The Arrangement (unenhanced Edition) by AnnaRCase (books to read now .txt) 📖

                Grayson came through the black walnut doors at precisely eleven-twelve p.m. that night, as Amberleigh had sat in that damn chair for three hours watching random videos on You-Tube to pass the time. Somehow she’d landed on videos about fainting baby goats, when Grayson finally walked in.  He loosened his tie and he made a beeline towards him room, not even noticing her sitting in a chair she’d drug across the marble to sit by the fancy, wooden coat rack.  

“Mr. Duvall, please have Mr. Cleomonte send some dinner to my room,” he yelled out, to the butler who seemingly appeared out of thin air.

“Right away, sir. Is there anything else I can do for you Mr. Godwin?”

“Have Mr. Clemonte send my nightly tea in as well.”

“Yes sir.”

Mr. Duvall helped Grayson out of his suit jacket and folded it carefully over his own arm, no doubt it would soon go to the dry cleaners.  Grayson had barely even slowed down long enough to allow the removal of his jacket, as he made for his room. His hair was still standing in perfect place, no doubt a result of fuckin awesome styling putty, but his eyes were red rimmed and he yawned. For a moment, Amberleigh almost decided to scrap her mission, and let the poor man get some rest, as she was forced to give chase down the long hallway. But then again, a nice tumble through the sheets was just what the doc ordered to usher him into a deep and restorative slumber.

“Hard day at the office I take it?” she spoke up.

He made eye contact with her on the threshold of his room. It was of course a room in the joint, she hadn’t been privileged to access during the tour. He sighed and didn’t look happy to see her, as he was working his tie off. He’d already worked down most of the buttons on his shirt as well. It was the first time she’d ever seen him, less than pristine.

“Miss Dubois, I trust you are settling in well. Do you need something?”

She grinned and ran a finger down his cotton shirt underneath, imagining she was touching his bare skin. “Oh I think you know what I need.”

He grabbed her hand, “Enough of that. Not now Miss Dubois. I don’t have all the data I need from Dr. Gainey. And I am busy right now. My time is very valuable.”

Well that went well, she thought, but she wasn’t down and out just yet.

“With all due respect Mr. Godwin, science doesn’t know everything. Babies are made every day without ovulation charts you know. I see you are stressed, let me help relieve some of it for you. I mean you did hire me to do a job after all, did you not?”

He closed his eyes and rubbed them. Amberleigh knew he was trying not to lose his cool, she always knew he wanted her to go the fuck away. Really, was she that repulsive? Was it because she was a whore, did that sicken him? There was more to her than just being a whore, she had feeling dammit!

“I don’t have time for this,” he finally said, “I will let you know when it’s the appropriate time. But for now, stop such behaviors. It’s unbecoming and you’re embarrassing yourself. Have a nice night, Miss Dubois.”

And then the fucker just walked in his room and slammed the door in her face. She didn’t know whether to be more angry at him, or herself for the way her eyes burned. This wasn’t the first asshole she’d dealt with in her life, so why the fuck did he affect her so deeply? You had to have a tough skin when you were born to a drug addicted prostitute in a slum and then went on to become a high class whore yourself. But this fuckin hurt her damn feelings, though why she couldn’t figure out.

She turned to see Leo standing there holding a tray of food and with an apologetic expression.

“I’m sorry. I’ll talk to him. You didn’t deserve that,” he said.

“Don’t bother. He’s the God around here, and I’m just the hired whore,” she replied with a laugh, “It was his right to put me in my place.”

Leo stormed closer to the door, “Don’t call yourself that. And Fuck that! Not today Satan, not on my watch.”

He slammed a fist against the door. The look on his face made Amberleigh grabbed his sleeve.

“What are you going to do?”

“Set his ass straight. That’s another reason I’m here. GRAYSON OPEN THE FUCKIN DOOR MAN!”

She jumped. No one else around here would dare talk to him that way. No one else around here could get away with it either. She decided to move further down the hallway to get out of the warpath. Mr. Duvall was always watching still as a statue near the den. She could still see Grayson jerk open the door, his neck veins bulging in anger.

“What the hell Leo?” demanded Grayson. “You’d better have one hell of a reason to be screaming and pounding on my door like that.”

“We need to talk.”

Leo shoved passed him into the room, impressively not spilling one drop of food on the way. He slammed the door behind him. So naturally, Amberleigh crept closer to the door and stuck her ear against the wood. Mr. Duvall cleared his throat loudly, showing his disproval. Naturally she ignored the butler and shoved her ear tighter against the door. She was tempted to ask Mr. Duvall to bring her some popcorn. Oh this was going to be fuckin good alright. She was Team Leo all the way!