Page 7 of Mayfair Madame (Mayfair Heights #1)

Chapter Seven

Naomi

S he said yes.

I clasped the phone tightly, giddy with excitement, and checked she had actually just called me and it wasn’t a figment of my imagination.

Because of Melinda, Oscar knew about Ellie, and because of Oscar, I’d made the call and asked her out.

It wasn’t a date. Lies .

It was totally a date. She just didn’t know it yet.

“Well, what did she say?” Melinda sat forward in her seat across the table from me, a couple of margaritas between us.

“She said yes.” I fizzed like a bottle of expensive champagne, ready to pop.

“Of course she did. I told you not to worry.”

“You both did. You and Oscar. It’s been a while since I asked anyone out. The agency keeps me busy, as you know. And if Ellie said yes to me, Felicity might say yes to you. I know you like her.”

“No, she wouldn’t. When I was there earlier today, I saw her chatting with a guy. They were very hands on. Very touchy-feely. She’s far too young for me, Naomi.”

“Read more romance stories. They’re full of age gaps. And anyway, you’re thirty-seven. Hardly over the hill.”

“Naomi. She’s twenty-two if she’s a day. That’s fifteen years. At least Ellie seems to be similar in age to you. Think of the looks we’d get.”

“Fuck what other people think. As long as you’re happy, that’s the most important thing, and I know you haven’t been happy since…”

“Don’t say her name. I never want to hear it again.”

She took another drink, almost draining the glass. I reached across the table and placed my hand over hers.

“I’m always here for you, you know this. Anytime you need to talk or cry or shout.”

“I know, and I’m grateful. I thought I’d be over it by now.”

“You were with her a long time. Of course it’ll take time, but it’s been six months. I’m not saying you should throw yourself at the first available woman you see, Melinda, and I’ll never tell you it’s time to move on.”

“But it is time to move on. I know it is. I just can’t forget her and what she did to me.”

“I won’t tell you that. You will know when it’s time.”

“God, I’m sorry for bringing the mood down. We should celebrate you having your first date in goodness knows how long, not listening to me wallowing in self-pity.”

“How long have we known each other? We share each other’s successes and failures. God knows I’ve had plenty of those.”

“What do you want from her? Ellie, I mean.”

I shrugged. “A little fun? I don’t know, really. I haven’t thought that far ahead. It’s strange, but I feel I’ll be missing out on something special if I don’t see where this could go.”

“You’ve never said that about anyone before.”

“That’s because I’ve never felt like that before. The first time I saw her, I was drawn to the kindness radiating from her. She’s attractive, although I don’t think she sees that. My heart picked up a beat, and I had a desire to reach out and touch her. Feel how soft her hair was, her skin.”

“Wow. Seems like she made a good impression in a short space of time. Do you think perhaps you were overemotional? You’d just been assaulted. It’s easy to latch onto people when you feel vulnerable.”

“It could be, but if I don’t follow up, how will I know? I could pass up the best thing to happen to me.”

Before we could say anything further, the alarm on my phone went off.

“Damn it. I have to go. I need to work, and you should go home. It’s after seven.” I gathered up my phone and bent down to kiss her cheek. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Getting a taxi took longer than I anticipated, but what did I expect in London at seven p.m.?

Tonight was a night at the theatre, on the arm of a successful businessman.

We’d been out before, and like Rupert, it was my company he paid for.

My days of having sex with my clients were well and truly over.

I left that to the people who worked for me. All at their discretion, of course. I never dictated to them what they should do and never would. If they wanted to go the whole way, that was up to them. As long as they were careful and took the necessary precautions.

But I’d given that up a long time ago.

I arrived at the Victoria Palace Theatre in good time. Hamilton was the show, which I’d seen a few times already.

One perk of being an escort was that I got to see the biggest shows and got invited to the most exclusive parties.

Thankfully, the outfit I wore hid the bruises, although they were fading. My date, Jeffrey, waited by the door, holding a box of chocolates and a corsage.

Old school, that was what he was, and I knew I was safe in his company.

“Naomi, you’re looking beautiful as ever. Are you ready for the show? I’ve wanted to see this for such a long time.”

“Jeffrey, how thoughtful. I’ve been looking forward to seeing it too.”

Normally, I’d go to parties with him, but sometimes he just wanted company and was happy to pay for it.

“Shall we take our seats? The show’s about to start. I’ve ordered some drinks for the interval. I hope that’s okay. I ordered you a gin like you normally have.”

People stared, as they usually did, but we were used to it. Who wouldn’t? He was a seventy-year-old, grey-haired man, thirty-five years my senior. Well dressed with a pink rose in his buttonhole, matching the corsage he’d bought me.

I was a slim black woman with short blonde hair. Tonight I wore a white pantsuit and a pair of gold flats.

If the looks and whispered comments were anything to go by, they knew what I was, but if Jeffrey didn’t care, neither did I.

He was the sweetest man I knew, except for Rupert.

I took his arm as we made our way to the stalls and our seats.

“Jeffrey, Naomi.” A voice I now detested came from behind.

“Clement, how the devil are you?” Jeffrey had no history with him, whereas I had every reason not to want to speak to him again.

“I’m well. How do you know Naomi?” Clement said with a smile.

I glared at the bastard, my jaw aching from clenching it so tightly. He knew exactly what he was doing, and if we weren’t in company, I’d have punched him so hard his teeth would have rattled in his head.

“Why don’t you tell Jeffrey how you know me, Clement?” I popped my hip and tilted my head, daring him to tell the truth.

“Well, I, erm.” He ran his hand through his hair and refused to look at either of us. “Enjoy the show.”

He darted away, and Jeffrey laughed. “Supercilious prick of a man. I’ve never liked him.”

“Join the club.”

“I take it he’s a client of yours.”

“You know I can’t tell you that, Jeffrey. Now let’s go take our seats. I don’t want to miss the start.”

The rest of the evening passed without incident. The show was amazing and Jeffrey was wonderful company, the perfect gentleman. He treated me like a lady the entire evening.

“I have a party in a few weeks’ time and would love it if you could come with me. I haven’t RSVP’d yet.”

“I’ll check the calendar, but I don’t see a reason I can’t make it. I always have time for you, Jeffrey. You’re my favourite client.”

“Then I’ll talk to your lovely assistant. I’m not good with computers.”

He was the only client allowed to call to book our services, but we didn’t mind.

“Would you like my driver to take you home?” He asked and gestured to the limousine idling by the curb.

“It’s fine.” It was one thing for him to have the business telephone number but a whole other thing for any of my clients to know my address. “I can grab a taxi. You watch how you go, and I’ll see you soon.”

He kissed my cheek as we said goodnight, and his limousine drove away.

“You get around.” I filled my lungs with a calming breath and turned to face Clement.

“Since when has it been a problem? This is my job, and you know that very well. You’ve used my services on more than one occasion and have never complained.”

I didn’t have to find my clients attractive. That was never the deal, but Clement had been one of the good ones, until he wasn’t. He’d certainly shown his true colours, and the more I thought about that night, about how he’d refused to corroborate my story, the angrier I got.

“I got your email. A little petty, don’t you think?” His sneer spoke volumes.

I stepped closer to him, my skin hot and my muscles tensed. “Petty? Do you want to talk about petty? Or shall we talk about how you turned into a fucking yellow-belly when the police came calling? You know what happened that night.”

“I didn’t see or hear anything. You can’t prove I did.”

I shook my head. This fucker wasn’t worth my time or energy, but I couldn’t go without telling him what a wanker he was.

“What you did was to enable a predator, Clement. He assaulted me, whether or not you believe that. I have the bruises to show for it. Do you want to see them? Shall I show you what he did to me? What he’s done to other women and got away with?”

“That’s not what he said.” A momentary flicker of doubt crossed his face. Yes, that was right, dickhead.

“Of course he didn’t, because he’s as much of a fucking coward as you are. He hates the fact I knocked him on his arse, and if you don’t walk away now, I’ll do the same to you. You are no longer welcome. Not with me or anybody else who works at Mayfair Connections.”

My heart raced, despite my calm demeanour. I could barely stop my hands from shaking, and my voice quaked.

“I wouldn’t call you again, anyway. You’re nothing but a cheap hooker.” I took a steadying breath, so close to losing my shit.

I leant towards him, slowly and deliberately, intent on carrying out my threat. All I saw was his smug face and how he deserved to be put down for his insult.

Many thought I was a lady, but I’d grown up on the streets and knew how to fight. Add in the fact that I worked out regularly at the gym, I could easily take him, and I would.

“Is everything okay here?” I didn’t answer, my sole focus on the twat standing before me. His eyes widened, and his face paled. Yeah, you’d better run, you fucking coward.

“Naomi? Did you hear me?” A firm hand on my arm stopped me in my tracks.

“What?” I shook myself, finally recognising the person standing next to me.

Lorenzo.

I grabbed his jacket. “Get me out of here before I do something I will definitely regret.”

On unsteady legs, I walked beside him as he led me through the bustling crowds of the West End.

“Who was that?”

“An ex-client. Thank God you turned up when you did, else I’d have been at the police station being charged with assault again.”

“Again? You mean you’ve done this before?”

“Last time was a misunderstanding. This time, it would not have been. I’ll explain at some point. I just want to go home and sink into bed.”

“Well, let’s get a taxi and make that happen.”

Two minutes later, we were in a black cab making our way across London.

“So, a table for how many on Saturday?” he asked, keeping the conversation light.

“Probably four, maybe five? You’ll join us at Sam’s later, right?”

“I’ll be there as soon as I can. I’ll need to close up the restaurant first. Who’s going?”

“Me, Melinda, Oscar and Marco. Ellie will meet us later.”

“Is she a new girl? I’ve not heard of her.”

“She’s new, but not in that sense. Oh, and I was going to ask Felicity too.”

“The girl from the bakery? She’s sweet. Cute little thing.”

“Melinda thinks so. I’m sure Sam and Julian will join us at some stage. Oh, and Fletcher, maybe. I’ll need to check his schedule.”

“Arsehole.” I looked over at him, a scowl on his face.

“You don’t like Fletcher? He’s the nicest guy. How can you not like him?”

“I have my reasons. Everyone thinks he’s so wonderful. I know better.”

“Seems like we both have some news to spill. Has he hurt you? Upset you?”

“It was a long time ago. I’d rather not talk about it.”

His prerogative, and I’d not push him to tell me something he didn’t want to.

“Well, he may or may not be there, so that’s your heads-up. Don’t let it stop you from coming, though. And anyway, why aren’t you at the restaurant? It’s Wednesday.”

“I took the night off. Had some things I needed to take care of. The restaurant is open. Isabetta is there this evening.”

Isabetta was his older sister. I didn’t know her as well as I knew Lorenzo. She always appeared aloof when we spoke. As if she judged me for my career choice.

People could judge and scoff all they liked. At almost thirty-five, I could afford to retire should I wish, and I was sure not many could say that.

But I loved my job, despite the worry of the past week. It was nothing I hadn’t or couldn’t handle. I’d been around the block a few times and always came out fighting.

I didn’t doubt the same would happen this time.