Page 10 of Forbidden Mistress

Sam points at Avery. “Yes, excellent point. Exeter House is a safe location. Three of our roommates live there now, at least part time. Maddy and Lexi are there most of the time and Gwen bounces between there and the UK. I guess you could ask your cousin, right? She might know Lucien well enough to vouch for him. Exeter House is huge, but the community is small. Maddy says everyone knows everyone else’s business.”

“Yeah.” I suck in a sharp breath. “Maybe I’ll give Lexi a call and see if she knows anything about this Lucien guy.”

“What’s his last name?” Sam asks. “I can Google him.”

“I already looked him up and everything points to legit. I even emailed his work email asking if he takes pro bono since I don’t have a job right now and can’t pay him. I’m guessing this is his response. Maybe he felt sorry for me?” I laugh.

I know it’s almost impossible for lawyers who belong to big expensive law firms to promise pro bono work because they have to cover the services of the research team, the assistant work and everything else that doesn’t directly involve the lawyer.

“I could go with you tonight…while you check it all out.” Haley suggests. “Safety in numbers, you know?”

I perk up a little and smile at her. “Really? You’d go with me?”

“Hell yeah,” she half-laughs. “Hot trillionaires are hidden in every nook and cranny of that place. Might as well go on the hunt for one of my own! Maddy, Lexi and Gwen all found their guys there.”

Sam rolls her eyes. “They didn’t find them there. Okay, maybe Lexi did. But they just all happened to be members.”

Haley waves her hand dismissively. “Same difference.”

I hold up the invite. “Okay, well, a car will pick us up at eight! Now I’m getting excited.”

All the stress and worry of meeting this mysterious stranger is melting away now that Haley is going with me. She’s like my armor, my confidence. If we feel anything is the least bit sketchy, we’ll bail.

As soon as the girls file out of the room to go to their group yoga, I pull out my phone and text my cousin, Lexi.

Hey, do you know a guy named Lucien at Exeter House? He recommended me to a Ms. Lawrence for a job at Obscura. Assistant hospitality hostess. I just want to make sure L is legit and that this job is on the up and up.

I go about my afternoon, taking a shower, shaving every bit of my body I possibly can—hey, I might score soon with an incredibly hot executive lawyer. When I check my phone again, I see two messages from Maddy in reply.

He’s a high-level executive consultant and one of Ash’s business associates. He’s also an associate member of Exeter House, not fully fledged yet. All I know is that he’s rich as fuck and a playboy, but not dangerous.

As for the job…Obscura is an adult members-only club. You know that, right? I’ve been a few times with Ash. You’ll need an open mind as you’ll see a lot of new things, believe me. But working for Chloe Lawrence seems like it could be a lot of fun. Not sure what that job will entail, but there are a lot of moving parts to Obscura. I’m guessing she’ll have you at the coat and phone check room but that’s just a guess. I can reach out to her to find out more details if you want.

I suck in a breath and let it out in a long sigh. Well, all of that information has put my mind at ease, at least. I type out my reply.

It’s all good, by the time you hear back from her, I’ll have had a chance to ask her myself but thank you for all that info. Very good to know. Love you, cuz!.

Exeter House caters to the uber-ultra elite. The elite of the elite. I mean, fuck, their tap water tastes like it’s run through gold pipes. So, Avery is right, Exeter House wouldn’t risk welcoming someone into their realm who is problematic—even if he isn’t a fully fledged member yet.

By the time eight o’clock rolls around, both Haley and I are ready to go. We’re standing in the small foyer at Hill House, clutching our sequined purses. I tug on the hem of my silky black dress.

“Do you think this is too short?” I ask the room.

Sam is staring out the front window, waiting for the car to pull up, but she glances back at me. “No, it looks lovely on you. Your guy has great taste.”

“How’d he even know your size?” Haley asks.

“No idea. Wild guess, maybe?” I offer.

“That’s one hell of a wild guess,” Sam says. “Maybe he fucks so many women that he knows how to size them up?”

“Gross!” I scrunch my nose. “I choose to believe it’s a lucky guess.”

Lexi did say Lucien was a playboy, but I didn’t tell them that. The last thing I need right now is anyone talking me out of going to Exeter House this evening. The choice is made. Haley and I are going. It’ll be an adventure, right? Right.

The car pulls up right at three minutes to eight, and the driver gets out and comes to the door. Avery and I say our goodbyes to the rest of the girls and climb inside the luxurious black town car.

We’re offered champagne, weirdly, which gives me pause, since I’m on my way, essentially, to a job interview. I don’t accept any, but Haley sips at a flute during the hour-long ride to Malibu. We spend the time chatting about anything and everything, and for a time, I’m distracted from my nervousness.

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