“Yeah, I am.”
Monique dropped her smile. “What is it? You’ve been quiet all day.”
“Nothing. Just tired. I worked nonstop this weekend.” Monday was her weekend. If it weren’t for the meeting, June would still be in bed, probably dreaming of her would-be patrons. That had been happening a lot lately. One minute, she would be Miquela’s, and the next, she would be with Sette, asking her to paint her like one of her French girls. Which was absurd. If either of them had French girls, it was Miquela. June was no Kate Winslet.
Yet Monique was one of the most intuitive women in the world. She knew the difference between tired and bothered like they were red and blue. “This will be over soon, and you’ll have a patron again. Although if you’ve decided on your preference, now is a good time to tell me. I’ve received word from Ms. Bolivar that she will be going back to Monaco for two weeks and may not be able to update her bids. She’s asked for leniency.” Monique chuckled. “I think she was close to offering a largersum, but I reiterated that rules were rules. Only five thousand increments at a time. We build more buzz that way.”
“Like you’re not going to announce to the world how much I go for.” June sighed. “Sorry. I don’t mind. I’m… muddled.”
For as much as Monique attempted to be jovial, she could not keep up with June’s melancholy. “What’s going on? Did one of them do something?” She gently laid her hand on her desk, soft pink nail polish glistening in the sunlight. “You need to tell me. You’re tough, but…”
“It’s not like that.” June wasn’t about to let her boss think the best women to ever walk into her boudoir were up to nefarious things.I can handle myself.June had been on the brunt end of everything. Back when she had little protection and even fewer street smarts… well, it was a good thing she had a knife in a couple of situations. “All I’ll say is that they’re not like my usual clients.”
No matter how neutral June tried to keep her demeanor, Monique could read anything.Everything. Bullshit and honesty alike. Why did June even try to keep things to herself around there? What was she afraid of? She was hardly the first woman in her situation.
“June,” Monique’s voice was terse. “Don’t do this to me. Keep your head in the game.”
She swallowed. “I don’t know what you’re thinking, but it’s not like…”
“We’ll inevitably have another Sybil, but I can’t bear the thought of it being you.”
June gasped, thrown back that her boss wouldevercompare her to that dumbass. Sybil was one of the first girls hired at the Manoir. She was a sweet, natural submissive who was obsessed with 1920s flapper styling and culture, which annoyed June at first, until she accepted that it was an integral part of Sybil’s silly identity. Clients loved it. Particularly the old school assMr. Carlisle, who became Sybil’s patron shortly after the Manoir opened.
When Sybil announced she was retiring from sex work to marry Mr. Carlisle, June hadn’t said anything, even though she saw the warning signs everywhere. Sure enough, a few weeks later, Sybil was back, having found out about her fiancé’sotherfiancées around the world. The man was never going to marry her. All he did was lead her on and make her his mistress, free of charge. Sybil had been so heartbroken, so distraught that she spent a whole month in her old room, refusing to exist. Then one day, she was gone, moving to the West Coast to start a new life.
Last June heard Sybil was but a shell of who she used to be. Multiple arrests for prostitution and solicitation in the Pacific Northwest, as well as being linked with a nasty fellow who dabbled in assassinations, money laundering, and did one mention the murders?
How the mighty fall.
“Don’t compare me to her.” June kept her voice as terse as Monique’s. “I’m not that dumb. I’m going through some things. Once this patronage sorts itself out, I’ll be back on track. I’ve got goals I don’t intend on giving up. You can count on me.”
“That’s good, because I’m going to need you more than ever in these upcoming months. I need to know that you’re prepared to run the show. I want to secure your patronage by then so you’ll have a steady income to rely on while you focus your efforts on running the Manoir. It’s difficult to try both jobs at once. Don’t overdo it. The overall business comes before yours.”
“Got it, yes.” June knew how this worked. While she was in charge of the Manoir, she wouldn’t have much time for seducing new clients into her bed. She’d be too busy making sure the other girls were 24/7 satisfied so they all got rich. “Trust me. I want this place to continue to succeed and grow as much as you do.”
“Excellent! Now, let’s get back to talking about those potential patrons of yours…”
“I’m afraid to ask.”
“I’m going to propose something unconventional. I’m going to suggest, if this bid war goes over $100,000, that they both put in a final offer, and the highest one wins.”
“So a silent auction? Interesting.” Miquela would win. She’d put in like half a million dollars a month while Sette took the financially conservative route.
“Something like that. I want to ensure that both women bid as high as possible. That’s why I’m suggesting you take a break from other clients for a short time and go away with them.”
“What? That’s a privilege for patrons only…”
“Yes, and you’ll be showing them what they can get for as much money as they’re willing to put down for you.”
Her ruthless smile said that this was a fantastic plan. June wasn’t so sure about that. These women could take her anywhere in the world… and do whatever they wanted to her.
Like make her fall in love with them. The jerks!
Chapter 7
Sette
Afamily emergency called Sette away for more than a week. Namely, her grandmother, a crotchety old woman she hadn’t spoken to in years, passed away at the tender age of ninety. Between flying to her grandmother’s estate in Maine to attend a funeral and hanging around long enough to find out whether or not she had inherited anything (she hadn’t), there wasn’t much time for a serious artist to work. Aside from playing phone tag with Joy, of course.
