Kaden (Recherché series) (4 page)

“I’m sorry to hear that.” No I don’t want to fuck you. I like Lacey, but she’s an unexciting lay, and when you get paid to fuck, you only work for free when it’s the really good shit. “Who’s your friend?” I ask, changing the subject. Her eyebrows pull together in a frown and she glances to the blonde.

“Ethan, Kaden.” She points to us. “…this is Melissa.”

Melissa glances briefly at Ethan before dragging her eyes all over me. I’d almost feel violated if I wasn’t, well…me.

“Want to buy me a drink?” She asks. I admit, I panic. Like, I’m Matt Bomer in this situation, and there’s guy code and fuck! My gaze darts around the bar before landing on a guy who looks like Maddox, kind of. Maddox fucks dudes. I’m going with it.

“Uh, sure. But uh, I’d rather buy him a drink.” I nod towards the guy and the girls turn to look at him. Ethan flashes me a look, shaking his head. I shrug. What the fuck does he want me to do?

Lacey frowns at me. “Kaden, you’re not…”

I cut her off. “I dabble. As a giver.” I nod. “Not a taker.” I shake my head. Damn, I’m like the fucking Churchill dog. She gives me a funny look and I turn towards Melissa. “But you know, I’m sure Ethan would love to buy you a drink.”

She shrugs. “Sure. Thanks.” She flashes me a funny look and twists towards the bar.

I clap him on the shoulder and pull him close. “Firstly, you fucking owe me, and secondly, step it up man. I can’t bring all the game for you.”

“Piss off.” He scowls at me. “But you’re right, I owe you.” He steps between Melissa and Lacey, leaning against the bar and I’m wondering how the hell I’m supposed to pull this off.

I actually end up going home early. I have clinic tomorrow and that whole thing was a minefield just waiting to go off in my face.

I get up early the next morning and make coffee. I have to be at the hospital for eight, but it’s not far. I’m reading over part of my thesis when none other than Melissa walks into the kitchen wearing nothing but one of Ethan’s t-shirts. I make a conscious effort not to look at her long legs.

“Morning.” I say.

“Morning.”

“There’s coffee. Help yourself.” I turn back to laptop and she moves around the kitchen, making coffee.

“What are you reading?” She asks.

I look up and find her leaning her elbows on the kitchen island. The shirt gapes at the front and my eyes drop to her chest for a second. “Um, it’s my thesis on Cardiovascular disease.”

She press her lips together and nods slowly, clasping the mug of coffee in front of her. “Hot and smart. Such a waste.” She tuts.

I huff a laugh under my breath. “Yep. That’s me. Wasted.”

She flashes me a knowing smile, picks up the other cup of coffee beside her and leaves. “See you around, Kaden.” She says as she walks away.

I twist my head around and watch her walk away, the bottom of her arse cheeks just poking out from beneath Ethan’s t-shirt. Damn she has a nice arse.

She glances over her shoulder and I whip around in my seat so fast I’m surprised I haven’t snapped my damn neck.
 

I’ve just got off a twelve hour shift at the hospital when I rock up at Thor’s house. I go into the office to get my schedule for the week. SJ, the secretary, takes all the bookings and then tells us what we’re doing for the week. She does it for all the guys except Xavier, and that’s because he has such high end clients that they refuse to deal with anyone but him. That crazy bastard flies to New York once a month just to fuck a senator’s wife, and Dubai twice a month to do a sheikh’s daughter. I mean, I’m pretty sure they can legally cut your dick off for that shit out there.

I pick up my schedule off her empty desk and glance at the two new bookings for this week. Melanie.

“Ah, you’re here.” Xavier comes into the office, closing the door behind him and taking a seat at Thor’s desk. He focuses on me and I want to fucking bail and walk out. I don’t know what it is with Xavier, but his eyes are so dark, so unreadable, that I never have a clue what he’s thinking. He has this way of looking at you as though he’s dissecting you. “Melanie Myers was very happy with her first experience.” He says, smoothing a hand down his already perfect tie, complete with what I know will be a platinum tie pin. “She wants you three times a week.”

I clear my throat. “That’s…that’s good.”

His gaze narrows, lines sinking into the corners of his eyes and I want to slap myself. Xavier misses nothing. “Good? That’s fifteen grand a week kid.” He leans back in the chair and props his ankle on his knee, picking lint off his trouser leg. “You look nervous. She do something you didn’t like?” His eyes flick up, pinning me to the spot.

“No.” I shake my head. Still he keeps staring at me, waiting. I sigh. “She…”

“She what?” He leans forward and I see something almost protective cross his features.

“She’s just different.” I don’t know how else to put it. The door opens and Thor walks in, glancing between me and Xavier. His gaze lingers on Xavier who is still staring at me.

“What’s wrong?” He asks. Damn, these fuckers are either overly suspicious, or freakishly perceptive. Xavier and Thor have been best friends since forever and it’s kind of scary how they read each other.

“Junior here doesn’t seem thrilled about his new client.”

Thor whips around, frowning at me. “Why? Did she step out of line?”

“For fucks sake. No!” I throw my hands up and he cocks a brow at me. Xavier just smirks. “Look, she’s just…dominant.”

A slow smile pulls at Thor’s lips and Xavier lets out a low chuckle. “Oh, she’s a proper cougar?”

“There’s a fake cougar?”

Thor laughs and turns back to Xavier. “I remember my first real woman. Mrs Johnson.” He sighs.

“Mine was my patent law lecturer.” Xavier pipes up. “She was fucking brutal.”

“Yep.” Thor agrees before coming over and clapping a hand on my shoulder. “Mrs Johnson made me the man I am today.” He grins. “Everyone has that one woman. Looks like she’s going to be yours, son.”

I groan because now they fucking know, and I’m going to get no end of shit. I know Maddox will fucking hear about it, and then my life will be hell.

“I have to go. I have a client.”

I leave the office and I can hear them laughing on the other side of the door. Brilliant. I should have kept my mouth shut.

Luckily my client this evening is Penelope Preston. She’s eighty-nine. Basically her granddaughter was a paying nurses to go into her house, not because she needed any help, but to keep her company. So she decided that rather than having nurses, she’d rather spend her deceased husband’s money on paying me to go and see her twice a week. And it’s purely innocent. Well, I mean, she can be a bit gropey, but I’m not there to fuck her. Even an escort has to have a line. Anything wrinkly is mine. I’ll admit though, she makes me laugh.

I pull into the gravel driveway in front of her house and get out of the car, locking it. She lives in a massive house on the edge of Hyde Park. She bought in with her first husband when she was twenty for thirty thousand pounds, and now it’s worth tens of millions. It’s a six-bedroom house with just her living in it. She refuses to sell it though.

I knock on the door and the maid answers, smiling brightly at me. “Kaden. Come in.” She says fondly. I wonder if she knows that I’m paid to be here, or if she just thinks I’m some nice young man who volunteers to spend his time with an old dear.

Penelope is sitting in the drawing room with a book in her lap as always.

“Oh, Kaden, my love.” She stands up and wraps her arms around me, kissing both my cheeks.

“How are you, Pen?”

She smiles like a giddy school girl and waves me off. “I’m fine. Better for having you here though.” She pouts. “Nadine!” She shouts. The maid, Nadine pops her head around the door. “Put dinner on the table, would you, dear?” Nadine nods. “Thank you.”

I offer Penelope my arm and she takes it, allowing me to guide her towards the dining room. “Now, tell me how you’ve been. How’s your PHD going?” Not many people know about my PHD. Certainly no one at the agency. I’m not sure why I have such a desire to keep it to myself, but I just do. I tell Pen because she’s smart. She worked as a nurse in Africa, back when that was about as safe as bare backing a five-dollar hooker. And honestly, she’s more a friend than a client, despite how uncomfortable the entire notion of her giving me money makes me.

“It’s good.” I pull out her chair for her and push it in behind her. “Hard work.”

I take the seat at the end of the enormous table, sitting to her left. “You youngsters. Don’t know what hard work is.” She rolls her eyes and I laugh. “My second husband Tommy used to work twelve hour days, six days a week. Still found the energy to fuck his secretary every night.” She cackles to herself. “Come to think of it, that sixth day might have been more fucking, less working.” Nadine comes into the room, shaking her head as she catches the tail end of the conversation. She puts a bottle of beer down in front of me and pours a glass of wine for Penelope.

“What happened to Tommy?” I ask.

“Oh, I divorced him.” She bobs her head. “Not before a vast amount of money was drained from several illegal offshore accounts though.” She shrugs. “He died a few years back.”

I laugh, lifting the bottle of beer to my lips. Penelope Preston is a woman with a serious history. She also has a wealth of knowledge and experience on pretty much everything. I often feel guilty that she pays me. It feels like it should be the other way round sometimes. I tried to ask Thor if he’d discount the rate seeing as she doesn’t want anything, well…naked. Ever the businessman though, he refused.

Nadine brings out a chicken liver pate starter, and honestly, the woman may just be one of the best chefs in this city.

“Thank you.” I smile and wink at her. Pen swats at me with her napkin. “What?”

“You’d charm the birds out of the sky.”

“Well it is my job.”

She sighs. “Ah, if I were a few years younger.” I chuckle, picking up my knife and fork. “I think I’d throw a hip out these days.” She always says that and I always reply with the same thing.

“I would.” She swats at me again and I laugh, listening to her cackle. She’s one in a million, and honestly, of all the women in my life, this lady is the one I respect the most. 

We do what we always do on a Thursday evening, talk, laugh, eat and Pen drinks wine. By the end of the night she’s drunk and laughing like a schoolgirl. Nadine has to help her up the stairs to bed. I leave her house the same way I always do, with a smile on my face.

I hop in the car and head back to my apartment. It’s nearly midnight, and I have rounds again tomorrow, but hey, that’s what coffee is for, right?

As I drive through the London streets I see people my age spilling out of student bars, drunk and carefree. When did I become so far removed from that? When I think about it, it’s kind of crazy. Still, I make more money in a week than half of them will make in a year once they leave university.

I was afforded an opportunity and I took it. No matter how hard the balancing act is, I will never regret that decision.

When I get home, there are a few people in the apartment. I’m usually really laid back about that kind of shit, but I’m really not in the mood tonight.

“Hey! You’re home.” Ethan grins, looking up from his video game. Some guy I don’t know has the other remote and shouts loudly when he obviously takes Ethan out.