In the evening, Emily stayed late at the office. By the time she got home, her three adorable kids were already asleep under Mae's care.
Lying in bed, Emily dialed her "partner's" number, intending to check on his business.
He answered quickly, his deep voice sounding incredibly appealing. "Hello?"
"How's business tonight?" Emily asked cautiously, her tone full of anticipation.
James sighed indifferently. "Zero income tonight. No clients."
"How could that be?"
Emily frowned and sat up in bed, looking as serious as a CEO planning her company's future.
"Are you not dressing provocatively enough? Your physique is fantastic. It's your selling point. Maybe try leaving your shirt half-open, showing off your abs and collarbones. I guarantee those rich ladies won't be able to resist."
"Really?" James didn't expect her to actually come up with ideas for him. His voice turned playful as he teased, "And what about you? Can you resist?"
Emily couldn't help but blush as memories of that night flooded her mind.
If she could resist, that wouldn't have happened.
Although her partner lacked professionalism, he did have a certain seductive charm...
What was she thinking? She almost got sidetracked.
Emily scoffed lightly. "I'm your partner. Whether I can resist or not doesn't matter."
She didn't say no.
In the private box of the bar, James smiled.
Calmly signing a business contract worth millions, he acted pitiful with her.
"But my dear partner, you seem to have too much faith in me. I haven't had any business in a long time. I'll soon be starving."
"What?" Emily took his words at face value and got more anxious than he was.
The reason she felt comfortable demanding compensation from him was because she thought he was wealthy.
But if his situation was worse than hers, she'd feel guilty taking his money.
She pondered seriously for a moment, checked the time, and said to James, "I'll see you in half an hour."
*****
Half an hour later, at the bar...
Emily showed up in front of James with a large bag, surprising him.
"You actually came..."
Emily winked at him. "Of course. It would be too shameless of me to only take money without investing."
She opened the bag and started handing items to James.
"This, this, and this... These are all for you. You can take them before work. The store clerk said they work fast..."
James' face darkened as he looked at the pile of supplements in his arms.
"I don't need these."
Emily clicked her tongue. "You can be honest with me. I'm your creditor, but I'm reasonable. You've been in this line of work for years, and it's understandable if your stamina is waning. But those rich ladies love a man with endurance, so you need to take care of yourself."
To her, with his movie-star looks and physique, the only issue could be his performance.
James frowned at her, both annoyed and amused by her seriousness. He grabbed her chin, his grip firm.
"Are you questioning my potency?" James leaned in closer. "Do you wanna... taste me?"
The dangerous, ambiguous atmosphere made Emily's heart race. She instinctively looked away from his piercing gaze, only to notice his luxurious, dark green watch.
"This is the latest limited edition!" Emily grabbed James' wrist. "You didn't have it last time I saw you. My partner, I thought we were supposed to be transparent about our finances."
James paused, pulling his hand away. "A client just gave it to me."
"Just now?" Emily's eyes lit up. "So, you're about to start working?"
James felt inexplicably irritated by her excitement. "No, I turned down the client."
"Why?!" Emily was baffled.
"She looked like a sumo wrestler. I may die in bed!"
Emily laughed and complimented, "Come on! It's not like there's only one way to do it. With your build, you'd be fine. It might be a bit more intense than usual, but just grit your teeth and get through it. Every job has its challenges. Mine does too..."
James' brows knitted together. She was truly heartless, not caring about his wellbeing at all.
It wasn't like she had to serve others!
Angered by the thought, he pulled her into his lap, holding her captive.
Since she believed in him so much, he would love to see if she could grit her teeth and get through it.
"If you trust my potency that much, do me a favor. Warm me up, will you?" he whispered in her ear, his warm breath making her shiver, her heartbeat quickening.
James smiled, biting her earlobe lightly as a punishment.
"Mm..."
Emily couldn't suppress a moan, her face flushing red.
James' seductive voice was tinged with a laugh. "Still so sensitive, huh?"
In the next second, Emily found herself pinned to the sofa, his heated hand sliding to her waist, fingering the zipper of her dress.
"No..."
Emily's words were a weak protest, her body responding differently.
James was pleased with her mixed signals. Just as he was about to go further, they were interrupted by sharp, shrill voices from outside.
"What kind of low-quality service is this? Absolutely disgusting!"
"Does he really think he can fool us with that look?"
"We're not short on cash! When we're here, we expect the best!"
The private room door burst open, and three rich women stopped dead in their tracks, simultaneously silenced by the sight before them.
Seeing the compromising position of Emily and James on the sofa, the women looked embarrassed.
"Oh, it seems we've made a mistake. Sorry about that."
Despite their apologies, the three women's eyes remained glued to James.
"Wow, what a body!"
"We can't see his face, but that body is so much better than the others out there!"
"Totally out of their league! Too bad someone else got to him first."
James heard their whispers loud and clear, his expression darkening with anger.
Just as he was about to order them out, Emily beat him to it.
"Wait!"
Emily quickly pushed James aside and scrambled out from under him.
"There's a misunderstanding. I was just evaluating his performance. He's new, and I was giving him pointers to ensure your satisfaction!"
Evaluating?
James' face grew darker, his expression more dangerous than ever.