“Why in the world did you even ask if you weren’t going to believe me?” she said, fighting the urge to cry. Why his lecture even mattered she would never know.
“I guess I’m a fool, because I was almost taken in a little by the innocence I’ve seen in your eyes. You are very good at looking like the girl next door — like a lost little puppy who needs to be taken care of. But I guarantee you that I can’t be fooled,” he said, sounding almost proud of himself.
“Well, I’m so glad you have me all figured out, Mr. Knight,” she told him, her body stiff next to him. She knew that was something he wouldn’t tolerate.
And he didn’t. He quickly flipped her onto her back and covered her body, staring down into her face, refusing to release her eyes as he made it abundantly clear which one of the two of them was in charge.
“Stop it now, Jewell. If you ever mention this lie again, I’ll send you straight back to McKenzie — Ms. Beaumont to you — and tell her you’re a liar who can’t be trusted. Liars never get anywhere in life. Remember that. I’ll even tell her what you’re lying about. You’re not too smart, after all,” he said with a sneer.
“Don’t worry. I won’t even think of telling you anything again.” How she hated that her traitorous body was responding to his even when he was belittling her.
“I’m not worried, Jewell,” he assured her. “There’s nothing you could do or say that would ever make me feel that emotion.”
Then before she was able to reply, he pushed forward, sinking inside her and making her gasp in outrage as she glared at him even as her body responded.
“I own you, Jewell,” he said, his eyes shining with victory.
“For four more days,” she said, unable to hold back the words that furthered his anger.
He leaned forward and shut her mouth the best way he knew how. And though she couldn’t help but kiss him back, Jewell hated him and herself just a little bit more over the next hour.
When they were finished, she knew she’d been used, but that was what she was there for. He stood up and dressed, making her feel even cheaper.
“By the way, you have a dress fitting in an hour or so. We’ll be attending a function on Friday night and you need to be properly attired.”
He didn’t wait for her response, but instead left the room. She got up, showered and made her way down the stairs, surprised to find him sitting there. Looking at the clock, she knew the person coming over to help her would be there soon.
“Why aren’t you at work?” It was a natural question, as he was normally gone by now.
“I decided to take most of the week off. I want to get my money’s worth,” he said, not glancing up from the tablet he was most likely reading the paper on. “You should be happy. You’ve complained about being watched on camera, so you’re free from that for now. Just watching was taking up too much of my time, anyway.”
She didn’t bother with a response to that, not understanding his sudden need to hurt her. He’d asked her to tell him the truth, and she had, and now she was being punished for that. It didn’t seem fair to her at all.
When the doorbell rang after half an hour of uncomfortable silence, she was almost relieved, but when a petite woman walked in, with an assistant behind her dragging a rack that had several dresses on it, Jewell tensed up all over again.
A dress fitting — really? Just one more thing in a long line of things she had never thought she would have any part of before. It was okay, though. It wouldn’t be so bad to go to some stuffy event. It wasn’t as if she would ever socialize again with any of the people who attended.
“You must be Jewell,” the woman said, then proceeded to look her up and down with what seemed to be a suppressed sneer, and circled around her. Jewell wanted desperately to fidget.
When Blake sat down on the couch and leaned back, she felt like screaming. He was going to just sit there the entire time and make her even more uncomfortable. Why? This couldn’t be his idea of a good time.
“I need you to strip down to your panties,” the woman said as she pulled out a tape measure.
“Excuse me?” Jewell looked over to the young man who was standing silently by the clothing rack.
“I need you to strip down to your panties,” she repeated as if she were dealing with a small, disobedient child.
Jewell was about to throw a fit, so maybe she was a child, indeed.
“Um, can we go into the bathroom, or something?” Jewell asked as she again looked at the young man — a kid, really — and then at Blake, who wasn’t even looking at the tablet anymore, his attention now fully focused on her.
“No. I need the light in this room. You’re wasting my time, Jewell,” the woman said, and she took a step closer.
Jewell had no doubt that if she didn’t strip, the woman would do it for her. And that wasn’t going to happen.
She began taking off her clothes, trying to remind herself that this kid had to have seen it all before. It didn’t help ease her humiliation one bit, however. When she was down to her panties, which didn’t cover much, she closed her eyes and stood there awkwardly while the woman told her to hold out her arms, move this way and that.
By the time the measurements were all finished, she had been touched and poked, and the woman had even had the gall to comment on some of her troubled areas. Jewell didn’t know how she managed to hold back the scream lodging in her throat.
She refused to make eye contact with Blake, but she was sure the jerk was thoroughly enjoying himself at her expense. Her week with him couldn’t end soon enough.
Next came a show of dresses. Of course there wasn’t time to make one from scratch. She’d have to choose one, and then the woman would tailor it to her body. Blake rejected dress after dress, and by the eighth one she was sick of slipping them on and off.
“No. That one isn’t right. Didn’t I give you specific directions on what I wanted?” Blake snapped.
The woman’s nose turned up an inch higher at that comment, and Jewell was surprised. She hadn’t though sticking that snoot up higher were humanly possible.
“I assure you that I have never not pleased a client, Mr. Knight,” she said, her tone respectful even if her expression wasn’t.
She pulled out another dress and he sat forward. “That one,” he said before Jewell even had a chance to try it on.
“Let’s see how it looks,” the woman said in a warning tone as the young man slid it over Jewell’s head.