Jake wrote something down on a notepad and studied it. It looked like he was doing some math before he closed the small notepad and stuck it in the inner pocket of his blazer.
“Okay, I think we can work something out.”
“What do you mean? I am not coming to work for you here. Celeste already talked to me about it and it just isn’t for me, especially not after the thing last night with that guy. I can take care of my own shit and look after myself, but there is no need to put myself in the line of fire where I could run into a guy like that.”
Jake shook his head. “Nope, I don’t want you to come to work here. And for what it’s worth, I completely agree. Not that I don’t value the people who work here and respect them, but I don’t think this is the line of work for you. You’re special, Taylor. Do you believe that?”
I looked at him warily. “I don’t know what you are getting at. Please get to the point or let me go. I’ve got to go figure some things out and if you aren’t really going to help me—which I doubt, to begin with—then I need to be out there figuring out something to do.”
He nodded. “You’re a business woman. I can appreciate that. You want to have the deal out on the table, so let’s put it out there.” He pulled out a checkbook from his desk drawer. “I’m prepared to write you a check for the amount you need. No questions asked. You’ve told me enough and I believe you. I don’t think you’d be here in the state that you’re in if this wasn’t true.”
For the first time that evening it dawned on me what I was wearing. I looked down at my clothes. I had shown up at the club dressed for work in my grease-stained jeans and an old shirt. It fit me well, and for being dressed like a mechanic I guess I looked pretty good, but still—I was at Club V in my work clothes.
“What’s the catch?” I knew better than to think the guy was just handing out money because he cared.
“It’s not a catch. It’s a deal. I want to make a deal with you, Taylor. I’m offering you one hundred thousand dollars in exchange for you.”
“Me?” I asked, touching my hand to my chest. “What could you…”
Then I realized what he meant. He wanted me. He wanted to have me. While a few days ago that sounded appealing wh
en I stood in this office and saw him pleasuring the other girl, now it seemed a little less so.
“Before you turn me down, hear me out. I don’t know what you’ve heard about me around here. I’m sure there are rumors swirling around about what I like, but I promise you that it’s not much different from any other guy you’d run into on the street.”
“I’m not running into many guys on the street.”
He grinned. “That’s why you’re so valuable. I don’t get to be with virgins very often. I can’t say they’re my favorite, but I do enjoy them from time to time. And you look like you would be quite a bit of fun. Please understand—I want you for more than your body though. You’ve got a mind that intrigues me. I want to get in there, I want to know you. But I want you to give yourself to me freely. This isn’t some kind of slavery thing you’re going to sell yourself into. I want you to decide that you want this. I’ll make it very clear in the documents that you’ll sign. You are going to know exactly what you are signing up for ahead of time. Do this and you will save your father’s life as well as his business, and you’ll insure your future.”
My thoughts were flying all around me and I tried to pull them all back in, capture them and contain them in the birdcage of my mind, but it was all too much to deal with.
“You’re talking about prostitution.”
He shook his head. “I am not. I am talking about an exchange of gifts between two people. I am gifting you with this money. You are gifting me with your presence in my home for two months.”
“Two months? You have got to be joking. I don’t want to spend two minutes with you, let alone two months.” It was a lie and I knew it the moment the words left my mouth. He knew it too, but he kept himself in check. How could he know the effect he had on me? Was he just so used to women being a certain way around him?
“I’m not joking. I really think you’ll be quite pleased with things in the end—no, I can guarantee that. That’s one of my major goals over the next two months, that you will know pleasure like you’ve never experienced before. There’s just one condition with it.”
“What is that?
Jakes' face was serious. “You must submit to me completely. Anything I ask of you, you will do. Everything will be agreed to beforehand, so nothing will be a surprise. But I mean in the moment, when you are commanded to do something, you must do it. I want to teach you to be a true submissive—to know what it is to give yourself over to someone else completely. To let someone else be in charge for once.”
It was strange, the feeling growing inside me. I felt both anger and arousal, disgust and intrigue. But strangely, most of all what I felt when I looked at Jake Mesa was…trust. Whatever he might have been, he was not a liar. I could see the truth in his eyes and I knew then that I could trust him. It was almost appalling, to think of handing myself over to another person to be used for their pleasure. And for two months? I didn’t know how I would survive it. He would not hurt me though. He would command me and care for me; he would take me over and over again until I didn’t know where I was anymore. All of that I could see there in his eyes and before I could change my mind, I asked him where I needed to sign.
Jake Mesa gathered the necessary cash and had it delivered to my father. I told him not to ask any questions, that I knew someone who could pull some strings, and that I was going to need the next two months off of work. My dad, the man who trusted me more than anyone in the world, nodded his head and let me go. With the cash delivered and the gambling debt paid off, he was in the clear for now. I knew we were still going to have to deal with the mortgage, but at least we were out of that mess. Now I just had to keep up my end of the bargain.
I told Samantha what was happening on the condition that she swore not to tell anyone else. She was scared for me, based on what she had heard about Jake, but I tried to reassure her.
“It’s not that I think he loves me or anything like that. I’m not delusional, but I do honestly think that it’s about showing someone how enjoyable the submissive life can be. I know it’s not for me, but it’s only for two months. I can handle anything for two months, right?”
Samantha shrugged and helped me pack. Jake had given me a list of things to bring but said not to worry about too much, that almost everything I needed would be there in his townhouse when I arrived.
“Just remember. I am only a phone call away. If anything gets weird I want you to call me.”
I nodded, trying to assuage her fears. “As long as you don’t tell my dad where I am. He’s not asking questions, I think out of fear of who might have given me money. He probably thinks I’m working with the mob now.”
Samantha laughed uneasily at this and finished helping me pack. A little while later the car arrived and I said goodbye to her as the driver whisked me away to Jake’s neighborhood.