Chapter 19
Emma
Everyone is already seated when I walk back into the room. Abbott gets started on his speech, so I’m not able to ask Mercy about Sebastian. Besides, I’m not here to talk about him. I’m here because Mercy needs an advocate. I know she’s too overwhelmed by the numbers being thrown around to think straight. But I take my best friend duties seriously and ask the questions I know we’ll both have later. For thirty minutes, I throw questions at Abbott about benefits, work schedules, and days off. The usual interview questions. There are a handful of other talkative people in the room but most are just as sticker-shocked as Mercy. I hope they all have advocates of their own to keep their heads on straight.
Everyone has their own reason for considering this kind of work. For Mercy, the point of taking this job is that she’ll be able to spend more time with Owen, so we need to make sure that is actually going to happen. Abbott asks for any last questions, and one springs to mind so I raise my hand again.
Abbott smiles down at me from his place at the front of the room. “Yes, Emma?”
“Do you already have clients lined up? What if there are only a few clients at the beginning, and you have all these consultants? Can you guarantee a minimum number of hours?”
“Great question. I’ll have to work out the exact details once I know how many consultants we’ll have, but I think if you commit to being available to take clients on a walk-in basis for a certain number of hours per week, I can guarantee you a minimum salary. Maybe $1000 per week, even if you have no clients. But I don’t expect that to be an issue. I’ve floated the idea around several of my customers at Pearls, and everyone seems very excited for me to get this place opened up. If anything, I think we’ll be turning clients away. Getting hours shouldn’t be difficult.”
“Thank you for coming.” Mercy squeezes my hand, excitement written all over her face. “It sounds too good to be true.”
I nod and then lean closer to her ear so no one else can hear. “But don’t forget, you have to have sex with strangers all day to make that kind of money.”
Mercy sighs. “It’s not as hard as it sounds. The first few times at Pearls, I wasn’t sure I could stomach it. But after a while, it’s like being with a boyfriend that you’re not that into anymore. You can do it, but you’re relieved when it’s over.”
The reminder of Mercy having sex with a few choice clients at Pearls makes my stomach knot. “Hey, how do you know Sebastian?”
Mercy’s eyes go wide. “I was going to ask you the same thing. He’s one of my regulars at the club. How do you know him?”
I consider how to answer this. I mentioned to Mercy that I’ve been seeing someone new, but I haven’t told her his name. Honestly, it never occurred to me that she might know him. “I met him on a delivery.”
There. It’s not a lie, but not the full truth.
She sighs heavily. “Oh, good, because he’s one of the guys who gets extra services.”
The knot moves up to my throat, and I’m not sure how to react. She didn’t do anything wrong, and neither did Sebastian. But the betrayal I feel is real, nonetheless. “So you guys are having sex?”
“Yeah, why?” Mercy can tell from my voice that she’s not fully in the clear. “Are you into him?”
Not anymore. I shake my head and stand up. “No, it’s fine.” I head straight to the door, needing a minute to process this new information.
Unfortunately, Sebastian appears in front of me before I can escape to the restroom. “We need to talk.”
I inhale sharply through my nose and slowly breathe out, trying not to freak over something that’s my problem and not his. “I’ve got to pee, but your other side piece would probably be happy to speak to you.”
Okay, not exactly taking the high road. I wish I could say I’m a bigger person and jealousy doesn’t rule me, but clearly, that’s not the case. After finding out that Rick had been cheating on me for most of our relationship, I don’t have a lot of sympathy for guys who sleep around. Of course, if everyone is on board with that plan, no one gets hurt. But I was too stupid to get that clarification upfront, and now I just want to punch Sebastian.
In the balls.
I push past him and beeline it to the women’s restroom midway down the hall. He calls out to me, but I ignore him, praying my anger doesn’t manifest in the form of tears. Nothing is more embarrassing than being pissed off to the point of tears and having people think they have some sort of power over you because they can make you cry.
Fortunately, I do have to pee, so that distraction helps me get my emotions in order. I’m fine. I knew this was just a hook-up situation from day one. I really had no expectations, so I have no right to feel disappointed. But no matter how badly I try to fight it, I can’t deny how much I like Sebastian. Like really like him.
When he’s sweet, he’s really sweet. And when he’s funny, I never want him to leave. And good lord, the sex is incredible. I didn’t know sex could be like that. I’m not sure how I’ll go back to my vibrator after experiencing what a man like Sebastian can do. It was never like that with Rick. He could get me off, but it always seemed like a burden to him. My orgasms were about a three on a scale of one to ten with Rick, whereas my climaxes with Sebastian are at least a ten every time.
Mercy walks in while I’m washing my hands, and she looks terrified. “I’m so sorry.”
Her hands are positioned in front of her chest as if she’s praying for forgiveness. Now I feel like a bitch for reacting the way I did because she shouldn’t be feeling like she did anything wrong. I’m the one who encouraged her to take on the extra clients when her boss made the offer. She needed the money, and she said her clients were gorgeous and clean. There was no reason she shouldn’t go for it. And that’s what I told her. I just had no idea I’d be with one of those guys on her off nights, giving it up for free no less.
“You don’t have any reason to be sorry.” I force a smile and dry my hands. “You didn’t do anything wrong. Sebastian and I aren’t in a relationship or anything. We hooked up a few times, and that’s it. I thought I was fine with keeping it casual. That’s what I want… Well, in my head, it is. But I guess facing the reality is a little harder.”
“God, Emma. I wish I had known. How long have you been seeing him?”
“A few weeks, I guess.” I shrug. “I really did meet him on a delivery.”
“I’m sure it doesn’t help, but I haven’t seen him in the club in a couple weeks.”
Oddly, that does help. “Really? You’re sure?”
“I swear. The last time I was with him was almost a month ago, and I usually notice if he comes in.” She nods her head enthusiastically. “I’m positive he hasn’t been in on any of the nights I was working.”
Hmm. That might’ve been right around the time we first hooked up. Thinking back, I remember the night vividly. “Actually, the first time we were together was the night of Hilary’s bachelorette party. He brought me home.”
Mercy cocks her head and thinks about it. “Oh yeah, it was definitely before that.”
“Thanks.” I give her a hug, reassuring her that we’re okay. And then a thought crosses my mind. “Wait, are you into him? You had him first.”
Mercy shakes her head. “No, not at all. He’s hot and all, but the sex was a little…robotic.”
I have to hold back a snort because there’s no way I would describe what Sebastian does with his body as robotic. “Are you sure?”
“Of course. He’s all yours.”
Now I do snort at the absurdity of what she just said. “No, he’s definitely not mine. He’s made it abundantly clear that’s not what he wants, so it wouldn’t have worked out anyway.” But I have to admit that I’m happy to hear he might have held back a little bit with the strippers.
“Well, he’s waiting for you outside. I think you should hear him out.”
“About what? So he can tell me I have no right to be pissed because we aren’t together? I know that, and I feel stupid for wanting more, especially since I shouldn’t want more. I should be taking this time on my own to get over my stupid need to have a man in my life.”
“But?” Mercy raises an eyebrow and puts one hand on her hip, waiting for me to tell her why I can’t get over him.
I heave out a heavy breath and throw my head back, looking straight up at the ceiling. “But he’s so fucking gorgeous. And he’s amazing in bed. I don’t know what you guys were doing, but he does things to me that I didn’t think were humanly possible.”
Mercy’s jaw drops, and she hums loudly. “Damn, girl. Then you really need to give him a chance. If that man can rock your world, you need to let him.”
I roll my eyes at her simplistic view of relationships. Rich and gorgeous is nice for a while. At least, until they decide they want to fuck someone new. Then you have to hope they dump you. Because sometimes, they don’t have the balls to do it, and they just sneak around behind your back until they get caught. Honestly, I don’t want to deal with either one of those options anytime soon. “Thanks, honey. I’ll meet you at the car.”