Page 52 of Duplicity

‘You can have my boss,’ Talia says through gritted teeth. ‘I’m washing my hands of him.’

Another giggle threatens to break free. I could listen to these women all evening. The men they’re discussing are presumably some of the wealthiest, most powerful men in Europe, but they’re talking about them as if they’re annoying kids.

‘What’s he done now?’ Athena asks. To me, she says, ‘Talia’s boss, Ethan, is very hot and a total wanker. He has a face like a slapped arse most of the time.’

‘Oh no,’ I say. I may still be trying to figure Brendan out, but for the most part, he seems to be a good guy. A little immature, maybe, but he’s very good-natured. It must be rough to have to manage the moods of someone with a difficult personality, especially when you have to be intimate with him.

‘It’s just death by a thousand cuts, you know?’ Talia takes a big slug of the neat amber liquid in her tumbler, and I realise she’s already pretty drunk. ‘To be honest, I gave him my notice this afternoon. That’s why I’m getting hammered tonight.’ She brandishes her drink.

‘Oh, darling,’ Athena says. ‘I’m sorry. That’s seriously shit. What the fuck is his problem?’

‘Ugh, he has so much baggage, I don’t even know where to start. But I’m sick of him taking it out on me. He yells at me all the time, and it’s just not worth it. I’m sick of crying in the loos every day. The cleaning lady had to comfort me the other day. He’s an aggressive dickhead and he needs to find a way to work through those anger issues instead of bullying his assistant.’

‘Damn fucking right he does,’ Sophia seethes. ‘Was he aggressive in bed?’

Talia pouts into her glass. ‘That’s the worst bit. Yes he was, and it was fucking excellent. I’ll miss all the angry sex. Fighting was definitely our foreplay, and it was the only part of the whole bloody job I actually enjoyed.’

I frown. I’m glad she enjoyed it, but that’s not really my style. Thrashing it out with Brendan on the padel court this week was about as belligerent as I like my foreplay to be.

‘Hmm, interesting.’ Sophia appears to be turning over this new information. ‘I could stand up to him. I’d fucking kill him with my cheeriness. But if that failed, I’d take every inch of fat, angry dick he could throw at me.’

I can’t help it. I burst out laughing. These guys are absolutely hilarious, though I can already see how important it is to be able to laugh about this job.

‘You’d wipe the floor with him,’ Bree tells Sophia. She’s been watching the interaction with silent focus. ‘You should talk to Camille and get her to hook you up, babes. And you, Tal, should go find a nice, good-natured man who worships the ground you walk on. God knows, you deserve it after putting up with that shit.’

As the sun sets, Sophia, Athena and I drift toward a quieter corner of the bar, leaving the rest of the seraphim debating the merits of various investment opportunities with the ferocity—and, it seems, expertise—of Wall Street traders. Sophia secures us a small booth partially hidden behind a cascading crystal installation that catches the fading light and transforms it into prismatic fragments across our faces.

‘Honestly. How are you finding it?’ Soph—she’s told me to call her that—asks. ‘Fun? Hot? Creepy? Confronting? Terrifying? All of the above?’

I take a sip of wine as I consider my answer. ‘Definitely all of the above.’

Sophia leans in, her dark eyes sparkling with the promise of salacious gossip as she swirls her martini. She’s been knocking them back since I got here, but I still can’t tell if she’s hammered or just being herself. ‘First week with the infamous Brendan Sullivan. Give us the uncensored version. I bet he put a lot of noses out of joint by making a beeline for you.’

I hesitate, glancing at Athena, who responds with a knowing smile. ‘It's just us, Marls. Safe space.’

‘I don't even know where to start,’ I admit, taking a fortifying sip of my drink. ‘It's been... intense.’

‘Details, darling. We need details,’ Sophia purrs. ‘Is he as demanding as Athena said he’d be? I don’t know the man from Adam, so your secrets are safe with me.’

I feel my cheeks heat. I’m sure that, for most women in their twenties, dissecting their sex lives over cocktails is totally standard, but I missed that stage entirely. I couldn’t even tell my friends at uni about Joe—not till he knocked me up and the cat was out of the bag, anyway. So this feels downright bizarre, even if these women are professionals when it comes to shagging. ‘He's... thorough.’

Athena laughs. ‘Look at you blushing! You weren't this coy when you called me after your interview.’

‘That was different,’ I protest. ‘That was just us.’

‘And this is just us, plus Soph, who has literally done things that would make a porn star blush,’ Athena counters.

Soph shrugs. ‘Facts. But seriously, how are you holding up? I feel responsible for your wellbeing given I was the one who put the idea in your head in the first place.’

I stare into my glass, finding the right words. ‘Physically? I'm sore in places I forgot existed. Emotionally? I swing between feeling like I've hit the jackpot and feeling completely out of my depth. I mean, it’s not Brendan. He’s gorgeous. It’s no hardshipto let him do whatever he wants, you know? It’s just the whole… thing. It’s completely surreal.’

‘Welcome to the club,’ Sophia says, her voice softening. ‘That pendulum swing never fully goes away, but it does slow down. Sometimes the transactional aspect makes you question everything about yourself, and sometimes you eat it the fuck up. Am I right?’

‘So true,’ Athena observes.

‘What I wasn't prepared for,’ I confess, ‘was how much I'd... enjoy it.’ I’ve been wrestling with this since my interview, but the admission feels even more shameful to say aloud.

Athena reaches for my hand. ‘You think we don't all feel that? That weird guilt when you realise you're getting off on something that should be a transaction? But the straight-up exchange of sex for money gets confusing when you get moneyandorgasms into the bargain.’

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