Beautiful Illusions Duet Bundle: Eighty-One Nights and Beautiful Ever After Page 6

  “Aye, I’m aware but it’s what I want.”

  “All right. Let’s start over with our calculations.”

  Cora taps numbers on her keyboard and jots down a number before doing it all over again. “By the way, I’m calculating from today since we aren’t certain when this will be finalized. Her time between now and then must be accounted for.”

  Which means that I’m paying for days that I might not spend with her. But by paying, I’ll be assuring that she won’t be with other clients. I’m all right with that.

  “Eighty-five days is 2040 hours.” She blows her breath out between pursed lips and slowly shakes her head. “Each hour at £200 equals £408,000. Now let’s allow for eighty-five of those hours to cover sex at a rate of £400 per hour.” She circles a six-digit number and turns it around for me to see. “That brings your grand total to £425,000.”

  Lou and everything that I want from her is going to cost me close to a half-million pounds.

  Do I want this? Is she worth that kind of money?

  There’s only one answer: abso-fucking-lutely.

  “How much will Lou get?”

  Cora’s expression is deadpan. “I don’t disclose that kind of information to clients.”

  “You will disclose it to me if you want my money.”

  Cora breathes in deeply, releasing the breath slowly. “I take 50 percent of their earnings until my investment is recouped. After that, I keep 25 percent. The girls retain 100 percent of any monies or gifts outside of the brokered agreement. I’m more than fair with my girls.”

  Lou is the one who will be playing the role of girlfriend to me for the next eighty-something days. I think that we can do better than 75 percent.

  “This is a one-time broker deal. Your work will be finished as soon as our arrangement is finalized. I’d like to encourage you to take your investment in Lou off the top and allow her to retain 85 percent of the remaining balance.”

  “You’re negotiating on her behalf instead of your own?”

  “Aye.”

  “Well, Mr. Hutcheson. I can’t say that I’ve ever encountered a client quite like you. I don’t typically entertain the idea of negotiation, but I like Lou, and I like you, so I’ll agree to your proposal.”

  “I expected a counter from a savvy businesswoman like you. Perhaps I should have asked for ninety.”

  She smiles. “I think that you’ve pushed your luck enough, Mr. Hutcheson.”

  Fair enough.

  “When can we finalize everything?”

  “Are you available Friday evening? Say five o’clock?”

  Five is a wee tight for me. “Can we schedule for six?”

  “Six o’clock works for me.”

  Another hurdle behind me. One more to go and Lou will be mine for the next three months.

  7

  Caitriona Louden

  “Maxwell Hutcheson negotiated on your behalf. You’ll be receiving 85 percent after I recoup my investment.”

  Wait… what? “Why would he do that?”

  “I learned a long time ago to not ask why, Cait. Simply say thank you and move on when a man does something nice for you.”

  “Is 85 percent all right with you?” Our agreement is seventy-five.

  “Your arrangement with Mr. Hutcheson is a one-time broker deal. I get the return of my investment in you plus a very nice incentive for a few hours of my time. I’m more than all right with that, doll.”

  “I didn’t know that you negotiate with clients.”

  “I don’t. This is a first for me. And the only reason that I agreed was because his requests benefit you and not him.”

  Hutch is too good to be true. Men aren’t this selfless.

  Cora picks up a stack of papers lying on her desk. “Mr. Hutcheson has many expectations. That’s to be expected for the premium price that he’s paying, but if there are any terms that you don’t wish to fulfill, this is your chance to speak up and amend the agreement.”

  “I understand.”

  I jump when Cora’s office phone rings. “Yes, Raith. Send Mr. Hutcheson back.”

  I hear that Hutch is here and I instantly have butterflies in my stomach. I hold out my hand and look at it trembling. I try to steady it, but I’m unsuccessful.

  “It’s normal to be nervous—the first client is always the most daunting.”

  Hutch is my first and last. There’ll be no need to continue working as an inamorata when this job is over. I’ll have plenty of money to pay for college. Or at least I think I will.

  “How much money will I be getting when this job is done?” I can’t believe that I haven’t asked that question before now.

  Cora picks up a notepad from her desk and looks at it. “Your portion will be £340,000.”

  Three hundred, forty thousand and what the actual fuck?

  Shit.

  Shit.

  Shit.

  Did I hear that number correctly?

  Cora smiles when Hutch comes through her office door. “Mr. Hutcheson. So good to see you again. Come in and join Lou and me.”

  I turn and smile at Hutch. “Hi.”

  “Hello. How are you?”

  “I’m fine.” Nervous as fuck, actually. “And you?”

  “I’m well, thank you.”

  “Lovely. Everyone is well. Shall we begin?” Cora hands over a printed copy of our agreement to each of us. “This part is somewhat uncomfortable, but trust me when I say that it will prevent problems down the road.”

  Cora pushes her reading glasses up her nose. “Now is the time that we make any amendments, so stop me if there is something that you don’t understand or wish to change. The hard copy of your companion agreement will include formal terminology, but we’ll use lay terms during this meeting.”

  We simultaneously voice our understanding.

  “This arrangement, also known as the girlfriend experience, is between Maxwell Hutcheson and the inamorata known as Lou. The duration of this arrangement will end on August 31. Because the initial meeting was on Monday, he has paid for the duration of eighty-five days, although technically we’re at eighty-one remaining days.”

  Eighty-one days.

  Eighty-one nights.

  Let me say that again. Eighty-one nights.

  Cora looks up and we both nod.

  “During the duration of your arrangement, Maxwell Hutcheson will be your only client. You will make yourself available to him at all times during the eighty-one-day period with these limited exceptions: severe illness or injury, death of an immediate family member or friend, or predetermined personal time off. Do you understand and agree to those terms?”

  I turn to Hutch. “Can you expand a little more on predetermined personal time off?”

  “There will be periods of time when I won’t require your availability. An example would be when I’m tied up at the office or I’ve gone out of town. You’d be free to do as you wish during those times.”

  That’s such a relief. The thought of making myself available to anyone twenty-four-seven is intimidating.

  “Next are Mr. Hutcheson’s expectations in regard to sex.”

  I squirm in my seat, my fingers fidgeting on my lap. I’m so damn uncomfortable having this conversation.

  “Mr. Hutcheson has paid in advance for sex.”

  What the actual fuck?

  “That isn’t what we discussed.”

  “I don’t expect to have sex every day for the next eighty-whatever days. Please get that thought out of your head right now.”

  That thought is in my head because that’s what you’ve paid for. “I’m confused.”

  “After today, I don’t want to talk about money again. The only way to ensure that is to pay upfront for everything that might happen. The money changes nothing. I still want to pursue an emotional connection with you, and if the physical connection happens, great. If it doesn’t, I’ll be disappointed, but I’ll understand.”

  He says that the money changes nothing. I hope he
means that because I won’t sleep with him out of obligation.

  “Do you accept Mr. Hutcheson’s terms regarding sex?”

  I nod. “Yes.”

  “Moving on to the time you will spend at the Hutcheson estate. You will have your own private chambers across the hall from Mr. Hutcheson’s bedroom whenever you stay over.”

  “It’s a wee bit masculine as is, but I have a decorator who can come in and change it to your liking.”

  “That’s very kind but not necessary. I’m sure it’s fine the way it is.” It’s not as though I’ve ever had accommodations to my liking. No reason for him to start changing his interiors to suit me.

  Cora draws a line across the paper she’s using as a checklist. “Sleeping arrangements on the nights that Lou spends the night will be as follows: Mr. Hutcheson will sleep in his bedroom, and Lou will sleep in hers unless both parties agree to share a bed.”

  We voice our agreement at the same time.

  We spend the next hour going down a checklist of proposed circumstances. We voice our consent or rejection of everything from hand-holding to sexual acts that make my jaw drop. Hutch doesn’t reject anything but for me, it’s a hard no on quite a few things.

  “Lastly, the termination of the companionship. Lou, you are entrusted to Mr. Hutcheson’s care for a period of eighty-one days. At the end of those eighty-one days, your relationship will cease. Do you agree to those terms?”

  Wow. Talk about finality. “I agree.”

  “All right. I think we’ve covered everything,” Cora says.

  Cora was right. This process was a pain in the ass, but I see why it’s necessary. I have no questions about Hutch’s expectations, and I believe that he understands mine.

  Time to begin the girlfriend experience.

  I met Hutch a week ago, drew up a formal companionship agreement with him this evening, and now I’m going to his house to stay the weekend. Whose life am I living?

  The last seven days have been a whirlwind. I have no real way of knowing, but I think that my companionship with Maxwell Hutcheson is going to be good. It feels right. Much better than seeing random men three times a week.

  “Let’s take your bag to your room and let you have a look at it.”

  Hutch leads me up the grand winding staircase. So typical for a nineteenth-century castle like this. Although it’s a young home in comparison to many of the other castles in Scotland, it has tons of character. I love it.

  We enter the last door at the end of the hallway. “I think you’ll like this room. It’s the largest guest room and has its own sitting area and en suite bath.”

  After living in that tiny flat with Rachel, it’s hard for me to believe that I’ll occasionally get to sleep in this beautiful room. “It’s wonderful and far more than I am accustomed to. Thank you.”

  I grew up in a tiny run-down apartment in New Orleans. I didn’t even have a clean bed. I slept on a nasty mattress on an old set of rusty bed rails, but look at me now. I’ve come a long way from that mice-infested apartment in New Orleans. And I’m not done yet.

  8

  Maxwell Hutcheson

  My hands are in my pockets when we walk out of the house and Lou loops her arm through mine. The affectionate contact takes me by surprise, but I welcome it. I welcome it a lot, in fact. It’s been too long since I’ve been touched by a woman.

  “Where are you taking me?”

  “I want to show you the barn and horses.”

  Her eyes widen and her voice is a wee bit higher than usual. “You have horses?”

  “Aye, three Thoroughbreds. A stallion, a mare, and their new foal, all chestnut. Would you like to meet them?”

  “Are you kidding me? I would love to meet them.” She stops. “But shouldn’t I change my dress and shoes?”

  “I think you’ll be fine for a quick visit. We won’t stay long.”

  I hold Lou’s hand, assisting her up onto the ATV. “Up you go, lass.”

  “Thank you.”

  I grab the seatbelt and lean across her body, buckling her in. Not that I don’t believe she’s capable of doing it herself. I do it because it gives me an excuse to be closer to her even if only for a moment. And fuck, she smells divine.

  “All buckled in.”

  “Is the barn far from here?”

  “No, but it’s not a walk you’d enjoy while wearing those heels. Plus, I wouldn’t want you to ruin your shoes.”

  Yes, I could have her change her clothes and shoes, but then she wouldn’t be wearing this sexy wee black dress or those mile-high fuck-me pumps. And I very much like the way that she looks in both. I’d like to look at her in them for a while longer.

  Lou reaches out and grasps the handle on the roll bar when I hit a bump a wee too hard. “Sorry about that. I’ll slow down.”

  “I’m all right. I can handle a few bumps along the way. I’m pretty good at that actually.”

  “I’d like to hear more about that sometime. The bumps that you’ve encountered, I mean.”

  “Yeah, maybe when you’re bored out of your mind and have nothing else to do.”

  I offer my hand, helping her down from the ATV. “Careful. The ground isn’t level in this area.”

  She loops her arm through mine and her hand grasps my bicep. “I’m sorry you’re having to hold me up like a drunkard.”

  “I’m not sorry. It’s the perfect excuse for you to hold on to me.”

  She smiles and lowers her head. Is she trying to hide her grin from me? Or trying to appear coy because it’s how she was trained to be by Cora? I wonder how much of her personality is actually her true self and how much is the woman that she has been trained to be in order to please clients.

  I don’t know but I want to find out.

  “I haven’t been around a lot of horses. Only the ones at Jackson Square who pull the carriages around the French Quarter. When I was a child, the drivers would sometimes let me feed them carrots.”

  “I’m glad to hear that you aren’t afraid of them.”

  “So far, they haven’t given me a reason to be afraid.”

  We stop in front of the first stall, and Lou places her hands on top of the gates.

  “This is my stallion, Absolom.”

  Lou’s eyes widen and a smile spreads across her face. “Oh, Hutch. He’s beautiful.”

  The horses aren’t the only beautiful thing in this stable.

  Sol comes to the gate of his stall and pushes his head forward. “Can I pet him?”

  “How could you not? It’s what he expects.”

  Lou drags her hand down his snout a few times. “His hair feels different than the horses I use to feed.”

  “I make sure that my horses receive the best of care.”

  “I can easily see that. Most people’s homes aren’t as nice as this barn or even this stall.”

  “I didn’t build the barn. It was here when I bought the property.”

  “Maybe so, but you’ve kept it in top-notch shape.”

  “Colin has. He’s my stable hand who tends to the horses.”

  “He takes his job seriously.”

  “All part of his job; I’m the one putting him through veterinarian school.”

  Lou turns to look at me. “You’re paying for your stable hand to go to college?”

  “Aye.”

  “That is very generous.”

  “I’m not that generous. He’s the son of family friends. It’s more of a favor to his parents.”

  “Maybe so but it’s still very generous. Vet school isn’t cheap.”

  “Cheap it is not.”

  “Do you ride them much?”

  “I do when my schedule allows.” Which isn’t often enough. “Would you care to ride with me sometime?”

  “I would love to, but I would need you to show me how to ride. I’ve never been on a horse.”

  “I’d be happy to teach you.”

  It’ll be nice to have a riding partner for once. Mina wouldn’t so much as set foot in
this barn. I’ve always had to ride alone.

  Lou steps over to the next stall. “Aw… Hutch.” She looks up at me and smiles. “A mama and her baby. That’s so precious.”

  Mama. Not mum, which reminds me of her American roots. Not that I ever forget with that accent of hers.

  “That’s my special lass, Pristine, and her new foal, Nevan.”

  “Pristine and Nevan,” she repeats. “I love their names. Where did you come up with them?”

  “My mum names all of the horses in our family.”

  “Sounds like your family has a lot of horses.”

  “We’ve had quite a few over the years. My dad and I are polo players.”

  “Polo?” She smiles and nods. “I must admit that I’ve never known anyone who plays polo.”

  “Well, now you do.”

  “You play polo on these horses?”

  “I do but more so on Sol.”

  “Sol?”

  “Sol, short for Absolom.”

  “Oh.”

  “His speed and stamina are absolutely unparalleled. Prissy is smaller and more agile, but she’s easily intimidated in ride-offs.”

  “Which is better? Speed and stamina or agility?”

  “It all depends on the game.”

  Lou watches my face and appears to be truly interested, even mesmerized, by everything that I’m telling her about my horses and favorite pastime. My new companion has no idea how good it feels to have all of her attention focused solely upon me.

  So unlike Mina. My own wife never had any interest in hearing about one of the biggest passions of my life.

  “I would love to see you play sometime.” The smile fades, and she turns back to look at Prissy and Nevan. “But of course, I understand that will never happen given the circumstances of our arrangement. I just meant that it would fun to watch you play.”

  She extends her hand to pet Prissy and the warm yellow glow of the wall-mounted lanterns dances on her skin. I ache to reach out and touch her.

  Would it be wrong to do so? She is my paid companion.

  Lou is staring straight ahead when I move behind her. “Is Nevan Prissy’s first…” Her voice is soft, and I believe that I might even detect a wee bit of unsteadiness.