The Arrangement

Chapter 16

I regard Paxton thoughtfully. His words make me wonder what his angle is.

"Why are you telling me this, Mr. Paxton?" I ask, "you don't know me."

"That's not quite true, Miss, I was the one who investigated into your history quite thoroughly," Mr. Paxton says. "My impression is you are a good person. You deserve a heads up."

"Trying to get me to run scared?" I ask with a giggle.

"No, but you should understand who runs the show," Paxton says, "it's Tabby."

"I'm getting the feeling this is a dangerous kind of job, Mr. Paxton," I say, but I'm not in any kind of character saying this, my tone is sincere. "Still, I'm not planning on breaking any of the rules set for me. This is just a job to me, as handsome and fun as Mr. Thatcher is, I intend to keep it professional."

"It doesn't mean that Tabby won't somehow find a way to paint the picture that you're a gold digger out to steal his heart," Paxton warns with a roll of his eyes, but then he expression softens up. "I know about your sister and mom, you know, I think it's admirable all you've done for your family. I did the same for my little sister."

"Yeah? I'm no saint though," I say with a shrug. I'm uncomfortable taking a compliment.

"I specialize in digging for any skeletons. I told Theo you got a green light."

"That's sweet of you to say," I say with a smile. "Thanks for not letting him in on the time in prison I served as a celebrity serial killer."

Paxton laughs and puts a finger to his lips to make me laugh. "Your secret is safe with me."

"So... you know a little about me, but what about you, how long have you known Theo?" I ask, I prop my elbows up and rest my face on my hands.

"I met him through his brother, Hugo, who is also one of my best friends," Paxton says with a shrug. "Hugo and I met in the Army."

"I knew you were military," I say, tapping my nose. "You have that vibe."

"What gave it away?" Paxton asks, patting his holster and grinning. "I'm retired from that now. Oh, and I love Kittens. It's a great club. They only hire great dancers there."

"Yeah, Andrew, the manager, is a really cool guy too," I say, and then I sigh. "I think I'll miss it in a way. But it never was where I wanted to stay long term." I laugh, shaking my head. "That's what most of us say who enter the industry when we start. I'll always love dancing, it's a passion of mine, but stripping has been to pay the bills."

"What do you want to do with the money you'll get from Theo?" Paxton asks.

"I'm going to use it to pay for my filthy drug habit of course," I say, and Paxton quirks an unimpressed-at-my-dark-humor eyebrow.

"I meant, do you have a dream, Evie?" Paxton asks.

The way he said my name. It's not him trying to date me or get in my pants like I'm used to guys doing, this man isn't objectifying me, it's as if he's simply curious about me, one human to another.

Huh. A man curious about a hot woman as being more than an object? I'm not used to that kind of man in my world. I wonder if Theo would be at all curious about me if the nature of what he was looking for in entertainment was different.

Like if he was single and dating me, would Theo wonder about the same thing?

"I'm in school right now, working on a bachelor's degree," I say. "I'm thinking of getting a job in intelligence. I'm fascinated by criminal psychology, the science behind addictions, and I want to help fight crime."

"Interesting," Paxton says thoughtfully. "You probably have gotten some unique windows into human psychology working in the adult industry."

"Oh, definitely," I say, "people fascinate me. With my mom being the way she is, it never made any sense to me why she did what she was doing and I used to obsess on trying to 'help' her recover. But I'm beginning to realize and accept that's actually never been any of my business, nor is it my burden to bear. It's gotten easier to lean into how illogical people are. Who am I to say that's not the best life she's capable of? We all are a little crazy. Including myself. I mean, look where I am right now?"

"I'm glad you two found something to talk about," Theo cuts into our conversation. I don't know how much he's overheard, but for some reason I don't know if I'm okay about him hearing my take on my mother's addiction or the fact that I just inferred the arrangement I'm doing might be crazy.

"Paxton tells me you met him through your brother," I say.

"Yeah," Theo says. "Hugo."

"In my own research I didn't find much on Hugo," I tell Theo.

"That's on purpose," Theo says. "Hugo isn't interested in any limelight." He looks envious while saying that.

"You like the limelight, Mr. Thatcher?" I ask coyly.

"No, I don't," Theo states. "I actually hate it. But I love acting and I'm grateful for my success. I hate to cut this short, but you should probably put back on your other clothes. Captain Eddie says there was some paparazzi spotted."

"In the Gulf?" I ask with a laugh. "Are they wearing scuba gear and about to pop out of the water Pirates of the Caribbean style?"

Theo laughs. "No, they are in another boat. But you'd be surprised how they are everywhere, speaking of limelight, and last thing I need is them taking a picture of me with a hot thing like you in a bikini with Tabby nowhere in sight," Theo says. "Tabby would have my balls on a platter if I ruined her reputation."

It's not attractive to me to think of a man being stomped on by his girlfriend the way that Tabby seems to be stomping on Theo. Part of me wants to tell him how Tabby doesn't care much about respecting him, especially knowing what I know about her meet up with gym bro, Brad.

Take your balls out of her purse, Theo.

But I know it's more complicated then that. And I'm definitely not one to talk seeing as I only recently left a very toxic relationship.

"Alright, I'll change, good talking with you, Paxton," I say with a wave, walking with my hips swaying suggestively as I go back down to get my personal assistant disguise back on.