Page 54 of Destined To Fall

I stop breathing.“What about him?”

“He’s a client?” He pauses, watching me intently, but I refuse to give anything away.“For sex or…business?”

I say nothing.

“Which one is it, Viv?” There’s a desperation to his tone.

“Sex is my business. It’s all business.”

“Damn it.” He bounds off the bed, his agitation radiating out of him as he paces.

“What do you want from me? You went to all this trouble to talk about your father? Really?”

“I need to know what’s going on between you two.”

“Why? You won’t sleep with me, so what difference does it make? Why do you even care who or what he’s doing? In your own words, you and your father have next to no relationship. Why do both of you insist on knowing every freaking detail about each other but refuse to talk?”

“He asked you about us?”

“There isn’t anus.” His eyes narrow at that.“But yes, and like with you, I refused to tell him anything. Not that there was anything to tell,” I mutter.“I can’t give you the answers you want. I can’t give you anything. Why am I even here?”

“You’ve given me a glimpse of what’s underneath.”

“Fancy underwear? I can take it all off and give you more than a glimpse.”

“No! God, Vivienne. Why does everything have to be about sex? I’m talking about the real you.”

I laugh, but it sounds stilted.“What you see is what you get.”Gesturingto my elaborate ensemble.“I’m not a complicated being, Jer. I’m not a puzzle you need to solve. There’s nothing to me.”

“I’ve seen differently.”

I roll my eyes.“So I have a penchant for art. I have expensive tastes and like pretty things. It’s a lifestyle choice. I chose this. Simple.”

“That simple?”

“Yeah, I’m that simple.”

Silence.

With no response from Jeremy, seemingly ending the current conversation, I’m at a loss as to the etiquette here and what to do. I simply stare at him. And wait. My heart beats hard against my chest, making it painfully obvious as each second ticks by. Jeremy is stoic. The only evidence he’s not in some catatonic form of shock are his eyes and the swirl of emotion in them.

“Okay.” Jeremy finally breaks the heavy silence with one meaningless word.

“Okay? That’s all I get?”

“Okay, I agree.”

“To what? My career choice? Like you’d have a say otherwise.”

“No, I wouldn’t try to make you stop. I mean,I’ll take you at face value.”

“Face value? What does that even mean?”

“I’ll take you as you are.”

Oh.“I’d rather you just take me, and then I can be on my merry way.”

Jeremy rolls his eyes and shakes his head.“But, seeing as you are on the clock...” He gives me an impish grin, and I raise an eyebrow.“Ha. Nothing like that.”

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