LOGINAs I calmed down, I laughed at myself. I had almost been caught by the maid masturbating—in her boss’s house, and mine. What a lovely story!When I reached my room, an intoxicating aroma filled the air. The moment I lifted the lid, I found a Beef Wellington bathed in a red-wine reduction, accompanied by asparagus. For dessert there was a crème brûlée. The wine glass was already filled, and they had left the bottle. A note came with it:“From Mr. Parker’s reserves. I hope it’s to your liking.”No signature.Of course, it would be to my liking. The wines I usually bought were the ones on sale more often than not.I wet my lips and let the wine slide into my mouth. It was absolutely wonderful.I raised the glass in a quiet toast to the vineyards outside. Without them, Mr. Parker would never have had this marvel now traveling down my throat.I had put on a baby-blue lace bra with matching panties and walked around the room between bites of my delicious dinner, dancing to the music.And I
I went to bed with my throat tight and my eyes filled with tears.I pulled the covers completely over myself.As the old saying went:Out of sight, out of mind.I wished it were that easy.I woke to the sound of my phone vibrating.It was Bia.Outside my window, it was already getting dark, which meant I had slept through practically the entire afternoon.“Hello, brute.”“Hello, my love…”“Bia… no sugarcoating, please.”“Fine. Hello, you elitist snob. How are you enjoying the mansion of the filthy rich man who, by the way, happens to be your boss?”I laughed.Her bluntness was like a bucket of cold water in the middle of a desert.“Terribly. I want to go home. I’m tired of being here.”“Wow! Who would have thought that living in a house where everything is available to you could be exhausting?”She paused.“But seriously, is he treating you badly?”“No. I have everything I need, but…”I hesitated.“I don’t feel comfortable here. I wasn’t made for this world of luxury.”“I see.”Her to
Leonard stood up and walked away.The three of us remained silent until we heard the office door slam shut.“Well, I’m going to get ready. Enjoy the rest of your lunch. I hope to see you again, Lina.”Susan left without waiting for an answer.Neither of us said a word.Once we lost sight of Susan, Lina sighed and leaned back against her chair.“The good news is that my plan worked. The bad news is that it worked a little too well. Now I have to go talk to him, and it’s not going to be a pretty conversation.”“Lina, you’ve caused problems because of me, and that was the last thing I wanted! Now you two are going to argue. I feel terrible about all of this.”Tears began gathering in my eyes.There were simply too many emotions hitting me at once.“Blair, my brother and I argue all the time!”She looked at me seriously.“And I’d rather have one argument because of you than five hundred because of his drinking, working too much, or because we barely ever see him!”She reached for my hand.
Five minutes past noon, a maid came to inform us that lunch had been served.Which meant it was time for the show.My heart was beating far too fast for the occasion, and my appetite had disappeared the moment Lina showed me the dress now covering my body.She had taken care of everything.The dress.A thong that wouldn’t show beneath the fabric.My hair tied up messily with a clip, falling in soft waves.Soft makeup.And…No shoes.In Lina’s mind, if the look was supposed to appear casual and appropriate for being inside the house, she needed an entire strategy to make sure it didn’t look deliberate.“Are you ready?”“No.”I looked at myself one last time.“Maybe it would be better if I changed into something else and…”“Don’t even think about it!”She pointed at me.“You’re going down like that, and you’re going to look amazing. Don’t make me cut up all your other clothes so this is the only thing you have left to wear!”Lina was terrifying when she had made up her mind about someth
“My brother has got to be kidding me!”Lina stormed into my room and slammed the door behind her.She paced back and forth, clearly furious. I had seen plenty of angry women in my life—I was one of them—but never a beautiful, wealthy woman quite like Lina when she was truly pissed off.“Calm down, Lina. It’s a long story.”“A long story is exactly what I’m going to tell him when I get him alone! It’s obvious she came here with other intentions. I’m not stupid, you know? My area is people. I know what they want. I only need two minutes of watching someone to figure them out!”She waved her arms as she spoke, her voice far too loud.I remained sitting beside the desk, the bags she had brought me at my feet.“And I know exactly who she is. John already told me about her.”That caught my attention.“Dr. John? The lawyer?”“Yes, that one. My brother’s close friend and practically family. When Leo was going through a… difficult phase, she helped him.”She stopped pacing and looked at me.“B
“Can we talk for a little while, Blair?”“Of course. Sit down.”She pulled a chair over and sat across from me.I had a feeling this wasn’t going to be a pleasant conversation.“I want to start by apologizing for what happened during our session. I wasn’t professional, and I’m truly sorry.”“Thank you.”“However, since we’re not in a session right now, I need to speak openly with you, woman to woman. I’ve just spoken to Leonard about being your psychiatrist. I explained that, given our circumstances, there’s a conflict of interest and I can’t continue treating you, especially since you weren’t willing to cooperate. At least, not with me.”She paused.“The problem is that Leonard is a very stubborn man, and he wouldn’t let me leave because I’m the only person he trusts with these matters. I told him that I really couldn’t continue and that simply being here could put my professional career at risk.”I listened carefully.“I managed to convince him to hire another psychiatrist to treat







