EMILEE
I OPEN MY eyes to a dark room. Sitting up, I wince. Shit. My entire body hurts.
Why am I …?
Titan! I slept with him.
“Fuck.” I cover my face and fall back down onto the bed. Removing my hands slowly, I look next to me, afraid he’s there, but he’s not. Throwing my arms to my sides, I release a heavy sigh. My hand hits something hard, and I pick it up, then drop the damn thing on my face. “Fuuucckk,” I moan and try again.
It’s my phone. And it’s almost dead because I didn’t charge it last night.
Sitting up, I look around to see I’m the only person in the room. I quickly go to my recent calls and call the one person I need to talk to.
“Hello?” Jasmine answers sleepily.
“Wake up.”
“Emilee?”
“Yep.”
“Wait … Do you know what time it is?” She yawns. Obviously, I woke her up.
“Doesn’t matter.”
“You okay? Do I need to come get you?” she asks in a rush, sounding more awake. She knew I had a job last night. “Your date …”
“No. I’m at Kingdom, and I’m fine.”
“At Kingdom? Why would you …” She trails off, and I hope she’s figured it out because I’m not sure I can say it out loud. “Did you stay with Titan last night?”
I fall to my side and bury my head into the sheets. They smell like sex. “Yeah,” I mumble.
She laughs. “How was it?”
Rolling onto my back, I stare up at the ceiling. “Amazing.”
“You’ve gotta tell me all about it. How about I meet you at the buffet there in thirty?” She yawns. “I need some breakfast.”
“Okay,” I say but pause. “Call Haven and see if she wants to join us.” It’s been so long since I’ve seen her. And Jasmine hasn’t mentioned her once.
She’s silent for a moment. “When was the last time you spoke to her?”
“I don’t know.” I try to add the months in my head. “Maybe four months ago. Why?”
“Well … she’s married.”
TITAN
I sit at my desk, my cell in one hand and a pen in the other. My door opens and when my eyes meet a set of dark green ones, I inwardly sigh.
“Let me call you back,” I say to Luca on the other end.
“I’ll see you in a few. I’m about to head that way.”
Click.
I set my cell on my desk, then cross my arms over my chest. “Mr. Bates. What can I do for you today?”
He’s dressed in one of his Armani suits ready to mow over anyone who gets in his way of ruling the world. Starting his day with me. “Fire her,” he demands, coming up to my desk.
I lean back in my seat, getting comfortable. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“The fuck you do!” he seethes, pointing his finger at me. “You hired my daughter as a fucking Queen.”
“I can’t disclose that information.”
“Cut the shit, Titan.” He slaps my desk. “I saw her pictures. And in one of them, she was wearing fucking lingerie!”
My door opens, and Bones enters, shutting it behind him. “I was walking by and thought I’d check to see if you needed some assistance.”
I stand from my chair. “I’m good.”
Bones looks from me to Mr. Bates. They have history. Not a good one. He wants to stay but reluctantly exits.
“I will not allow her …”
“To what?” I arch a brow.
His jaw sharpens. “To be a fucking whore.”
I snort. Pot meet kettle. “You spent over two hundred grand last year on Queens,” I remind him.
He pulls his shoulders back and bows his chest.
I walk around my desk and come face to face with him. “I will not fire her. And the only reason you know she’s a Queen is because you’re a client.” I reach up and grab his suit jacket, yanking him to me. “If you want to continue to pay for your sex, then I suggest you keep your mouth shut and not tell me how to do my job.” I shove him back.
He trips over his own feet and falls into the chair. I make my way back around to my desk and sit down across from him.
He bows his head and runs his hand through his hair. His concern is getting the best of him. “Do you know what this will do to me if it gets out that my daughter sells her body?”
“It won’t.”
“You can’t guarantee that,” he growls.
“My airtight NDAs do.”
He stands. “And if someone talks?”
I stand as well. “Then I will take care of them just as I would if any of my clients leak any info about my Queens.” I run a no tolerance kind of business. “I protect my assets.”
He seems to be satisfied with my answer because he turns to the door but stops and faces me once again. “Jasmine is not to know that I was here.”
