Chapter 26

When I opened my eyes, Scarlet hovered above me. I was a huge mess. After Syl left, I took to finishing an entire minifridge of beer. I was on the sofa in the lobby, where I greeted Jasper Lang yesterday.

“I’m sorry, Miss Piper. I didn’t mean…”

I held on to her hand and pulled myself up. “It wasn’t Jasper Lang. It was that man who was with him.”

She sounded relieved hearing my voice, but‌ she was concerned about me. I felt hungover from the drinking.

“Do you have any bookings today?” I asked, to her surprise.

“No, not until the late afternoon today. It’s a workday for most of them, so I don’t expect many. Since Jasper Lang had his fill, he shouldn’t be coming any time soon.”

“If that is so, I’ll head home for a rest. Can you help me tell Kaiser when he comes in?”

“Mister Kaiser is already downstairs, waiting for you.”

I almost jumped at her answer. I quickly ran, ignoring the aches in my abdomen, until I reached the reception area. Kaiser had his handsome face in a grimace, as something had infuriated him.

“Kaiser…”

He took a whiff of the alcohol in my breath, and inspected me with his eyes. But he wasn’t ready to reveal his emotions in the office where he could receive judgement from his employees.

He looked away and faced Sky.

“Why was I not informed of yesterday’s incident?”

“Sir, Miss Piper didn’t feel it was necessary because of how unwell Scarlet was. Due to the time constraint, she decided to take it into her own hands.”

Kaiser remained cold as he made his statement.

“Sky, you know the rules of KK Sols. Punish Scarlet for her negligence. If she cannot handle a client, she should have rejected the appointment at her cost.”

I said nothing. He was going to have Scarlet flogged. It was mentioned as one of the solid rules in my contract. The other option he mentioned was reimbursing the client for being unable to take the appointment, but the fine was one month of her salary. I chose to substitute her for her duties because I knew how well she needed money.

Kaiser was not one who would sympathise with any of his employees, especially when it involved me. We signed an irrevocable contract for two years to work for Kaiser. She was only seventeen and had no knowledge of the harshness of working as an escort. 

As a result, I couldn’t beg for him to be lenient. He was already being kind when he announced her punishment.

“Whip her naked twenty times, Sky.”

“Yes, Sir.”

The gleam from Sky’s eyes told me he was used to administering such punishments. But being that baby faced eighteen-year-old gave him a benefit. Scarlet and Shen often fooled with him after work hours. Perhaps his relationship with Scarlet would allow him some forbearance on her punishment.

Sky vanished up the elevator. From the silence of the office, I could hear the loud swishes of the whip and Scarlet’s whimpering after each stroke.

After the fifth stroke, Kaiser stood up and removed his jacket, wrapping me with it. The faux fur warmed my body, carrying the smell of his expensive cologne.

“Let’s go, Piper.”

“Where to?” I asked, but he guided me out of the office. The glass doors opened, allowing us our exit. He bundled me into his sports car and immediately started the engine with a push of his finger.

“My condo.”

“Condo?” I was bewildered that he wasn’t taking me to the hotel as usual.

“Yes, it’s time for you to meet my secret life,” he said gravely. “You’ll understand once you see it with your own eyes.”

I nodded and closed my eyes to relax during the long journey. It felt like he was driving forever. The car eventually stopped at one of the condominiums by the sea, after a large signboard with the words ‘Aqua Fantasy’. I almost thought I was dreaming. 

He smiled and tapped on the elevator with his keycard. I realised there was a photo of a woman pasted on the keycard. The first question on my mind was who she was, as well as her connection with Kaiser. Not that I was jealous, but after being with him for a month, I felt strange that he had a woman in his life. He appeared the most cold and emotionless person I had ever encountered, yet was the most experienced in bed.

“She’s my mother, Estella.”

“Your mother?”

I wasn’t expecting that he would be the type who actually thought of his own family. I had never heard Kaiser mention his family before, nor his parents or any sibling. If not for Gri, I would have reckoned that he was an orphan. I myself was an orphan. I never knew my father, as my mother had been a dancer and stripper. But she eventually abandoned me to her brother and his wife. 

In the end, I grew up in a family environment that was very open. My uncle never bothered about the boys his daughter brought home, leading to my openness to sex. I had my first encounter at sixteen years old, and we had slept together on our first date. The cycle continued until I had eighteen failed relationships, and I eventually met Syl. Jacques was my final relationship. 

If I included Kaiser and the VIPs I had brought in, the number would just continue increasing.

“How many people are there in your family?” I probed further after he answered in the affirmative.

“My father died a long time ago, and I grew up having my mother and Gri. Her father is dead as well. I have a younger brother, but he was lost at a young age. We found some traces of him ten years ago, but following that, he seemed to have wiped them out.”

I didn’t know what to make out of my discovery. I never understood what it was like to have a family, only how I was misled by a b*tch for the past five years to treat her like a sister. I felt betrayed by Sherry that I wished that I could only wring her neck with my bare hands. But thinking about Andrew just made me stop dead in my thoughts.

“Would you like some help?”

“Piper, I… I suspect he’s with Lenard Lee.”

I never heard Kaiser stammer in his speech before. He must have not wanted it to bother me in my current state.

“We’ll bring them down and find your brother,” I reassured him. He took my left hand.

“Thank you, Piper. If I may ask..”

He was pausing for the second time. I nodded. 

“Yes, you may.”

“Yesterday, what actually happened? I know it wasn’t Jasper Lang, but rather, the man he brought with him that made you upset.”

“He…”

“His name is Sylvester, isn’t he? He hasn’t appeared in Darkside for very long. I have my mind to teach him a lesson.”

“But, he’s a member…”

“He’s only a doctor with a business in Darkside. He has no right to hurt you like he did.”

My body jolted up at the mention of Darkside. He had a business there? But why?

I thought of the new tattoos he had on his chest and it made me ponder further. What had Syl fallen into during these three years that I was gone, that led him to be acquainted with Jasper Lang?

Even if I didn’t end things properly with him, it was three years. He should have moved on. I assumed he ended things with his ex-wife from their conversation last night. Jasper had implied Syl’s ex-wife had debts with him. Why the closeness with a man like him, and what had driven Syl into operating at Darkside?

Was there more to it?

I felt Kaiser’s hand on my back. He tapped my back gently.

“Piper, let Shen attend to him. If he dares lift a finger on you again, I won’t let him off.” I nodded.

“I’ll do as you say.”

It made little difference since Syl wasn’t signed under my QR code, but rather, Jasper’s. Sky had ensured that. He wasn’t my obligation to handle.

“Come inside, and I’ll draw you a bath myself.”

Me? Kaiser was going to prepare the tub for me? I couldn’t believe my ears. Whether he was the boss or my secret lover, it was perplexing for me to even think I wasn’t dreaming. He led me to the wall of his bathroom and dimmed the lights. 

Inside the bathroom, I saw maybe half a dozen lighted red scented candles, seemingly taking the weight off my body as I took a whiff of the invigorating fragrance of the room. He pinned me against the wall, moving to unbutton my clothes. I was still in the uniform yesterday and my breath reeked of beer, but he didn’t care.

“Kaiser, I’ll… I’ll take a bath first.”

It was my turn to stutter, but he just pulled my clothes off and crashed his lips against me. Kaiser lifted me up and carefully set me down in the bath, before taking off his clothes. I let out a soft moan, knowing it was natural.

He slipped inside the tub after me, and the rest was history because the passionate sounds of our lovemaking overwrote whatever happened before that, as waters splashed around us, creating a wondrous mess in the bathroom.

An hour later, he scooped me up and carried me in a warm towel to his bedroom.  

“Baby, welcome to my world,” he whispered, but it wasn’t long before he was inside me once more, wiping my worries from my mind.

My past with Syl appeared to be buried deep in the back of my head as I opened myself up to him.

I embraced my life now. I was Kaiser’s woman.