“I can listen.”
“You want to listen to me complain about my mom?”
“Why not?”
She looked down at her food. “It’s not important. My mom was … compared to many, a saint. I loved her. I still do love her.”
“But.”
“I love the thought of her being the best she can be, but she never gave me that, ever. She was always interested in what she wanted. Not what I wanted, or anyone else.” She lifted a shoulder, then heavily dropped it. “I never wanted to go to Crude Hill. I came home from school one day to her packing everything up. Within forty-eight hours, we were in a nice house and I was enrolled into one of the meanest schools that ever existed.” She swallowed. “I was so scared. I knew bad people existed. I just didn’t realize they created a separate school and place for them all to live.” She let out a breath.
“That doesn’t tell me if you miss your mom.”
“Yes and no. I miss the chance for her to be great. I don’t miss the actual person she was.”
She was sad.
“You’re upset.”
“I don’t like spilling my past. I don’t even like thinking about it. She died due to the choices she made. She was always so selfish. There are times I get angry because I never told her just how selfish I felt she was being, but does it really matter? It’s not like she cared. She was always after a good thing. A sure thing.” She put down her knife and fork. “I’m not hungry.”
“I didn’t mean for you to lose your appetite.”
“The past is a sore subject for me. I imagine the same can be said for you. Were you born into this life?”
“Yes,” I said.
“Oh.”
“My father was a trafficker. You could say I was one of his many sons that showed great promise. He died due to a raid that went badly. I thought my father was the worst person in the world. Then I met my grandfather, and well, the rest is history.”
“You have a grandfather?”
“Had.” I put a bullet in his brain so long ago now. The moment I made a name for myself, I took over all of his businesses, made them bigger, better, and then I took everything from him, including his life. He’d broken me down, piece by piece, but I was the one who built myself back up. Not him.
“I’m sorry for your loss.”
“Do not waste your sympathies on him. You would’ve been sold to the highest bidder. A virgin was a rare treasure indeed, but he didn’t see you as such. You would’ve been nothing more than a business deal.”
“You don’t trade in virgins?”
I avoided virgins at all costs. The irony wasn’t lost on me.
“Have you thought any more about our conversation last night?” I asked. As much as I enjoyed watching her through a camera, I’d rather have her at my side. I was a controlling man in all areas.
“I have thought about it.”
“But?”
“I, er, I … I’m not very good at this.” She took a sip of her water.
I snapped my fingers for the contents of the table to be taken away. One by one, the women came, removed everything, and left us alone.
Ashley’s gaze followed them. “You surround yourself with beautiful women.”
“They have a good life.”
“Do all of the women who work for you have a good life?”
“They do now,” I said.
She rubbed at her temple.
Taking over from my father and grandfather had exposed a great many cruelties that I’d changed. She didn’t need to know the true extent of the depravity I once inherited. Everything I owned and possessed, I was proud of. It could be a lot worse.
I sat back and watched her. “Relax, Ashley.”
“I don’t know how to do this. You’ve picked the wrong woman.”
“For that reason alone, I’ve picked the right one. Let me guide you.”
“You’ll manipulate everything.”
“True, but I can also offer you help. I know what I’m willing to give and as we talk, you’ll be able to decide what you want.”
She nibbled on her lip. With a nod of her head, I picked the easiest topic.
“Money.”
This caused her to shake her head. “I’m not a whore. I don’t … no.” She went a little pale.
“Neither your mother, nor her lover, set you up to be taken care of. I’m not offering you money for your virginity, Ashely. As your friend and a guide, like a lawyer, I will make sure you are compensated for your time. For the days you’re with me, I will pay you.”
“You’re going to pay me for sex. That makes me a whore.”
“No, it doesn’t. I’m paying you for your time. If I was paying you for sex, I’d negotiate a price for each. Your virginity being the highest, at say a hundred thousand, anal fifty thousand.”
“Stop.” She shook her head.
“So instead, I’m offering you a price for something far more valuable.”
She laughed but it wasn’t a good sound. “Far more valuable than my virginity? What could that be?”
“Simple, time. Time you can’t get back.”
“I can’t get my virginity back. Once it’s gone, that’s it.”
“I do believe there are surgeons who are happy to make it happen, but you’re right, it doesn’t grow back. However, you can have great sex, and you are rewarded with pleasure for that experience. Time, you can’t make it stop. It cannot always be pleasurable. There is a great deal of pain, of loss. But even as we die, we all pray for more time.”
Tears filled her eyes. “You’ve thought about this a lot?”
“No. I’ve seen a lot of people before death, Ashley. I know what a lot of people pray for. Time is a value people throw away.” I reached into my jacket pocket. “So, I think you’ve been with me over twenty-four hours, but we’ll take it day by day.” I wrote out the check, peeled it off, and handed it to her.
“You can’t be serious.”
I just wrote her a check for a million dollars. To many, it was a fortune, to me, it was pure change.
“This can’t be right.”
“Why not?”
“I just, this is insane.” She put the check down on the table. “People don’t pay that kind of money for me. For anyone. You’re surrounded by beautiful women, Mr. Valentine.”
“Call me Earl. Then we’re in agreement. Every single day you’re with me, that is what you will earn.”
She shook her head. “I can’t accept that.”
“I’m not going to pay you any less.”
“If I’m with you a month, that is an alarming … no.”
I shrugged. “You’ve got to start valuing your worth.”
“There’s worth and then there’s this.”
“You think you’re not worth that?”
She nibbled on her lip. “No, I don’t.”
“My grandfather, sick bastard that he was, he told me the first point of business was to understand your worth. If you don’t believe what you’re worth, no one will pay you for it. You’ll be a laughingstock. Remember what you’re worth, Ashley. Never forget it. Not for me, or for anyone.”