Page 14 of The Grand Duel
I think about the house I promised Jovie when we were little.
Our Heartlands home.
“Money,” I tell him.
“See.” He flicks his head towards the window. “I know you aren’t looking to be recruited up here.”
I narrow my eyes on him.
“I wasn’t either once upon a time. But there’s money—walking these corridors—there’s a lot of money looking to be spent.” He shrugs, looking down at me. “Doesn’t hurt that you’re beautiful, either.”
“I don’t think I have enough experience to see myself—” I gesture to the two people going at it beyond the glass. “So exposed.”
“You don’t have to be watched, there are private rooms, but I get it. The beauty of this place is in the understanding.”
“The understanding?”
“People’s limits. The consent. You say no, and I can promise you there isn’t a single person here who will push it with you. I asked, you said no, we’re done.”
I watch him, wondering how he’s only twenty-two years old.
I look back at the couple. “I think I feel safe here. Is that stupid?”
I know that it is.
He shakes his head in my peripheral vision. “You wanna know how many people come knocking on the doors looking for work here? Hundreds. Every single month. We have a dud email address for them to send their CVs to because it became impossible to manage. Now ask me how many members of the staff Bron has taken on in the last twelve months.”
I look up at him, and he peers down at me. “How many?”
“Four. You’re number five. New members are equally as sparse.”
My eyes widen. Why did I think it would be more?
“You feel safe here because Bronwyn gives a shit. You feel safe because you are. That card you have that got you in here, there’s not many of those kicking around. Not just anybody gets to walk in here and act like a creeper.”
A weight seems to lift in my stomach, a genuineness sparking in Christian’s eyes which my gut seems to warm to.
“I came from a big fancy office where no one really spoke to me. I think you’ve said more to me in the last fifteen minutes than my manager did over the entire three years I was there.”
His brows peak in surprise. “Really?” he says, sounding proud. “It’s actually something new I promised Bron I’d try. The last new starter I ended up sleeping with on her second shift, and she’s now my ‘kind of girlfriend’ who’s getting railed by that kind gentleman just there.”
My jaw drops as I look through the window again. “That’s your girlfriend.”
“She’s definitely something.”
I chuckle and cover my mouth. “Oh my god.”
He gives me a cheeky smile. “It’s just a bit of fun.”
“Okay, I get the twenty-two now.”
“Yeah. That and the fact I’ve had a semi since I found you playing peeping tom through the windows is probably a bit of a giveaway.”
I shake my head, laughing. “Well, I can assure you that you and I will never have such an issue.” I hold out my hand to him. “No fucking on night two, okay. Or three.”
He turns towards me. “Friends?”
“Friends.” I nod.