Rhodium

CHAPTER 1 DEGRADED. MORTIFIED. EMBARRASSED. That was how I felt as I slammed the door of Rhodes, Holden and Maxwell and stepped out onto the busy street. All around me, life carried on as usual. Businessmen walked past on their way home, couples strolled towards nearby restaurants in search of dinner, and joggers dodged puddles in their quest for fitness. Normal activities on a normal day at the beginning of September. For me, life would never be normal again. And now, to cap it all, I’d been utterly humiliated by Oliver Rhodes. I’d never felt so ashamed in my life, and considering I used to sleep with men for money, that was an achievement. The man was a massive c**k. In every way. I reached the bus stop and sank onto one of the cold metal seats with a low groan. Oliver Rhodes, the man who took the worst night of my life and turned it into the best. I still clenched my thighs together every time I thought about it. Except now I clenched my fists. Oliver was an asshole. An arrogant, rude, condescending asshole, who wore made-to-measure suits and a Patek Philippe watch that cost more than my parents’ first home, and whose smooth hands I hadn’t just spent the past hour glancing at as he twirled a Montblanc fountain pen around his fingers. Dammit, Stef! Don’t think about the hands. The trouble was, I knew what they were capable of. How they could make a woman come so hard she forgot her own name. No. NO! I shook my head to clear my wayward thoughts. Oliver Rhodes was bad news from the ends of his dark-grey hair to the toes of his Italian leather wingtips. And where was the damn bus? Probably I should start at the beginning. What bizarre twist of fate led me to be sitting here at a shabby bus stop in downtown Richmond, wishing I had the courage to jump off a bridge or hurl myself under a passing semi? Well, it started with my ex-roommate, Christina; a faux-fur jacket; and a man old enough to be my grandfather… “It can’t be the fifth. The fifth is tomorrow.” Chrissie rummaged through her purse, tossing aside lipstick, tissues, condoms, and mascara as she dug deeper and deeper. “Are you looking for your phone?” “Yes.” “It’s here.” I picked it up off her nightstand and passed it over, then took another sip of my strawberry milkshake. I preferred chocolate, but it was important to stay healthy. Chrissie scrolled through her calendar then flopped back on the bed with a huff. “s**t. It is the fifth. I could have sworn it was only the fourth.” “Why does it matter?” “Because my mom’s flying in for a layover on the fifth, and I have a date tonight.” She used her fingers to form air quotes around the word “date.” “Oh. One of those dates?” Chrissie was a girl who’d tried every job going. She got fired from her waitressing job because she kept dropping things. Mild dyslexia meant her two weeks as a filing assistant were a disaster, and she walked away from a stint as a receptionist after her boss propositioned her. Now she’d decided to give something new a go. “Hey, don’t knock it till you’ve tried it.” I suppressed a shudder. “Doesn’t it creep you out? Having to do…things with men like that?” Her tinkling laugh exploded. “Stef, don’t be such a prude! It’s perfectly normal nowadays, and I don’t sleep with all of them. Some just want a nice girl on their arm to avoid unwanted attention. Last week, a client gave me an obscenely expensive dress and took me to a charity gala, and all I got at the end of the evening was a wad of cash and a kiss on the cheek…” She grinned as she glanced over at the turquoise box on her dressing table. “And that bought me a necklace from Tiffany’s.” Expensive jewellery was something I only dreamed about. Right now, I couldn’t even afford the textbooks I needed. Or my half of this month’s rent. My credit card was maxed out, and every time I got a collection letter, I shed a tear and buried it in the pile with all the others. I tried to laugh. “At least Julio gives me as much coffee as I can drink.” “You can’t wear coffee.” Couldn’t you? Julio, my persnickety boss at The Daily Grind, the coffee place I worked at after class on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Fridays, would disagree. Most of the time we got on well, but some days, like today, I wanted to smack my head on the counter. Or better still, his head. He’d insisted I dress up as a giant coffee bean and hand out coupons on the street, and I’d nearly frozen to death. He could have at least warned me so I wore appropriate shoes. “I need a new job.” I also needed to stop chewing my hair. I pulled the ends out of my mouth and chided myself. It was a habit I wished I could break. “Meanwhile, I need to work out what to do with Sanderson Everett.” “Sanderson Everett? You mean the Sanderson Everett? The guy who franchised himself across America?” I’d done a case study on him last month for my business degree—he’d spot an opening in the market and set up chains ranging from phone stores to pet-grooming parlours to burger restaurants, making a fortune in the process. Every biography said he was married to his job. “If that’s the same Sanderson Everett who likes me to strip down to my underwear and serve him dinner every couple of weeks, then yes. All the girls love him. Easy money.” She rubbed her thumb and fingers together. “He’s got a massive house, but I’m not sure the rest of him measures up.” I nearly choked, and strawberry milk dribbled down my chin. “I can’t believe that. The man’s a genius, and he hires escorts from Rubies?” Chrissie had started plying her trade through Rubies are a Man’s Best Friend a few months back. Clients booked via the website, and the owner forwarded the details on to her. She went out most nights now. Each girl got rated from one to five rubies, and as they gathered those gems, their pay grade went up accordingly. Chrissie had reached level three and had that fourth ruby firmly in her sight. Now she carefully outlined her lips in a deep red. “Guess he can afford it. I mean, who needs a normal maid when you can have one with double D cups and a thong?” “Well, you’re lucky to meet him. He doesn’t even give interviews anymore.” She turned to me with a worrying look in her eyes—the wicked gleam she got when she had a great idea she knew I wouldn’t like. “If you want to meet him so much, why don’t you go tonight instead of me? Then I could see my mom.” “Oh, no. No way.” “Why not? You said you were short of money.” “I am, but there’s no way I could sleep with a stranger. Or even Sanderson Everett.” Or, in fact, anyone. A quick fumble in the back of a car with the guy I dated in high school was as far as I’d got. Since I arrived in Richmond, I’d put all my efforts into work and college because I didn’t want to graduate with a millstone of debt around my neck. Chrissie burst out laughing. “The guy’s a hundred years old. I bet he can’t even get it up anymore. He hires a girl nearly every night, and not one of us has ever had s*x with him.” “Really?” “Really. And he pays three hundred dollars. Still cheaper than a wife, he told my boss.” Three hundred dollars was an awful lot of cups of coffee. “And all you do is serve him dinner?” “Serve him dinner then stand by the table while he eats. And afterwards, we bring dessert and coffee.” She gave me a full-on smile. “You’re good at coffee.” “I can’t. I mean, not in my underwear.” “Oh, come on. You’re miles prettier than me, and it’s no worse than wearing a bikini on the beach.” I considered it. My last vacation had been three years ago when I was eighteen. Mom and Chester, my stepfather, treated me to a week in Florida, a final goodbye before I went off to college. I remembered walking around the marina, thinking how much fun those girls sunning themselves on the big yachts must have. No work, no studying, just days of relaxing in the warm weather. And most probably sleeping with the owners. I’d be kidding myself if I thought they were there with anything else in mind. But still… “I don’t know… Isn’t he expecting you?” “It won’t be a problem to sub in. He likes variety. Just tell him I’m not feeling well. Please? I’ll clean the whole apartment this weekend.” Three hundred dollars, a clean apartment, and the chance to meet one of my business idols? “And you’re absolutely sure he won’t want s*x?” I whispered the last word. The very idea of it scared me. “No, he definitely won’t. I promise.” “You’ll need to tell me what to wear.” “Easy. Oh, and you’ll need a name.” “A name? I have a name.” “Stefanie’s hardly worthy of a Ruby.” “Gee, thanks.” “Don’t look at me like that. It’s nothing personal. Hey, I call myself Crystal.” “So what do you suggest?” She gave me her lopsided little smile, the one that made every man within a ten-block radius go nuts over her, and then her gaze drifted past me to the faux-fur coat hanging on the back of her door. “Sable. We’ll call you Sable.” And that was how I ended up parading around a mansion in black lace panties, carrying a roast dinner on a plain white china plate. I lost a little bit of respect for myself that night, and a lot for Sanderson Everett. It was hard to admire a man when he ordered you to “sit” and “stay” like a dog. Thankfully he didn’t try “come,” because at that point I had no idea how to. No, it took Oliver f*****g Rhodes to teach me that trick. But three hundred dollars was three hundred dollars, and how much worse was it than the coffee outfit? At least I was making a fool out of myself in private, and I didn’t have to invite Sanderson Everett to “come and grind with me.” “So, how did it go?” Chrissie asked the next morning. “I served up veal piccata. Everett read the business pages. Then he ate half a custard tart and asked me to close the drapes, tucked a hundred-dollar bill in the side of my panties, patted my bottom, pointed at the door, and said, ‘Go.’” “Wow, he must have really liked you. He only gives me fifty.” She glanced at her watch and took another bite of toast. “s**t, I’m running late.” “You don’t think that’s utterly crazy?” “Yeah, it is, but it’s also normal. Last week, an octogenarian asked Maggie to dress up like a horse, and get this, the tail came on a butt plug.” I spat my orange juice across the table. “Are you serious?” She looked down at the sticky mess and made a face. “Yeuch. Yeah, totally. But you should consider signing up. I mean, where else can you earn that much cash in a night?” “Are you insane? You just told me a story about a butt plug.” She waved a hand dismissively. “Oh, don’t worry about that. Maggie’s got five rubies. She’ll do anything. A-ny-thing. If you start off at one ruby, that’s, like, holding hands. And sometimes you get taken out to really nice places.” “It’s not for me.” “Think about it.” I did think about it. When I got up at six to catch the bus to The Daily Grind, I thought about Chrissie still asleep in bed. When a businessman snapped at me because I’d forgotten his shot of caramel syrup, I realised he was even ruder than Sanderson Everett. When I put on the damn coffee-bean costume once more, I recalled that although I’d been in my underwear at Everett’s house, his heating system had made it the perfect temperature. And when I counted my cash and found I was a hundred and thirty dollars short on the rent—again—I began to wonder if being a Ruby mightn’t be so bad after all.