Page 54 of Courting Gossip (Courting)
‘One where it will write down what I say. Rielle called me with some work for Luxxor, but I just did my nails yesterday.’ She wiggled them at him. They were red and shiny. They’d looked super-sexy biting into his shoulders.
His gaze got stuck. Apparently he thought so too. He rubbed a hand over his head. ‘Sure, you can use it.’
She followed him down the hallway to his office. She hadn’t spent much time in the room. It seemed more private and off limits – like the king villain’s lair. He sat her down in front of his desk and soon had her set up with his laptop and a headset.
‘How does it work?’ she asked.
He backspaced over the words the software had written. ‘Just speak clearly. It will get better as it goes along.’
‘I didn’t see that. What did it say?’
‘Chow on the fork.’
She made a face. ‘I said, “How does it work?”’
He pointed at the screen. ‘And it got it right that time.’
‘OK.’ She adjusted the headset so the microphone didn’t hit her nose. She could get the hang of it. ‘Thank you.’
He hesitated.
‘Unless you…need me for something?’ she asked.
The look on his face went from curious to hardened.
Genieve sighed. She didn’t know how to play this game of pretend. Did he want her for real or was she his escort? He’d said she wasn’t supposed to play him, so she flicked her fingers at him. ‘Shoo. You can’t hear this.’
His lips quirked, but his curiosity had been roused. ‘What kind of work did they send you?’
‘Nothing, really.’ She set her phone on the desk and casually swiped through screens. ‘Just some database work.’
‘Database?’
She rolled her eyes and muttered underneath her breath. She could hear it in his tone. Even that was too much information to give him.
He stepped back towards her. ‘Are you telling me that Luxxor keeps databases of information on people?’
‘No.’ She wasn’t telling him that. He’d figured it out on his own.Drat.
‘Is there information in there on Gunderson?’
‘This has nothing to do with him. Besides, it’s little stuff like what kind of food a client prefers or the activities they enjoy doing.’ And maybe a few idiosyncrasies like the client was vertically challenged and not to wear heels…or that he had an upcoming business deal that could affect the stock market…or that he had a teensy problem with prescription painkillers…You know, the little things.
Brody went quiet. ‘Why do they have you filling it out?’
Genieve had been so prepared for him to demand that she remove everything pertaining to Samuel that the question caught her by surprise. And then it left her gut-punched. ‘Because I’m good at it. I’m able to read and understand people –except for you.’
She stood up and the headset jerked. She ripped it off and slammed the laptop shut. ‘I haven’t escorted everyone in DC, Brody, and most of our engagements don’t involve sex. Luxxor sends people out on dates, and we try to pair clients and escorts who will have a nice time together.’
‘Jenny, I didn’t mean…’
‘Yes, you did.’ She gathered up the laptop and its accessories. ‘I’m going to my bedroom.’
‘I was hoping you’d be moving into my room tonight.’
She stopped in the doorway.
‘Fine, but you wanted the girlfriend experience.’ She flipped her hair over her shoulder. ‘You’ll be sleeping on the couch.’
