“I’m Richard Bently, I believe you are well acquainted with my sons Mackenzie and Tyrone. Shall we go?”
Fuck. I don’t know what to do. I don’t want any of the guys to get into trouble, I already feel like I’m in trouble. I don’t want to get into the car, but what else am I supposed to do? Richard sits looking back at me as I stand rooted to the spot weighing my options as my mind begins to swim and I honestly don’t know what to do for the best. He is the guys’ father, he can’t be that bad if I were to get into the car with him. He’s an owner, which also makes him my boss. Could I lose my job if I disobey him? He can’t do anything bad to me, right? I purse my lips and admit defeat then climb shakily into the back seat. The driver closes the door behind me which makes me jump. There is something unnerving about this situation. It feels like an ambush.
“Buckle up,” instructs Richard, the coolness to his tone making me immediately spring into action. “Here is your eye mask,” his voice demands compliance as he passes it to me. I give him one last look and register that he has a similar face structure to Tye and the same eyes as Mack. The resemblanceis there but I’m not sure that is reassuring. I lift the eye mask to my head and everything goes dark.
We sit in silence as my mind jumps from one panicked thought to another. Could he be the head of the underbelly of Australia? Is he dangerous? He’s certainly wealthy, all the owners are wealthy. Could he drive me somewhere and shoot me and then dump my body in bushland where no one will ever find me? But why? Because I started sleeping with his sons barely a week ago? Surely not? Because I broke the prestigious Clarendon rules and saw members outside the workplace? Nothing feels bad enough for an abduction. Surely I am not actually being abducted and he’s just a man of very few words. I run through my mind everything I think I know about Richard. But the owners are all secret. The only things I know about him are the underwhelming information Mack and Tye have mentioned. They were doing all they could to hide from him. That tells me all I need to know. I shouldn’t have gotten into his car. Panic surges through me. What was I thinking? This man is so wealthy he could bury me in a playground and pay a whole town to keep my body a secret. He probably owns the police force.
Around and around my thoughts spiral, making my breaths shorten and my heart rate quicken. My palms and my neck are a sweaty mess.This is bad, Sophie, this is real bad.We drive slowly over gravel and the car comes to a stop. “Leave the mask on Sophie, unbuckle your belt. My driver will help you out of the car and inside.”
My fingers move frantically over my belt pushing in the buckle that releases at the same time as the door opens. I swing my body round to climb out and a firm hand takes my arm and leads me across the stones and then guides me up some stairs. I feel the flooring change beneath my feet and smell a light fragrance as I enter a building. Then I’m walked down ahallway and I hear a door open. “Mind your step,” comes the driver’s steady voice, “we are taking the staircase downstairs.” That doesn’t bode well for me. I stop in my tracks.
“Where are we going?” I ask pitifully as terror runs through my veins.
“The wine cellar,” the driver says kindly, he can no doubt feel my trembling body in his hands.
“W-why are we going into a wine cellar?” I ask as he moves me to continue walking down the stairs. I have no choice but to continue moving otherwise I will plummet down the steps anyway.
“You’ll find out soon enough,” is all he replies. I hope so, I hope I can take this mask off when we arrive. The mustiness of an airless room hits my nose as my feet move across a now very hard flooring like bricks of some sort. The driver leads me to a seat.
“Sit,” echoes Richard’s voice from somewhere in the room. The driver helps me lower into a wooden seat and then I hear his footsteps walk away and back up the stairs, leaving me alone in this room with this deranged man.
“Take off your mask,” Richard instructs and I do. I pull the velvety black mask up off my eyes and blink in the light. The driver wasn’t lying, we are in a cellar. There are rows upon rows of wine bottles, all dust free and well cared for.
“Why did you bring me here?” I ask in a small voice.
“I wanted to talk about my sons. I believe you know them intimately well?”
“I do,” I reply nervously as sweat begins to pool between my breasts and I pick at my nails, unsure what to do with my hands.
“So tell me, what is it that draws you to them?”
“Well,” I begin, drawing in a breath that I hope will stabilize my heartrate so I can think straight. “I have known Mack asmy driver for the past two and a half years and we get along well. We speak easily and he’s smart. I enjoy my time with him when he’s driving me and now in a more intimate way, which is very new but beautiful. I had no idea my driver was the son of one of the owners of the Clarendon. Mack told me only what he wanted me to know during our drives. And Tye, he’s always in the cafe making me laugh. He recently gave me a golf lesson for the first time and, again, I’ve only just got to know him in a more intimate manner. Everything has happened so fast but it’s been truly wonderful getting to know them on a more personal level. They’re really great men, you should be very proud of them.”
“Proud of the fact I gave them one rule with the Clarendon: post as many jobs as you like, work at the Clarendon, but never date a playmate?”
“Wh—” I begin, but he cuts me off.
“I haven’t finished Ms Greene. And then there is you. You signed a contract. Take all the jobs you want to work, but never date a client outside of our club. Have you read the clause in the contract, should you break it?”
I wrack my brain trying to remember what I read when I signed it. I remember thinking,I’ll never break it so it doesn’t matter.“Please Sir,” I say feebly, “I don’t recall. I never intended to ever break the Clarendon’s rules. I didn’t set out to break any rules.”
“I know you didn’t, I know it was all my sons’ work. But rules are rules, contracts are contracts. If you had read the rules you would know that there are consequences to breaking them. The same goes for my sons, the same goes for the members who also broke them. The men have until 3pm to answer my summons. They too will face their punishment. And they can decide whether they dole out yours or the other owners and myself will do it for them. Let’s get you into position shall we?”
“Why do I need to be punished?” I ask, confused.
“Everyone needs to be punished when they break the rules Ms Greene. Shall we begin?”
“What happens if I don’t take my punishment?”
“You will lose your job, of course. But that would be just the start of your troubles, Ms Greene. The owners pull strings all over this city. The consequences of your refusal would be far-reaching. Is that what you want?”
“No, but surely we can talk about it like adults?” I plead.
“That ship has sailed Ms Greene. If you can’t keep your legs closed around the members and staff outside of the club, we can’t discuss these things as adults. Lessons need to be learned. Punishments will be delivered.”
“What is the punishment?” I ask as a sick feeling begins to curdle in my stomach. Richard’s mouth twists up in the first smile I’ve seen him make since I met him and that chills my bones to their core.
“Let’s get started, shall we?”
