Page 11 of Gilded Dreams

“Touché. Speaking of...” Justice pushes up from behind her desk and sinks into the couch next to me. “Time for Christmas gifts.”

The tablet in my hand is swiftly replaced with my friend’s hand. “Wait, what?”

Justice turns to me, and we face each other. “Gifts? I don’t have mine for you given it’s only November. Christmas is like five weeks away. Don’t we have a pact to panic shop a week before?”

“Yes, but this is an exception. I have mine for you. Open it!” Justice reaches around the side of the couch and pulls out a silver box with a sparkly red ribbon and places it on my lap.

“This isn’t a fruitcake or something is it?” I tug at the ribbon and when it falls to the side, I lift the lid to find nothing remotely close to fruitcake.

I pick up an elegant white envelope with gold embossed letters that spell out The Gilded Key Society in raised letters.

Nerves cause my fingers to tremble over the fine paper. Though I never dared step foot inside the atrociously expensive and elite adult club, the rumors have always piqued my interest. Membership for unconnected people like myself comes with a hefty price tag that hits five figures easily, so I didn’t follow through with my curiosities.

“Justice,” I say tentatively. “What have you done?”

She takes the box and taps my hands impatiently. “Open the envelope already, silly woman!”

Fear of what I know I’ll find inside makes me drag in a harsh breath. But I slide the slip of thick paper from its encasing and peel open the folded sides. It takes me three times to read the invitation before the words sink in fully.

In elegant swirls of flourishing black ink, the words read:

You have been given the gift of desire this Christmas.

The brave of heart need only accept.

Should you count yourself among this elite group, arrive promptly at eight on the night of November 5th at the red door to live out your most daring fantasies and darkest desires. May your every wish come true this holiday season.

Welcome, our newest key bearer, to The Gilded Key Society.

The air seizes in my lungs. I look at the date again. Tonight? “You’re kidding.” The cost of this invitation...my head spins. “You have to be sleep-deprived, Justice. Tell me you didn’t just spend ten thousand dollars on me.”

“It was a bit more than that and you are worth every penny and more.”

Justice wears a smile of pure bliss, and for a minute I think she’s lost it. All those sleepless nights must have messed with her head.

She bats a hand in the air. “That’s not important. What is though, is you calling the number at the bottom and accepting your reservation. Or I’ll do it for you.” She pats me on the leg. “Either way, this is happening.”

I’m already on my feet and across the spacious office. I look out over the throng of tiny people milling along the streets twenty floors below us and then back at my tablet. “There’s way too much to do for me to spend time on fantasies and whatever else my brain can cook up about what goes on inside those walls.”

I don’t date all that much. The last time I did it landed me in hot water with an overzealous stalker who couldn’t take being stood up, I guess. Not that I meant to leave him hanging, I just freaked out about meeting a stranger for drinks and couldn’t force myself to follow through with the date. After that I scratched my one foray into dating apps and deleted my profile. There were a few double dates before I turned partner, but every single one never returned my calls nor cared for a second date.

Never mind the voice screaming in the back of my mind that none of them stand up to Atlas, Ryder, or Brogan.

Sad, but true. Braving uncharted dating territory just isn’t my thing. After becoming a partner, everything outside of work dried up except the persistent asshole who keeps me triple checking my locks at night and changing my number every other week.

The pain of rejection, no matter how hard I try, never leaves my heart.

“I don’t know, Justice.” I bite at my nail and seriously consider burning the invitation in my hand in a nearby wastebasket.

“Look.” Justice joins me and places her hands on my shoulders. “Let’s get real for a second, okay. Sex. Hot, glorious, bona fide kinky sex happens inside those walls and you and I both know you need it. Or risk having a cold and lonely holiday. I don’t want that for my friend. Not when something can be done about it.”

I huff a laugh recalling how she hooked up with her trio of men. “It’s a little ironic, don’t you think? Me going to a club to get some given how you met your men auctioning off your virginity.”

Justice arches a perfectly shaped brow. “Life’s little ironic jokes. I love it!”

But I’m already shaking my head with the perfect excuse. “We have four contracts, two mergers and one of the clients wants a few hours of our time. It will take forever with us both working eighteen-hour days as is. I can’t afford days off.”

“And that is exactly why you need this. Being a partner comes with perks. Like taking time off without permission. Mergers and clients are not going anywhere.”

---