82

Ava sat, newly showered, in her robe on her bed and waited. The lock clicked, and the door opened. Jacob walked into her room carrying a mug and a box.

“This is for you,” he told her and handed her the mug.

“Thank you,” she said out of pure habit and started blowing on the hot beverage as she enjoyed the smell of coffee. “Do I need to drink it straight away?” she asked. Ava knew she would scold her tongue and probably her throat if she tried to force it down while hot.

“No, you are allowed to drink it while you get ready, but don’t do anything stupid,” he told her. She nodded. “I’ll place this here. You have an hour to get ready,” he said. He placed the box on the bed next to her, took one look at her, and smiled. “You look really pretty like that.”

“Eh, thank you,” Ava said.

“See you later,” he told her before he left. Ava took her mug into the bathroom and placed it on the counter, taking a small sip of it. It tasted better than any other coffee she ever had. She knew it was just because she had been depraved of all tastes for weeks. At the moment, instant coffee would have tasted divine. She walked back into the bedroom and opened the box. Inside there was an assortment of makeup, black stiletto heels and a blood red dress. The model reminded her of the dress she had worn when she met Johnson for the first time. But this was not as high quality, at least it would cover all the important parts. There was a thong at the bottom of the box, the same colour as the dress. Ava sighed and got ready while slowly sipping on her coffee. The caffeine and milk gave her a little boost. She tried to put colour back on her face with makeup. She tried to make her hair look bouncy and healthy, but it was only so much she could do. Finally, she got dressed and put on her heels. She looked at the stilettos. At least I’m not completely without a weapon, she thought. When she was done, she sat down to wait again. Her stomach was filled with a mix of coffee, nerves and fear. It wasn’t a pleasant mix. The lock clicked and Johnson came into the room. He looked at her as she stood and smirked at her.

“I knew it would be the right dress for you, pet. Now come along, we have a busy evening ahead of us,” he told her. Ava tried to keep even pace with him as he walked through the mansion. She recited every rule a pet needed to abide by in her head and tried her best to do so. Now was not the time to defy Johnson. She could play his submissive and obedient pet for now. They came down into a hallway and Ava saw Jacob standing there next to the same big man who had been in Zane’s office. Jacob looked at Ava in a way that made her very uncomfortable.

“You look beautiful, Ava,” Jacob told her as his father and her approached him.

“For fuck’s sake, boy. Don’t,” his father said with a heavy sigh before Ava knew what to do.

“What?”

“Just don’t. Not her, not again. It’s enough that you swoon around the other pet like a sick little puppy. Don’t get attached to this one. This one is mine,” his father told him.

“Oh,” was all Jacob said. Ava noticed the big man rolling his eyes at his boss’ son. Ava had already guessed the men of this organisation couldn’t possibly respect someone like Jacob. He had a hard time holding his mask in place. He was too soft, too unintelligent and, somehow, still not really kind. The four of them walked out to the car. Jacob and the gigantic man got into the limo first, Johnson then signed for her to get in. Ava didn’t know if she should sit on the seat or on the floor. She took the safe route and sat on the floor next to the empty seat where she assumed Johnson would sit. Johnson got in and gave her an appreciative look. She had guessed right. Ava turned her eyes to her hands in her lap. She already felt exhausted from walking the short way to the car. Ava needed the energy to make it through the night. She couldn’t afford to lose focus. But she didn’t have any reserves left, she just had to make do with adrenaline.
After a long ride, most of which Ava couldn’t see, as she didn’t dare to lift her eyes from her lap, they stopped and Johnson got out. Ava followed and found herself in front of a brownstone. It looked respectable, and Ava wondered who they were visiting. As they entered, she got a shock. The brownstone was not a single unit like she had thought from the outside. All the apartments had been combined and walls had been knocked down to create an open floor plan on the lower level. There was a bar at the back, gambling tables in another direction. Tables, chairs, sofas and armchairs stood scattered throughout the room. Everywhere sparsely clad women were cosying up to men in suits. Some of the things she saw happening in the room were things Ava tried to block out. She stayed half a step behind Johnson, flanked by Jacob and the mountain of a man, and tried to make sure she looked down at all times.

“Johnson!” someone shouted in a jovial greeting.

“Grant, nice to see you,” Johnson replied. “Fuckin’ idiot,” he then muttered under his breath. A smirk appeared on Ava’s lips and she quickly whipped it off. Zane would never sink to the level of buttering a man up that he detested. Johnson didn’t seem to have a problem with it, Ava noticed as they made their way around the room. She could feel the stares from the other men. She could hear them asking Johnson about her and Johnson telling them she was his newest pet. Everyone seemed to know it meant he didn’t want to share her, for now.

“Johnson, honey,” a voice called. Ava recognised the voice. She couldn’t place it, but she knew she had heard it before.

“Jaz, I have a bone to pick with you,” Johnson said, his voice sweet as honey, but there was a bite to it. Jaz? Did Ava know anyone with that name?

“Well, I can always make time for the big boss,” the woman purred. Ava heard the clicking of heels, and soon a pair of silver stilettos appeared in her field of view.

“Not here. Let’s head for a room,” Johnson told the woman. They all walked away and headed upstairs. A man opened a door, and they stepped into a room which reminded Ava of the VIP room at Zanes club, only a cheaper, sleazier version of it. It had a large couch in leather shaped like a U and two tables. There were pillows and blankets and the room smelled of sex and bodily fluids. Ava scrunched her nose as she followed Johnson to the couch. He sat down on it and Ava, very reluctantly, sank down on the floor. She had just got clean, now she felt almost as dirty as after three weeks in the small room.

“What did you want?” the woman’s voice asked. It didn’t sound as silky smooth anymore and there was a clear tone of impatience in it. Ava still felt like she knew it from some place, and she dared a glance at the source. Ava immediately recognised her. It was Jasmine, Zanes’ previous pet. Last, and only, time Ava had seen her, Ryder had been carrying her down the stairs, kicking and screaming. At that moment, Ava knew who the informant was, and she was furious. Zane had taken this woman in to his life, he had let her spend his money, he had let her into his bed and even given her an allowance when their contract ended. And what did she do? She turned around and betrayed him. Ava had never felt such a powerful urge to hurt someone in her life.

“Your info, it didn’t pan out,” Johnson told Jasmin.

“Why do you say that? I saw it with my own eyes he had moved her into the room next to his, and Olivia swore she saw him treat her as his girlfriend,” Jasmin said. Olivia, Ava thought, and added the second woman to her list.

“Well, the two of you obviously don’t know what the fuck you are talking about. I have had her for three weeks. I have sent two emails with her being mistreated. And still the fucker has done nothing, not even raised an eyebrow as far as we can see.”

“Who the fuck knows how his brain work. I only interpret the info I have and hand it to you. All signs he cared for her were there,” Jasmin whined.

“I made you madam because of that juicy information. Now I don’t have the information, but you have a job. Do you think that is fair?” Johnson asked. Ava could hear he didn’t think it was fair at all.

“I never made any promises, Mr Johnson. I only told you what I had seen and heard. That’s all,” Jasmine tried. Ava didn’t think that would work with Johnson. He didn’t seem like the kind of man who accepted excuses like that.

“Do you think you can fucking charm me? You little whore, do you think you will smile and I will go all soft?” he growled as he shot up from the couch and grabbed a hold of Jasmin’s hair. Jasmin whimpered and Ava sat perfectly still, looking at what was happening without making it obvious.