Chapter 9

He’s alone, and he looks fucking pissed.

“How are you doing this fine morning?” I ask, taking a seat opposite him and taking the lead.

He glares.

Two can play at this game. I stare right back, and neither of us backs down. I know Malcolm has a reputation, but I’m not afraid of him.

I don’t have time for this. It’s a Saturday morning. The office needs me, and I’ve got more urgent needs than staring down this ugly fucker.

“The girl last night. I want to know her name.”

“Not going to happen.”

Gritting my teeth, I rein in my temper. This guy is pissing me off now.

There’s no way I’m told no.

It’s a word I don’t hear or believe in, simple as that.

“Come on, seriously, you’re going to try and convince me that these women don’t want to know about their date?” It sounds like utter BS to me.

“I’m telling you all of them know the rules. It’s why they come here and why I do business with them.”

“Oh, please, you’re a glorified pimp. Selling virgins for them. Making money.”

Malcolm stares at me. “I thought my setup was beneath you. You once told me I was a piece of shit for even considering this business. I always figured you were an uptight asshole until last night. What was it about this woman?”

“Screw you.”

Malcolm smiles, only it doesn’t reach his eyes. “You know, the moment she entered my office, I thought about you. She’s got that lost little doe look. Innocent as they come, but there’s that spark, isn’t there?

That little hint of darkness that draws a man in.”

“Tell me about her and her name and we’ll call it even.”

“If you hadn’t paid off the guard outside her door, I may have considered it. You’re in my club. I offer these women protection, and against my orders, you removed hers. For that reason, I won’t be telling you a single fucking thing about her.”

“How much will it cost me?” I ask.

“Nothing, because you’re not getting her information. You got one night without supervision. Consider it a parting gift.”

“You’re fucking serious right now?”

“As the fucking dead,” Malcolm says. “I don’t get it though. Why didn’t you want the guard? I know you.

You’re not a prude.”

I shrug. “I didn’t want the guy in on my business. Sue me. You really want me to believe this is a respectable business?”

Malcolm chuckles. “You think it’s not?”

“You sell girls. It’s no better than a brothel.”

The man opposite me sits back. He’s staring at me as if I’ve lost my mind, and maybe I have. I can’t exactly think straight right now. Being told no is new for me. I’m used to getting what I want.

“You know, this was a new venture for me a few years ago. It was something I stumbled upon because a friend of mine has a sister. You don’t need to know all the details, but the sister’s friend needed money. She didn’t come from wealth, and the only thing she felt she had to bargain with was her virginity. To cut a long story short, she put it on the internet, got a good price for it, and went through with the entire ordeal.”

This isn’t going to end well.

“She never lived past that night,” Malcolm says. “They found her body three days later. My friend’s sister knew what was happening, and she panicked. When they found her body, the man who bought her had indeed stripped her of her virginity, but he’d also tortured and killed her. The money was never even transferred to her bank account. So, I checked out the site she used, everything. There were a lot of young women selling their virginity for money. You may think I’m a pimp, and that’s okay. In essence, this is a brothel. The girls come to me, I take care of them, protect them, and at the end of the day, they go home, safe. I guaran-fucking-tee it. I’ve got nothing to prove to you. My conscience is very fucking clear. I save these women. I don’t take a huge chunk of their money. They get most of it. I take enough to keep this place running, to pay for the men, and to make a tiny profit for my trouble. If you think for even a second this is always easy for me, it’s not. Some of these women, they’re barely legal. They’ve had a shit upbringing and want to make a change. To some, I’ve seen the looks in their eyes when they think the only thing they’re good for is a fuck. So, don’t even think about lecturing me on what you believe to be right or wrong.”

Malcolm keeps up his glare as he finishes.

“So, you’re not going to give me the information I want on that girl?”

“No.”

“Son of a bitch! I’m not going to hurt her.”