On the Clock (Market Garden, #8)(18)

“I’m sure.” Blake studied him. “If I could hazard a guess—you’d rather have sex than sit through meetings, you’d rather cut your wrists than be in a cubicle forty hours a week, and dressing hot is better than business casual?”

Jason laughed again and shrugged. “Well, I would rather have sex than sit through meetings, and I’m pretty sure I’m not alone with that. Sitting in a cubicle all day sounds about as enticing as licking the gutters outside a bar in Piccadilly on a Friday night.”

Blake wrinkled his nose. “It’s not that bad.”

“Yes, it is.” Jason chuckled, but then turned serious. “You want to know the real reason I’m a prostitute instead of working a respectable job?”

Blake nodded.

Jason slid a little closer to him and draped his arm over Blake’s waist. “You mean you haven’t figured it out?”

“I . . .” Blake swallowed, wondering if Jason’s proximity had always been this intense, or if he was just off guard this time. “Spell it out for me.”

Jason gestured past him, indicating the nightstand where Blake had stacked the agreed-upon cash for tonight. Not quite five grand, but only because they were both pretty f*cking exhausted after the last few days. “I like getting paid for sex.”

“That’s obvious.” Blake half shrugged. “Who wouldn’t?”

“I don’t think you understand.” Jason seemed almost bashful for a second, lowering his gaze as a tiny bit of color bloomed in his cheeks, but then he shook himself and met Blake’s eyes. “I get off on it. Getting paid for sex turns me on more than anything else.”

Well, that explained a lot.

“I think that’s the first time I’ve heard of someone with a money kink.” Blake frowned. “Then again, I know quite a few finance people who’d bathe in cash if it weren’t so unhygienic.”

“It’s the getting paid part. A slight variation to the common prostitute fantasy. Some people enjoy when it’s cheap because it’s humiliating to sell your arse for a tenner. In my case, it’s the other way round. I really like getting paid substantial amounts of money.”

“And after? I mean, what do you do with the cash?”

“After paying the Garden their share? It depends.”

“On what?”

Jason sighed. “If it’s an item, I might keep it around. If I get tired of it, I might sell it or give it away. If it’s cash, I pay my taxes on it, pay whatever costs I have, and put the rest in an account. It’s . . . no longer that erotic at that stage. My trophies are. If they stop being that, I turn them to cash and I’m done with it.”

That explained the cuff links that first night.

“How do you decide on the trophies? I mean, what to charge whom?”

“If it’s a worthwhile conquest. I take cash from clients I’m not that into, but them paying me helps me get into them, if that makes sense. So in your case, you started somewhat higher up the ladder, but then, Tristan and Jared recommended you and they’re rarely wrong about things like this. Does that make sense?”

“That’s quite flattering, actually.”

Jason grinned. “Well, and I try not to bankrupt a client. If I get the sense they’ll have to sell their house or lie to their wife to explain where the money went, I’m out.”

“Seems like an ethical approach.”

“Mostly because things can go wrong very quickly, and I don’t need an angry spouse coming after me with a meat cleaver screaming how I’ve wrecked their finances.” Jason’s tone was light, but still serious enough Blake assumed the image wasn’t all that far-fetched.

“Hence identifying the high rollers from the start.”

“It’s a poker game. If I see them twitch at what I charge, I put on a totally different game. It’s better that way for everybody.”

“It appears to be working for you. The game, the business, the whole nine yards.”

Jason nodded. “I won’t be able to do it forever, but by the time I ‘retire,’ I’ll have a fair amount of money, so . . .” He half shrugged.

“You should consider investing it. Make the money work for you.”

“Oh, it works for me.” Jason winked, and they both laughed. “No, I know what you mean. I honestly don’t know much about all of that. But yes, I probably should.”

“I could help you. Direct you to people who know better than I do, anyway.” Blake chuckled. “I don’t think we’d be discussing portfolios and investments while we’re naked in bed, but . . . I can give you a few ideas.”

“Maybe next time you’re in town.” Jason paused. “I usually don’t ask much about my clients, but I have to admit I’m curious too. Why are you here? In bed with a prostitute, I mean?”

“It’s simpler this way.”

“Simpler? So, less relationship drama?”

“Well, that and . . .” Blake sighed, shaking his head. “The last few guys I dated turned out to be gold diggers. Completely in love with my wallet, but they could take or leave me. At least like this, I know it’s the money, and there’s no false pretenses.”

“Don’t you get lonely?”