Page 107 of Their Courtesan
“Of course, it’s highly dated by now, and not the best quality.”
“Damnit, Judith, I don’t care about that.”
“Then what do you care about, Miguel?”
He reached to take her hand, but she pulled it away, securely folding her arms. “I care about you,” he said. “I care that you’re not hurt and not mad.”
“I am neither, rest assured.”
“Good.” Miguel folded his arms as well. Might as well build more barriers for them to tear down later. “Now… I wanted to talk to you about the other guy…”
Judith tried not to grimace, but failed.
“I know who he is.”
“Of course you do. There were pictures of him too. I don’t doubt you did your homework the moment you saw. You types always do.”
What did she mean by that? No matter. “No, I mean Iknowhim. We met right before the photos came out. His close friend owns the yacht next to mine down at the marina.”
“It’s a small world.” She sighed. “So?”
“Is there a reason you’re keeping up the bids? You know I’ll give you any amount you want, Judith. That’s how much you mean to me.”
Was it him, or were her walls building higher… and thicker? “It’s up to Monica. You heard her final terms. Put in your final offer. Sounds like the guy with the highest bid will win, Mr. Bolivar.”
What was that polite shit? She was acting like they never had any fun, that she never opened up to him, that he hadn’t exposed his heart to her more than once. “I don’t believe for one second that you, with your second-in-command rank and close relationship with your boss, can’t go up to her and say ‘I want Miguel to be my patron.’”
Judith continued to gaze at him as if he were nothing. Was she acting this way because Miguel wasactinglike a client with a lack of boundaries?I swear I am not like that.“I could, honestly, but I won’t. Because first and foremost I am running myownbusiness. I have to do what is in my best interest. Since you and Dr. Christens are both perfectly fine patron material, I will let money be the deciding factor. A girl has money to save.”
“I’ll give you whatever you want!”
“What makes you think he won’t either? Look, Miguel…” She finally softened, but it was more for her benefit than his. “We have a ton of fun together. Ilikeyou. More than most of the clients I’ve had in my life. That’s a big feat to accomplish. Last I checked, I had slept with hundreds of men.”
He tried not to bristle.As long as she’s been clean this whole time, it doesn’t matter. At all.Right. Haha. He could tell himself that until he was blue in the fucking face, but he was still a man in love. Why the fuck wouldn’t he be all over Judith, dreaming of monogamy and everything they could share with only one another?I don’t care about your past. I only care about your future.
“But?”
“But,” she continued, “I like him too. This job is always complicated. I count myself lucky that I have two equally good men vying for my best money-making position. If he does get it, so what? We can still see each other. Patronage isn’t monogamy. I’ll still be offering the same services that I always offer.”
That wasn’t the point. That was never the point. “I could never take you out again. I would always be at that guy’s scheduling whim.”
“That’s true. That’s the business here. Besides, Miguel… you need to remember. I’m not your girlfriend, regardless of how you introduce me to your family.”
“That was a cover!”
“I’m sure, but you need to keep that in mind. I’m your mistress, not your girlfriend. There’s a reason I have to draw that line.”
What was she doing? Alluding that he was forgetting what they were at the end of the day?Service provider and client… what a clinical way of looking at it.Wasn’t that how he used to see it, though? The whole point of paying a woman for superficial affections was to keep annoying things like emotions and expectations out of the picture. Look how that had backfired!
“You don’t feel anything for me at all? You said…” What a fool he was. She hadn’t really meant it when she said she loved him too. That was an act. He had paid her for that. At no point had Judith been anything more than a glorified mistress. There was a reason she was one of the best in the world. A fool. Such a fucking fool.
Judith stepped forward, taking his hand in hers. Such a soft, warm touch. He almost believed there was trust and desire in it. “Anything I feel for you besides respect and friendliness is irrelevant. I have a job to do. Going forward, I need you to not be jealous. Do you understand?” She said it so gently that he almost missed out on the meaning.
“I understand. I’m sorry if I ever gave you reason to doubt me or my intentions.” He said it, and yet the words were jumbled in his throat. Only years of thorough practice at orating during meetings and giving small speeches here and there allowed him to say those words clearly and confidently. “You’re special to me, Judith. That’s all.”
He managed to keep himself together… until she embraced him. Then every single bet was off.
Had she intended to seduce him? Was this a job still, or did she really want to be with him? Did it matter, when she was in his arms, kissing him, touching him where it mattered most? Miguel hadn’t intended to make love to her that day. He would’ve been content with a mutual understanding about what they both wanted from their business arrangement. Because that’s all it was, right?
So why did heswearhe felt nothing but the ginger sensations of love emanating from her? Maybe he really was that pathetic. Pathetically in love, that was.
