Page 42 of Blackmail
“Right.”
Ravi’s smile doesn’t quite reach his eyes, but he’s swaying his hips in time to the music, pretending to grind on me and have a good time. He’s gripping my sides almost as if I’m some anchor, looking slightly determined. But he’s getting into it, little by little.
He’s nuzzling and brushing his hands over my skin, and I’m letting him because why the hell not? It’s not the rugged, bruising grip of a businessman who gave me the best sex ever. Since I’m not going there again, this is just fine. Ravi’s nothing if not safe.
More than that, I worry that if I told him to stop, he might take it as rejection and run away. If this kid’s determined to get into the business, I want to make things easier for him—as much as I can, anyway.
We’ve got a bit of a crowd gathered around as Ravi gets more into character. Lots of drunk ladies tittering about how cute we are. A few interested guys. One approaches and asks how much for both of us, but I only shake my head.
Agreeing to paid extracurriculars is risky at a party. You’re not as in control of the environment. You don’t know what people might be on. You never know when someone will lead you to a room so you can be alone, but “oops, I didn’t know my buddies were going to be in here too.”
Don’t even get me started on how the music’s usually so loud nobody can hear you scream. I’ve heard some horror stories.
Admittedly, my mind wanders as Rav starts touching my stomach and chest. It might sound weird to say, but it’s pretty performative. I don’t get the sense he’s into me at all. And Ravi, sweet thing that he is, is way too gentle to get my motor going.
Especially after… We’re not thinking about him.
Someone grabs the back of my shirt, yanking hard enough to pull me off the pedestal. Ravi almost goes with me, poor guy. I turn around to find Tony’s sneering face in front of mine. Not so friendly now.
“Need to talk to you.”
I shrug. “So talk.”
He pulls on my arm, clearly wanting to go elsewhere. I don’t trust him, but I don’t want to make a scene. Brennan hates scenes. I hate being on the receiving end of one of Brennan’s lectures.
I turn to Ravi, looking down with concern on his face. Again. “I’ll be back. Stay here. Don’t let anyone try to take you anywhere.” I point to Troy and Adam, who are doing a much more sensual demonstration than Rav and I were a minute ago. “If you’re feeling nervous, keep your eyes on them. Get their attention if you need help. Trust me, they can protect you.”
While Adam and Troy are lean and goofy and give the general appearance that their indie band just wrapped up sound check, underneath, they’re hard and scrappy from years living on the streets before Brennan found them.
I turn to Tony. “What the hell do you want?”
He drags me toward the back of the house, past the office where we got changed, and into a hallway that looks like it leads out to another terrace. It’s quieter here. There are no speakers and very few people—too few.
“Heyward McGinnis said he asked for some private time, and you turned him down.”
“And?” I put my hands on my hips to let him know I will not be pressured.
“And you’re here to make the party guests happy,” Tony says slowly and with exaggerated mouth movements, like I’m too simple to understand.
“Fuck you. There’s no fucking at parties. Brennan’s rule. And I’m not fucking anyone named Heyward. That one’s my rule.”
Our boss doesn’t care who likes him, so he isn’t shy about letting us make him the asshole. Gosh, I’d love to dress up in a maid uniform and let you suck my toes, but that’s against Brennan’s rules. I’m so sorry, but I absolutely cannot let you tie me to the bed and strangle me. Brennan would be so mad if you damaged his merchandise.
“I’ve seen guys do it before.” This version of Tony is different from the one I’ve met before. He was slimy but tolerable whenever I showed up at his condo. This version of Tony is looking to show me who the boss is, and he seems to think it’s him.
I remember one of Brennan’s lessons. You see that look? That’s contempt. That’s a person who doesn’t give one single shit about you. They don’t think you’re beneath them, they know you are. You see that look on someone’s face, you get the fuck out of there.
Time for me to get the fuck out of here.
I step back to dodge the finger Tony’s jabbing in my direction. “Some guys may have done a lot of things in the past. That doesn’t mean someone can or should do it again, and we’re not doing it now.”
Before I realize it, Tony’s got me backed against the side of the hallway. “Listen to me, you shit. Heyward is an important member of this community, and you don’t want to piss him off. You definitely don’t want to piss me off. You were paid to entertain, so go fucking entertain before I come up with a way to make sure you do.”
He’s trying to tower over me. That’s one of the problems with being five seven. A lot of guys are taller, and a lot of guys like to use their size to push people around. It doesn’t work with me.
That doesn’t mean he’s not triggering some alarm bells.
“Step the fuck back or I’ll make you step back. Do I need to call Brennan?”
