Sabrina backed away and reached for the door. “I’d better go.”
She first thought nobody had heard her and pushed down the handle, but Daniel jerked around to her.
“No, Holly, you’re staying. Audrey is leaving.” His voice was commanding.
“I can’t,” Sabrina pressed out and ran out the door.
“Holly, come back,” Daniel’s voice roared behind her, but she ran for the elevator, which opened miraculously. The doors closed before he could reach her.
In the lobby, she didn’t care that the staff gave her strange looks when she ran out the door. She had to get away. She wasn’t Holly, and she wasn’t made for this. She had promised herself that she wouldn’t get hurt, but she knew she had. She had to leave before it got any worse.
Daniel was just another man out for some amusement, cheating on his wife or girlfriend. He’d probably lied to her when he’d said he’d never been with an escort. Most likely, he did this on every business trip.
How could she have let her guard down and trusted him with her body the way she had? And what was even worse: with her heart. Her emotions had been along for the ride, all the way. She should have never given into Holly and substituted for her. This wasn’t her world, and now she had the wounds to show for it.
When Sabrina reached her apartment, she ran into her room and shut the door before she allowed the tears to run down her face. Holly knew her well enough to leave her alone until she was ready to talk. This time she wouldn’t talk. She couldn’t tell anybody about the shame she felt or the hurt in her heart.
Why had she let this happen? She should have quit while she was ahead. After the first night with him, she should have never gone back. She felt like a gambler in Las Vegas who’d won big the first night and then gone back to put all her chips on the table the next night and lost it all.
She’d let her guard down and allowed him to come close, not just sexually, but more so emotionally. Maybe there wouldn’t be the embarrassment this time since she’d never see him again, but it didn’t diminish the pain she felt. This hurt more than what had happened to her in law school.
It was a relief when sleep finally claimed her and stopped her mind from clicking.
***
Daniel’s night wasn’t quite over yet. Audrey was in hysterics. When she’d realized that her seduction efforts didn’t pay off, she’d tried the tearful route. This time it wouldn’t work on him. She might as well talk to a stone statue.
“I’m not listening to any more of this. It’s time for you to leave.” He’d had it with her. She’d completely destroyed his perfect evening with Holly and caused her to run out on him. He wanted nothing more to do with Audrey.
“What does this little tramp have that I don’t?” she provoked him.
Daniel gave her an angry glare. “She’s not a tramp!”
“She must be. This is your third night here, and already she’s sleeping with you. Only a whore would do that!”
“Who the hell are you, calling her a whore? Are you any better? No, your price is just higher. But you spread your legs for a man just as quickly if he’s got enough money or prestige and you think you can get him to marry you. Don’t think you can stay on your high horse and look down on other women.”
The shocked look on her face told him she hadn’t expected his reaction.
“So don’t you call her a whore! She’s got more honesty in her little finger than you can muster in your entire body. And yes, I’ve been sleeping with her. And I’ve never had better sex in my entire life. And I’m going to go right back to her. You and I were over the minute you jumped into bed with Judd. Go right back to him, and see if he can make you happy. ‘Cause I’m not interested.”
By now he was fuming. Not only did it hit close to home when she’d called Holly a whore, but in that instant he’d realized that he didn’t care if she was a whore or not, he just cared about having her back in his arms. At least, Holly was honest about selling herself, which was more than could be said for those society whores, who pretended to be so high and mighty but sold themselves for another currency: power, prestige, and a rich husband.
“Get out!” Daniel snapped, and Audrey finally seemed to see the rage in him. Yes, she should fear him, because if she kept him from Holly any longer, he’d forget his good upbringing and toss her out of his room without the benefit of clothes other than the ones she wore at present.
Less than a minute later, she’d grabbed her suitcase, thrown a coat over her negligee and stomped through the door he held open for her. He’d never seen her act this quickly on anything.