The Claiming of Sadie Graves (15 page)

My mouth goes dry.
This is Lucas’ apartment?
I suddenly feel sick. I’m not ready to see him yet. And here I am, at a party in his home. I eye scores of pretty women, and realize he may have been with every one of them.
Oh.
My breath hitches in my throat. I think back to the waiver, and hope the venereal disease clause holds true.

There’s a little cheer from the crowd, and Peter resumes his speech. “As a surprise, I invited the lovely and talented Miss Sadie Graves to join us this evening. You may have seen her lingerie designs lately from the house of Anna Rosenstein.” There’s an ooh sound from the ladies, and a collective groan from the men.
A happy groan. I smile, involuntarily.

“Sadie has agreed to design customized pieces for our group, provided those of you who are interested give her specific details about what you’d like, and provide measurements. She will be here for a while, ta
lking with you and getting ideas. You’ll have to prepay for anything she designs for you. But…” he laughs, and then continues, “You scoundrels will get exactly what you want. So be nice to lovely Sadie, don’t shock her with any stories that will scare her away, and place your orders quickly. I can’t guarantee you that she’ll be back!”

He steps down, the crowd applauds laughingly, and
I prepare to meet partygoers.

They come in waves, with questions and requests that sound almost preposterous to me. Hands bound behind the back,
in something almost like a corset, so the breasts jut out. Breast and crotch cut-outs, and soft materials that won’t rub harshly against the man’s private parts if the lingerie stays on during sex. Sheer crotches. Soft straps to restrain hands, feet, or knees for long periods of time, in relative comfort. Sheer things that can be worn underwater. And latex. Oh, Lord. Do they ever want latex. And nurse and schoolgirl outfits – something I can’t promise right now, but I agree to get back with individuals about.

I’ve been talking for about t
hree hours when a hand slips to the small of my back. It’s Lucas, of course. He is followed by a server, bringing me a glass of red wine, and a tall glass of ice water. “Forgive my staff for not being perceptive enough to bring you something to drink.” He addresses me without looking at my face.

“That’s okay, I was busy talking. Thank you.” I turn my head away, and back toward the man I’m
speaking with, who wants a latex spanking skirt for someone who wears a size medium. He’s trying to explain to me what it should look like, and I have him engrossed in drawing one. Lucas looks down at the drawing and his eyes get so angry I’m afraid to acknowledge it. He clenches his fists and walks away, calling Peter’s name out.

Out of the corner of my eye, I see the two of them walk into an adjoining room. Lucas radiates anger. Peter looks confused. They’re gone for about 2 minutes, and Lucas stomps out before Peter
does. I see Violet come out of the elevator, right at the same time.  Even out of the corner of my eye I see her body respond to him. She pushes her breasts out, wags her hips and catwalks closer to him, not bothering to look at anyone else. 
She’s a member here. Lucas is a member here. Everyone is into something way past freaky – and they’re all here.

I’m the only person who isn’t into this shit.

And
I look back at the man in front of me; his eyes glazed with sexual desire over…a skirt?
Really?
He’s got a light sheen of perspiration on his face, probably from embarrassment, but I don’t know. Right then, a middle-aged lady approaches him. “Saul, it’s time to go.” Wow. She’s no size medium.
Ugh. But someone is
. Is she here, his spanking partner? Or do they
both
want to spank her, whoever she is? My mind tries to wrap around this, while I’m thanking Saul and smiling at his wife. And she
is
his wife; ring and all.

Wow-wee.
I wish I could call Emma right now.

But of course I can’t.
I signed a waiver.
Three other people approach and ask for my business card, explaining that they would like to talk to me in private, away from other party-goers. All are men. All are handsome. I hand it out, without hesitating, hoping none of them is a stalker.

I look around again, as the room gets less populated. I’ve lost track of Lucas, and of Violet. He’s probably tied her up and is fucking her in his bedroom right now, just to show me that he can. I see Peter in a corner with a gorgeous brunette. He’s stroking her bare arm, whispering something in her ear. She laughs, closing her eyes. He’s moved in, touching her with
his body from knee to chest. I suddenly realize it’s after ten o’clock and tomorrow is D-Day with the seamstress team making the ready-to-wear line.

I have to jet.

Now.

“Sailed On”

Landon Pigg,
This Is a Pigg, EP

I find a server and ask if I can have the fabric samples delivered back to the atelier tomorrow, if I send someone by. She tells me she’ll be happy to help, and we find an out-of-the-way location to store them in the meantime. I put all the measurement forms and orders into my portfolio, and ask for the best number to call to arrange
the fabric pickup. She gives me the number to the head housekeeper. Oh.
It’s Marisol.
I smile. I find myself looking forward to calling her; she was so nice.

I glance over my shoulder at Peter, engrossed in his conversation. The lady’s long black hair shines from across the room. I don’t blame him – I’d be over there too, if I were him. I walk to the elevator, and press the down button. It opens immediately. I step inside, push the button for the first floor, and look at the paintings on the descent. They’re beautiful, pastoral.
Soothing.

When I get to the bottom floor, I ask the doorman if it’s possible to get a cab. “What’s your name, miss?” I tell him. He smiles, and asks me to wait just a minute.

Calvin Eads and Edgar come around the corner within seconds, and open the exterior door. “Miss Sadie!” Calvin exclaims. “Hello, Calvin; Edgar. I’m surprised to see you.” I smile, despite myself. They both beam at me.

“We’re to take you home, Miss.” They take my portfolio, and escort me to the sidewalk to the Sutton Shield limo. I look back, waving a thank you to the doorman. He waves back.

Calvin helps me into the limo, closes the door and gets in the front passenger seat – and we’re off. I look back at Lucas’ building, trying to orient myself. It’s on 66
th
street.

I suddenly realize;
I’m starving
. I never ate; I got so busy with potential clients. I call out to Calvin and Edgar, asking if they’re hungry too. They both laugh. “We’re always hungry, Miss Sadie.” Edgar explains how much they eat to keep their strength, and I marvel at how many calories they can consume. I use my cell phone to order a pizza, and ask if they’ll drop me in my neighborhood to pick it up. They seem happy to detour. We get there quickly enough. I run inside to get a Margarita while they circle the block. When I get back in the car, we all share it, and they drop me at my door shortly thereafter.

I actually feel pretty good. I tell them goodbye at the curb and they wait until I get inside to drive away.

In the elevator, I think about tonight.

I survived seeing Lucas and Violet
together, knowing that they’re hooked up right now, this very minute. I know he doesn’t care about me; I only look like someone else. This was vital information that I might have missed, without being present at tonight’s event. I’m grateful to Providence for enlightening me, and to Peter for the revelation. I owe him. In my opinion, I don’t look
that
much like Sidney Poole. But I guess if you squint, you can make any two women with similar hair color interchangeable. I imagine Lucas and Sidney on their wedding day; how lovely they must have looked. I realize I’m a little sad on his behalf. He doesn’t strike me as a person who would make that serious of a commitment lightly. It must have killed him that she wanted other men. I feel sad for myself, too.
All I really want is someone to love me, heart and soul.

I mentally change gears.

I think I impressed the club members with my ideas and designs, and I have about seven thousand dollars in orders, at a 120% plus markup. I learned a whole different interpretation of sexiness, from those people tonight. They all seemed harmless; nice, even.

I take the elevator up,
and get out on my floor. When I get to Jenny’s and my apartment, the door is open. The lights are on. I look at my watch. It’s 11:21PM.

Nothing seems disturbed. But I get rattled.

I back away, and call 911.

And then I call Jenny, in the elevator headed downstairs.

She answers right away, pumping music in the background. “Sadie!! It’s about time you called me!” She laughs. I hear talking behind her.

“Jenny! Where are you?”

“I’m at a bar down by work. We stopped off afterward, and now I’m pretty much soused!” She barks a laugh into her phone. “Where are you?”

M
y tone stops her cold. “Listen, stay where you are. When I got home, our door was wide open. I’m waiting on the police. It doesn’t look like anything’s wrong, but it scared the shit out of me.”

She sobers up instantly. “
There’s no way I’m leaving you there alone. I’ll take a cab right now. Stay safe, Sadie. I’ll be there in a few minutes.”

She disconnects. I worry about her moving across the city alone, but know she’s a big girl. She can get home safely.

And so I wait for the police, any Jenny. And wonder at the complexity of this night.

The
Queens police (two officers, in uniform) assess the situation quickly and determine everything is okay. Nothing appears to be missing. All our computer equipment, electronics, and the like are still present. They encourage us to have the locks changed, just in case, and look through all the cabinets and closets to be sure no one is hiding inside. They give the all-clear; reassure us that we’re two of the lucky ones, and hand over their cards in case we need to call them back personally.

We come back inside, hug each other, and flop onto the couch in gratitude.

My phone rings. The screen display says LUCAS SUTTON.

I think about not answering, it, but he did make arrangements to get me home.
I don’t lack the gratitude gene.

I pick up.
“Hey, Lucas. It’s late. What do you need?”

“
Your address just got visited by the police. I was worried. I’m across town. Are you okay?”

“We’re fine. Thank you for letting Calvin and Edgar bring me home. When I got here, the door was wide open. Jenny was out with her friends from work. So I called the police,
just as a precaution. Nothing is missing. Everything’s okay.”

He pauses, quiet on the line. “Do I need to come over there?”

“No, Lucas. How did you know about the police visit?” That just
kills
me.
How could he know that?

“I just do, Sadie. You were wonderful tonight. I’m sorry
; I felt that Peter exploited you to get you to that meeting.”

“
I don’t feel the same. Everyone I met was very kind. I’m not sorry I went. And, I have to say, I learned a whole different side of people. What they think is sexy is past me. But I liked how simple, straightforward and honest they were. And Lucas? I met Sidney.” 

He
’s silent for a minute. “And…?” He doesn’t say anything else.

“I get it. I really do. I’m sorry you two didn't work out.
Peter implied that you were probably not over what happened between you, and that I look too much like her for comfort. She even called you ‘a creature of habit’. But, I’m not her. I’m sorry.”  I’m quiet.

“Sadie, you only heard half of the story. Why don’t you let me tell you the other half? I’d rather tell it to you in person.”

“I think it’s past the point of discussion. I don’t want to be just another woman in your harem, Lucas. I know you might be tempted to sleep with me – especially now that I’ve met Sidney. Can you cut that out of our relationship?”

He sighs. “
Sadie, I acted like an idiot with you yesterday. I assumed something about you that wasn’t fair. Now, you’re acting in a way that doesn’t appreciate
me
. I see where you were coming from, now. You’ve dealt with my assumptions, and now I’m left with yours.”

I listen, and laugh. “Okay. Maybe I’m being unfair. But where did you go tonight? Be honest with me.”

He pauses. “I took Violet back to her apartment; she’d been drinking to excess. Peter was too engrossed in a conquest to notice. By the time I got her inside her place and back to my own; you were gone. I saw you left the fabric samples, so I thought maybe I could lure you back here to pick them up. And then I have a watch on your address, and it pinged me when you came up on a 911 call. It scared me. Seriously.” 

I laugh. “You’re weird, Lucas.
You have a lock on my house? Really?”