I wake up with a start, sweat covering my trembling body as I sit up looking frantically around the darkened room. It takes me a beat, but then I remember where I am; Lexi’s house, spare bedroom, North London.
Taking a few deep breaths, I try to calm my racing heart as I remember everything that happened yesterday. The cafe, meeting Lexi and the girls, Grey’s, looking around the club…I put my head in my hands with a groan as I remember the tour of Grey’s.
As Lexi describes it, it’s a gentlemen’s club with strippers. Super exclusive, members are invite only, and anyone stepping out of line finds themselves out on their arse sharpish. It’s where people take business associates, people who they want to impress, but you basically have to be in the top one percent to gain an invitation. A moment of worry flashes through me, the thought that Ace or any one of the founding members of Black Knight Corporation could potentially walk through the doors.
The door swings open, startling me out of my thoughts, and Lexi bounds in wearing short shorts and a vest top that does nothing to support her ample tits. She leaps on the bed with a squeal, bouncing her boobs up and down.
“Good morning, sunshine!” She shrieks with excitement, and I can’t help but laugh in return. It’s amazing to think that I’ve never really had a close female friend before. I didn’t know what I was missing!
“Good morning,” I smile back and feel lighter and full of hope this morning. Like things may finally be going alright.
“So, we’ve got breakfast first, then Schmidt’s, then I thought we could go shopping!” she lists off excitedly.
“What’s Schmidt’s?” I ask, my brow furrowing.
“Why, the tailor’s for your uniform, silly!” she replies, smacking me lightly on the arm.
“Oh,” my heart sinks. I can’t afford to waste money on a tailored uniform, or go shopping. Although, I suppose window shopping would be okay.
“Don’t look like that! Grey pays for the expenses, dummy! And the uniform is an expense,” she shakes her head like I’m an imbecile.
“Oh,” I say again, like a broken record.
“So, come on! Get your arse out of bed and into the shower!” She pushes me until I almost tumble out of bed, catching myself just in time. Straightening up, I go to walk towards the bathroom when a crack lands on my bum making me shout out.
“Get a move on, slowpoke!” she shouts while laughing. Rubbing my sore buttcheek, I chuckle to myself as I head out of the bedroom door.
Lexi’s riverside apartment really is gorgeous. It’s a modern open plan affair, with two bedrooms and a huge bathroom, plus stunning views overlooking the River Thames and the city. Apparently, Grey owns the entire building and houses all his girls here, like one big sorority house.
As we exit the building, I notice there’s a black SUV with that same smoke motif waiting for us. I shiver as the wind whistles around me, the day overcast and grey. Lexi said we wouldn’t need coats, but I’m regretting my choice of a loose long-sleeved dress, and cardigan with tights, and flat knee-high boots.
We climb into the back, Lexi saying hello to our driver, Sean. It really surprises me how much Grey takes care of his girls, and I can’t help the fissure of worry that sparks inside of me.
“Just spit it out, Laura,” Lexi demands in a joking, exasperated tone when she notices my worries.
I decide to just bite the bullet. “Is Grey your pimp?”
She chokes with laughter, her whole face going red. I even hear gruff chuckles coming from Sean up front.
“Our pimp?!” She pats my leg condescendingly. “No dearest, Grey is not our pimp.” She wipes under her eyes, checking for smudged makeup. She looks particularly stunning in a deep green Ralph Lauren wrap dress.
“So, what’s this all about?” I ask, indicating the car, the apartment, and the expenses.
“He likes to take care of us. That’s it. No hidden agenda, no surprise cost,” she tells me, and I can see the admiration in her eyes. “Rumour has it that something happened to his mother when he was younger, and he vowed that he’d look after any woman from that day on,” she tells me dreamily.
Sean scoffs from the front. “They also say his cock is made from twenty-four karat gold, so I wouldn’t go believing everything you hear.”
“Sean!” Lexi scolds him, but I can see the laughter in her eyes.
Shortly after, we pull up outside a sweet little café, and I can see we’ve reached Savile Row by the black and white street sign on the side of the building.
“Breakfast, m’dear,” Lexi explains proudly as we get out of the car. Sean assures us he’ll park nearby, so we just have to call when we’re done.
The café is beautiful, with a red awning and plants tumbling from pots and window boxes. There’s a burgundy sign that reads Brushh in gold letters and several tables are outside. But as it’s grey and looks like it could rain, something I haven’t missed about England, we decide to sit inside.
As soon as we open the door, a gust of wind comes in with us, and I’m hit by the wonderful smell of freshly baked bread and other baked goodies.
“Maxine makes the best pastries in London,” Lexi tells me, and I must say by smell alone I think she might be right.
“Ah, Lexi! So good to see you! And who’s your beautiful new friend?” A short lady bustles over to us. Her accent is most definitely French, and I can feel a blush spread across my cheeks at the compliment.
“Maxine, this is Laura. She starts at Grey’s today, and this is her first day in London so I knew where we had to go for breakfast!”
“Well, welcome, Laura!” Maxine beams at me and hustles us over to a table nearby the window. “Shall I bring two continental specials?” she asks.
“Yes please, love. And two juices of the day as well.” Lexi orders for both of us. It should irk me; Ace would order for me all the time and dictate what I could eat and even how much I could eat. But it’s different with Lexi. I know she’s just doing it out of kindness, not control. Maxine smiles kindly and heads back the way she came, presumably to sort our order.
“So,” Lexi turns her intelligent green gaze to me, and by the twinkle in her eyes, I know that she’s up to no good. My heart races, I’m not ready to talk about my past yet. “What did you think of Ryan?”
“Ryan?!” I splutter out. I didn’t see that coming. “What about him?” I ask, heat warming my cheeks once more.
“Oh come on, Laura! I saw him checking you out last night at the club. He couldn’t take his eyes off of you, and he was meant to man the side door but swapped so that he could keep looking,” she informs me with a smirk. “And, he has that whole delicious protective alpha vibe about him.”
I busy my hands with a napkin, tearing small pieces off of it. My mother would be horrified at my bad manners.
“Ryan is very attractive, but, well, I’m not after anything like that at the moment,” I reply, my gaze darting up to hers and seeing that damn smirk on her lips.
“Uh-huh,” she mumbles, unconvinced.
Luckily, I’m saved from further conversation by Maxine bringing over our drinks. Taking a long slurp through the straw, I’m hit with the fresh taste of oranges, apples, carrots, and a hint of ginger. It instantly wakes me up and refreshes me.
Lexi seems to get that I’d rather not talk about it and talks for the rest of breakfast, telling me all about her less than stellar upbringing on a rough council estate before Grey discovered her and offered her a job at the club. He really does sound like a knight in shining armour, or perhaps slightly tarnished armour given the fact that fundamentally he owns a strip club and lord knows what else. He must have his fingers in many pies to be able to spend what he seems to.
After breakfast, we walk down the road to Schmidt’s tailors. The shop looks exactly how I remember a Savile Row tailor to look; a wooden counter with lots of drawers behind a curtained off portion, and presumably a backroom or upper floor where the clothes are made.
As we enter, a wizened old man approaches us looking rather stern. He has on a grey waistcoat with a shirt and tie and dress trousers. Around his elbows are those things that they used to wear in the fifties to keep their sleeves in place. There’s a tape measure dangling around his neck.
“This way,” he commands in a rough voice, indicating the curtained off area. I look to Lexi who leans in.
“That’s Schmidt. He’s a little rough around the edges, but he’s the best,” she whispers.
I follow him, stepping through the drawn red velvet curtains into a space that is almost entirely surrounded by mirrors. There’s a woman waiting with what looks like some garments already half made over one arm. She must be in her late forties, with mid-brown hair and kind brown eyes. She smiles warmly at me, and my lips lift in return. “Undress, “ Schmidt orders, and I baulk at the command, remembering the bruises that decorate my body.
“It’s okay, Laura,” Lexi says softly behind me.
I take in a deep breath, deciding that I won’t be ashamed of what I’ve been through. Remembering that what doesn’t kill you only makes you stronger as they say. I take my clothes off, straightening up, and cringe at the sight I’m confronted with in the mirrors. My body is a watercolour of purples, greens, and yellows, littered with the remains of Ace’s violence, and I’m thin to the point of being able to see the outlines of my ribs. I used to be quite curvy, but Ace thought I was fat so he put me on a strict diet.
I hear a sharp intake of breath and look up to see the pitying gaze of the woman holding the garments before she can school her features. My eyes meet Lexi’s in the mirror. She gives me a sad smile, but there is no pity in her gaze. It’s the look of shared experience, of someone who’s been there and gotten out. It gives me the strength to stand a little taller and face my demons staring back at me.
