Miss Black steps away from my back and walks around to face me. There’s a pleasant smile on her face, very similar to the one she had when I first met her. “Avery, dear, do you know how much money you’ll make if we continue to book each of these men once a week—once a month, even? Your weekly pay check will be well into dreamland territory and all you have to do is keep these rich men begging for more. I have no idea how you do it, but they clearly want you.” She folds her arms over her chest while she stares at my cleavage. She pokes at my left boob, like it’s not in the right place.

What just happened? I quit twice and she basically ignored me. “Miss Black—”

Before I can say another word, she steps toward me, close enough to kiss, and presses her finger to my lips. Her voice is a lethal whisper. “If I only knew how you did it, I could show each one of my girls and there’d be more money than any of us ever dreamed, more money than you’d make in a lifetime, Avery. There’s something about you that makes these men crave you and willing to pay any price to have you sate their lust, but somehow you always leave them wanting more. And they want so much more…” Her dark eyes are on my mouth and the moment has moved from weird to utterly uncomfortable. Miss Black’s perfect ruby red lips pull into a smile as her finger slips away.

I stand there frozen, wondering what she means by that. Her long dark lashes are lowered and she remains too close for too long, breathing deeply with her lips parted like she wants to say something else.

The sound of static saves me. Black rolls her eyes and turns back toward her desk. “Mel is here.” Gabe’s voice through the intercom is detached and devoid of emotion.

What? Mel was supposed to be here already. What the hell is Gabe talking about?

A moment later, Mel is at the door. “Hey, Miss Black.” She bounds into the room with a fake smile to hide her nerves. Mel isn’t afraid of anyone, but she’s fearful of Black. Mel’s wearing a flirty red dress similar to the one I had on before my shameful scolding. She spins and it floats up in a circle, showing off her lacy thigh highs and new panties. “What do you think?”

“It’s perfect, Mel.”

My jaw drops and I make a face. “What! That’s just like the dress I had on!”

“Yes, dear, but Mel wearing a cute dress is ironic, while on you, it’s just cute and cute doesn’t sell.”

Mel looks over at me and whistles. “Hot damn, Avery. That dress is tight. I like how the little bits of purple lace peak out from your bra. That is one hot look.”

I want to strangle her. Miss Black smiles. “It appears that one of Avery’s talents is teasing, so she should play up the anticipation, don’t you think?”

“Fuck, yeah. I’d do you looking like that.” Mel laughs with Black as they both head over to the table outside her office. The conversation continues, but the words Sean said come back to me. He thinks she has a thing for me, but I don’t get that vibe from her. Mel teases, that’s all. She wasn’t serious.

“So, who are we doing?” Mel asks, as Black measures her. She isn’t asked to strip. I guess the hands on treatment is just for me. WTH?

“Mr. Ferro.” Miss Black says calmly as she pulls out the papers and slides them towards us on the desk.

Mel nearly chokes, but recovers quickly and doesn’t look up at me. She groans, like she doesn’t want to go, and leans back in her chair. “He’s one messed up piece of work, Miss Black.”

“I realize that, but he requested both of you and said he was impressed with your previous services. The fee was quite high, but he paid it, so maybe you won’t mind so much.” She winks at Mel and slips a piece of paper toward her.

Mel is in the middle of a sentence by the time she picks up the paper. “No amount of money could make me want to go back to that guy’s… Holy shit. Are you for real?” Mel can act, that’s for sure. She looks completely surprised.

Black smiles serenely. “Yes, so let him do whatever he wants.”

“Done,” Mel sits up and grabs a pen. “Where do I sign?” Miss Black points and Mel scribbles her name.

“These are for next week. More of the regular.” Black hands the papers to Mel and she signs up for a few more appointments. “And Miss Stanz, here are your clients.” She pushes a paper toward me. They’re names, not contracts, because I no longer get to agree to anything. I go where she tells me, and do whatever the guy wants. I don’t take the paper.

Taking a deep breath, I stiffen and stand my ground. “I was serious, Miss Black. I can’t do this anymore. Mr. Ferro is my last client.” Suddenly, I have no idea what to do with my hands so I fold them over my chest.

Miss Black smiles at me. She’s seated at the table across from Mel, with her long lean legs crossed at the knee with one foot bobbing up and down. She taps the pen once on the paper. “I see. And there’s nothing I can do to change your mind?”

“No.”

“No amount of money will make it more enticing for you to stay?” Mel watches the exchange without comment, but her head turns side to side like a dog watching a tennis ball.

Fear prickles my skin, but my voice is firm. “It’s not about money. I can’t do it anymore. I’m not cut out for this.”

Miss Black grins tightly before looking over at Mel. “Well, we can’t make you stay, Miss Stanz. Although we strongly encourage it.” There’s something menacing in her tone. It completely contradicts the light smile on her lips.

I glance at Mel, but she seems just as surprised as I am. Stepping over to Black, I ask, “What are you saying?”

Miss Black stands so we’re eye to eye. Her gaze is intimidating, but I don’t look away and I won’t back up. When Black speaks, she’s so close that her minty breath washes over my face. “That your life will be better if you work here and worse if you choose to leave.” Her mouth hugs each word tightly, like it’s a simple statement and nothing more. A smile spreads across her face that instantly sends a jolt of ice down my spine.

Gabe told me to get out of here as fast as I can. I’m out of options. She’s not letting me quit and talking is getting me nowhere. I wish I could say something else, but nothing comes to mind. The only way out is to agree with her, so that’s what I do. “Maybe you’re right. Maybe more money will make it more tolerable.” My gaze drops to the floor and Miss Black beams at me, and touches my shoulder lightly.

“Excellent. I knew I could count on you, Avery. We are going to be very rich women when this is over. Just wait. Your dream of being a marriage therapist will seem trite in comparison.”

Her words are like barbs. Each one is shot with precision directly into me. Her intention is to belittle my dreams and show me that I can have everything if I stay with her. Black knows she’s losing me, that I don’t want to be here anymore, so she’s throwing logic in my face. It’s difficult to ignore her when she makes so much sense. I’ve worked my ass off for my degree. It’s a piece of paper that will allow me to get another piece of paper that will allow me to finally become what I always wanted to be. When I was younger, I could see myself in a big old house with a little office around on the side. There was a husband and a baby inside. They were dreams and I was content with the thought of middle class life, and trying to get by like everyone else.

But what she just said, the things she is offering, make those dreams seem so fragile. I’ve been walking on cracking ice for a while now, and it’s been growing thinner and thinner. One misstep will destroy everything. Somehow the certainties that I once held have all been snatched away. One rumor, one wrong place at the wrong time, or one accusation could ruin me and I’d be worse off than I am now. Alone, I’d have no way to support myself. Every issue of my life could stabilize if I say yes and continue to work here. I could have my own fortune, and I wouldn’t be subject to the whims of other people. That’s what Black’s offering and it makes so much sense that it hurts. She knew exactly what to say, where to strike.

For a second, I look at Black. My words are meant to find a soft spot in her armor, a longing for a life she let slip away. “What were your dreams when you were my age? What did you want to be, Miss Black?” My tone implies that there was no way she chose this job, but the look on her face says otherwise.

Stepping towards me, her voice takes on a caring tone that sounds too motherly to be coming from her mouth. “I dreamt of power, and was willing to do anything necessary to secure my future. You’d be foolish if you don’t do the same. In the end, the only person you can depend on is you. People come and go, they’re born and die. The only constant in your life is you.”

Numbness spreads through me like poison, lurching from my fingertips to my toes. I can barely move. Black has found something that terrifies me more than small spaces, and this time when an imaginary coffin flashes before my eyes, I’m not trapped in it.

Instead, I’m in a funeral home and looking down at Sean.

CHAPTER 7

I’m not normal anymore. At one time I might have been mainstream, but not now. There are too many nightmares that walk about in daylight, and Black just pinpointed my worst fear. I barely survived my parents’ deaths. I couldn’t make it through Sean’s, and yet, everyone must die. It’s a matter of when and how much time we have left. I don’t suppose other people think about death the way I do. Sometimes I imagine the worst thing possible, trying to brace myself for it, so I never feel so off balance again.

The day my parents died was unexpected. There was nothing to brace me, no one to hold me up. At times like that a person finds out how strong they are, and I’ve started to think that I am not weak. I endured it and I can still smile. I lived through tragedy and still breathe. I got to tomorrow and things looked brighter, but Black saying that—suggesting that one day I’ll be alone again—cut me to the core. She found my weakness.