Page 6 of Ruin
My brother.
And the woman sitting beside me.
We arrive at the airport after what feels like forever due to Sydney’s ridiculous traffic, and I’m relieved to be leaving the bustling city behind once again.
One of our full time drivers hands me Lily’s rather light suitcase before closing the boot.
I nod as I take the bag. “Thank you, Peter. I’ll see you in a few weeks.”
“Have a safe trip home, sir.” He climbs back into the car, pulling out into the line of traffic a moment later with practiced ease.
I’d had Claire, my assistant, book us onto the next available flight back to Brisbane. Claire is in charge of most aspects of my business life, yet I’ve never met her in person, and she has no idea what the nature of our business is. Virtual assistants are worth their weight in gold when you work in the sex industry.
Turning to Lily, it slowly dawns on me that this is the first time we’ve been alone together since I laid eyes on her a few hours ago, and I honestly don’t know where to start. So I simply wave my hand, silently urging her towards the doors of the busy airport. At least with this many people around, we aren’t truly alone and I won’t feel the need to attempt painful small talk once again.
Neither of us utter a word while we move through security and make our way through the crowd of travellers. I run mygaze over her as she fidgets beside me while we wait outside the business class lounge.
“Have you eaten today?” I ask, wincing internally at the harshness of my tone.
She has become so thin that I worry one stiff breeze will knock her off her feet. Having been a dancer her entire life, she was always slender. But her current state has me wondering if eating was the one thing in her life that she could control.
As someone who knows what it’s like to need to be in control after years of having none, I can definitely understand if that’s what is going on. But I’ll need to help her find a better form of control than starving herself to death.
She shakes her head, and another surge of anger hits me as I school my expression to remain neutral. It’s fucking five o’clock in the afternoon and she hasn’t eaten a thing?
Reminding myself to have a word with Daniel for not making sure she was eating, I hand our tickets and my ID over to the woman at the counter, and she opens the door for us. I give her a polite nod before ushering Lily inside.
Finding an empty booth, I place the suitcase under the table and turn to face Lily.
“Stay here, I’ll get us both some dinner,” I say, waving a hand towards the buffet that has been set up with a selection of dinner options for us to serve ourselves.
Another silent nod, and I bite back a sigh, leaving her at the table and heading towards the table with the empty plates.
I spend so much time in this place that the staff know me, and a few of them smile while they go about their work. It’s rare for me to have someone with me, though, and I’ve noticed a few interested looks in Lily’s direction.
I come to the Sydney locations more than any of the others. Between the three of us, Daniel, myself and Imogen oversee the operations of all six Australian clubs, but Imogen is the mainpoint of contact for the Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth club managers. The two Sydney locations and Brisbane don’t have club managers though, as Daniel and I manage those personally.
May as well, seeing as we live in them.
Daniel alternates between our Rose Hill and Point Piper locations, though his main residence is Rose Hill, which is our biggest club overall.
It’s obvious to me now that Lily’s presence was the reason he hasn’t been staying at Point Piper as often of late, and I shake my head a little for not noticing something was off before now. While every time we’ve spoken, he was at Rose Hill, he’d insisted on seeing me at Point Piper the last two times I’d come down, and I’d been too preoccupied with other matters to wonder why.
My phone rings as I reach the buffet, and I take it from my pocket, stepping aside to take the call when I see Imogen’s name on the screen.
“Imogen,” I say by way of greeting.
“Claire sent me some cryptic message saying I need to organise a room for someone? What the hell is that about?” Imogen replies, not bothering with pleasantries either.
It’s why we work so well together. Neither of us are concerned with niceties. We are both driven to succeed, and she has a direct, no bullshit attitude that is admired in men and often seen as cold and stand-offish in women.
The fact that she doesn’t give a shit about that is all the more the admirable.
“I’m bringing Daniel’s guest back with me,” I reply, glancing over my shoulder towards the booth, where Lily is sitting.
A wary expression settles over her face as she looks around at the other people in the lounge. Each time someone passes by, she shrinks further into the corner.
“The mysterious blonde woman is coming here?” Imogen asks, and I can hear the interest in her voice.
