Page 40 of Lust

We’ve barely had ten seconds to recover when a knock sounds on the door.

“Carol, you whore, tell your hunky billionaire boyfriend to put his clothes back on so I can open this door.”

Aaron glares at the door.

“It’s just Manuel.” I laugh at Aaron’s expression. “He’s my best friend. He’s just joking around.”

Aaron raises an eyebrow.

“Hurry up,” Manuel continues, “or I’m barging in and whatever I see cannot be unseen.”

With a roll of his eyes, Aaron pulls on his pants and helps me tug my dress over my head. When he opens the door, he brushes past Manuel without a glance.

“Tomorrow,” he tells me, not looking back.

I just nod, even though he can’t see me.

“Ummm, Carol?” Manuel lingers over my shoulder as we walk out of the office, so close I can smell the Listerine on his breath. “Do you know who that was?”

“Yeah.” My lips twist to hide my smile. “It was my friend Aaron.”

“Your… friend? And how did I not know you had friends like that?”

“I didn’t even know I had friends like that.” I shrug.

Realization dawns visibly on Manuel’s face, and I watch him progress through the stages, from suspicion, to shock, to denial, to acceptance and understanding.

“Holy motherfucking Christmas on a cracker made of platinum and motherfucking pearls, you little whore.” This is clearly his version of speechlessness.

I laugh.

“Secret Santa,” he adds, then repeats the phrase, as if I didn’t hear. “Secret motherfucking billionaire Santa.”

I press a finger to his lips.

He just shakes his head, then throws his arms around me and buries his face in my neck.

“There is a God,” I hear him mumble. I even detect what feels suspiciously like a tear wetting the skin on my shoulder.

Chapter 17

December 27th

Ruby

AssoonasIpark for work the next day, Aaron pulls in next to me in a Mercedes van and rolls down the window, gesturing for me to do the same.

“I figured boss man might be here today,” he explains, “so we’ll use this during your break.”

“That’s awfully presumptuous of you.” I smile.

“If you think that’s presumptuous, wait until you see what I have planned.” He laughs, then winks. “Just come out during your break.”

When I approach the van a few hours later, there’s no one in the driver’s seat. For a minute, I assume he stepped away and I missed him. A bitter swell of disappointment lodges in my throat.

Then a man wearing a white mask springs out of the back of the van, grabs both of my hands and twists and binds them tightly behind my back, and covers my mouth with a strip of cloth.

“I’ve seen the books you read,” a voice whispers behind me. Aaron’s voice. “I know what gets you off.”

---