Prologue
“I’m not a prostitute, Mr. Yang.” Seraphina’s tone was frosty and clipped. She pushed out a controlled breath, and he heard the slight rustling of clothing.
“I’m aware you aren’t a prostitute, Seraphina. I wasn’t implying that you were.”
She clicked her tongue. “You more than implied it. You just finished propositioning me.”
Evan was known for his poise but losing control of this situation had him on edge. His composure slipped. How had this situation gotten so out of hand? “Evan. It’s Evan…” He’d become accustomed to hearing her say his name and looked forward to how her dulcet voice caressed the two syllables. “Over the course of twenty months working together, you have called me Evan.”
“I think, given the circumstances, Evan feels far too familiar. I don’t know what would make you feel I was for sale, but I assure you I am not, Mr. Yang.” She scoffed.
Seraphina said his name with such disdain. A lesser man would have given up and walked away. Evan didn’t know how to give up on what he wanted. By this time, it was much more than a want… it was a driving need. Given her reaction, he had used the wrong approach. This directly resulted from sitting back idly and pining over her. He’d given her a sloppy proposal, which offended her.
“I didn’t intend my offer to be a proposition.”
“Yet, it was!” Seraphina raised her voice, but when she resumed speaking, she had regulated the volume. “What would you call it then? The exchange of funds for sexual favour.”
Evan didn’t see it that way. He offered her something that he believed she wanted, in exchange for something he wanted. It should have been a win-win situation. What was so wrong with offering to take care of her?
“I offered to fund this organisation, you care for so deeply, for the next ten years and give you financial freedom. Why are you trying to make this into something tawdry?”
“You honestly believe that just because you are attaching a high price tag, it changes what you are doing? To be clear, fifty, a hundred, a thousand, or in your case millions of dollars, doesn’t change the fact that you are a John and want me to spread my legs in exchange for what you are offering. If I wasn’t clear before, the answer is no. This institute has struggled to find funding, but every year we manage to keep these doors open. We will continue to do so. My dignity will never be the cost of anything I need.”
The word John clawed at his resolve. Is that how she saw him? Some desperate caricature of a man. “You are making this more difficult than it has to be.”
This conversation shouldn’t be going so awry. Evan felt he already broached the topic with her.
“You have all the wealth and privilege in the world. While the transition from being sighted to a non-sighted person is going to be difficult for you, I have no doubt that you will be able to make that transition. Business-wise, there is a lot of advanced software to aid you in continuing to run your empire.”
“This isn’t about the business. I have no doubt that I will continue to succeed in the business world. What I’m concerned about is personal. It’s an essential part of who I am.”
“You will have to fill me in. I can’t help if I don’t know.”
“I live a certain lifestyle and my ability to see keeps me in control. That control brings pleasure. My purpose is to bring pleasure. You tell me, how can I do that without sight?”
She hadn’t been able to answer his question, but he was solution driven. He’d come up with his own. Now they were at an impasse because he added a monetary incentive.
Evan offered to ease her financial burdens. Well… because he fucking could. Yes, he wanted her, but his intent wasn’t for one night. He’d only proposed it to get her accustomed to being with him. To wanting him, the way he already wanted her.
“You would think with your recent loss. You would understand that you can not purchase everything. Everything doesn’t have a price tag attached to it. I take some responsibility in this. I allowed our professional involvement to become too familiar, and in so doing lines have been crossed. This is where our professional and personal association comes to an end Mr. Yang.”
ChapterOne
One year later.
SERAPHINA
“Tell me all about your blind date…” Seraphina cringed. As someone who had spent a lifetime being an advocate for the unsighted, she really didn’t care for that term. Roxanne knew her well enough and must have sensed her discomfort. “…sorry Phina, the date you were set up on. Why are you home so early?”
Seraphina had actually been home for a while. All her nightly rituals were complete. Tomorrow’s lunch was packed, and she just needed to add her frozen dinner in the morning. She’d taken her shower, and even done her extensive facial care routine. After making a cup of tea, she settled into her bed and called her friend to dish. “I wish I had stayed home and watched reruns or paint dry. He was so juvenile.”
“I thought you were told he was older than you.”
“Yes, three years. I’ve never met anyone who is so indecisive. He couldn’t choose what to order for dinner. Since I refused to decide for him, he had to rely on the waiter to make the selection for him. A discussion about Marvel and DC’s pros and cons dominated the entire conversation. The man who couldn’t decide what to eat became aloof and withdrawn because I couldn’t name the worse Marvel character. Ugh. Not to mention the bill fiasco.”
She’d given her friend the highlights sans physical descriptions. The idea of talking about how the man looked struck her as mean. But Ugh. He wasn’t as tall as she had been told he would be, and he was rail thin. The peculiar thing was he looked… shiny. He had a beautiful dark complexion, but it was… shiny. As if someone had spread Vaseline all over his face. You know, like when you were a kid? And your black momma wanted to protect your skin from the cold. Seraphina shook her head. Given what she learned about the man, she wouldn’t be surprised if that’s what happened.
“What? He didn’t pay?”
