Page 16 of Their Courtesan
Chapter 5
SETH
“There it is. About time, too. Was thinking about turning around, since we don’t get any damn reception up here!”
Seth gestured to the high-tech GPS on Zack’s dash. “There. Right there. Stop relying on your phone for everything.” He swiveled the GPS in his direction and punched in the address for the Château. “For fuck’s sake…” Zack’s technophobia would be the death of them all one day. The man could wield a chainsaw to do elaborate, life-sized wood carvings, but heaven forbid he program his GPS.Me? I had no choice but to be proficient at my job.When hundreds of women and their unborn children put their lives in his hands…
“You’re so uptight.” Zack leaned back in the driver seat as he swerved down a private, unmarked drive.This type of place really values its privacy.For a while, both Seth and Zack worried that they would miss the turnoff entirely and end up on some dirt road taking them into Rednecktopia. Then the flora went from wild to carefully cultivated, and Seth recognized this region to be home to a plethora of isolated mansions. “It’s a good thing we’re taking you to a pleasure house, Dr. Christens. You’re in sore need of a show and a massage.” Zack chortled as they reached the first security gate. “Maybe more, if you finally open that pocketbook of yours.”
Seth rolled his eyes as Zack spoke to the guard on duty. The electronic fence slowly slid open, revealing a long, single-lane road leading through groves of cherry trees. “Seems silly to me. This whole paying for women business.”
The car advanced. “Like you haven’t stuffed some hundred dollar bills down a stripper’s thong and made her night.”
“I was drunk.”
“We could get you drunk here too!”
“At fifty dollars a glass, I’m sure.”
“You really need to learn how to let go of your money.” Zack rolled down his window and let his arm hang out, catching the warm spring breeze. “You doctors are too conservative. So what if we blow some wads here… and I don’t mean wads of money.”
“It’s a good thing these women are professionals, because you’re so crass you would scare them off otherwise.”
“Doubtful.” Zack eased on the gas as they came upon the first bend in the road. “You’re the one who has to watch out. When’s the last time you went on a date? A real one. Taking your mother out to lunch doesn’t count.”
“Whywould I count my mother as a date?”
“Because you’re a freaky gyno.”
Seth cleared his throat as the Château came into view. “You’re jealous I know more about pussy than you do.”
“Don’t need to knowhowthey work as long as she’s coming, man.”
“Whatever you say.” Seth would have his best friend know that he was quite adept at pleasuring women – partially because he knew how pussy worked.I’d like to see him find the G-spot in fewer than three seconds.Seth was practically a party trick at this point. “Wait, isn’t this the old residence of that French Marquis?”
“If you mean the Marquis de Sade, then yes.”
Seth didn’t deign that with a response. He was entranced with the simple yet elegant architecture, spanning a good many meters and the type of styling one did not see often anymore. It reminded him of the Château Plessis Vair, which he visited upon his last sojourn to western France. Only this Château wasn’t quite as ostentatious as that one… apparently the old Marquis who had it built preferred to keep his French heritage a subtle reference, not a statement piece.
A simple sign pointed to guest parking near a fountain surrounded by blooming cherry trees. By the time Zack put his Jaguar into park, a doorman was already appearing in the door.
“Don’t worry. I got us the full tour.” Zack bounded out of the car, slamming the door with more fervor than he probably intended.
It was the middle of the afternoon, so the grounds were more active than the inner walls of the Château. Landscapers mowed the green lawns while gardeners snipped this and trimmed that. Their conversations peppered the air until Seth was in the foyer of the Château, taking in the elegant décor and listening to the revered silence befalling the room.
Hope we dressed nice enough.Neither of them wore suits, although Zack had left the denim at home and sported a nice pair of slacks and a smart dinner jacket. His dress shirt was Valentino. Surely, that was good enough for the man who could pull off any look. Seth, on the other hand, wore dark trousers and a cashmere sweater that showed off his physique. He was dressed simply, but formal-casual… it took him a good many years to realize that was an actual thing.
“Gentlemen,” came a soft voice from another room. A door swung open, admitting the lady – or was it the madam? – of the house.Oh.Seth was not the best with names. When he heard the woman who ran this place was named Monica, he thought nothing of it. Nobody told him it wastheMonica Warren, the former girlfriend of billionaire assholes Jackson Lyle and Ethan Cole… and the current wife of Henry Warren, a man Seth attended the same boarding school with. While Henry had been two years ahead of Seth, that blond giant had left a favorable impression on the young boy already studying premed. It was no surprise when Seth had been invited to the wedding in February.She was a beautiful bride…Already pregnant, too. Now she looked, well, pregnant.That’s my official doctoral analysis.“So good of you to stop by today. You’ve picked a great day for a tour. Wednesdays are generally quiet days, so you almost have the place to yourself.”
She came to them, doing her best to not waddle in her Louis Vuitton flats. Yet Seth’s eyes couldn’t help themselves: he instantly recognized the way a woman with swollen feet walked, especially if she was not wearing shoes that accommodated the daily fluctuations of pregnancy. He saw it a million times in his office. Some women didn’t mind getting fashion advice from their obstetrician, but the others…Five bucks says I know her doctor.Was it Cavil? No, he kept to the Hamptons these days. Hamilton? That guy was so old he thought Seth had been too young to be a proper doctor, let alone for elite women. It must’ve been Jordan. Decent fellow. Knew his stuff, even if his bedside manner was gruff.
“Pleasure meeting you,” Zack said, shaking Monica’s hand. She was a good two heads shorter than Seth, so when they shook hands, he had do his best to not literally look down on her. “We were at your wedding, actually. Distant friends of your husband.”
“Thank you for attending.” That must have left a favorable impression on the madam, for her shoulders slightly slouched and her smile grew softer. “Can I interest you in complimentary drinks? We received a new shipment of Knob Creek.”
“Sounds delicious.” Zack clapped Seth on the arm as they followed Monica into a receiving salon. “Get some bourbon at three in the afternoon.”
The first glass may have been complimentary, but Seth’s credit card was already on file here. It was required for him and Zack to make a first-time appointment. He looked around. What else could he get charged for?
