Ink & Lust

Chapter 8

"What does that mean? Logistics?" Amila asked hopping into the high barstool by the outdoor kitchen. The granite was still warm to the touch even though the sun was beginning to set, painting the sky with an orangey hue above the thick line of pine trees that made up the backyard of the vast estate.

He didn't immediately answer her as he also took a seat. However, his attention went to the leather portfolio case that was just as exquisite as the gold link watch latched around his wrist that had to cost him a couple of thousand. He slipped out a crisp sheet from one of the pockets and she recognized the three words that were printed in a bold, black script although most people usually referred to it by three alphabets.

"You want me to sign an NDA?" She asked, crossing her legs and sweeping her eyes over the passages that were crafted by a lawyer or many a team of them determining the wealth he wielded. "It wouldn't be my first. I went to a party once..." She stopped, letting her index finger pause in the middle of a wordy paragraph.

She flashed him a cheeky grin and then continued. "I can't tell you about it because I signed it but it was fun."

"And so will this." He uncapped a pen and handed it to her.

"Thank you." She accepted the pen ignoring the warmth that coursed up her arm as her fingertips briefly grazed his hand. "I have two more paragraphs to get through but this seems standard and straightforward."

He reached in the pocket of his dress pants for something she was privy to since her sight was trained on the page before her that required her John Hancock. She took documents that requested her signature seriously and consumed every word and sentence seriously hearing her mother's nurturing yet profound tone in the back of her head saying 'Never attach your name to anything you don't wholeheartedly agree with and or trust because you might have to give up something you don't want to or tarnish a bit of your conscience.

"It is." He quipped and took in a deep breath feeling the heat of his eyes glide over the side of her face as she intently read and then down her body quickly as he waited. His sight moved away from her and her body reacted to the loss of his optics. "It's only to make sure everything that happens during the duration of our arrangement stays between us."

"You don't have to worry about that with me." She retorted. There wasn't any way she was going to tell anyone the intricate details that went on between them. She didn't want anyone to know she was about to exchange sex for money as if she was one of Heidi Flesis' girls. Then her pen halted over the line.

"I...um...kind of." She stopped, tilting her head to the side as a crinkle formed on her button nose. "You remember the girl at the coffee shop with me."

He nodded. "The one grinding on you."

"Yeah." She smirked. "Her. I...um...kind of told her about our arrangement. She's my best friend and kinda like..." She paused, catching herself before uttering the sad fact that she was the only family she had since her immediate family was no longer in the land of the living and her other family was so far removed from her that they were practically strangers. "She knows about the proposition."

He let out a sigh with the hint of a frown beginning to form.

"Look, I get if this is a deal-breaker." She placed the pen down. "It's fine. It's cool."

She moved to get up and he immediately reached out, placing his hand on her arm halting her movement.

"Where are you going?"

She glanced towards the door she exited the house from. "I already breached the contract."

"You can't breach a contract you haven't signed." He chuckled, the concern melting from his face like a tub of Blue Bell left off in the middle of July. "You two seem close and having a friend is important. I'll get my lawyer to send her a copy to sign also."