Chapter 22

 

“Goddammit, Neil. Leave me the fuck alone.” I muttered under my breath as my cell phone chimed again.

It was Thursday night and I had just finished cooking dinner when Neil had started to text me. I sighed and read his latest one.

Mae, we really need to talk. Call me, right now.

No. Leave me alone, Neil. I texted back and tossed my phone on the table before taking a bite of chicken.

After only a few seconds, my cell phone chimed and I considered heaving it across the room. I was going to have to change my number. This was starting to be stalker behaviour. I grabbed it, glanced at the screen, and dropped the phone in shock and dismay.

I spit the chicken out on to my plate and with trembling fingers, picked up my cell phone as delicately as if it were a snake. I stared at the picture that Neil had texted me and moaned softly. “Oh God, no.”

It was a picture of Liam and me in his living room. Liam, his face in clear focus, was kneeling on the floor, his hands bound behind his back as he stared up at me. I realized with a numb kind of panic that although my body, clad in the stockings and leather corset was in the picture, my face wasn’t. The picture was cut off just above my breasts.

Of course, he had to make sure he got all of Liam in the shot. I thought hysterically. He doesn’t need my face.

I moaned again and, with shaking fingers, dialed Neil’s number.

“Hello, Mae. I thought that might get your attention.”

“How did you get that picture?” I whispered. My lips felt like they had been given a healthy shot of Novocaine and I could hardly force the words out.

“You know what’s weird, Mae? I’ve spent the last month thinking my life was fucked up beyond repair. My work life is – well, it’s complicated – and my love life? Shit. It’s been fucked since I kicked you out. I didn’t know how good I had it until you were gone. It took me a while to realize it but when I saw you at the charity event I knew I had fucked up by letting you go.” Neil said cheerfully.

“The picture, Neil.” I whispered again. “How did you get it?”

“But it’s like my mom always told me – when life gives you lemons Neil, you make lemonade. That picture is my lemonade, Mae.”

“Neil – “

“I’ve spent weeks trying to get Mr. High and Mighty Knight to even return my calls. All I wanted was a few minutes of his time. I’m an excellent lawyer, Mae. I would be an incredible asset to your boyfriend’s company, but he wouldn’t even give me the time of day. That’s pretty rude. Don’t you think?”

I didn’t reply and he sighed deeply. “Here’s the thing, Mae. I just thought that maybe if I went to Mr. Knight’s home and he had the chance to talk with me, he’d see what I was talking about. Only, I’ve had some financial difficulties as of late, and had to trade in my BMW for a fucking rustbucket of a car. And wouldn’t you know it – the goddamn thing broke down on me only a mile out from your boyfriend’s home. Not a problem, I thought to myself. I was almost to his place anyway. It was a lovely day for a walk. Wasn’t it a lovely day on Sunday, Mae?”

He paused and laughed. “I suppose you wouldn’t know. You seemed to be pretty busy with some indoor activities. Anyway, I hiked my ass up to Mr. Knight’s house and wouldn’t you know it – he already had company! You looked fucking hot in that leather corset by the way, Mae. Why didn’t you wear shit like that when we were dating? If you had, I might not have dumped your fat ass.”

I was gripping the phone so tightly, my knuckles were white.

“Mae? You still there, sweetheart?”

“I’m here.” I replied hoarsely.

“Good, good. I snapped a picture real quick, and it’s a good job I did because you ruined a perfectly good show by closing those damn blinds. It doesn’t matter though because I think I got the shot I needed. Don’t you?”

“What do you want, Neil?”

He laughed again. “What do you think I want, Mae? Money. It’s what makes the world go round, isn’t it? I’m going to be sending that picture to your boss and letting him know that if he doesn’t pay up, I’ll be forwarding that picture to every goddamn gossip site I can think of. What do you think the people in this city will say when they see Mr. Knight, a pillar of the community, on his knees wearing a dog collar?”

“I have money.” I said quickly. “I’ll give you fifty thousand dollars to delete that picture.”

There was a surprised silence on the other end of the phone and then Neil cleared his throat. “How the hell do you have fifty thousand dollars?”

“What does it matter?” I snapped. “I’m offering you fifty grand to delete the picture.”

He paused again. “I need seventy-five.”

My mouth dropped open and I looked at the phone mutely for a moment before pressing it to my ear again.

“Mae? Did you hear me? I need seventy five grand.”

“I – I don’t have seventy-five. I have fifty.” I whispered.

He sighed again. “Then I guess I’ll have to go to Mr. Knight.”

“No!” I shouted. “I’ll get you the money, alright? If I pay you the seventy-five, will you delete the picture?”

“Of course I will.” He replied immediately.

“How do I know that you will?” I asked.

“I guess you’ll just have to trust me, sweetheart.” He said cheerfully. “Should I drop by tomorrow for the money?”

“It’s going to take me a few days to get the money together.” I said shakily.

He made a grunt of disappointment. “Fine. I’m a generous guy. I’ll give you until Wednesday to get the money. We’ll go for dinner and get caught up. If you don’t have the money, your boyfriend’s reputation will be ruined by Thursday morning. You get me?”

“Yeah, I get you.” I replied. “I’ll have the money by Wednesday.”

“Good. It was really great to talk with you, Mae. I’m looking forward to dinner on Wednesday.” Neil said brightly.

I hung up without replying and stared blankly at my dinner plate. With a sudden scream, I swept the plate off the table. It shattered on the floor, sending chicken and salad flying across the kitchen. I stared at the mess with wide eyes before my calm broke. I folded my arms across the table, dropped my head into them, and wept bitterly.

* * *

 

“Mae?”

“Yeah?”

“Please tell me what’s wrong.”

I sighed and rolled on to my side, away from Liam’s gaze. It was Sunday evening and I would be leaving in an hour or so. I had spent the weekend at his place but I had been so nauseous and frightened, I could hardly breathe. We had made love multiple times but I didn’t have the heart or energy to be his ‘Mistress”. All of our lovemaking had been strictly vanilla and if Liam had found that odd, he hadn’t said anything. Being in Liam’s arms and feeling his mouth and body against mine was the only thing that could make me forget about Neil and his blackmailing, but I had been quiet and sick to my stomach whenever we weren’t in bed. I couldn’t eat and I was constantly on the verge of these weird, almost hysterical crying jags. More than once I had to run to the bathroom before Liam saw the tears.

“I’m just sad because it’s our last weekend together.” I lied.

“I am too.” He rubbed my back lightly. “I’ve really enjoyed being with you, Mae.”

“I’ve enjoyed it too.” I whispered as the hot tears flowed down my cheeks.

He didn’t say anything, just continued to rub my back and I took a deep breath, wiped the tears from my cheeks, and turned to face him.

“Maybe it doesn’t have to be our last weekend.” I said softly.

A delighted grin crossed his face and he squeezed my waist lightly. “Mae, I – “

“I’d be willing to extend the contract for two more weekends.” I interrupted him. “Two more weekends for twenty-five grand.”

The smile of delight dropped from his face, and my heart broke as a guarded expression replaced it. “Extend the contract.” He repeated.

“Yes.” I gave him a small smile. “I’ll be your mistress for two more weekends.”

“For twenty-five thousand.”

“Y-yes.” I stuttered. I squeezed my hands together as he studied me carefully. Liam was gone, replaced by Mr. Knight, and I couldn’t read his cool gaze at all. My stomach churned and I tasted bitter bile in my mouth. I was very close to vomiting. If he didn’t agree to extend the contract, I didn’t know how I would get the money for Neil.

After a long moment, he nodded. “Alright. We’ll extend the contract two more weekends.”

I gave him a weak smile. “Good. I’m glad.”

“Yes, me too.” He said politely. He had subtly moved away from me in the bed and I blinked back the tears.

“I was wondering if I could uh – “

I hesitated and he raised one eyebrow at me. “What?”

“If I could get the money early. Like you did before.” I whispered.

Something flickered in his eyes, something dark and painful, and I swallowed down more bile as he nodded. “Of course. I’ll have the money for you by Tuesday. Does that work?”

“Yes.”

“Good.” He glanced at the alarm clock before sitting up and throwing back the sheets. “I know it’s a bit early but I’ve got a long day tomorrow. Do you mind?”

I shook my head. “No, of course not. I’ll just get dressed and go.”

“Thanks.” He stood, and without looking at me, walked naked to the bathroom.

“Liam!” I said his name a bit hysterically and he paused in the doorway of the bathroom.

“Yes?”

“I – “

He gave me an impatient look and I smiled weakly at him. “Nothing. I’ll see you tomorrow alright?”

“Alright.” He closed the bathroom door and I heard the shower turn on. I cried silently as I dressed and packed my suitcase. He was still in the shower when I finished and although I wanted to say goodbye once more, I made myself leave. Tears streamed down my face as I climbed in the car and drove away.

* * *

 

Late Wednesday afternoon, I pushed back my chair and rubbed my aching head. I had a throbbing headache and my stomach was a tight bundle of nerves. I would be meeting Neil for dinner after work and I was anxious to have it over with. Liam had been gone from the office all of Monday and most of Tuesday, and I knew he was avoiding me. He had returned to the office late Tuesday afternoon but had gone into a meeting with Doreen almost immediately. He was at his desk this morning when I came in and had returned my greeting politely, but hadn’t spoken to me since. All of our communication had been by email or instant messenger, and I had waited all day Monday and Tuesday for Liam to simply email me and tell me he had changed his mind about extending the contract.

I had returned to my desk just before quitting time on Tuesday to see an envelope propped against my laptop. I had ripped it open, my hands shaking badly, and couldn’t stop the sigh of relief when I saw the money order for the twenty-five thousand. Liam had already left for the day, and I sobbed quietly until my face was hot and my nose was stuffed up.

This morning I had stopped at the bank before coming in to work and cashed the money orders. The cash was in my purse, a large wad of bills tucked carefully into an envelope and hidden at the very bottom of my bag.

I checked my cell phone. Ten minutes to go and I could leave. I was meeting Neil at his favourite restaurant. He thought we were having dinner but I would give him the money, watch him delete the picture, and get my ass out of there.

“Hello, Mae!”

I looked up to see Neil, Roxy standing beside him, in the doorway of my office. I stood hurriedly and grabbed my purse.

“What the hell are you doing here, Neil?” I hissed at him as Roxy blinked in surprise.

“Mae?” She said softly. “I’m sorry, I thought – I mean, Mr. Dorman said you were having dinner tonight. He asked me to bring him back to your office and I didn’t realize it would…”

She trailed off, giving me a nervous look, and I sighed loudly. “It’s fine, Roxy. Thanks.”

She nodded and left as Neil entered my office. “Not bad for a PA, Mae. Not bad at all.” He said as he admired the view out the window.

“Let’s go, Neil.” I gritted out. “We were supposed to meet at the goddamn restaurant, remember?”

“I know. I thought I would surprise you and stop by the office to pick you up.” He held his arm out to me. “Shall we go?”

“Don’t fucking touch me.” I muttered.

He frowned. “No need to be rude, Mae.”

“Shut the fuck up.” I muttered again. “Let’s go.”

I stormed out of my office and gave a small squeak of dismay, stopping abruptly. Liam had just entered his office and he gave us a look of shock as Neil stood next to me.

“Hello, Liam. It’s good to see you.” Neil grinned at him.

“What are you doing here?” Liam asked tersely.

“Didn’t you hear?” Neil put his arm around my shoulders. “Mae and I are giving it another go.”

Liam’s eyes widened and I started to pull away from Neil. His arm tightened around me and his hand squeezed my shoulder warningly. “Isn’t that right, Mae?” He said pointedly.

“Yeah.” I whispered.

“We’re just going for dinner. Unless, of course, you need my little sweetheart to work late?” Neil asked.

Liam shook his head. His mouth was a thin line and he had a look of disgust on his face as Neil guided me towards the door of the office.

“Good to see you again, Liam.” Neil said cheerfully. “We should have dinner sometime, discuss business.”

Liam didn’t reply and Neil smiled down at me. “C’mon, sweetheart. I’m starving.”

* * *

 

“The meatloaf is excellent here. You should try that.” Neil said as he perused the menu.

“What do you need the money for Neil?” I asked abruptly. “You’ve never had money problems before.”

“That’s none of your goddamn business, Mae.” He said harshly. He glared at me before looking down at the menu again. “What are you going to have?”

I dug through my purse and pulled the envelope of cash out. I placed it on the table and pushed it across the smooth surface. “Let me see you delete the picture.”

Neil glanced at the envelope and reached for it. I placed my hand on it. “The picture, Neil. Let me see you delete it.”

“How do I know the money is in there?”

I rolled my eyes and opened the envelope, showing him the cash inside. His eyes lit up and he gave me a large smile. “That’s my girl.”

“The picture.” I said tightly.

“Right, right.” He pulled his cell phone out and showed me the picture. I watched as he hit the delete button.

“How do I know you haven’t made a copy?” I asked.

He shrugged. “Like I said before - you’ll just have to trust me, sweetheart.”

I let go of the envelope and Neil slipped it into the breast pocket of his suit jacket before picking up his menu. “What are you having to eat?”

I was already sliding out of the booth and he gave me a look of surprise. “Mae? Where are you going?”

“I’m not having dinner with you. I don’t ever want to see you again. Do you understand, Neil? Don’t call me, don’t text me, and don’t fucking come by my house or the office ever again. Do you get it?”

“Yeah, I get it.” He said softly.

“Good.”

“Have a great day, Mae.” He winked at me and it took all of my willpower not to throw my glass of water at his head.

“Fuck you, Neil.” I turned and hurried out of the restaurant.

* * *

 

“May I speak with you, Ms. Temple?”

I looked up from my desk. It was almost quitting time on Thursday and this was the first time Liam had spoken to me all day. Hell, it was the first time I had seen him all day.

I nodded. “Of course.”

He had closed my office door and a trickle of apprehension went through me. He folded his arms across his chest and stared silently at me for a moment.

I couldn’t stand the silence any longer. “Liam, I’m not – “

“I’ve changed my mind about extending the contract. I won’t require your services this weekend or the next.” He said bluntly.

My heart dropped into my stomach and I stood up quickly. I started towards him and he took a step back. “Don’t, Ms. Temple.”

“I’m not seeing Neil.” I said frantically. “He was lying.”

“Are you not? That’s good.” He spoke disinterestedly before glancing at the heavy watch on his wrist.

“Liam, please. Just let me explain.” I whispered.

He shook his head. “There’s nothing to explain. I told you before that a contract between a Dom and a Sub was nothing more than a verbal agreement. I’ve changed my mind about continuing our… contract.”

“I didn’t mean to hurt you.” I said quietly.

“You haven’t.” He spoke dismissively. “There is, however, the matter of the twenty-five thousand dollars. I’m going to need that back.”

My face paled and I grabbed on to my desk as my knees began to shake. “I – I’ve already spent it.” I whispered miserably.

A look of surprise crossed his face before he rearranged his features into a calm mask. “Have you? That was quick.”

“I’m so sorry.” I took a deep breath and squeezed the edge of the desk. “I’ll pay you back. I swear.”

“On a PA salary?” He raised his eyebrows at me and I flushed.

“I’ll get a second job.” I said hurriedly. “I can pay you uh, a thousand dollars a month plus I’ll pay you interest.”

He stared at me for so long that I could feel the colour draining from my cheeks. He was going to say no, he was going to demand all the money back and I had no idea how I would –

“Fine.” He said suddenly. “A thousand a month. I’ll expect it by the fifteenth of the month. Does that sound fair?”

I nodded eagerly. “Yes. Absolutely. Thank you so much, Liam.”

He gave me a cold look. “I think it’s best if you call me Mr. Knight from now on.”

My heart shattered and I swallowed back the loud sob that wanted to escape from my throat. “Of course. I’m sorry.”

“Good night, Ms. Temple.”

He turned and left my office, closing the door firmly behind him. I sank into my chair and stared blankly out the window. Liam was disgusted by me. I thought loving him and knowing he felt nothing more than lust had been awful, but this was infinitely worse.

For a moment, I considered running after him and telling him the truth. Telling him about the picture and about Neil blackmailing me, and that I was in love with him. I was actually standing up when I came to my senses and sank back into the chair.

Liam didn’t love me. I had brought Neil into Liam’s life, unintentionally, but it was still my fault. If Liam found out that Neil had that picture, if he knew that his secret could be revealed by my ex-fiancé, his disgust would turn to pure loathing. He would fire my ass from the firm and then I’d really be screwed.

Tears dripped down my cheeks and I wiped them away angrily. I had cried enough. It was time to grow up.

* * *

 

The next morning I walked into the office and smiled at Betsy, the receptionist. “Good morning, Betsy. How are you?” I forced myself to sound cheerful.

“Good, thanks. Ida’s looking for you.” Betsy was giving me a strange look and I frowned.

“Is there something wrong?”

She widened her eyes innocently and shrugged. “How would I know? I’m just the receptionist.”

I frowned again as the phone rang. Betsy reached for it. “She told me to tell you to go straight to her office.”

I hurried towards Ida’s office. I passed Christine and Roxy and gave them a distracted smile.

“Morning, ladies.”

They stared silently at me and, with a feeling of disquiet growing in my belly, I nearly ran to Ida’s office.

I knocked on the door and stuck my head in. “Ida? You wanted to see me?”

“I did.” She motioned for me to come in. “Shut the door behind you please, Mae.”

I did what she asked and sat down in the chair in front of her desk. “Is there something wrong?”

“Have you been online this morning?” She asked.

I shook my head, my face paling and my knees starting to tremble. “No, I haven’t.”

“There was a picture, a very revealing picture, posted to Gloria Franklin’s website late last night.” She said gravely.

“Oh God.” I whispered. Ida swung her computer screen towards me and for a brief, terrifying moment I thought I might vomit. I swallowed thickly and stared in terror at the screen.

My mouth dropped open and I nearly laughed with relief at the picture of Liam and me kissing outside of his home. It was grainy and a bit out of focus but there was no denying that it was us. Neil must have been hiding in the goddamn trees outside of Liam’s house when I left Sunday. I had a mental picture of Neil hiding in the trees, his camera phone flashing as he snapped pictures of us like some kind of demented paparazzi, and I felt a hysterical grin cross my face.

“This isn’t funny, Mae.” Ida said sharply. “Do you have any idea how much trouble you’re in?”

“Ida – “

“You said you weren’t dating him.”

I realized with shock that Ida was absolutely and utterly furious with me.

“I’m sorry, Ida.”

“You lied to me, Mae. You looked me in the face and you lied to me.” She snapped.

Technically I hadn’t. Liam and I had never dated. I had just been his very expensive prostitute. I couldn’t very well tell that to the HR manager though, so I sighed and gave her a look of apology. “I couldn’t tell you the truth, Ida.”

She sighed harshly. “Dammit, Mae. Why the hell did you have to fuck up so badly?”

“I’m sorry.” I whispered again. “We’re not – we’re not dating anymore.”

“It doesn’t matter. It’s too late now. I have no choice but to fire you.”

I swallowed with difficulty. “Ida, please. I need this job. Couldn’t you just switch me to another lawyer?”

She shook her head. “No.”

I blinked back the tears rapidly. I would be damned if I cried in front of Ida. “Please, Ida. I really need this job.”

“You should have thought of that before you slept with your boss. You’re fired, Mae.” She said softly.

I stared down at her desk as she stood and walked to me. Her hand squeezed my shoulder. “I really am sorry, Mae.”

“Yeah, me too.” I whispered. “Does – does Liam know?”

“Yes. I called him this morning and told him about the picture and that I was firing you.”

“Did he fight for me? Did he try and convince you to let me keep my job?” I asked quietly.

She didn’t hesitate. “No, he didn’t.”