Tormented

“Jake’s sleeping. He’s been totally wasted.”

“So?”

“Shouldn’t I get his permission to let his slut talk on the phone?”

“Just give her your mobile.”

“Okay, cuz.”

Ben handed his mobile to Kimani before making his way to the bathroom to run a bath for her. There were a plethora of bath paraphernalia the maid had stocked, none of which he ever used, but he selected a scented bath bomb to toss into the water. He returned to the kitchen to pour two glasses of water.

“Are you sure you’re doing okay?” Kimani asked.

Ben picked up his iPad. Steph

ens had sent him a copy of the contract Jake had signed with the Scarlet Auction. At Ben’s direction, Stephens had also had Ben’s personal attorney review the documents. Jake was right. There was a clause prohibiting the involvement of third parties not authorized by the Scarlet Auction, with a hefty financial penalty for violating any terms of the contract. Ben’s attorney didn’t think there was a way around the contract, and suggested that Jake try to negotiate an amendment or that Ben himself seek authorization from the Scarlet Auction.

Kimani frowned. “Did Lisa and Ryan get burned, too?”

Ben didn’t think Jake would go through the trouble of renegotiating his contract, and Ben didn’t have the patience or inclination to jump through whatever hoops the Scarlet Auction would require. He thought about paying Jake more, but he had already shelled out a ridiculous amount of money to have Kimani for a week.

Looking over at her, he eyed the tight fit of her shirt and her shapely legs. He recalled how gloriously she squirted.

If he had to, he’d buy her all over again.

“What else did he do?” she asked.

But she wasn’t just a fucktoy. She was working an angle. Even though she wasn’t on the payroll of the Tribune, she and this Sam Green were up to something.

Ben set aside the iPad. He might have let the proverbial fox into the henhouse. Allowed a budding journalist to join him and Uncle Gordon for lunch. But it had been positive. Kimani seemed to genuinely like Uncle Gordon, and she had given him a lead on De Reyes and Chang. He preferred to evaluate for himself the relationship she alluded to, but he trusted her judgment. She could have made it easy on herself, but she hadn’t.

The fact that the Lee family corporation was seeking to redevelop property in Oakland was public knowledge. His meeting with Dawson Chang would surprise no one, and he hadn’t told Uncle Gordon anything at lunch that Dawson didn’t already know. What could Kimani report, other than the fact he and Jason had purchased sex through the Scarlet Auction?

“Call me whenever you want—and it could be about anything, okay?” Kimani said.

“I’ve got a bath ready for you,” he told her when she had hung up. He handed her the glass of water, which she drank without prompting. “How’s Claire?”

“Okay, except that she got burned from the wax play. Jake is bad news. I doubt she signed up to get burned.”

“It might not have been intentional. He may have been using shitty candles or didn’t know he was holding them too close to her body. A lot of BDSM beginners don’t realize the dangers of playing incorrectly. They see some scene in a movie and think there’s nothing to it.”

She crossed her arms. “You Jake’s brah now?”

“Hell no.”

“Then why are you making excuses for him?”

“I’m not making excuses. I’m just presenting another possible explanation for what happened.”

“I don’t trust him.”

“He can be a wanker,” he conceded.

“Would you entrust your sister to him?”

“Not in a million years.”

She gave him a there-you-have-it look.