“Well you’re specifically invited, to them all,” he said, his anger becoming bluster. “Baby, I—”
“The rules and clauses are endless.”
“I’d never have let you sign that,” he said, clasping her cheek. “If I’d known—”
“I didn’t have much choice,” she said. “You bailed me out and made that declaration in front of Teddy right after he caught us having sex. I didn’t have an out. It was sign or be on the street.”
Max took a minute to think. “How do you get out of it? I mean, how do we void it?”
“It’s only a six-month contract,” she said. “It’s designed to be renewed with the same terms.” Inhaling, she took his hand from her face to link their fingers. “I won’t be renewing it, Max. I love you, but… I can’t love you to a strict set of guidelines. What we had was organic, now it’s… I don’t know what it is, but it’s not the same.”
“Six months,” he said. “You’re telling me you’ll leave me after six months.”
“Unless it turns out this is an amazing way to live that suits us both.” Which she knew it wouldn’t be because she couldn’t imagine anything worse than being told how to love Max. “Yeah. That time will give me a chance to find a new job and somewhere to live.”
Worry made him squeeze her tighter. “Wait, ok, will you give me a chance to think about this? I don’t want to lose you. I can’t lose you.”
Shifting to her knees, she leaned forward to hold him. “I won’t bring it up again, I promise. I won’t keep reminding you of our end date. But I need to be honest with you now. I’ll make the most of this. I’ll do my duty. But, I won’t be employed as your whore forever, I just won’t do it.”
Pulling back, he ran his hands into her hair. “Let me figure this out, ok? Don’t do anything rash. Let me… try.”
“Six months,” she said, and leaned in to kiss him. “You have me for six months.”
Tally had become the one thing she’d never wanted to be: a whore. It wasn’t as simple as sex for the pleasure of it anymore. The last thing she wanted to do was resent Max or second guess herself when it came to their intimacy.
Being his mistress meant they could share a bed, but they were not free, and he couldn’t possibly understand that until he lived it. Everything their relationship was now was dictated by Teddy Stretton. The man might be responsible for giving her a roof over her head and a job. But, she didn’t want him to be responsible for telling her how to love.
Max didn’t get it yet, and maybe he wouldn’t ever get it. They were a contract. Bound together by words on a page. Tally hated it. Just like in the back of that limo on the way to the Walker Benefit when she hadn’t felt like she was sitting with her Max, she didn’t feel right in this bed.
With him, surrendered to him, she’d forget the clauses that compelled her to be there. But, in the night, and in her quiet moments, she’d always remember that just because her chains were invisible didn’t mean they weren’t there.
She wanted to be with Max Flynn. She loved her Max Flynn. But the man Teddy was turning him into wasn’t the same man. By the time his father was through with him, Tally doubted she’d recognize the man who’d taken his place.
By the time the next morning came, Max was over his hangover and Tally was trying to be more optimistic. Really, she was trying her damndest.
“So, I’ve figured it out,” Max declared, appearing at the door of the walk-in closet.
Tally was sitting on a stool, putting on her thigh-highs. She’d got showered while Max was downstairs at breakfast. It took some time to make him understand that she couldn’t go to breakfast with him. She wasn’t family, they weren’t married; she wasn’t allowed at the breakfast table.
Tally sat up to look at him, and he looked just so proud of himself that she smiled. “Figured out what, baby?”
Chalking yesterday up to insanity, she’d relaxed when he kissed her awake. Sex in his new bed wasn’t as weird as she thought it might be. Max was still Max when he was touching her and kissing her. The thread count didn’t matter when he was sliding himself into her, and just being under him again helped her gain some perspective. They were together again, that was at least something to be grateful for… For now, at least.
Slipping his hands into his pockets, he propped a shoulder on the doorframe. “I want you to forget about the contract.” She shook her head, not following how he could think it was that simple. “You said it says you have to follow my orders, right?” She nodded. “So, I’m telling you we’re going to forget it exists. I’m telling you to argue with me. To contradict me. You have one rule to follow.”
Leaving her perch, she went to her drawer… That she even had a drawer in here was nuts, but there it was, along with a bunch of others, and clothes on rails that belonged to her too.
“One rule?” she asked, selecting the bra that matched her underwear.
Coming over to her, he pulled her around to get her focus on him. “I want you to treat me like your Max, at all times, you understand?”
That request just proved that he was ignorant to their predicament. “Ma—”
“You’re going to keep me honest. I told you I was dying. Before you, I… I was losing myself in this bullshit. I didn’t have a fucking clue who I was or what I was doing. I can’t forget who I am; I don’t want to forget. I’ve tried to be what they want me to be and it made me crazy. They accept me, or they don’t really want me, you know? I need you to treat me just like you did before I came here. We’re going to carry on our relationship exactly as it was before, just like it was at my apartment. Get it?”
Dubious, she examined his features. “Max, I’m not allowed to—”
He touched her lips. “The best part about this is, you can’t argue with me. I don’t want you cutting me any slack, I don’t want you calling me ‘sir’ or thinking of me as your boss. You think of me as your Max, you treat me the same as before. You want to send me out to three stores for bagels, just bat those lashes at me and suck my dick like you did at the apartment.”
Exhaling a laugh, she let her head fall to his chest. What did she have to lose? If she was out of here in six months anyway, she’d rather forget the money and the Stretton name and just be his girlfriend. If he wanted her to act entitled to him, then she would. It would be more fun than bowing down, and like he said, he’d just given her an order.
“Ok,” she murmured, and he scooped up her head to look her in the eye.
“Yeah? A hundred percent, I don’t want you to do anything different and I’ll know if you do. I know my girl. I belong to you and you don’t think about the family or the job, you just own me, ok? You’re the boss. I follow your orders, your wishes. You call all the shots.” Own him, she could handle that and maybe he’d learn a lesson about himself in the process. She nodded. “Ok.” He kissed her. “Get dressed and I’ll call George to take us into the office together.”
And that statement presented her first task. Tensing her hand on his arm, she drew him back. His eyes asked why, and she was hesitant, but eventually took a breath and decided to rip off the Band-Aid.
“Can I ask you something?”
“Anything, Boss.”
He was stroking the sides of her neck, touching her styled hair as he gazed at her lips. In short, he was thinking about sex. She’d told him to get rid of that tell, turned out he hadn’t taken her advice.
But, as long as he was using that look on her, she wasn’t going to complain. “Why do you use a driver?”
His brows lowered. “Why do I…? What do you mean?”
“I understand you need the car and the driver for events, when you’re going somewhere social with a date when you’ll be drinking or if you’re having a meeting with several people in the car. But… there’s a whole fleet of cars in the garage out there. I never understood why you didn’t drive yourself anywhere. You always said you loved to drive, that’s why you became a mechanic. I know it’s not… traditional for the Stretton f
amily. But really, I can’t understand why you would get some guy to drive you into the office every day. Aren’t you bored out of your wits in the back?” She sighed. “It doesn’t matter, I… I just always thought you could use the time alone at the start and end of each day doing something that you love.”
His gaze grew more distant and she tensed, worrying that maybe her Max had changed more than she thought. If he got mad and they ended up arguing, this whole experience would be unbearable. More than that, if Max couldn’t take her voicing her opinion, it would mean Stretton had him and there was nothing of her Max left.
“Shit,” he exhaled and smiled. Grabbing her face, he lunged down and kissed her hard. “God, baby, you’re absolutely fucking right! There’s no reason for me not to drive in and out of the office myself every day… And that frees up George for you, he can drive you anywhere you want to go.”
She hadn’t meant for him to make that leap and began to panic. “Oh, I—”
“No, that’s fucking decided,” he said, running a finger down her jaw. “George will be with you all day, every day, ok? Stretton says I get a budget for you anyway, how crazy is that?”
Yeah, and another thing that made her feel sick. “For dates and jewelry,” she said. “You have a budget to take care of a mistress for trips and clothes and stuff.”
“Good,” he said and read her panic. “Not in the way you’re thinking, ‘cause we’re forgetting the contract, but I can buy you decent gifts, expensive gifts…” She didn’t get it, but he was trying to tell her something. “Gifts that will be worth something at hock if…”
This didn’t work out. It was sweet that he was thinking about that; he wanted to give her security. “I wouldn’t sell anything you bought me.”
“I’m telling you that if you have to, I want you to. I want you to be safe, always.”
And when they came from nowhere, from the bottom of society, it was always in the back of their minds that they could end up back there.
Tally nodded. “Ok.”
“Great, now let’s go pick a car and I’ll drive you in to work,” he said and kissed her. “You’re working for me already, baby. How did I survive without you?”
How would they survive the next six months? That’s what she wanted to know. Being without him was tough, but at least she had nothing but happy memories of their time together.
She’d do as he asked. But, by the time this contract was over, would they still feel the way they had that Monday in his apartment when they’d said goodbye? She hoped so. But, somehow, Tally knew it wasn’t going to be that easy.
TWENTY
It was the next weekend that Tally got the first major shock of her career as a mistress. Max was going somewhere with some corporate guys, a male-only excursion, and she expected to sit in alone. Except Blair and Kimmy invited her to dinner. Which was… unexpected.
She was dubious about going but wanted to know what they wanted. They weren’t extending the invitation out of the kindness of their hearts. Anyway, it wasn’t like she was in a position to refuse. Max was going out with Teddy, and her services weren’t needed by either man.
During the awkward limo ride out of the Stretton Estate, Tally was ignored. Although it was rude of the other two women in the car not to address her, she’d rather be ignored than be expected to engage in polite small talk or any interrogation about her relationship with Max.
After fifteen minutes on the road, Tally was wondering if she was allowed to drink alcohol given that she wasn’t technically working for Teddy. Although she was probably considered on call for Max, he could still have sex with her if she was drunk. So as long as she got back to the right bed…
A bang startled all of them and the car swerved causing all of them to scream and brace, but before her life could start flashing before her eyes, the limo came to a lurching halt.
“Are you ok?” Tally asked, leaning across to Kimmy who had to be the most scared. Her mother had died in a car accident, in a limo accident at that.
Kimmy just nodded, though Tally wasn’t sure she was aware of what she was feeling. But, Blair put an arm around her, acting, at least, like she was going to be human about the experience.
So, Tally got out to see what was going on. “What’s wrong, George?” she asked, wrapping her arms around herself to rub some heat into them as she approached the driver who was standing by the front passenger side of the car.
“Flat tire, ma’am,” he said and had his phone to his ear.
Great. How did that happen? They were on a road in the middle of nowhere, in the dark and cold, without another vehicle in sight.
“Can you change it?” she asked.
He paled and shifted then shook his head. “I’m not insured to do it.”
Not insured, sure, she rolled her eyes. Turning his back, he spoke into the phone. Both Blair and Kimmy got out of the vehicle and started to complain about the cold.
“What’s going on?” Blair asked.
“Flat,” Tally said.
George hung up the phone. “Roadside will be here in an hour… maybe two.” The women moaned. “We’re not a priority, no one is in immediate danger.”
“This is unacceptable,” Blair said. “We’ll freeze to death and Kimmy does not need to be abandoned out here with a wrecked car. Do you understand how insensitive that is?”
Blair continued to shout at George and Kimmy began to cry. Tally went to the tire to look at it. Could she change it? She could try, but she’d never done it before, she couldn’t even drive one of these beasts. Taking her phone from her clutch, she dialed and wandered to the back of the car, away from the others.
“Miss me already?” Max asked when he picked up the phone.
“You know how when you said I should treat you like my Max and I should forget about the family and the money and stuff?”
“Yeah?”
Leaning against the trunk, she squinted. “Does that extend into roadside assistance?”
He got serious. “Where are you? What happened? Are you hurt?”
“No,” she said. “Everyone is fine. We got a flat. But the actual roadside assistance won’t be out for another hour, which you know means two or more. George says he’s not insured to do it.” Glancing back, Tally made sure everyone was out of earshot. “That’s what he says, I think he doesn’t know how to do it.”
Max laughed. “I can track your phone,” he said. “I’ll be there in ten.”
Relief made her exhale a smile, then she felt that anxiety again. “Are you sure? I know you’re not going out for a while, but if it will be weird…”
“Are you crazy?” he asked. “I’m already in the car. I’ve been desperate for an excuse to get my hands dirty.”
Somehow, she’d known that. “You know there is a garage full of cars that could probably use tune-ups, and you’re rich now…” Rich enough that Stretton paid him an allowance every month and gave him an expense account. The allowance was healthy enough, it was more than he probably earned in a year before meeting his father. But it was a clear signal, he wasn’t given full access to all accounts; she guessed he still had to prove his loyalty. “You could buy yourself a beat up… something… and fix it up.”
When it took him so long to answer, she looked down at the phone to check the line hadn’t disconnected.
“I love you, baby,” he said.
So he liked that suggestion. She smiled and closed her eyes. Sometimes she wanted to ask him to leave it all. If he told Stretton to go to hell, then maybe they could just go back to how things were. She should be able to call him about a car issue without worrying how Blair and Kimmy would react.
Tally could’ve called Robbie or any of the guys, but they were much further away, and she didn’t know what they were up to tonight. Max would want to be her knight in shining armor; he’d probably be offended if she bypassed him to ask one of his friends for help.
“I want you to get off the phone and drive safe,” she said. “Concentrate
on the road. I’ll see you soon.”
“You won’t say it in front of other people,” he said, sounding pissed. “And you won’t let me say it in front of them either.”
The couple of times he’d almost declared his feelings in earshot of others, she’d sealed her fingers on his lips. “Because they think this is sex,” she said. “Love is… more complicated. Your father and the others are already dubious about the influence they think I have over you. I don’t doubt that’s what tonight is about… I think they want to probe into what we have.”
“You know if you want to walk out, just walk out and we’ll deal with whatever happens,” he said.
Yes, he’d reassured her many times that he’d always pick her over Stretton, and every time he did, she told him not to talk that way.
“It won’t come to that,” she said. “It’s a dinner. I can dodge questions and if they ask me something I don’t want to answer, I’ll just say that.”
“Good girl.”
“Now get off the phone,” she said, hearing the noise of his car in the background. “I’ll see you soon, hero.”
Her teasing made him groan. “Might drag you into the woods for a little gratitude.”
She laughed. “Yeah, I don’t think so, not with your sister a few feet away.”
“Sister,” he said. “Half-sister, and she doesn’t even feel like that.” He’d had real trouble connecting with Kimmy. “I don’t think the girl even likes me.”
Heir's Affair Page 19