Chapter 14 – Elie
“What are you doing, spying on me?”
“You know damn well that I am. It’s a good thing, too, because you were about to give it up to Scott. What were you thinking? You’re worth so much because you’re untouched. Don’t ruin it with a few moments with him.”
She refused to admit how close she’d come, but I knew better. I’d had cameras and microphones installed in the showers after the last time the two of them were together. How right I’d been to do so!
“It’s my body, and it’s my right to give it away to whoever I want to. You get your percentage, far more than you charge everyone else, so why does it matter?”
She wasn’t supposed to know that, but Mariah was apparently a bit smarter than I’d given her credit for. When I realized that she was pulling Scott into the bathroom to get away from the cameras, I should have taken precautions. I was holding on to her by a thread. I knew that.
“That was your choice in the beginning because you didn’t want a high flat rate.”
“And ever since then you’ve booked me till I haven’t had a day off in almost a month. You’re being too controlling. You’re not my boyfriend, you’re my boss.”
Mariah was working herself up. Her face was bright pink, and so help me she was beautiful that way. It was hard to be mean to her or be mad at her when she was looking the way she was. She was stunning, and I couldn’t help myself anymore.
“This is how it is, Mariah. You knew what the rules were when you started, and that means that you have to hold to the guidelines that you set out in the beginning.”
“You also said that what I did would change. Maybe it’s time for that to change.”
I hadn’t been expecting that answer, and I had to know if she knew what she was talking about.
“If you’re talking about getting rid of your virginity, we’ll figure out a way to monetize that fully. You’ll get a good payday from that, but you should be more choosy about whom you want to give it to. It’s a great gift that there’s only one of, and once it’s gone, it’s gone.”
I wanted her to give it to me, but I had a feeling that it was Scott that she thought of when she thought of change. It didn’t matter that I’d let them barely see each other. Nothing had changed. I’d tried to give Scott another girl, but he wouldn’t even hear of it. Even when I offered up a new girl, a bit younger than Mariah, he hadn’t taken the bait. He always tried the new girls, but now he only had eyes for Mariah. Not that I could blame him; I only had eyes for her as well.
“I know, but it’s my gift to give and I don’t want someone like you trying to tell me what I can and can’t do. Sending those guys in, Bruno in, was ridiculous.”
“Just give me a couple of days. I’ll make sure that you get a huge payout for it.”
“You mean you’ll have a huge payout.”
“What’s the difference? We both will.”
Mariah was not getting it, or maybe I was going about it all wrong. I wasn’t sure what, but something wasn’t going the way I wanted it to.
“Just wait a couple of days and I’ll figure something out. There’s no sense in letting a little sappiness keep you from a lot of money.” I didn’t need it to keep me from a nice payday, either.
“I don’t know, Elie.”
“I do. That’s why I run this place. Take a couple of days off. I’ve been working you hard, so you deserve a break.”
“Are we not going to talk about the cameras and sound?”
“You knew they were there the first time you came here. Nothing has changed.”
“It feels like it has.”
I felt it too, but I didn’t think that it was all because of me. A lot of it had to do with her and what she had going on. There was something happening with her and Scott. He used to be my best customer, but now he was competition. He was trying to take Mariah away from me, and I wasn’t going to let it happen. I just had to find my opening. I was still looking for it. Knowing that Sasha was back home, I planned to call her and get some inside information from her.
Mariah left, and although she was upset, I knew she would be back. I would be seen as generous for giving her the weekend off. It would give me time to find a way to make some big money from her new decision, although I still wasn’t sure if that was what I wanted. What if I talked her into taking my money for it? How much would it cost?
***
“Haven’t seen you around much, Scott.”
“You keep the girl I want booked up, so there’s not much point coming by to visit any more, Elie.”
“There are many other girls to choose from. I think I gave you an option for Sandra last time you were here.”
The younger man smiled and moved to pinch a piece of lint off of his jacket sleeve. I couldn’t see it, and I didn’t know if it was really there and my eyesight was bad, or if he was doing it out of nerves. I liked to think of the billionaire as nervous. I had a feeling that it wasn’t the case, though. He’d been in more stressful situations. I’d worked with him for years. Scott wasn’t going to get torn up over a woman, not one of these women anyway.
“Yeah, but I want Mariah.”
I sat back in the seat and smiled at him. “Do you want something to drink?”
My question threw him off a little. When he finally answered, I could tell that his mind was still on Mariah.
“You just had Mariah, and I’ve got you scheduled again for next week. She’s a busy girl, I can’t help that. I’m just here to help facilitate her work.”
“You’re more than that, Elie, and we both know it. You’ve got some kind of hold on her, and I want to know what you want from her.”
“It sounds like I own her.”
“Do you?”
He was trying to get me to say something, although I wasn’t sure where he was going with it. “Do I what?”
“Do you think that you own her, Elie?”
I didn’t miss the way he phrased it. It wasn’t if I owned her, but if I thought I did. That meant that if I did, he was going to educate me in the matter. This was not going to end well. I was torn between a steady client who paid very well indeed and an ego that didn’t want to take his shit. Would he still come to my place if Mariah wasn’t available to him? I doubted it.
“She’s an employee, one that I make a lot of money for.”
“She makes a lot of money for you as well. I’ve read the forum boards.”
“Do you like how popular Mariah has become? She’s one of the busiest girls that I’ve got now.”
His teeth gritted, and I could tell that he wanted to hit me. He would get one good one in before Bruno and Lex took care of him. That was why I was feeling a little cockier than usual. Scott didn’t look like the type of guy that I wanted to get involved with on a personal level. He seemed like he would rather hit me than talk about anything constructive. That was usually my kind of scenario too – if it wasn’t me on the receiving end of it.
“What would it cost to have her for the week, or hell, for a month?”
“I don’t understand.”
“Yes, you do. I don’t want her handed out to anyone who comes through those doors, so what would it take for me to have her exclusively? I don’t even need to bring her here, so none of your rooms would be taken up. I just want to know what the price is to take her off your books for a while.”
“She makes me a lot of money…”
Scott’s knee was shaking, and I could tell that he was becoming more and more irritated with me. I had a feeling that I should call the guys in just in case, because he was not going to like my answer. That was okay. I didn’t mind, but he would.
“Name your price.”
“You’re willing to pay that much for a whore?”
His hands clenched at the side of his body as he sat, and I straightened up a little bit. I was going to need to pay attention to this man.
“She’s not a whore and you know it. You’re making her into a whore.”
“Mariah came here like all the other girls. She wanted to make money and I’ve made that happen. Why are you getting involved with something that has nothing to do with you? I don’t think Mariah would agree to it anyway. Have you asked her?”
“The rooms are wired and she isn’t answering her cell phone.”
“As to the first part, I won’t confirm if that’s the case, but I’ll say that if she isn’t answering your phone calls, it would appear that she’s not as into you as you would hope. You know how fickle females are, Scott. I know for a fact that you’ve had your fair share of them, so you know all about that. Don’t worry about Mariah so much. I’ll set you up with any of the other girls, on the house.”
He wasn’t going for it. I hadn’t thought for a second that he would, but it was all I could come up with. I knew that he was drawn to her, like me and several other men were. It was becoming a race to see who could convince her to give in, and Scott was going to win if it was a fair race. But nothing is fair in this life, and I was going to make sure that I stacked the deck in my favor.
“I don’t want anyone else here. I want Mariah.”
Scott had repeated that three times now. I’d misjudged his feelings for her as well. “I’ll talk to her and see what she says about going exclusive, but I wouldn’t hold my breath.”
“I thought this would be more productive than it has been. I thought you were a businessman.”
My jaw tightened as the man got up. He was like me: he didn’t like being told no. To get to the position he was in, I was sure that he didn’t make a habit of taking it for an answer. That made me like being the one who stood between him and Mariah even more. A man like him got everything. He didn’t deserve Mariah as well.
“I’ll see you soon, Elie. We’ll speak on this again.”
“I look forward to it, Scott. You know that you’re one of my best customers, and I always look forward to these little chats of ours.”
He didn’t say anything else, and I could tell that my comment had hit its mark. I wanted him to realize that he was the one getting all cramped up about it. I wasn’t going to worry about it. Mariah worked for me, and I was going to make damn sure that she wasn’t going to go anywhere.
After Scott had been gone a while I got another call about Mariah. This time it was from Travis, and he was calling about none other than the same thing I’d spoken to Scott about. I ran the idea of selling her virginity by him, and he jumped at the chance. It got me thinking.
“I’ll pay whatever price you set. Let me know the when and where and I’ll make the transfer.”
When I got off of the phone with Travis, my mind was whirling with ideas. How could I make the most money of off what was going on? How could I convince Mariah to do what I wanted and give herself to the man who would pay the highest price? She’d been holding on to her innocence for a long time. It was going to take something special to get her to choose my way.
Irritated that I still hadn’t found an in with her, I called Sasha and told her to come down. She’d taken a couple of days off when she got back and I hadn’t seen her in weeks. Maybe she would be able to help me somehow.