Page 24 of Courting Gossip (Courting)
He cursed under his breath. ‘Give me a few more hours.’
Now she truly did feel bad. Poor Samuel. He had two huge secrets that were threatening to come out. She straightened the pages of her contract that had wrinkled in her hand. ‘How did he take the news that I’ll no longer be his escort?’
Brody wrapped the tie around his hand and closed it within his fist. ‘He’s disappointed, but he wishes you the best.’
Genieve narrowed her eyes on him as every one of her radar detectors went off. The senator wished her the best? Like Samuel would ever say that. She’d slept with the man; she hadn’t polished his shoes. ‘Liar.’
Brody’s head snapped back as if she’d just bopped him on the chin.
‘You never told him.’ She made damn sure her clients would be more than disappointed without her. She did her job well – even if it took some creative fantasising on her part. Men begged when their time with her was over. ‘Don’t lie to me, Brody boy. You stink at it.’
He looked dumbfounded. ‘I’m a very good liar. It’s how I earn my money.’
‘Yeah? Well, so do I.’
He held her look for a long time, but then broke it to stare into the flames. ‘I’ll tell him. It just wasn’t the right time this morning. I needed him to perform.’
He opened the glass door to the fireplace, and Genieve felt the warmth of the fire hit her. ‘Just like I need you to get rid of that damn thing.’
He waited stubbornly.
‘Now, Jenny.’
And there he was, the dictatorial fiend. She sighed. The senator was a nice, if shallow, man. She knew he was sweet on her, yet the relationship was merely contractual on her part. They’d had a good run. Extending it any further would be foolhardy. She tossed the pages into the flames. The fire leaped as it was fed, and the paper curled in upon itself before charring and bursting into flames. It only took seconds until the evidence was gone, never to be seen again. For good measure, Brody took a fire poker and stirred the ashes.
‘Are there more of those out there?’ he asked.
The question took the wind right out of her sails, and it hurt. ‘No! There’s a reason it’s called an exclusive contract.’
‘Not for you.’ Colour actually lit his cheeks. ‘I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to imply…I meant other exclusive contracts for Luxxor.’ His fingers began tapping against his leg. ‘Does Luxxor have exclusive contracts with other politicians?’
Genieve folded her arms over her chest, suddenly uncomfortable. ‘I don’t know.’
His eyes narrowed. ‘You know.’
‘I don’t. Nina keeps that all confidential.’
‘But you have a pretty good idea. You see people together.’
‘I don’t see anything.’
‘You see everything.’ He stepped closer. ‘If there are other exclusive contracts out there, they need to be dealt with. I need to know.’
‘No, you don’t.’
‘If the press starts picking at loose threads…’
‘Then somebody else’s pants will fall down.’
His chin snapped back again, and Genieve felt a flare of triumph. He wasn’t the only one who could fight dirty.
He tried again. ‘You can’t withhold this from me. I told Nina I’d protect you.’
‘And you think it will help if I give away her client list?’ She laughed. ‘Try again, smooth operator.’
‘Jenny…’
‘It’s Genieve.’
