Page 1 of How We End
CHAPTERONE
WYATT
October 8
I’ve hated sunsets since I was sixteen.There was nothing magical about them.The world didn’t soften, and promises of love weren’t honored because the sky turned pink.No one rode off to their happy ending.The only thing that came after a sunset was the harsh reality of the sunrise.And maybe that was why I loved Las Vegas so much.From the Strip, the neon outshone any sunset.It glowed with all the possibilities that Las Vegas held.
“When will you be back in LA?”
Richard pulled my attention from the view.From the penthouse of the Starlight Sands, you could see the entire Strip.It was my favorite view.“I don’t know.Why?”
“Because.”Richard took my chin, tipping my face to the light.He was searching for all the imperfections he could fix.“Your age is starting to show.You could use a little filler here and here.”He ran a fingertip from the corner of my eye to my jaw.
Dr.Richard Valentine was a high-profile plastic surgeon from LA.His rich and famous clientele kept him too busy for a relationship.At least that was what he claimed on his profile.There were plenty of escorts in LA, but he didn’t fuck where he slept.And I had a reputation for keeping my life very private.Which meant his little secret wouldn’t be splashed all over the gossip page of theLos Angeles Times.
“Myage?”So was his.Richard was in his mid-sixties, an average-looking man who had a little too much work done to his face.His skin had lost its firmness, his hair was thinning, and a little filler wouldn’t fix his short performance problem.
“Yes,yourage.What are you now, thirty-six?In another year, you’re going to need a breast lift,” he said, cupping my left breast, ducking slightly to examine them.“They’re losing their firmness.”
“I’m thirty-five.And my tits are fine.”I stepped away, pulling my robe closed.
“I don’t pay forfine.I pay for perfection.”
Nothing that came out of Richard’s mouth surprised me anymore.I would be concerned if he didn’t have something to complain about.I knew when I took him on as a client how particular he was.When I was twenty, he could find nothing wrong with me or my tits.I opened the bedroom door, ready for this session to be over.Richard was exhausting, and not because of his sexual prowess.“Well, Mr.Valentine, as always, my time with you was…” I looked him up and down.“Short.”
Richard scoffed, tugging on the sleeves of his designer shirt.“I’m not here to please you.I’m here to enjoy the company of a beautiful woman.”He stopped in the doorway, looking me up and down.“I can have average for free.If you can’t live up to my expectations, I’ll have to find my entertainment elsewhere.”
He was right about one thing: I was getting too old for men like him.“I don’t care.”I smiled before calling to my bodyguard, “Jackson, please show Mr.Valentine to the door.”
“You’ll care when you don’t have my monthly ten grand coming in.”Richard stepped through the door, taking the suit coat Jackson held out for him.“I’ve recommended you to a friend.Gabriel.Show him a good time.”
“My tits aren’t too saggy for him?”
“He has much lower standards.”Richard checked for his wallet.“Call my office.”
“Mr.Valentine.”Jackson motioned for the door.“Cassidy, Margo is waiting for you.”
I walked into the large living area of the penthouse suite to find Maverick’s PA sitting cross-legged on the couch, her laptop in her lap.
“God, what a fucking asshole.No wonder he has, like, ten ex-wives,” Margo said, not looking up.
“It’s only three.How long have you been here?”Margo was my scheduler, part-time accountant, PA, and condom orderer.She, along with Jackson, was an employee of Star Light Inc.and Maverick Sands.
“Long enough to hear Dickie is a one-minute lover.Is he always that loud?”
“Louder,” Jackson said, coming back into the suite.“Do you need anything else, Cass?”he asked, gathering up his things.
“No, last client of the night.Thanks, Jackson.”I waited for him to close the door.“Why are you here so early?”Ten o’clock was prime time for Maverick to need a babysitter.
“Maverick had athingat the Golden Serpent.”Margo rolled her eyes, her face lit by the screen of her laptop.“He should have named that place the viper’s den.”She glanced up.“He wants me to go over the next couple of weeks with you.”
Only Maverick would have his PA schedule time with this whore.“You want a drink?”
“No, still on the clock.What was Dickie’s issue this week?”
Some men had normal kinks like being pegged or edged, but Richard liked degradation, not as a kink, as a personality trait.“That if women want equal treatment, they should do equal work.”I made a tequila soda before flopping down on the couch.Last month he was going to solve the abortion issue by putting girls on birth control when they hit puberty.
“Does that include the bedroom?”
