He nods with a hard glint in his eye. "For an operation that lasted almost a year. Was in pretty deep but it was a successful bust."
"Did you have to … ?" I start to ask, but then let the words taper off. It's none of my business.
"Yeah, I did," he says quietly. "There's not anything I wouldn't do to see it through."
"I'm the same way," I tell him. "There's not anything I won't do now that I'm in to see this through."
I see something flick through Wyatt's eyes … maybe respect … maybe fear … and he grimaces.
"Look … that's what I want to talk to you about. You're doing a phenomenal job so far … playing your role perfectly. If we're lucky, things will continue on as is until your sale can be arranged, and you won't have to suffer anything more than baring your body to those douchebags."
"What do you mean … if we're lucky?"
Wyatt takes a breath, leans his head back to look at the ceiling, and then lets it out. When his eyes meet mine again, he says, "Simon has your buyer locked down. They're planning on making the exchange next week."
"Okay," I say carefully. This is good news, but something about his voice causes my skin to break out in chilled goose bumps.
"Simon told me today that he wants to do a little sampling of his own before the sale," he says, his voice sharp as a knife's blade. "The lap dance you gave him during your audition was just a little too good."
"Oh," I say, lowering my eyes to my hands, which are clasped in my lap.
Simon Keyes wants to fuck me. Dismay and disgust course through me. I had imagined something like this could happen, even imagining worst-case scenario that I get sold, our bust gets foiled, and I endure being raped by my captor. But no amount of imagining really prepared me to accept the cold, hard reality of my situation.
Yet, we are too close to let this all go down the drain. It won't mean anything if I have to do it. I can let my mind drift away as it does while I'm dancing, and I can compartmentalize that horror away from my psyche. I can do this.
Squaring my shoulders, I raise my gaze back to Wyatt's. "I'll do whatever is necessary so this doesn't go down the drain. You don't have to worry about me holding up my end."
Wyatt surges up out of his chair and glares down at me. "For fuck's sake, Andrea. You are not fucking Simon Keyes."
"But we can't get him angry … or suspicious. I have to-"
"You are not fucking him," Wyatt snarls at me. "We'll figure something out, but I just wanted you to be aware of his thoughts. I don't know if he'll approach you. For all I know, he could have just been spouting off. But I want you to be alert and careful."
"But-" I try to say, and he cuts me off again.
"Starting now, I'll cash out your tips first each night so you can hurry up and get the hell out. He normally stays locked up in his office until all of that accounting is over with."
"But don't you think-?"
"And you do not open that door for anyone that knocks on it," he rolls right over me, thumbing back at the door over his shoulder. "If I have to see you again, I'll always tell you it's me when I knock. Otherwise, you keep silent and pretend you are not home for anyone that knocks. Understand?"
"Wyatt, you have to consider-" I try again, but he lunges at me, taking me by my shoulders and leaning his face in close to mine.
"Just shut the fuck up and say you understand," he commands in a deadly voice that causes a shiver of dread … or is that desire … to race up my spine. "It's not negotiable."
"Okay," I whisper.
Wyatt releases his hold on me and starts to turn away, but I make sure to hastily add on, "But if I'm in a situation where I have to make that decision, you have to know I'll do what's best for the operation."
Spinning back on me, Wyatt starts to say something, but then slams his mouth shut. He glares at me a moment, and I lift my chin higher to him in defiance. His eyes bore into me, trying to cow me into submission.
I lift my chin higher, and then something shutters over his eyes.
With a shrug of his shoulders, he says, "Whatever. It's your body … do with it what you will."
"I'll do what's best for this mission," I reaffirm.
"I'm sure you will," he says softly before heading toward the door.
"Is that it?" I ask as I jump off the couch to follow him. "Is there anything else we need to discuss about the sale?"