The Arrangement Anthology 1(134)

“Miss Stanz, it’s concerning. The nature of your relationship with Mr. Ferro—”

“I don’t have a relationship with Mr. Ferro.” I can say that because it’s true. We’re barely friends. Half the time it feels like I’m walking on sand with him. The earth keeps shifting under my feet. I never know which version of Sean I’m with. The dark version scares the crap out of me and I know that’s the Sean I’ll have if Black puts us together this weekend. I kind of hope she does. I want all this twisted secret stuff he’s hiding to be forced out in the open, but then again it might be too much.

She stares at me. “You’ve done something to both of these men. I have no idea what’s between you and Mr. Ferro, but don’t you dare tell me that it’s nothing. You’ve been seen together outside of work—”

“By accident. It was a coincidence. What do you want me to do if I bump into Henry Thomas? Blow him off? He might let me, but you already know that Mr. Ferro won’t. He’s kind of demanding.” I make a face and look down at my hands.

“I’m going to say this plainly. If I catch you in a relationship outside of work—if you have any sexual partners at all—I will demand that you return every penny you’ve earned here. I don’t play games Miss Stanz.”

“Neither do I.” I sit up straight in my seat and lean forward, resting my hands on her dark desk. “Tell me why I haven’t been fired? If you think I’m being some sort of deviant—”

She cuts me off. “You are some sort of deviant. You’re a call girl. You lie to men for a living and apparently you are very good at it. Of course, I expect you to take your clients in on the side. It cuts out my share and you get paid more for less work. Meanwhile, I’m the one protecting you girls and screening the men. I won’t stand for it Avery.”

“I am not taking in any business on the side.” I look straight into her eyes and try not to laugh. Like I would do such a thing? “I can barely get through a night without throwing up on the guy.”

“I’m not naïve. You play the part well, but I know it’s an act.” I open my mouth to explain but she raises her hand. “Enough. You know the penalty if you get caught. As for this weekend, you’ll be double booked since both men are asking for you.”

I gape at her. “What?”

Miss Black is no longer looking at me. She’s writing something on the legal pad in front of her. “Well, you didn’t expect me to turn them away, did you? Mr. Ferro wants you on Friday and Saturday evening. When I told Mr. Thomas that you were booked solid this weekend, he asked if it would be possible to reserve you for Sunday afternoon. We made the schedule work.

“However, I must say, I am leery of Mr. Ferro. Your last meeting alone with him didn’t end well, however he was at the meeting with Thomas.” She pauses and cocks her head at me, like she just realized something. “You’re playing them against each other.” Respect flashes in her eyes. “I didn’t think you had it in you. You did something—at that dinner—and made them compete for you. I’m impressed.” She sweeps her eyes over me like she’s seeing me for the first time.

Holy crap is she wrong, but I’m not stupid enough to tell her that. Plus she’s not pissed at me for the moment, so I just flash her a cheesy smile. Yup, that’s me. Super Slut. Someone should give me a cape. I wonder if I can laugh like an evil villain, but I don’t try. Black will think I’m insane. Maybe I am.

Dr. Pratz said to get my hours shaved back and Black is piling them on—and right at the end of the semester. If I work all weekend, I won’t have time to finish my papers. I’m caught in the middle and not sure what to do. Since I don’t really have a choice, I just nod.

“Miss Stanz,” she says as I stand to leave. “Don’t you want to know what your take of the fee is this weekend?” No, not really. Okay, maybe a little. I nod. She pushes a little white card toward me. It’s a lot of money, not as much as I was supposed to get from the first time, but still a lot. “It’s impressive.”

“It’s something.”

“You don’t sound happy.”

I smirk at her. “This is no place for happiness, Miss Black. This is business.”

“I’m glad you understand.”





CHAPTER 9





It’s the end of the week already. I’m sitting across from Marty in the lab. Everyone else has finished, except one girl who was ditched her lab partner. She’s pulling double duty. I feel bad for her. If Marty wasn’t around, that would be me.