Page 72 of Mayfair Madame

“It’s doing well, and I don’t just mean the escort side of things.” Rupert let me run things my way, but I couldn’t forget it was because of his money that I could do what I wanted to do. “There’s an anonymous blog getting a lot of attention. It’s bringing in new clientele to the businesses here. Things are thriving.”

“You’ve done wonders. More than I ever could have done. Come see me soon. It’s been too long.”

“I can’t thank you enough.”

“Find your peace, Naomi.”

With that, he ended the call, and I was left staring out the window at the city I now called home, a huge grin on my face.

“All okay?” Melinda handed me a mug and put a plate of pastries on the table.

“Yes, everything is perfect. Are these from the bakery downstairs? You are so transparent.” I laughed and took a bite of the light, buttery croissant.

“I know you like them from there,” she said with a shy smile.

“Hmm, you keep telling yourself that. Was Felicity in today?” I bit into it again, soft flakes falling onto my shirt.

She took a bite of her pastry and blushed.

“I’ll take that as a yes. You really should say something, you know.” Melinda deserved someone after her last attempt at a relationship.

“I told you before that she’s too young for me, and anyway, I’mnot looking to start anything else. Now, about Marco.”

“What about Marco?” I remembered how he’d been watching Sam, and a pang of annoyance shot through me.

“He’s not able to do Saturday evening. He said he’d already asked not to work that night. I checked the schedule, and he’s right, so we’ll have to find someone else.”

“Okay. Maybe Lance can do it, or failing that, Cami.” I could barely concentrate. My mind wandered back to Ellie and what she was doing.

How was her mum? Was there anything I could do to help?

“Maybe you should call her.”

“What? No, I don’t want to bother her while she’s with her family. She’s got enough on her plate without me interrupting her.”

“What is it about her that has you feeling this way?” I thought at first she was being funny, but her face told a different tale.

“I honestly don’t know.” It was difficult to explain. “There’s just something about her that draws me in. That night, she was so considerate of my feelings, and when she found out what I did, there was no judgement.”

The night of the assault, she hadn’t treated me like a victim, and every day since then, I’d not had to hide who I was.

All my life, I’d been pretending to be someone else. Only with her and Rupert could I be the real Naomi Reeves. Not the confident, bossy madame, but the woman who enjoyed junk food, comfortable clothes, and trashy TV shows.

“Does she know everything?” Even Melinda didn’t know it all, and as much as she was my friend, there were parts of me I couldn’t—no, wouldn’t—share.

“She knows enough. She knows what I do and why, and she didn’t run away.” The rest would come when the time was right. And I knew there were parts of her she had yet to tell me. We’d both only scratched the surface.

“Well, that’s something. How many times have we been down this road before?”

“This feels different.” I’d had a few relationships, but none like Ellie.

My phone buzzed, and I snatched it up. Maybe it was her.

The number was withheld but not marked as spam. I frowned and opened it.

Unknown number: You bitch. I’ll make you pay.

“What the fuck? Look at this.”