What he Wants in Return I
1184 Words
LENA never liked asking for help, especially not from strangers, yet here she was, standing in the quiet luxury of a hotel lounge that looked far too expensive for someone who couldn’t even afford her last semester’s fees.
Her hands wouldn’t stay still. They clutched the strap of her cheap handbag like it was the only anchor she had left. Maybe it was. After all, everything else felt like it was slipping out of her grasp— her education, her future, even her pride.
The lounge wasn’t crowded; it wasn’t meant for crowds. It was the kind of private space reserved for people who made decisions with seven zeros behind them. There were polished marble floors, paintings with no price tags, and the soft hum of a jazz instrumental floating around like a secret only rich people were invited to hear. Lena swallowed hard. She didn’t belong here. She knew it. Even the room knew it.
But she also knew one thing: tuition wasn’t going to pay itself.
She brushed a hand down her blouse, smoothing wrinkles that refused to cooperate. She had chosen her neatest outfit— still cheap, but at least not ragged. The message she received had said dress decently, and she hoped to God that she had interpreted that correctly.
Then the door opened.
He walked in like he owned the very oxygen in the building.
Mr. Lawton.
He looked tall. Controlled. Confident without trying. His suit was a deep charcoal that made his presence shadowy and commanding. His tie looked like something hand-stitched in a shop that didn’t allow walk-in customers. His hair was peppered with grey that only made him more striking, more established, more dangerous in the kind of way that made a girl forget she had ever learned how to breathe.
He stopped when he saw her.
For a moment, just a heartbeat, his expression didn’t reveal anything. Then his gaze sharpened, dipping from her face down to her posture and back up again, like he was assessing more than he was observing.
“Lena,” he said, his voice warm, rich, and impossibly steady. “You came.”
Her throat felt tight, but she managed a nod.
“Yes… sir.”
The corner of his mouth lifted in a subtle, knowing smile. The kind a man gives when he hears something he likes without expecting it.
“Sit,” he murmured, gesturing gently.
She sat quickly, her legs barely obeying her. He didn’t sit opposite her where the wide table separated them. No. He chose the chair next to hers, their seats angled slightly toward each other. Close, intimate and deliberate.
He rested one arm on the back of her chair, not touching her but close enough that she felt a hum of tension along her skin. She could smell his cologne. It smelt clean, masculine, expensive. Nothing about him looked impulsive. Every movement felt intentional.
“So,” he began softly, folding his hands. “You reached out. You said you needed help.”
Her chest tightened. Hearing him say it made the situation feel even more real, more humiliating, yet more urgent.
“I… I didn’t know who else to message, sir,” she admitted, lowering her eyes. “My tuition is overdue. If I don’t pay by next week, I will be sent out of the program.”
He nodded slowly.
“Public Administration, right?”
She blinked.
“You… remember that?”
“I remember everything I read,” he corrected, but there was a glint in his eye that said it was more than that. “You want to finish school. You are trying to support yourself. You are alone.”
The last word hung heavy.
Lena’s throat tightened again, but she forced herself to breathe.
“Yes,” she whispered.
His gaze softened, but not pity, something else. Interest. Awareness. A quiet calculation.
“How much do you need?”
She hesitated. Saying the amount out loud felt like opening herself, exposing the weakness she had been trying to hide.
“Four hundred and eighty thousand dollars,” she murmured. “It covers the fees and the hostel balance.”
He exhaled slowly. Not surprised, not irritated, but just thoughtful.
“And what brought you to message me specifically?” he asked, tilting his head slightly.
Her cheeks warmed.
“I… you helped someone I know before. And I thought maybe… maybe you were kind enough to consider helping me too.”
“Kind,” he repeated, a faint amusement in his tone. “Is that what you think I am?”
She opened her mouth, unsure if she should agree or apologize, but he leaned in, close enough that she felt his breath brush her cheek.
“I’m not usually described as kind,” he murmured. “But I am… generous. When I choose to be.”
Her pulse stuttered.
His knee brushed lightly against hers, barely, but enough to send awareness shooting up her spine. She inhaled sharply, gripping her handbag tighter.
“Relax,” he said softly. “I’m not here to frighten you.”
He leaned back, studying her with a slow, deliberate gaze.
“Let’s talk about what you need,” he continued, voice dropping to something deeper… smoother. “And what I might want in return.”
Her breath caught.
The air between them shifted, warmer, heavier, charged.
That was when Lena realized she wasn’t just asking a man for help. She was stepping into something far more complicated. And far more dangerous.
“Wha… what could that be?” She asked.
He laughed shortly.
“Seriously asking me that, Lena?”
She shrugged her shoulders.
“Yes, because I don't know what you might want.”
He laughed again.
“That someone you know I helped, didn't you inquire from her?”
She sighed deeply. Well, she did. No, she didn't inquire, it was her who spilled it. She gave him her body, and he helped her with money. She sighed again.
“Okay. She did tell me.”
He smiled.
“Nice. So, are you in? I will be giving you a million dollars after you f**k me well,” there was a mischievous grin on his lips.
Her breath hitched. What? A million dollars? She never would let this pass her by.
“I will, Mr. Lawton.”
The grin on his face deepened.
“How well can you f**k, Lena?”
She smiled.
“Or rather, how long can you last, Mr. Lawton?”
He laughed.
“Ohhh! I'm loving this. You will see. Take off your clothes, I want you to go completely naked!” He said.
She dropped off her bag and sprang to her feet.
“Hey. I want you to peel off your clothes slowly, one at a time. I want to watch,” he said and sat back into his seat, loosening his tie.
“Mmm,” she smiled
seductively, biting her lower lip and winking at him.
“Hmm. I'm definitely going to love this,” he said as he sat and watched.
- Writer
