Page 3 of Harlot (Hush)

“No, I didn’t agree to this,” I say. “Someone will be in touch to reschedule.”

The illusion of charm disappears with his patience, and he blocks my path to the door. “Come on, Megan, don’t make me beg.”

The sound of the unfastening of his belt buckle takes me back to the last time I was trapped in a room with a man who had no intention of setting me free until he got what he wanted first. Despite the heavy dread in the pit of my stomach, I’m not the same naïve girl I was then. Hush doesn’t send me to appointments blind, and Hush doesn’t send me to appointments defenseless.

I’m protected this time, and it makes all the difference in the world.

Forcing my lips into a playful smile, I slip my phone back into my purse and shove it under my arm. I yank Dr. Goodmen’s belt free from his slacks in a swift pull and drop it to the floor after deciding not to tie it around his throat for being a creep. His charisma makes a reappearance as I lower my hand down the front of his pants and wrap my fingers around his cock.

“Good girl,” he whispers. His smile is as lazy as his grit, and his teeth aren’t as straight as I thought they were.

Dr. Goodmen’s posture thaws as his dick hardens.

He’s exactly where I want him: at my mercy.

“Now that I have your attention, listen to me carefully.” I tighten my grip until his knees buckle, but I don’t twist hard enough to incapacitate him. The good doctor needs to remember every word I have to say. “The next time a woman says no, even if you’re paying for it, believe her.”

Groaning through clenched teeth, he nods. “God, Megan. I’m sorry. I’m sorry.”

“I’m not your god, but she’ll be in touch.”

The reality of this promise clouds Dr. Goodmen’s eyes like a thunderstorm. He doesn’t get the opportunity to beg me to change my mind before we’re both caught off guard. The door unlocks and opens, and a woman with a short, angled haircut and the temper of a raging bull enters the room. She takes one look at my hand down Dr. Goodmen’s pants and pounces, crowding the small exam room with fury.

“I fucking knew it, you cheating bastard,” she shrieks, colliding with the dentist like a linebacker. He stumbles into the tray connected to the examination chair, hurling sharp implements across the room. The woman picks up the metal toothpick that’s fallen at her feet and wields it like a weapon. “This is the last time, Eric.”

“Baby, it’s not what you think.” Holding his hands up in surrender, Dr. Goodmen stares down at the sharp point of the toothpick. “Susie, let’s go to my office and talk about this before someone gets hurt.”

She jabs the toothpick toward his face and says, “I’ve been waiting in your office for fifteen minutes. You said you’d be right back.”

Dr. Goodmen looks past the woman I assume to be his wife and meets my gaze. He nods subtly toward the exit, but not-so-subtle that his wife doesn’t pick up the gesture. She turns on me with the toothpick, wild-eyed and shaking. “He doesn’t love you, just like he didn’t love the woman before you or the woman before her. Did he tell you he’d leave me?”

“No,” I say.

Nothing about sex work is commonplace, but sleeping with the same kind of man, in the same kind of office, week after week becomes mindless. Meeting clients in their place of business lessens the chance of conflict, such as run-ins with their significant others, but it’s not unheard of.

This is a first for me, and the adrenaline pumping through my veins is electrifying.

“What’s with the commotion?” The receptionist, Betty, arrives at the scene just as the dental student leads the family of five from the waiting area to the exam room across the hall. Everyone gathers in the doorway to see what’s going on, and even the children look up from their devices to watch the drama unfold.

“Do I need to call security?” Betty asks.

Pinching the bridge of his nose, Dr. Goodmen swears under his breath. “Betty, please go back to the front desk and make sure no one comes back here. Daniel, show the McCanns to their room. I’ll be there as soon as I get this cleared up.”

The missus is brandishing a toothpick like a knife, but Betty scowls at me like this whole ordeal only confirms her suspicions that I’m a troublemaker. She’d love to see me thrown from the building, but she likes her job more and follows Dr. Goodmen’s directions.

“Protecting your whore. That’s a first.” Susie laughs broken-heartedly.

The tune of her unhappiness chips away at my conscience, making way for guilt to travel between the cracks of my amusement. I don’t blame her for wanting to hurt us like we’ve hurt her. Death by metal toothpick might be cleaner and less painful than facing the consequence that’ll await me downtown once this gets out, and Susie will get some payback in the process.

“He’s not wrong, Susie,” I warn her. None of this is her fault, and I can’t allow her to pay for her husband’s mistakes. “Woman to woman, if you so much as lay a single finger on me, you’ll have more than marital problems to deal with.”

“What does that mean?”

“You don’t want to find out,” I say, slowly sidestepping toward the crowded door.

Susie takes my word for it and lowers the toothpick. “Get the hell out of here and never come back.”

“You have my word.” And to serve as a warning to Dr. Goodmen, I add, “You’ll never see me again.”

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