keeping with our agreement. So I let them know about the issue to make sure it wouldn’t happen again.”
Raven was finding herself getting frustrated. He was acting like this was just some business arrangement, but it was her life he’d affected with his complaints. “You got me fired from my job,” she said.
“I don’t have a clue what you’re talking about.”
“Someone from Club Alpha—Max Mendez—do you know him?”
Jake didn’t respond, but she could tell from his eyes that he did.
“Anyway,” she continued, “That guy showed up at the restaurant where I waitress and had me fired. Then he told me that he would ruin my life if I didn’t honor my contract with Club Alpha. And he said the reason he was ruining my life was because I’d upset an important client—you, obviously.”
“What do their tactics of enforcing a contract have to do with me? You want me to give you money because you got fired?”
“I want you to tell them to leave me alone.”
He looked at her for a long time, as if evaluating her request. Her cheeks flushed under his gaze, as he gave her the look she’d seen burning on screen, only he’d always been looking at some beautiful actress.
And then, after a long time, he gave a slight shake of his head. “I’m not going to tell them to leave you alone,” he said, as if pronouncing a verdict. As if he was judge, jury and executioner rolled into one.
“Why not?” she asked, shocked by his cold response.
“Because,” he said, “I still want what I proposed to you last night. You were at that party, and you work for Club Alpha even if you don’t want to admit it.” He stared at her without any guilt or sense of remorse.
And then it hit her like a ton of bricks.
He wants to have sex with me for money. For some reason, that’s what he wants from me more than anything else.
The realization both disgusted her, and somehow—frustratingly—also turned her on. And she thought that Jake knew exactly how he was making her feel which enraged her further.
She tried to talk sense to him with increasing urgency. “They tricked me into signing something. I still don’t even know exactly what I signed.”
He shrugged. “How is that my problem?”
She looked at him and her insides went numb with rage. “I should’ve known that you’d act this way.”
“Is that so?” he said, not terribly concerned.
“Yeah, I should have known because it’s so obvious. You’re so obvious.” And as she said the words, she looked into his eyes and knew it was true. She knew that she saw more about him than he wanted to admit, just as he seemed to see more about her than she liked to admit.
“I’m so obvious?” he asked, an edge creeping into his voice.
“Yeah,” she said, starting to laugh now. “You do these ridiculously cheesy movies and you make silly records for teenage girls, and now it’s so clear to me why someone as talented as you does all of that.”
“Oh,” he said softly, “and why don’t you enlighten me as to why that is?”
“Because it’s easy. You take the easy way out of everything, don’t you? But nobody realizes it—nobody else sees what a fraud you are. You know it though, don’t you Jake?”
He stared at her, his eyes burning with something she couldn’t even name.
She was breathing heavily, so angry that she wanted to slap him across his face, but she also suddenly felt like she wanted him to grab her and push her down on the seat and kiss her, rip her shirt off, put his hands all over her body.
As they continued to lock eyes, she saw that he was deeply, deeply angry. He was at least as angry as she was, barely restraining himself from saying or doing something extreme.
Maybe he wants to do those very same things that I’m imagining him doing to me.
She looked away from him then, because it occurred to her that if she wasn’t careful he might really touch her, and if he touched her he would know for sure how badly she wanted
Raven was finding herself getting frustrated. He was acting like this was just some business arrangement, but it was her life he’d affected with his complaints. “You got me fired from my job,” she said.
“I don’t have a clue what you’re talking about.”
“Someone from Club Alpha—Max Mendez—do you know him?”
Jake didn’t respond, but she could tell from his eyes that he did.
“Anyway,” she continued, “That guy showed up at the restaurant where I waitress and had me fired. Then he told me that he would ruin my life if I didn’t honor my contract with Club Alpha. And he said the reason he was ruining my life was because I’d upset an important client—you, obviously.”
“What do their tactics of enforcing a contract have to do with me? You want me to give you money because you got fired?”
“I want you to tell them to leave me alone.”
He looked at her for a long time, as if evaluating her request. Her cheeks flushed under his gaze, as he gave her the look she’d seen burning on screen, only he’d always been looking at some beautiful actress.
And then, after a long time, he gave a slight shake of his head. “I’m not going to tell them to leave you alone,” he said, as if pronouncing a verdict. As if he was judge, jury and executioner rolled into one.
“Why not?” she asked, shocked by his cold response.
“Because,” he said, “I still want what I proposed to you last night. You were at that party, and you work for Club Alpha even if you don’t want to admit it.” He stared at her without any guilt or sense of remorse.
And then it hit her like a ton of bricks.
He wants to have sex with me for money. For some reason, that’s what he wants from me more than anything else.
The realization both disgusted her, and somehow—frustratingly—also turned her on. And she thought that Jake knew exactly how he was making her feel which enraged her further.
She tried to talk sense to him with increasing urgency. “They tricked me into signing something. I still don’t even know exactly what I signed.”
He shrugged. “How is that my problem?”
She looked at him and her insides went numb with rage. “I should’ve known that you’d act this way.”
“Is that so?” he said, not terribly concerned.
“Yeah, I should have known because it’s so obvious. You’re so obvious.” And as she said the words, she looked into his eyes and knew it was true. She knew that she saw more about him than he wanted to admit, just as he seemed to see more about her than she liked to admit.
“I’m so obvious?” he asked, an edge creeping into his voice.
“Yeah,” she said, starting to laugh now. “You do these ridiculously cheesy movies and you make silly records for teenage girls, and now it’s so clear to me why someone as talented as you does all of that.”
“Oh,” he said softly, “and why don’t you enlighten me as to why that is?”
“Because it’s easy. You take the easy way out of everything, don’t you? But nobody realizes it—nobody else sees what a fraud you are. You know it though, don’t you Jake?”
He stared at her, his eyes burning with something she couldn’t even name.
She was breathing heavily, so angry that she wanted to slap him across his face, but she also suddenly felt like she wanted him to grab her and push her down on the seat and kiss her, rip her shirt off, put his hands all over her body.
As they continued to lock eyes, she saw that he was deeply, deeply angry. He was at least as angry as she was, barely restraining himself from saying or doing something extreme.
Maybe he wants to do those very same things that I’m imagining him doing to me.
She looked away from him then, because it occurred to her that if she wasn’t careful he might really touch her, and if he touched her he would know for sure how badly she wanted
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