: Chapter 3

I just sat, watching as she ran into the shit dump that she called home. How the fuck can she live there?

“Sir, shall I drive?” Guy asked me, pulling me from my stare.

“Please,” I said firmly before my eyes fell back to my phone. I was ready for today to be over, I have six months to find someone, get them pregnant and make sure my father approves. I have everything that I could have ever wished for, but this was not the life I wanted and it certainly won’t be the life for my future children. As soon as I have full control of that business then that stupid clause will be gone. It’s ridiculous and stuck in the old times, Sauvage needed to enter the twenty-first century, but at the moment it was stuck in the nineteen-hundreds where my grandad started it.

I get we need to keep the heritage; I want to keep it as close to the original as I can, but changes needed to be made. Big changes.

And I wanted to be the one to do them.

I dismissed Guy once we pulled into the underground car park of the hotel. Pinging the elevator, I stepped in and rode up the twelve floors to the top. My home. The penthouse.

Sure, I could make a fortune putting this room up for occupancy at the hotel, but it was my home. It would always be home.

We had the room to add more than one, but I didn’t want anyone to be above me. This was my hotel. My dream. My life.

I was happy to get out of my stuffy suit, I hung it up then tossed my phone on the bed. I needed a shower. I felt tense. Normally when I felt tense, I would call Ernie and get him to send one of the girls round. I would fuck her until I was bored of her, then Guy would take her home and I would sleep like a baby.

But not tonight. No, for some reason I only had one thing on my mind, and it wasn’t sex.

Stepping under the hot water, the burn on my skin felt good. I needed to release some of this tension and if the shower didn’t do it, I would go and have an hour in the gym. Lathering my hair up, I stepped under the rain forest shower head. I tipped my head back and just let the water cascade over me, easing over my aching muscles and washing my plaguing thoughts away, if only for a small moment.

Dressing in shorts and a tee, I slipped my feet into my trainers before pushing my earphones in. Slipping my phone in my pocket, I let the music drum through my ears and pulse through my blood as I entered the gym. I headed straight for the running machine, pumping the incline up as I began to run. The burn in my legs kicked in quickly, my heart race pumping fast in my chest. Yes, this is what I needed. To run until I couldn’t run anymore.

I collapsed onto my bed, breathing out of my arse but I felt good. Turning my phone off, I fell into a deep slumber before everything went black.

I woke groggy, my head felt heavy and hazy. I completely exhausted myself last night. My muscles ached with every move as they rippled under my skin. After I finished running, I moved to weights before finishing the session off with a round on the punch bag. Running would have usually been enough, but my mind was too busy. I couldn’t switch off.

Rolling over, I grabbed the hotel phone and buzzed down to front desk.

“Good morning, Mr Sauvage.”

“Morning Linda, can you get me a black americano and eggs with avocado on sourdough brought up please?” I said gruffly before putting the phone back into its cradle, not waiting for her answer.

Reaching for my mobile that was lost in the feather down duvet, I saw a message from my dad.

No point running Preston. You have six months. If you need any help finding a suitable lady, I am sure I can assist. See you at the party.

I threw the covers back as I paced up and down, the rage that had left last night was now back with a vengeance. It was brewing deep in the pit of my stomach and it was only getting worse as the minutes ticked by.

Smashing my fingers into the screen, I found Ernie’s number.

“Preston,” his voice hummed through the speaker.

“Ernie,” my tone was a lot curter than his.

“How may I assist? I assume Skylar was okay last night?” I could hear the glee in his voice, the more I used him, the more money he got.

“Skylar was perfect,” I groaned.

The line fell silent.

“Is she clean?”

“Sorry?” Ernie was clearly taken aback by my question. “Preston, you know all my girls are clean.”

“When was her last test?” I asked, pinching the bridge of my nose with my finger and thumb to relieve some of the tension that was consuming me again.

“A week ago.”

“And how popular is she?” I felt the bile rise in my throat, I wasn’t sure why. I suppose maybe it’s because I see her as mine and only mine.

“Not overly,” he cleared his throat, I could hear his shoes hitting the tiled floor. A door closed. “Don’t get me wrong, she could be very popular if she put herself out a little more.”

“Explain,” I barked.

“She has three regulars, one of them being you.”

“Okay…” I trailed off.

“She cries,” he stopped talking suddenly.

“What do you mean she cries?”

I can hear him fiddling with something in the background.

“Every time she sleeps with them she cries.” I hear him sigh, “but you know that already, because you’re one of her clients…”

“I have never slept with her Ernie.” For some reason, I felt my blood boil. I hated knowing that she cries.

“Oh.”

“I pay her to talk to me, to be my friend.” I admit, rubbing the knot out of the back of my neck.

“Right.”

Once more, the line falls silent.

“How much would it cost for her to be exclusive to me?”

“Sorry?” Ernie stammered.

“Don’t sorry me, you heard me. I want her taken off your books. I want her to be exclusively mine.”

“I can’t do that,” he stammered again.

“Ernie, I have been a very, very generous client over the last four years, haven’t I?”

“Yes.”

“Yes what?”

“Yes, Mr Sauvage.”

“Good lad,” I taunted. “So, I think you can be a little more accommodating when I say I want her taken off your books. I am not taking her, I am not stealing her from your seedy little business, I am asking for you to get rid of her other clients and leave her just for me.”

“I understand.”

“Are you sure about that? Because believe me Ernie, even if you said no, I would steal her from you anyway, so I think it’s in your interest to just agree to my terms.”

“I agree.”

“Excellent. Please block Skylar out for the foreseeable.”

“Done.”

“Perfect, now you have a good day, Ernie.” I cut the phone off before I heard what he had to say. “Prick,” I smirked at the phone before throwing it on the bed. I had shit to do. But first, I needed to get ready.

Once I was dressed, I messaged Skylar telling her to be ready for five p.m.

I felt excited suddenly; I was looking forward to spending time with her.