Page 93 of Peasants and Kings
“You would’ve taken the contract for free, wouldn’t you?”
I closed my eyes. “Yes.”
“Oh, Sterling, no.”
“No? No, what?”
“You have feelings for this guy.”
“Damn right I have feelings for this guy. Annoyance, frustration… We’ve only just gotten here and he’s already left. His housekeeper said he went away on business, but he hasn’t called or texted or—”
“You’renothis girlfriend,” she said gently.
It was like a slap to my cheek. “I know.”
“If you know, then why are you expecting him to behave like a boyfriend?”
“I haven’t told you the reason he left. I—I dug into his past and he didn’t like what I asked him about. So, he ran.”
“He’s still not your boyfriend,” she said. “It doesn’t matter what you say or don’t say. All that matters is that you’re paid to entertain him. God, Sterling, this is what the training is for, to teach you hownotto get involved in shit like this.”
“So, it’s okay for him to ask questions about my past and demand answers, but I can’t do the same?”
“He’s asking questions about your past?” she queried.
“Yes, and no matter what I say, he won’t stop.”
“Okay, every time he asks you a personal question, just find a way to occupy his brain in a different way.”
I let out a laugh. “If only that would work. He’s relentless.”
“Yousolike him.”
“I do like him.” I sighed.
“As long as liking him doesn’t turn into something more. He’s a client. It’s about the money. You have to remember that.”
“I don’t know if I can be that heartless.”
“You’re not being heartless. It’s business.”
“It doesn’t feel right.”
“That’s your programming talking. Take the money. You can afford to have principles later.”
“He wasn’t supposed to do this,” I murmured. “It was supposed to be six months of pampering and sex and laughing. Nothing like this. Nothing heavy. He went and changed the rules on me.”
“Babe, hate to break it to you, but you don’t even know what game you’re playing.”
There was a muffled sound on the other end of the line and Tiffany said, “Sterling? I gotta go.”
“But you haven’t told me about London yet,” I protested.
“Magical, beautiful, everything I could’ve hoped for.” She paused. “Listen, every time you forget why you’re there, or you find yourself thinking that you want to know more about him, remember the money. Remember the freedom it will buy you. Okay, that’s the last of my lecture. Cheerio, poppet.”
We hung up and I set my phone on the balcony table.
Lifting the coffee cup to my lips, I stared out across the endless horizon. It was tranquil here, a true haven. But this wasn’t my haven and deluding myself into thinking I was anything but a Rex girl was detrimental. Tiffany was right. Hadrian was a client—a client I liked and enjoyed, in and out of bed. But I refused to let it become more. We could be friendly, we could laugh and talk, exchange stories of our pasts, but I wouldn’t let it develop further.
