family gets an express trip to your apartment in Eco-City. Win-win as I see it.’
‘Are you done?’
‘I say when I’m done! Don’t make me bring penalties into this equation.’
I may have pissed him off, but his plans are never going to see the light of day. He was even more dangerous than my father, and getting involved with a man like this never ends well.
‘You don’t have to give me an answer now, but I expect one by tomorrow night. I run a club on Orchid Street. There is where you can find me.’
I won’t be looking, but I didn’t get to tell him that, not wanting to get into another polemic any longer about how I’ll be crawling at his feet.
‘Now, we are done. A car is expecting you outside to take you home.’
Not waiting for him to tell me twice, I seized the opportunity and said my goodbyes then walked straight outside.
I can’t do it... I can’t do it,my mind was on autoplay steadying the words into my conscience as on the other side another question was being bornDid I even have an alternative!?
Chapter 8
The refuge of my apartment didn’t bring me any answer to my problems, while the thought that I still had to keep Brax’s offer on the table was making my insides quiver. There was no way that I could say yes, but I couldn’t refuse it either. I needed support in getting them out, and as of this moment, Brax was the only one who could provide that for me. But I also needed money for lawyers and hospitalization, and the two grand I had left after rent and groceries was far from covering any of those.
There had to be another way. Life couldn’t be that cruel. At least that’s how I was reassuring myself.
And when I really came to think about it, there was a person that I could try and ask for help. Maybe a loan which I would gladly pay back, even with interest as I was to complete the Pleasures. Vanya, my boss came to mind, since she was the only person I knew who was wealthy enough to be able to support me.
It didn’t take me long to get changed and head down to the Pleasure Room, although I still only managed to arrive there late afternoon. I guess the morning in Brax’s bed was somewhere around 1 pm - excusable since I’ve been drugged.
The first person to greet me was Laura, bumping into her right as I was preparing to go through the main door and she was returning from buying coffee. ‘I thought we had an espresso machine.’
‘Yeah, but we don’t have the cute barista guy across the street,’ she giggled, walking inside.
‘I need to talk to Vanya for a second,’ stopping right in front of her door, I was letting Laura know that I won’t be able to walk her back all the way to The Pleasure Room.
‘She’s not in today. I’ll handle the contracts.’
‘She’s not!?’ Of course, she wasn’t. Fate was playing a trick on me once again.
‘What did you want to talk to her about?’ She stopped next to me, curious about what I had to say ‘That is if you want to tell me.’
I wasn’t sure if I should, but asking for her opinion before I spoke to Vanya seemed like a good idea at the time. ‘Actually, I wanted to ask her if she could help me with some money. I would pay her back by completing Pleasures. Maybe with interest if that would help her agree.’
‘No, never do that,’ Laura was wiggling a finger in front of me as if I was committing the greatest blasphemy. ‘She has a strict rule about loans and asking her won’t get you anywhere except making her see you....differently. The thing is, she helped a few employees in the past and they all screwed her over at some point. She’s the kind of person who learns from her mistakes, so the only result you may get is probably being unemployed again.’
Laura seemed so determined to prevent me from doing this, while all I could think about was that my very last chance had just been blown away.
‘I guess, I should leave then.’ There was no need for my presence here today since I just took two Pleasures in two days.
‘Not really. It’s good that you’re here. Things got crazy last night after you left, and the letters came flooding in. We get that at the weekend sometimes. I think there are only one or two people left before you now.’
I can’t deny that I was a little bedazzled that I had all chances of getting another Pleasure so soon, but since I couldn’t get Vanya’s help, I was definitely not passing up on the money.
‘Come, I need to leave my overcoat then return to Vanya’s office in case someone comes to see her.’
I followed her to the room, where despite the two coffees I made myself and all attempts of staying awake, I dozed off on the couch. Exhausted was an understatement as fatigue was already becoming a part of my daily routine, bouncing like a ball from Pleasures to the Academy, just to be tormented every night by the problems running my life.
‘Wake up,’ Sonya’s voice made me realize that I probably was like an old woman falling asleep on a park bench, to the point that I was checking for any signs of drooling.
Temptress of the day!
