Page 12 of Playing By His Rules

“Thank you, but his death is a complicated thing, too, because I had a very love/hate type of relationship with him. He’s also the main reason I’m here tonight.” She swallowed hard, as if gathering the fortitude to continue, and he waited patiently for her to go on.

“My mother died of breast cancer when I was only thirteen, and my sister was eight and, well, after that things with my father went sideways. He coped with the loss by gambling and drinking, to the exclusion of taking care of me and Andrea, and while I couldn’t control his spending habits when I was a kid, I honestly thought I finally had the upper hand as an adult. That his choices would no longer affect me and my sister, financially and otherwise, and that I was in control of making sure we always had money in the bank and a roof over our heads.”

She glanced down at their joined hands, and he felt her fingers flex against his palm as if she were trying to hold on a bit tighter. “When my dad died, a lot of things came to light. Like the fact that he’d stolen all the money out of my savings account and had opened numerous credit cards in mine and my sister’s names with our social security numbers and had maxed them all out.”

Jesus. His stomach twisted as he processed what she was telling him, unable to understand how a parent could blindside a child like that. Then again, hadn’t his own mother essentially done the same thing to him when he’d been a kid? One day she’d been in his life, and the next she’d been gone. Just abandoned him and his father without ever contacting Rick again. So, yeah, he easily sympathized with Madison’s plight.

Her gaze lifted to his again. “I’m still trying to process the fact that my father left us in so much debt, and me flat broke. Then, I lost my job last week due to downsizing . . .” She shook her head, her cheeks flushing with embarrassment as if realizing how much she’d revealed. “I’m sorry. I’m not telling you all this to make me sound like a charity case. I’m sure that’s way more than you wanted to know and is probably improper escort etiquette, spilling my life story like that.”

He smiled at her attempt to alleviate the moment. “I wouldn’t know, this being my first time and all,” he teased. “And don’t apologize. Shit happens to people and sometimes it just changes the direction of your life or the difficult decisions you end up having to make.”

She nodded in agreement. “Are you speaking from experience?”

He shrugged, neither confirming nor denying her question. “I just think that life can sometimes throw us curve balls that we never see coming, and we just have to make the best of the hand we’ve been dealt.”

Her entire expression softened. “Thank you,” she said in a quiet, subdued voice.

He tipped his head, not sure what, exactly, she was expressing her gratitude for. “For what?”

She exhaled a breath. “For understanding. For not . . . judging me for being here.”

Rick liked that his opinion of Madison mattered to her—not because she needed to impress him in any way, but he’d like to believe that it signified he meant more to her than just being a client. “Sweetheart, that’s not who I am. I’m not going to judge anyone for the difficult decisions they have to make.”

She looked genuinely relieved. “I know this isn’t the most conventional way to earn a living, but right now, until I get another full-time job, it will pay the rent and other bills.”

“And your father’s debt,” he added, unable to imagine just how heavily her dad’s betrayal must weigh on her mind.

“Yeah, that too, hopefully.”

The thought of her working as an escort and coming to The Penthouse night after night to spend the evening with various men made his stomach clench with envy, which was ridiculous since he had no claim to her. She might be starting out as a companion, but the thought of it escalating to those other sexual tiers at any point made him feel possessive as hell of her.

Suddenly, he wanted to get the fuck out of there so he could have her all to himself.

He ran a finger along the band encircling her wrist. “I know you’re wearing a pink bracelet, which I completely respect, but how do you feel about going somewhere private, like my hotel room?” He gave her his best charming, persuasive grin. “I want yourcompanionshiptonight, and I’m willing to pay for it. We can order in dessert and watch a movie on TV and just hang out.”

The smile that lit up her face was like a ray of sunshine on a cloudy day, making Rick feel lighter than he had in months. “Yeah, I’d like that.”

“Good.” He stood up and with her hand in his, he brought her to her feet, too. “Let’s go and have some fun.” Which was something he suspected she hadn’t had a whole lot of in her life lately.

As Rick escorted Madison out of the club, he couldn’t help but think that Mac and Dean’s jaws were going to drop when they saw the credit card charge that came through for his evening with an escort—while wondering what kind of kinkery he’d indulged in for the five-thousand-dollar price tag of securing Madison’s company for the entire night. He wasn’t sure if they’d laugh their asses off or be pissed when they learned that Rick and Madison had done nothing more than indulged in dessert, watched a pay-per-view movie, and enjoyed flirtatious conversation–andsleptin the same bed without having sex.

His bosses had insisted on paying, and Rick couldn’t think of a woman who deserved the money more than Madison. Even if it was for a chaste night with her all to himself.

Chapter 7

How could being with a man she’d just met feel so natural and right? Madison had no easy answers to that question, but with her hand secured in Rick’s much larger, warmer one, she followed him toward the entrance to The Penthouse, not at all panicked or anxious about spending time alone with him. He’d given her no reason not to trust him, and as crazy as it might be, she felt secure in his presence. In comparison to William, this gorgeous man was a true gentleman with no ulterior motives that she could tell.

The fact that he’d just listened attentively as she’d dumped her pathetic life story on him, andstillwanted to spend time with her, said a lot about his character. And she couldn’t deny that spilling the truth about her reasons for taking an escort job made her feel somehow unburdened and less . . . sordid. It was a means to an end, and that was something he seemed to understand.

So much for engaging in a light, superficial conversation with a client, she thought wryly. Somehow, he’d coaxed her to let down her guard and share deeply personal things without her feeling pressured to do so. It had been a long time since she’d allowed herself to be so open and honest about her personal situation because the last thing she wanted was for anyone to feel sorry for her or the crappy hand she’d been dealt over the years.

She’d always tried to be strong around her sister, and even her recent ex hadn’t listened to her worries like Rick had. He’d flat out told her he didn’t want to hear about her family issues, and eventually, he’d ended their relationship because according to him, her life came with too much drama. He wasn’t wrong, but his harsh words still stung and made her realize that most men wouldn’t want to date a woman long term who came with so much excess baggage. Even if those burdens had not been of Madison’s own making.

Rick held the door open for her to exit in front of him, and they stopped where Rebecca was still sitting at her glass topped desk. She smiled pleasantly at them while Rick pulled a black membership card from his wallet and handed it over to the other woman and she swiped the stripe into her card reader before handing it back.

“What tier are you interested in purchasing, Mr. Dunne?” she asked, referencing the different levels of companionship the escorts offered.

“I’d like to pay for the entire night with Madison. Until morning, please.”

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