"Do you work here?"
He chuckles and shakes his head.
"No, Miss Porter, I don't work here," he says. "I'm one of the agency’s patrons."
"Patrons?" I repeat. "You mean client? You buy women?"
He regards me with a serious look as if to warn me not to overstep. "You said you're here for an interview?"
So, he chooses to ignore my question. That means my assumption was correct.
I nod. "Yes, with Miss Bar-"
"What kind of interview?" he interrupts. "Is this some kind of school project? A term paper?"
I frown at him. Is he mocking me?
"No," I reply. "I'm a reporter. I work for the Daily Liberty."
His expression clouds over instantly, but just for a split second. His eyes flicker and he presses his lips together, his face contorting in a grimace of shock for a very short moment. Is he just surprised, or did I say something that frightens him?
"Something wrong?" I ask, speaking in a high pitched voice to feign innocence.
He's quick to shake his head. It requires effort for him to appear as relaxed and checked as he did before.
"No, no," he says hurriedly. "I’m just surprised. You can't blame me for assuming otherwise when I first saw you, young lady."
Young lady?
Who does he think he is? What makes him think that it's okay to talk to me in this disparaging manner?
I swallow dryly, shaking my head at him. Well, if he's an agency client, he may just not be familiar with any other way. He seems way too sophisticated to adhere to that simple logic, but if he's used to buying women for pleasure, he simply may not know the proper way to talk to women.
I make a point of looking over his shoulder to check the hallway behind him, even though there's no one there.
"Well, if you're not here to fetch me for the interview, I don't think we have anything further to discuss," I say, fixating on him with what I hope is as piercing of a gaze as his. "If you'll excuse me."
I make an attempt to move past him, despite lacking an idea of where to go to, but he stops me. I jerk back when his hand closes around my upper arm, pulling me back with aggression that I hadn’t been expecting.
"It'd be a pleasure to find your pretty face in that folder the next time I come here," he whispers huskily, his lips close to my ear. I gasp in surprise, trying to battle the ominous heat rushing to my face.
"Excuse me, wha-"
"It's a pity, really," he adds, scanning me seductively from head to toe, lingering when his gaze reaches my breasts. "You have no idea how much money you could make with this."
With that, he releases my arm. Turning his back to me on the spot, he briskly leaves me behind as he strides away.