Page 5 of Mayfair Madame (Mayfair Heights #1)

Chapter Five

Naomi

E llie Sharpe.

The pantsuit and shirt were as shapeless as before, but a little tighter this time, allowing a glimpse of the voluptuous body beneath them.

“And you must be Detective Inspector Josh Holland. We spoke on the phone. Nice to meet you.” We shook hands, my hand lingering a little longer in Ellie’s.

“I’m so sorry to have to go over this again,” he said. “We just need to dot the i’s and cross the t’s. You know how it is.”

I didn’t, but I could guess.

I led them through to the lounge area and gestured for them to sit. “I understand. Who would believe me when faced with a real-life lord? He has influence, money, standing.”

Ellie sat quietly on the sofa, her knees together, hands clasped in front of her. Her wavy hair fell neatly around her heart-shaped face. She’d not spoken, letting her boss do the talking, watching me with her large blue eyes.

“I can’t really comment on that, Miss Reeves, but can you take it right from the beginning? From when you arrived.” He took out his phone, ready to take notes.

Before I could start, Melinda arrived with a cafetiere and poured us each a cup.

“For all the good it’ll do, I’ll tell you again.” I took a cup and sipped, then recited the events of the evening, missing nothing out. The comments, the assault, me smacking him over the head.

He asked questions about Clement, and I wondered what the coward had said.

“So, Mr Winthrop was quite brief in what he said. He neither agreed nor disagreed with anything you said.”

“Fucking coward. He’s only worried about his bottom line.”

I recalled the conversation I’d had with Rupert yesterday. I should have known better, thinking I could hide something like this from him. He had eyes and ears everywhere.

“So, sweet girl. Tell me what happened at Emmeline’s party. Seems you got yourself into a bit of bother.”

I gave him a blow-by-blow account, forgetting nothing. I’d learnt from past mistakes that he knew when I was lying or not being completely honest with him.

Never one to mince his words, he voiced his opinion of both Clement and Benjamin, which was much the same as my own.

“I’m not sure how much weight my testimony carries, Rupert,” I said. “I know I should prosecute, but I don’t need the terrible publicity for the business. We get enough hassle as it is.”

“He shouldn’t be allowed to get away with it, Naomi.”

“I know that, but he will because of who he is and who he knows. People like him never get punished for what they’ve done. I know for a fact that he’s done it before. Emmeline filled me in, but nothing came of it. I’m thinking of dropping the case.”

“There’s more than one way to skin a cat, you know. You’re talking to a master. You do what you think is best for you and your business, but let me deal with him and Winthrop. I have a finger in many, many pies.”

“Do I want to know? I’m not sure I do. I still need him to drop his case, though.” I nibbled my lip. Was this the right thing to do?

“I’ll send over my lawyer, and we’ll sort something out. Rest assured, my dear Naomi, you have nothing to worry about, and he won’t go unpunished. Now, what are we doing for your birthday?”

The rest of the conversation had me dodging his insistence that I have a party to celebrate, but at least things were clear about what to do with Benjamin.

A small cough brought me back to the present.

“Sorry. I was miles away. What did you say?”

The detective spoke again.

“Miss Reeves, we can go back to your statement and see where we go from here. I’ll warn you, though. I’m not sure you would win a case against him.”

“I had already come to that conclusion, and I no longer need to.”

A look of confusion appeared on their faces.

“What do you intend to do, Miss Reeves?” Ellie’s soft voice washed over me.

“I’ll be dropping the case against him.” Confusion turned to shock, but it was what I had to do.

“Are you sure that’s wise, Miss Reeves?” Detective Holland looked at his partner. “It’s not an open-and-shut case by any stretch, and we’re not saying it’s a lost cause.”

“I’ve spoken with a lawyer. He’ll be contacting Lord Godfrey later today. Hopefully, we can come to a mutual agreement and put an end to this charade.”

“But he assaulted you.” Ellie’s voice rose.

“He did, but I also clobbered him over the head with a bottle. We both acted rashly.”

As much as it pained me to say these words, Rupert had promised me retribution, and I had far more faith in him than I did in the police force.

Ordinarily, had I not assaulted a member of the nobility, I might have stood a chance, but we all knew how it would end.

At least this way, I knew Rupert would come through for me.

I was ninety-nine per cent sure he wouldn’t break the law, but that one per cent niggled. His lawyer had said the less I knew, the better right now.

“I am sorry I wasted your time, bringing you here in person when I could have told you over the phone, but I’ve only recently received confirmation from my lawyer.”

Plus, I got to see Ellie again. How could I have forgotten how alluring she was?

“Well, I guess that’s it.” Detective Holland stood, but Ellie remained seated, her lips pursed and knuckles white.

I hadn’t meant to upset her this way. Maybe I was being selfish, or perhaps she thought I was letting him get away with it. I couldn’t and wouldn’t let that happen.

Either way, she needed to accept my decision.

“Yes.” She finally stood. “I guess that’s it. We shouldn’t need to bother you again, Miss Reeves. Enjoy the rest of your day.”

Even the other detective looked shocked as she strode towards the door.

“Thank you for your time today, and if you should change your mind, here’s my card. Call me, and we’ll do what we can.”

After they left, I went to search out Melinda.

“You heard?”

“I did. You’re doing the right thing, Naomi. Protect the business. There are many people who rely on you, and if you end up prosecuted or, heaven forbid, end up in jail, it could spell disaster.”

“I know. I just pray to God that Rupert comes through. Ellie thinks I’m letting him get away with it.”

“Oh, it’s Ellie now, is it? I thought she was Detective Sharpe?” She looked amused. “And you know Rupert will keep his word. He’d never steer you wrong, Naomi.”

She was right, of course. He’d been such a great help to me. How could I ever repay him?

Except I knew he’d accept nothing as payment. He’d insisted many times that I’d given him everything he’d ever wanted.

“Does anyone else know what happened?” I didn’t want any of the others to be concerned.

“No, but Oscar is coming by soon. You’ll have to break the news to him about the dress. Someone’s not going to be happy.”

“About me or the dress?”

“Both. Don’t sell yourself short. In the meantime, let’s go over the bookings for the coming week.”

The business, Mayfair Connections, was an online business. No phone or in person bookings. Clients were vetted and expected to pay upfront for their favourite guy or girl.

We had a portfolio of around twenty to twenty-five escorts, depending on the time of year. Most had been with me from the start. Some were gay, lesbian; others were bisexual or straight, but all of them were valued members of the team.

Melinda followed me upstairs to the office. Instead of sitting at the desk, we sat on the window seat, overlooking London. It was a view I’d never tire of, and I was more than happy to have moved here five years ago.

“Okay.” She flicked through her tablet. “We have five bookings for this evening, four for tomorrow, and six on Wednesday.”

“That’s down from last week.”

“It is, but we’re entering the holiday season. A few of our regular clients are jetting off to the south of France for the summer. Some are sailing over to the Caribbean, and others farther afield. It’s nothing we haven’t seen before.”

“I want you to remove Clement from the books. If he can’t tell the truth about what happened, he’s no longer welcome as a client. Drop him an email telling him he can no longer use our services. What’s he gonna do? Bleat like the fucking goat he is?”

“He only ever wanted you, anyway.”

“That’s because I’m an elegant, classy lady, don’t you know?”

“Damn right, girl.” We high-fived and laughed.

Melinda knew most of my background. I hadn’t always been classy. I’d worked fucking hard to get where I was. Much of it was thanks to Rupert.

“You know what we haven’t done in an absolute age.” I thought out loud. “We haven’t been out for a night out. It’s been too long. I’ve been working, and you’ve been busy. With things slowing down a little, we should go out. Have some fun. What do you say?”

“I don’t know.” She bit her lip. “I rarely like to go out.”

Not since that bitch had hurt her, but I would not take no for an answer. It was about time she forgot what her ex had done and started living again. Maybe we could invite Felicity? The gears in my mind turned, forming a plan.

“It’ll be fun. We can ask Oscar. I’m sure Guy will come too. We could eat at Lorenzo’s first, then hit Sam’s bar. We could celebrate my birthday early. Now, how can you say no?”

“You’re a madame. You know I won’t say no.”

“I am a madame. The Mayfair madame.”

The doorbell rang before we could talk about it further, but I wasn’t going to let it drop.

“That’ll be Oscar.” Melinda scurried from the room, probably more to avoid the uncomfortable conversation than anything else.

I picked up the folded dress from the sofa and ran my hand over the soft fabric.

It really had been an outstanding choice for the party. A pity it had attracted the wrong attention.

“Darling Naomi. How are you? Melinda says you have news.”

Oscar strode towards me, his arms outstretched, and hugged me tight.

“Come. Sit and tell me what happened.”

We sat in the window seat again, and he took my hand, clasping it in his.

He always fussed like a mother hen, but I loved him for it. He had an old head on his shoulders and was far more astute and mature for his twenty-five years. If I felt down or was having a bad day, a five-minute conversation with him would cheer me right up.

Maybe I should have called him and told him about the assault, but somewhere deep inside me, a sense of shame lingered. I knew it wasn’t my fault, just like it wasn’t when I was fourteen, but I’d always been a private person, and this was private.

“Well, this happened.” I showed him the dress.

He widened his eyes. “What the fuck happened to this? I’m not even sure it can be repaired. Was this torn?”

Did I want it repaired and for it to be a constant reminder of that night?

He took the dress from me and ran it through his hands.

“It’s a fucking shame, Naomi. It was a gorgeous dress.”

“I know, but there’s no other damage,” I assured him. “Just this part.”

“How did it happen? Did you fall?”

“Some twat thought I was fair game.”

“What do you mean?” He continued to inspect the dress until finally, realisation dawned. “Tell me who it was, and I’ll fucking kill them.”

“It’s being taken care of, and I’m fine. A few bruises, nothing more.”

“Bruises? Jesus, Naomi. That’s assault. Have you called the police?”

“I’m well aware. The police were just here.” I took the dress from him and threw it back onto the sofa.

“But she’s dropping the case.” Melinda walked back in with three mugs of coffee.

“You’re doing what now? Girl, you need to get on that man’s ass.”

“Trust me, we will, just not in the usual way. As I said, it’s being taken care of.” I sipped the coffee and walked over to the window, where rain now battered the glass.

“Is she okay?” Oscar whispered.

“I think so. She’s putting a brave face on it.”

“You know I can hear you. I’m right here and not deaf.”

A hand landed on my shoulder. “We’re just concerned, Naomi.”

I patted her hand. “I know, Melinda, and I’m good, honestly.” I’d been through enough therapy to deal with it myself, and if I couldn’t…

“Oscar, how do you fancy a night out? My treat.” It was time to move on from this.

“Ooh, I’m all in. Let me know when and where, and I’ll be there. It’s been so long since we’ve been out together. I know just what to wear.”

The conversation moved on, and Oscar convinced Melinda that going out was a great idea, his hands doing most of the talking.

It had been a rough couple of days, but these were my friends. These were the people who kept me grounded every single day.

They needed me as much as I needed them. I wouldn’t let them down.