Bad Girl Blues Read online

  "Nope," Brigid said, putting the empty fruit plate in the trash can. "If he doesn't like me, he can use one of your other escorts."

  Sonia made a face. "You know that you are the best looking girl I have."

  Brigid grabbed the car keys. "Too bad for him then. I'll just show up au naturale, let him take me or leave me. And by the way, you don't have me as one of your girls."

  "Aren't you even going to brush your teeth?" Sonia asked.

  "I have gum," Brigid said, opening the door. "By the time I reach his place my breath will be minty fresh."

  "Your jeans look washed out and that blouse is just plain," Sonia pointed out. "And your..."

  Brigid closed the door on her protests.

  *****

  Brigid drove from Sonia's town house on Waterloo Road up to Jacks Hill. It was a route she was used to, since Hazel lived in Jacks Hill. According to the directions that Sonia sent her, she was going to pass Hazel's town house complex. She looked at the clock. She had fifteen minutes until her summons to Thomas Kellier. She stopped near Hazel's town house and called her.

  "I am outside," she said when Hazel answered.

  "Really!" Hazel squeaked. "Let me call security to let you in."

  She hung up before Brigid could change her mind. She was going to be late if she stopped but a part of her didn't care. Maybe when she showed up Thomas Kellier would refuse to see her for being tardy and then hire another one of Sonia's girls.

  It bothered her that anyone would refer to her as one of Sonia's girls but sadly that was what she had become. She could protest all she wanted. She was an escort. It was one step up from being a prostitute in her book.

  Sonia might pretend all she wanted but Brigid was sure that half of her girls would jump into bed with their so-called dates if propositioned with the right price. Rich men could easily could afford to pay for the date to be extended.

  She didn't even want to closely examine what she was doing. When she thought about it, she shouldn't have been so quick to agree to be Thomas Kellier's girlfriend.

  She sighed. Maybe after summer she would take stock of herself. This would get her school fees paid for the year and she wouldn't have to do anything like this again. Never again. This was her last foray into escortism. She chuckled with herself—escortism. It sounded like a legitimate word to her.

  She parked in front of Hazel's place. To call it a townhouse was being a little modest, she thought when she stepped out and stared at the gorgeous building. The whole place was built like a European village; instead of a paved driveway it was made of cobblestone. There were only four townhouses in the ultra-exclusive community, though the complex sat on an acre of land.

  "This is just a five-minute stop." She hugged Hazel when she came to the door. "I have an appointment to see someone near here and I thought I would stop by."

  Hazel hugged her back and then said happily, "Come on in. I was on the patio. I guess today is the day for impromptu visits. Casey is here too."

  "She is?" Brigid said happily. "Why is it that nobody told me that she is back? Since when am I the one out of the loop? I am never out of the loop. I made the loop."

  Hazel laughed.

  Casey was on the patio; she jumped up when she saw Brigid. "Sorry I didn't call. I got back last week and it has been a little bit like a whirlwind."

  "So Caitlin tells me." Brigid hugged her back. "You look radiant."

  "Thanks." Casey's voice was hoarse and raspy but it was still amazing to Brigid that she could talk. They had spent the better part of twelve years having to adjust to her muteness and now there was sound coming from her lips.

  She watched Casey's lips from habit and then caught herself. She didn't need to do that anymore. She shook her head. Everything was changing.

  "So tell me about you and Luca," Brigid said. "I know we are supposed to meet tonight but I can’t wait to hear."

  "I love him," Casey said confidently and then she smiled widely. "Remember that journal that I wrote to him? He also wrote one to me and we talked on the phone for a while and then I realized that I wanted to be here with him."

  "Wedding!" Hazel said, clapping her hands.

  "Don't you think it is too soon?" Brigid asked.

  "When you know you know," Casey said confidently. "We have been in each other's head. We went on this spectacular date at the Luminous Lagoon and we kissed under the stars. Romance aside, I really love the guy."

  "How was it?" Hazel asked, pushing her hair back behind her ears and settling in for a chat.

  "What, the kiss," Casey asked, "or Luminous Lagoon?"

  "Both," Hazel said. "Entertain me. I can live vicariously through you and your romance."

  Brigid had to smile. This was going to take a while. Hazel was a lonely housewife who had a lot of time to live vicariously, as she put it, and Casey was humoring her, yammering on and on about the wonder of Luca. Hazel encouraged her with oohs and aahs.

  "I am happy for you," Brigid stood up, "but I am going to have to hear more later when we meet. I am running late for my appointment."

  "What appointment?" Casey asked innocently.

  "Yes." Hazel frowned. "Why exactly are you up here?"

  "I am meeting Thomas Kellier. I am going to be his girlfriend for the next six weeks. July and a piece of August."

  Casey gasped and shook her head. "So...what?"

  Brigid leaned over and kissed Casey on her cheek and then Hazel. "Later. I will tell all later."

  Chapter Four

  Thomas had glanced at his watch several times since the antique clock in the great room rang at three. He even called Sonia's Escort Services to confirm when Brigid should arrive. She should be falling over herself to get to him.

  He wondered if she was lost, because he couldn't countenance that she would deliberately show up late for a meeting with him; no girl in her right mind would do that. She was an escort and he was pretty sure that she was dying to meet him; after all, he was famous.

  Or maybe she was too shy to show herself. He had suspected that after looking at her picture, suspecting that the agency had done a very good Photoshop job on her picture. Surely nobody had that glow to their skin, or that perfect complexion, or those symmetrical features without the help of an airbrush.

  He hoped she looked half as good in real life as she looked in the picture because after his very public and antagonistic break up with Tia, he needed to put on a good show for his family.

  He strolled toward the open foyer when he heard the buzzer at the gate make a shrill sound.

  "Who is it?" he asked into the speaker.

  "Brigid Manderson," was the clipped, cool reply.

  He smiled to himself. She sounded feisty and he hadn't even met her yet.

  When the door swung open he watched as she drove up into the courtyard and then alighted from the car and walked toward him.

  He stopped in his tracks on the steps. Not Photoshopped… twice as good looking in real life, if that were possible.

  "Hi." She held out her hand to be shaken and he took it, almost forgetting to breathe.

  "I am, er, Thomas Kellier."

  "Nice to meet you." She nodded. "You wanted to see me before Saturday night?"

  She didn't crack a smile. She was looking at him, cool and businesslike, and unimpressed. He was the one that was a simpering mess. She had rendered him speechless. No woman had ever done that before. She was simply breathtaking and she was staring at him quizzically.

  "Oh yes." He finally got hold of himself. He wanted to discuss the schedule that he had planned for her but now he was thinking ‘forget parties’. He would offer to keep her right here in an exclusive contract.

  He would take her back to the States with him. She would look so good on his arm in photographs. She would make Tia jealous.

  "Come on in. Saturday night is good for you, right?"

  "Yes." Brigid nodded.

  "Well, I have a schedule for the next six weeks. It should be fun."

&nb
sp; Thomas escorted her to his office, which opened into a private courtyard which had a waterfall and a koi pond.

  His housekeeper’s cat was sitting at the edge, staring steadily at the fish, batting his paw in the water laconically.

  That was the first thing that Brigid took any particular notice of. Thomas was watching her closely and while he had led her through the house she hadn't said a word. In his opinion the place was noteworthy, with its vaulted ceilings and expensive paintings and tapestry, but she hadn't tried to chat him up or apologize for coming late. She came into his office, sat down and smiled at the cat. When she drew her gaze from the cat her smile slid away as she looked at him.

  "You said something about a schedule?"

  "Yes, er..." Thomas' body tightened. She was so sexually appealing, he felt as if he was in high school again and trying to get the attention of the prettiest girl on campus. How could she make him feel this way?

  She was an escort, a girl who went on dates for money, but he could barely remember that now. That was the power of her beauty.

  She was going to be perfect for his family reunion. He was sure that they heard about his public breakup with Tia; every entertainment news channel had carried it and it was all over the Internet.

  With Brigid by his side no one was going to feel sorry for him, especially his cousin Nicholas Benedict.

  He had looked forward to bringing Tia to the family reunion to rub Nick's face in what he had considered the ultimate one upmanship. He was super successful, had a popular actress girlfriend and had the right connections.

  He had wanted to see Nick bleed with envy. It was only fair that Nick bleed. He was singlehandedly responsible for giving Thomas an inferiority complex for most of his life. But Tia had almost derailed his plans by throwing a tantrum and broking up with him.

  He still couldn't believe her lousy timing. It had driven him to call Sonia's Escort Service before he came to Jamaica. A friend had mentioned that she had educated and sophisticated escorts. His friend was right; Brigid had more than surpassed his expectations.

  Looking at Brigid now, he marveled at the sudden and overpowering attraction he felt toward her. He felt self-conscious. Should he have shaved? His face was looking a bit rugged.

  Was she attracted to him? She wasn't even pretending to be, he realized belatedly. She was staring at him directly, almost expressionlessly. Did she know who he was? Had Sonia told her?

  He got up from the desk.

  "This seems a bit too formal. Let's sit in the couch." He walked to some settees that were in a circle and indicated for her to sit across from him.

  She did so. And crossed her legs and innocently licked her naked, thick, plump lips. No lip gloss.

  He ran his eyes over her. No jewelry…Nothing to enhance her beauty, not that she needed one bit of enhancing. He was going to be the envy of every male at his parties.

  "I am a producer," he said, trying to impress her. "For some very famous artists."

  "I know." Brigid shifted in her chair. "It would be hard to miss your name."

  "Oh, so you listen to my music?" he asked, ridiculously pleased that she knew about him.

  Brigid frowned. "I am not a big modern music fan. Sorry. I prefer the oldies."

  Blow one to his ego. Thomas grimaced and then decided to up the charm.

  "You will have to do a bit better than this, Brigid. You are supposed to act like my girlfriend."

  Brigid inclined her head. "Okay, I'll do what is required of me when necessary. I'll smile at you at regular intervals and laugh at your jokes," she said with a straight face.

  Thomas sighed. "Act like you like me."

  Brigid nodded. "That's doable."

  Do you find me attractive? He was on the verge of asking and then bit it back. He was paying for her to date him; that was a stupid question. She would probably say yes but then again, looking at her aloof expression, she would be honest.

  "Do you do this a lot?" His curiosity about her was well and truly stoked now.

  "What?" Brigid raised an eyebrow.

  "Go on paid dates?"

  "You are my fifth client." Brigid gave him a half smile. "My previous dates were much older."

  "Newbie, huh?" Thomas laughed, his eyes eating her up.

  Do you sleep with them? The question was on the tip of his tongue. He really wanted to know. Though Sonia had stressed that her services did not extend to the bedroom, he couldn't imagine that Brigid's previous dates hadn't made a move on her and she hadn't succumbed.

  He didn't care what her previous sexual exploits were; he was hot for her right now.

  She whipped out her phone when the silence extended too long. "You were saying about schedules?"

  He straightened up. She was all business and he wanted to talk to her some more, get to know her better. He had paid an obscene amount of money for her as a date and he wanted to insist that he get his money’s worth but he felt that if he pushed her now she would just walk away. She had that vibe to her. She was not going to be an easy girl to get to know but he was up for the challenge. He liked challenges.

  *****

  It took Nick five whole minutes to exit his car that Saturday night. He had gotten the directions from his mother and had debated with himself whether he should attend the party or not. He knew Thomas was going to irk him somehow and he was psyching himself up for it.

  He slammed the car door shut and headed toward the brightly lit entrance of the house. He could hear talking and laughter. He even heard his grandfather's guffaw as he laughed at something. It must be really funny because Grandpa Kellier did not laugh much.

  It was a nice house. Not quite the mansion he was imagining that Thomas would go for but it was still grand. When he approached the front entrance, his cousin Marnie accosted him. She had a drink in her hand and was grinning like a Cheshire cat.

  "So you came."

  "Yes," Nick smiled. "and so did you."

  "He is behaving himself," she said to Nick, kissing him on the cheek. "He is on his best behavior for his girlfriend. Acting all modest and stuff. It's a sight to behold, Thomas doing modest—you won't believe it."

  Nick chuckled. "Girlfriend? He's back with the actress?"

  "No. Nah." Marnie shook her head. "This girl is hot. The actress was okay but I am telling you he traded up looks-wise."

  Nick raised his eyebrows.

  "I call it as I see it." Marnie chuckled. "Hot, I tell you. Hot."

  Nick sighed, waving to his relatives as he strolled through the house and out onto a back patio, where Thomas was holding court with the older people.

  Nick had not seen him in five years. He had always managed to miss Thomas' family parties. He knew that Thomas threw them so that the family could come pay him tribute and worship him as the one who had far exceeded their expectations.

  He was looking good though, Nick had to grudgingly admit. The years had been kind to him; he looked as if he had been working out. His muscles flexed as he lifted the glass of drink to his mouth.

  Thomas resembled the Kellier side of the family: olive-toned skin, curly almost silky hair, a triangular almost catlike face. He was in a dark blue muscle shirt that emphasized his biceps.

  Thomas had always despaired that he was not as tall as Nick but somehow tonight he looked a bit taller. Maybe in the last five years he had gone through some latent growth spurt.

  Nick shifted his gaze from Thomas and looked at the demure girl standing beside him in a red dress. The dress highlighted her shape in an eye-catching way. She was holding a drink and was looking at Thomas with a smile in her eyes. Her stance was relaxed and yes, she was hot, hot, hot as Marnie had emphasized.

  Then he realized that it was her. The gorgeous girl from the other day at the university. There was no way one could miss that mass of curly hair. Not quite an Afro but surely big enough and long enough to frame her lovely face and highlight her cheekbones.

  What a small world. He mentally kicked himself for still feel
ing attracted to her because incredibly, she was Thomas' girlfriend. She was taller than Thomas by a few inches, though, and he noted that with glee.

  He was reluctant to go any closer now but Thomas spotted him and hailed him loudly.

  "Nick!" The rest of the family that were gathered around Thomas greeted him too.

  Thomas came over to Nick, hugged him and patted him on the back. "How are you, old fellow?"

  "Old fellow?" Nick winced. "I am good. How are you?"

  "Fine. Happy." Thomas looked at him smugly. "I am really happy."

  Nick nodded. "That's good. Good to see you. I just stopped by for a while."

  "Just a while?" Thomas asked. "It has been so long since we met up. Every time I have a family party you have an excuse not to come."

  "Yes, sorry about that. Sometimes it was totally unavoidable," Nick said lightly. "It has been a busy couple of years."

  Thomas nodded. "Yes, it has. For you and me, of course. I am sure you've heard about me in the press."

  Nick's gaze strayed to the girl again and their eyes met and held.

  "She's gorgeous, isn't she?" Thomas asked, almost salivating.

  Nick broke her gaze and nodded. "Yes, she is."

  Thomas grinned smugly. It was a grin that grated on Nick’s nerves and he didn't even know why. He shouldn't by any stretch of the imagination be jealous of Thomas over a girl he hadn't even met yet but when Thomas crooked his fingers, she put down her drink meekly and glided over to them. The green monster came out of nowhere and attacked Nick full force.

  "Brigid Manderson," Thomas said grandly, rolling her name on his lips with lavish pleasure, "meet my cousin, Nicholas Benedict."

  "Nick," Nick said, nodding at her. "Only Grandma Kellier calls me Nicholas."

  She nodded back. "Hello Nick."

  She had a silky voice and she smelled good, warm and sultry. He could imagine her closing those long feathery eyelashes in passion. He could imagine her naked on white sheets, those lips begging him to love her. Snap out of it. He blinked. What was the matter with him?