Page 78 of Their Courtesan
As his fingers gingerly dipped inside her, Judith pressed her lips against his skin, silencing her dismay.
***
“My maternity leave will start on July 18th,” Monica announced at Monday’s meeting. “I won’t be coming back to the Château for at least a month, and don’t plan to work again until atleastsix weeks after. Judith will be effectively be the madam while I’m indisposed.”
Four pairs of eyes glanced at the woman in question. Judith, sitting on a couch, chewed on the inside of her cheek while one of her feet bounced on the plush material beneath her.No big deal. Gonna run a multi-million dollar establishment by myself for at least six weeks.Monica had been grooming her for this moment for months. Not like Judith didn’t know how everything ran by now, from ordering supplies, to placating clients, to booking appointments, to overseeing the maids, butlers, cooks… shit, Judith had been doing that latter bullshit for weeks now.
“So be nice to her,” Monica added. “She’s taking orders directly from me, but I don’t want anything to do with you all while I’m recovering.”
“Isn’t your due date at the end of July?” Grace asked. “You’re cutting it awfully close. Are you sure it’s okay?”
Monica barely deigned her with a look.She’s a workaholic. It’s not even surprising that her maternity leave is only going to be six weeks.One of the only women in the country who could afford a leave as long as she wanted, and Monica took the standard amount off. Judith was one of the only people outside of Matilda and Henry who saw what Monica had done to her chambers in the past month. One of the underused walk-in closets had been turned into a hideaway nursery, complete with changing table, rocking chair, and a bureau full of baby clothes, a lot of them suspiciously feminine.Either she’s going old school Victorian or she’s having a baby girl.Monica hadn’t told anyone the sex of the baby, not even Henry. She probably knew, though. Monica fucking knew everything, let alone what was happening in her own body!
Even one of the sinks in the master bath had been retrofitted for baby bathing. Monica was going to be bringing an infant to the Château as soon as she was able, and nobody would stop her. When Judith glibly commented on the additions the last time she was in Monica’s room, the madam would only imply that any babies in the Château wouldnotbe leaving her chambers, and Matilda would be doubling as a nanny while a real nanny would be working Fridays and Saturdays, the busiest days at the Château.
Of course, nobody was excited about having Baby Warren around while debauchery went down and suspiciously legal activities commenced, but what the boss wanted, the boss got. Monica was lucky she had that Warren money and power now. Nobody around to call her an unfit mother to her face, although Judith had heard plenty every time she went into town or stopped by Monica’s parties at the Warren Estate.
I hate snobby-ass bitches.If the broads weren’t gunning for Monica, they were going after her close friend Jasmine Bliss, the newly minted fiancée of Monica’s ex-boyfriend and primary investor, Ethan Cole.
It was a small world.
The meeting adjourned with nary a comment from anyone else. Monica, however, pulled Judith aside and asked to see her in her office.
Five minutes later, they were sitting in a stuffy, sunny office that demanded at least afanbe turned on. Yet Monica sat down in her turtleneck sweater and loose skirt, looking like a freezing matron even though it was at least seventy outside. Easter had come and gone. Wasn’t it time to start wearing sundresses?
“I take it things are going well with Mr. Bolivar and Dr. Christens?”
Judith barely had time to settle in her chair before that comment dropped in her ear. “It’s fine,” she muttered, trying not to think of either one. Judith had awoken Monday morning still wrapped in Miguel’s arms, her body refusing to let go of his until he had made love to her one last time.I didn’t charge him. What is wrong with me? I only charged him for the night before… I didn’t want money for the morning… I’m doomed. I’m fucking doomed.
When Miguel finally left, Judith had to get ready for Seth and his canvases. Judith had been so anxious to get the taste of Miguel out of her body that the first thing she did when Seth arrived was seduce him right into bed.I fucked them both in one day.That wasn’t the weird thing. The weird thing was that the moment Seth climbed on top of her, all Judith could think about washim.Miguel who?
These men were going to be the end of her. She was able to forget the other when she was with one, but right after it ended her brain was full of them both.
Miguel said he loved me.Seth had also said it, without words. Judith? She had told Miguel she loved him too!
The world was ending.
“Good,” Monica said, interrupting Judith’s thoughts. “Both men keep bidding on you. Do you know how high they’ve gone? They’re going to hitone hundred thousandsoon. A month! Can you believe it?” Her smile was genuine, but her tone attempted to be subdued.The damn sub in her.“You’ve outdone yourself, Judith. You should be proud.”
“Yeah, I am.”
Monica dropped her smile. “What is it? You’ve been quiet all day.”
“Nothing. Just tired. I worked nonstop this weekend.” Monday was her Saturday. If it weren’t for the meeting, Judith would still be in bed, probably dreaming of her would-be patrons. That had been happening a lot lately. One minute she would be Miguel’s, and then the next she was with Seth, asking him to paint her like one of his French girls. Which was absurd. If either of them had French girls, it was Miguel. Judith was no Kate Winslet.
Yet Monica was one of the most intuitive women in the world. She knew the difference between tired and bothered like they were red and blue. “This will be over soon, and you’ll have a patron again. Although if you’ve decided on your preference, now is a good time to tell me. I’ve received word from Mr. Bolivar that he will be going back to Monaco for two weeks and may not be able to update his bids. He’s asked for leniency.” She chuckled. “I think he was close to offering a larger sum, but I reiterated that rules were rules. Only five thousand increments at a time. We build more buzz that way.”
“Like you’re not going to announce to the world how much I go for.” Judith sighed. “Sorry. I don’t mind. I’m… muddled.”
For as much as Monica attempted to be jovial, she could not keep up with Judith’s melancholy. “What’s going on? Did one of them do something?” She gently laid her hand on her desk, her soft pink nail polish glistening in the sunlight. “You need to tell me. You’re tough, I know, but…”
“It’s not like that.” Judith wasn’t about to let her boss think the best men to ever walk into her boudoir were up to nefarious things.I can handle myself.Judith had been on the brunt end of everything. Back when she had little protection and even less street-smarts… well, it was a good thing she had a knife in a couple of situations. “All I’ll say is that they’re not like my usual clients.”
No matter how neutral Judith tried to keep her demeanor, Monica could read anything. Everything. Bullshit and honesty alike. Why did Judith even try to keep things to herself around there? What was she afraid of? She was hardly the first woman in her situation.
“Judith,” Monica’s voice was terse. “Don’t do this to me. We need you. Keep your head in the game.”
She swallowed. “I don’t know what you’re thinking, but it’s not like…”
