Read Online Whatever the Cost by Lynn Kelling - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Lynn Kelling
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have found a way to balance the scales and, you know... fill the gap. Everyone walks away happy.”
“What the hell does this have to do with me? Are you just telling me this because I’m the one that told him to speak to you, or—”
“You have a new job. New client, for
you
anyway,” she says with a pristine, gleaming smile. A cold, hard, weight of dread settles in Liam’s gut. “Tomorrow night. I’ll message the location to you.”
“What are we talking about here? What kind of client? What’s the request?”
“The request is for a pretty boy. Nervous. Shy. Jock. Straight-acting.”
“And the client?”
“Not really important. Her name is Claudia. She’s been with us for a while, as you probably know.”
“What?” Fumbling for speech and a valid arguement, he can’t disguise the tremor in his voice. “You’re sending me to a... I don’t have female clients.”
“Don’t worry, sweetie. She just wants to watch. This time, at least.”
There’s a pause and Liam doesn’t want to ask. He really doesn’t. But he doesn’t have a choice, and from the look on her face, Della knows it.
“What does she want to watch?”
“You’re booked with another employee for this appointment. Jacen, to be specific. Jacen’s her pet. She just loves him to death, but she’s gotten this idea that she’d
really
like to see Jacen take control and have his way with another, very pretty, man, while she watches. And she’s willing to pay
handsomely
for it.” Della gives him a Cheshire cat grin at the thought of the cash rolling in, without even having to go fishing for a new client. It saves her work, time, expense, effort.
“No,” Liam says tightly, almost swallowing the word. “No. I won’t. No.”
Standing from the table, his legs don’t quite feel like they’ll support him. There are no windows overlooking the backyard in the dining room and he’s grateful for it. The cold pit in his gut grows huge and races upwards, lodging in his throat.
“Sweetie, you can’t say no,” she says soothingly to him, like the words aren’t laced with bile and threat.
“R-ryan. Get Ryan to do it.” Liam stammers. “Or—”
“Ryan’s on an overnight all weekend. He’s unavailable. Blake’s too gay. David’s too old. That leaves you. Claudia was very specific about what she wants. I intend to give it to her. Really, this should be a piece of cake. The character isn’t too much of a stretch for you, and there is no possibly unsavory client to service. You get to just lie there and let a hot guy—who’s not going to go all psycho on you—get you off. Not so bad, huh? A lot of people would
love
to be paid for something like that.”
Arguments, legitimate reasons why this is a horrendous idea hover at the edges of Liam’s mind, in sight but out of reach. He can feel in his bones, in his heart, that this is bad. It’s bad and nothing good will come of it. There’s not a single part of him that wants it.
Not this way, at least
, the small, secret voice of his conscience whispers. Sure, Della’s right in that there’s almost no work here, no real risk, except to his and Jacen’s friendship, which, of course, is of no concern at all to The Company.
It counts for nothing that he simply doesn’t want to do it. They have ways to make him comply if they have to—withholding payment; loading him up with more frequent appointments with clients that might not be to his liking at all, physically, sexually, psychologically; or even less pleasant recourses, things that veer further outside the law than they already are.
Some of this can already be seen in the way Jacen has been handled. The reason why Jacen has gotten more of the less savory clientele is because he’s the newbie. He gets to scrape the bottom of the barrel for the sludge that no one else wants. There could be another Spencer waiting in the wings, who doesn’t care what character Liam plays, just how brightly he screams. If Liam says no to
“What the hell does this have to do with me? Are you just telling me this because I’m the one that told him to speak to you, or—”
“You have a new job. New client, for
you
anyway,” she says with a pristine, gleaming smile. A cold, hard, weight of dread settles in Liam’s gut. “Tomorrow night. I’ll message the location to you.”
“What are we talking about here? What kind of client? What’s the request?”
“The request is for a pretty boy. Nervous. Shy. Jock. Straight-acting.”
“And the client?”
“Not really important. Her name is Claudia. She’s been with us for a while, as you probably know.”
“What?” Fumbling for speech and a valid arguement, he can’t disguise the tremor in his voice. “You’re sending me to a... I don’t have female clients.”
“Don’t worry, sweetie. She just wants to watch. This time, at least.”
There’s a pause and Liam doesn’t want to ask. He really doesn’t. But he doesn’t have a choice, and from the look on her face, Della knows it.
“What does she want to watch?”
“You’re booked with another employee for this appointment. Jacen, to be specific. Jacen’s her pet. She just loves him to death, but she’s gotten this idea that she’d
really
like to see Jacen take control and have his way with another, very pretty, man, while she watches. And she’s willing to pay
handsomely
for it.” Della gives him a Cheshire cat grin at the thought of the cash rolling in, without even having to go fishing for a new client. It saves her work, time, expense, effort.
“No,” Liam says tightly, almost swallowing the word. “No. I won’t. No.”
Standing from the table, his legs don’t quite feel like they’ll support him. There are no windows overlooking the backyard in the dining room and he’s grateful for it. The cold pit in his gut grows huge and races upwards, lodging in his throat.
“Sweetie, you can’t say no,” she says soothingly to him, like the words aren’t laced with bile and threat.
“R-ryan. Get Ryan to do it.” Liam stammers. “Or—”
“Ryan’s on an overnight all weekend. He’s unavailable. Blake’s too gay. David’s too old. That leaves you. Claudia was very specific about what she wants. I intend to give it to her. Really, this should be a piece of cake. The character isn’t too much of a stretch for you, and there is no possibly unsavory client to service. You get to just lie there and let a hot guy—who’s not going to go all psycho on you—get you off. Not so bad, huh? A lot of people would
love
to be paid for something like that.”
Arguments, legitimate reasons why this is a horrendous idea hover at the edges of Liam’s mind, in sight but out of reach. He can feel in his bones, in his heart, that this is bad. It’s bad and nothing good will come of it. There’s not a single part of him that wants it.
Not this way, at least
, the small, secret voice of his conscience whispers. Sure, Della’s right in that there’s almost no work here, no real risk, except to his and Jacen’s friendship, which, of course, is of no concern at all to The Company.
It counts for nothing that he simply doesn’t want to do it. They have ways to make him comply if they have to—withholding payment; loading him up with more frequent appointments with clients that might not be to his liking at all, physically, sexually, psychologically; or even less pleasant recourses, things that veer further outside the law than they already are.
Some of this can already be seen in the way Jacen has been handled. The reason why Jacen has gotten more of the less savory clientele is because he’s the newbie. He gets to scrape the bottom of the barrel for the sludge that no one else wants. There could be another Spencer waiting in the wings, who doesn’t care what character Liam plays, just how brightly he screams. If Liam says no to
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