6. Emma

Present

September 2016

I didn't see him coming, so I took a deep breath and answered him with annoyance.

"That's none of my clients' business.”

"I'm glad I'm no longer your customer!" He replied, handing me an envelope. “Here's your payment. Thank you for your service!”

He bowed theatrically, a clear mockery that infuriated me.

"You're welcome," I replied sharply, grabbed my things and left the room without looking back.

What the hell did the think he was?

It was too much for me at the time.

I walked down the hall and down the stairs in a hurry that surprised me.

I wasn't the fastest woman in the world, so you could tell I wanted to fly to the farthest place ever.

I felt like I was a hallucination and that damn night was just a bad dream, some kind of nightmare that got the hang of it all when the realization of it all hit me hard.

I had seen the only man who can love become a filthy rich billionaire capable of fulfilling his damn whims at my expense; He was a man I didn't know at all, a far cry from the sweet boy I loved, but who fit perfectly the description of the coward who abandoned me at my worst.

It was too much to process.

Tears of rage came to me with force, when I got outside, I wiped my eyes so that my weakness would not be noticed. The gentleman who handed Luc the keys looked at me curiously. I didn't think anything of it, I headed outside at once and walked two blocks to catch a taxi that would drop me off right at my house.

I was going to cut off the price of a damn kidney, but I had no choice. It was complete madness in the city that didn't sleep, but it was what I needed: to get to my place of peace.

I was so caught up in running away that I didn't notice the Bugatti in front of me. I only left my concentration when I heard Luc's voice through the car window.

"Come up, there's no transport here, so I'll take you home, and that's non-negotiable, Emma."

I cursed my luck because it had brought me here on purpose.

I just got on and didn't open my mouth, it was the best thing I could do.

I didn't have the energy to face it, not in those conditions.

Luc and I were just past...

"Did you check the envelope?" He asked tactfully.

I interpreted that to mean that I was curious to know if I was okay with the money he offered me, a detail that almost made me smile.

"I check it privately.”

"Are you really going to miss an opportunity to make more money?"

"What I'm not going to miss is the opportunity to never see you again.”

We plunged into a painful, bitter silence that was lacerating.

I closed my eyes, making a monumental effort not to let out any of the tears that threatened to come out in the form of rivulets streaming down my cheeks. The rage and confusion were playing a very bad trick on me, enough to stay afloat when I was in such a tight space with him.

Luc decided not to say anything else, silence became the best company and, in less time, than I expected, the Bugatti parked in front of my house, which told me a lot about how lost in thought I was.

"Thank you for bringing me."

I got down and he grabbed my hand, sending a rush running down my spine. It was a crazy thing.

"Is it possible that we can talk without being your client?" he asked, dropping the last word in disgust.

One that felt like a blow.

"No. The past is the past, so I repeat: there's nothing to talk about," I blurted out firmly, in a very sharp way, so I got out and closed the door tightly.

Worst of all, he didn't sit quiet.

I heard him get out of the vehicle and throw the hatch as angry or more furious than I felt at the time. I opened my purse in an attempt to pull out my keys and try to ignore him, but his footsteps followed me like a damn shadow.

"Emma, wait!” He climbed the steps beside me and positioned himself so I could see his expressions. “Give me a chance to talk, just one, and if you don't want to see me anymore, I'll walk away”.

It was a tempting offer.

"No, so you can fuck off."

"So, if you don't want to do things the hard way, we'll do it the hard way, I'll see you next weekend."

I was crazy if I believed that.

"That's not possible, Mr. Basciano." I set my boundaries and made up a few things to keep him away. “I have very strict rules as an escort and not repeating often with a client is one of them.”

The very stupid one raised both eyebrows in consideration of him and then laughed.

"You're such a bad liar..." “

See you on Friday," he said confidently and left without further ado.

I shook my head.

He was a fool with capital letters.

I opened the door and Alice was waiting for me anxiously and with a huge pot of chocolate ice cream and cream. I dropped everything on me and she just brought the ice cream closer with an extra spoon to me.

I took it without hesitation and took a large portion that made my head freeze.

I deserved it for being stupid.

"It was rough," said Lilly, who came from the kitchen with several bowls and looked at me from head to toe. “You don't look like you've been given a good wallow.”

I snorted in response, and his eyes widened like a couple of plates.

“They didn't have sex!”

"I can't believe it.”

"I just gave him a good oral work.

"Is that the only thing?" I nodded, then narrowed his eyes and it made me smile.

"Let's just say that Mr. Basciano and I have a history..."

"How is that possible?" Lilly asked, very interested.

“Luciano Basciano es Luc. “

"Luc? That Luc we swore we were going to beat to mush?” Alice asked angrily.

"That same Luc"

"It can't be.”

"Maybe, I'm still in shock, and the thinks that if I don't talk to him the hard way, I'll talk to him the hard way."

"Is that why he asked you for Friday?"

Lilly's question made me look at her with suspicion.

"Did you hear us outside?"

His surprise was obvious.

"Did the scoundrel bring you?" She asked with a flurry of words.

"How do you know he wants to see me on Friday?" I was the one who demanded a good answer.

"Rocco called to let me know that a big businessman wants you for that day," Alice explained, and I narrowed my eyes because I knew his tricks. “Lilly took the information of who this man was for security reasons.”

"Did he communicate with Rocco?"

She nodded.

I couldn't believe it.

He must have done it when he left me alone in the room.

"You didn't know," Lilly interpreted, and that's when she knew she was screwed.

"No, but I'll call to refuse."

"That's not going to happen, Rocco wants all the money he can get out of this, he won't let you refuse. The Basciano called him to book you for the whole weekend and with exclusive intentions, basically forbade him to give you to other clients from now on.” My gaze urged her to keep talking. “The man paid him so much money that the old man didn't hesitate to accept.”

"This is bad.”

"He was so happy that he said he'd give you extra commissions.”

"Gods...”

That reminded me of the damn envelope, so I took it out of my bag to see how much my damn company was worth. When I opened it, a glittering check for five hundred thousand dollars and a note was what awaited me.

"This must be a big joke!" I exclaimed incredulously.

Alice took the note and read it without further ado.

"If this is the only way I can talk to you, I'll give you my fortune in exchange for you to stop being stubborn and talk to me. By the way, you give a fancy blowjob, Emma.”

My friends looked at me in disbelief, incredulous, as if a ball had hit them.

And I couldn't blame them, I was too incredulous. He paid much more than agreed, and his stupid note was confirmation that he would not leave me alone. That's what I didn't understand.

Why did he come back to me after seven years like this?