know what can happen when things get ugly, when things get humiliating and abusive.”
“What do you know about my father?”
“I met him at The Club.”
“You’re a hooker?”
“Yes.”
“Did he hurt you?”
“Let’s just say he wasn’t exactly Prince Charming.”
Claire nodded.
“And you want to get back at him?”
“Yes I do.”
“And how the hell do you propose to do that?”
“I’m working on something,” Lacey said.
She prayed she was doing the right thing. She was taking a big risk going to Claire. All it would take was for Claire to go to her father and the whole thing would be over. Her cover would be blown, she and Chloe would be fired, and Lally might even come after them. It was a huge risk she was taking. It was crazy. But something told her to go with her gut, to trust her instinct and seek help from Claire.
“Look,” Claire said, “I know things can be hard for you girls. I can only imagine how my father treats you. But there’s really nothing I can do about it. I’m terrified of my father. If you’ve got some information on him then you go ahead and do what you’ve got to do. But I would advise you against it. He’ll kill you.”
Lacey nodded. She knew that what Claire was saying was true.
“If I was you,” Claire continued, “I’d forget about it. I’d stay quiet, do my job, and take whatever money he gives you. You don’t want to go up against a man like that. He’s a monster. He’s an absolute monster.”
Claire’s eyes began to tear up as she spoke about her father. Lacey could only imagine what kind of life she’d had as a child. Growing up with a man like Lally might even be worse than the childhood Lacey had herself. She felt bad for Claire. She pitied her.
“If he finds out what you’re up to,” Claire said, “he’ll hurt you. He’ll hurt you and hurt you and hurt you. And if he finds out that I’m helping you, he’ll hurt me.”
“I understand,” Lacey said.
“I’m sorry that I can’t be of any help,” Claire said, “but there’s no way I’m going up against my father. I know enough about the way the world works to know not to go up against men like him. All the cards are stacked in his favor. He and his friends own everything in this city. They’re the ones with the power. We live in their world, and if we want to survive, we stay out of their way and we do what they say.”
Lacey knew where Claire was coming from. The way she and her mother had grown up, their life in the motel in Las Cruces, hadn’t been very different to the life that Claire seemed to be speaking of. Lacey realized that life could be like that for all sorts of women, no matter where they grew up and what their world looked like. On the surface, a girl like Lacey couldn’t have come from a more different world than the one Claire was from. They were about the same age, they were both pretty girls, but apart from that, they’d grown up on opposite sides of the tracks. Lacey was from a dirt poor motel, the daughter of a cheap whore, and Claire was from the wealthiest of New York society. While Lacey had grown up watching TV in motel rooms, Claire had been getting private piano lessons in Manhattan penthouses. And yet, if you scratched beneath the surface, it seemed their lives were more similar than anyone would ever have guessed.
“That’s my husband,” Claire said. There was fear in Claire’s voice, bordering on panic.
Lacey looked around and saw Mark Wolf across the restaurant. Chloe was saying something to him, no doubt stalling him as long as possible.
“I’m sorry I put you in this position,” Lacey said. She grabbed a napkin and wrote her number on it. She wasn’t sure why but she wanted Claire to have a way of contacting her.
“Please leave,” Claire said. “I don’t want to have to explain who you are.”
There was so much fear in Claire’s face, in her voice, that Lacey didn’t delay. She handed the napkin the Claire, who shoved it
“What do you know about my father?”
“I met him at The Club.”
“You’re a hooker?”
“Yes.”
“Did he hurt you?”
“Let’s just say he wasn’t exactly Prince Charming.”
Claire nodded.
“And you want to get back at him?”
“Yes I do.”
“And how the hell do you propose to do that?”
“I’m working on something,” Lacey said.
She prayed she was doing the right thing. She was taking a big risk going to Claire. All it would take was for Claire to go to her father and the whole thing would be over. Her cover would be blown, she and Chloe would be fired, and Lally might even come after them. It was a huge risk she was taking. It was crazy. But something told her to go with her gut, to trust her instinct and seek help from Claire.
“Look,” Claire said, “I know things can be hard for you girls. I can only imagine how my father treats you. But there’s really nothing I can do about it. I’m terrified of my father. If you’ve got some information on him then you go ahead and do what you’ve got to do. But I would advise you against it. He’ll kill you.”
Lacey nodded. She knew that what Claire was saying was true.
“If I was you,” Claire continued, “I’d forget about it. I’d stay quiet, do my job, and take whatever money he gives you. You don’t want to go up against a man like that. He’s a monster. He’s an absolute monster.”
Claire’s eyes began to tear up as she spoke about her father. Lacey could only imagine what kind of life she’d had as a child. Growing up with a man like Lally might even be worse than the childhood Lacey had herself. She felt bad for Claire. She pitied her.
“If he finds out what you’re up to,” Claire said, “he’ll hurt you. He’ll hurt you and hurt you and hurt you. And if he finds out that I’m helping you, he’ll hurt me.”
“I understand,” Lacey said.
“I’m sorry that I can’t be of any help,” Claire said, “but there’s no way I’m going up against my father. I know enough about the way the world works to know not to go up against men like him. All the cards are stacked in his favor. He and his friends own everything in this city. They’re the ones with the power. We live in their world, and if we want to survive, we stay out of their way and we do what they say.”
Lacey knew where Claire was coming from. The way she and her mother had grown up, their life in the motel in Las Cruces, hadn’t been very different to the life that Claire seemed to be speaking of. Lacey realized that life could be like that for all sorts of women, no matter where they grew up and what their world looked like. On the surface, a girl like Lacey couldn’t have come from a more different world than the one Claire was from. They were about the same age, they were both pretty girls, but apart from that, they’d grown up on opposite sides of the tracks. Lacey was from a dirt poor motel, the daughter of a cheap whore, and Claire was from the wealthiest of New York society. While Lacey had grown up watching TV in motel rooms, Claire had been getting private piano lessons in Manhattan penthouses. And yet, if you scratched beneath the surface, it seemed their lives were more similar than anyone would ever have guessed.
“That’s my husband,” Claire said. There was fear in Claire’s voice, bordering on panic.
Lacey looked around and saw Mark Wolf across the restaurant. Chloe was saying something to him, no doubt stalling him as long as possible.
“I’m sorry I put you in this position,” Lacey said. She grabbed a napkin and wrote her number on it. She wasn’t sure why but she wanted Claire to have a way of contacting her.
“Please leave,” Claire said. “I don’t want to have to explain who you are.”
There was so much fear in Claire’s face, in her voice, that Lacey didn’t delay. She handed the napkin the Claire, who shoved it
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