PAID FOR IT, mileven.

conflict.

"did you see the tattoos on that girl's tits? they were like flowers and her nipples were the center," dustin henderson practically moaned from his spot across the table.

mike rolled his eyes, already regretting the decision to meet dustin and lucas for drinks. of course, it was dustin's turn to pick the place and he picked the exclusive members-only bar with topless waitresses.

lucas huffed a laugh before flicking his eyes back to his best friend. "you ignored my question. what happened?"

the young CEO of wheeler investments grumbled silently, picking up his almost empty glass and draining it of its last sip. "what do you mean 'what happened'? the same fucking thing that always happens. i fucked a chick, and she posted an instagram reel bragging about it to her tens-of-thousands of followers. she wanted her fifteen minutes of fame, and she got it," he said with an unamused shrug.

his only lifelong friend that wasn't ogling the waitresses shook his head. "you sure can pick 'em, my friend."

"oh, fuck off. at least they're bragging about taking my dick," mike snapped back just as he caught the bartender's eye and signaled for another drink.

it was then that dustin tuned back into the conversation. "wait, who's taking your dick?"

"the instagram models," lucas said with the same cheeky grin he gave his opponents on the court after he'd scored against them.

mike glared coldly across the table, not caring that lucas was a pro basketball player and had a few inches on him. "it was two instagram models, the other three were real models. one of them was a supermodel, thank you very much."

"are we talking about the supermodel that talked about you being kinky in an interview?" dustin asked, still a little confused but trying to catch up. "or the italian one with the mole above her lip?"

"the one that talked about me in the interview," mike replied through gritted teeth.

"you know what you need?" lucas leaned forward, a newfound gleam in his dark eyes.

mike couldn't look less interested even if he genuinely tried. "what?"

"you need a contract, an NDA."

mike laughed. "lucas, i'm a multi-billion dollar business man. you don't think i've tried that? they never want to sign it. girls don't want to fuck unless they can tell their friends, which is fine. my issue is when they want to tell a trashy tabloid or worse, their followers."

lucas nodded. "so pay them to sign it."

he snatched up the fresh drink as soon as a topless waitress set it in front of him. "i'd like to think i have a few more years before i start having to pay for sex."

the basketball player laughed, nodding. "ok, fair, but you're not paying for sex. you're paying them to stay quiet." he got no reaction. "i'm serious, man. look, i know someone who could find you a chick that—"

"whoa, whoa, whoa— what do you mean you know someone?" mike sat forward. "you've paid for sex?"

"not sex, discretion," lucas corrected lowly. "back when cassandra and i broke up and she wanted to keep it out of the press until she got her versace contract, a teammate hooked me up with a girl whose silence could be bought. it worked for me. i got to fuck someone without worrying about her blasting it around town, and plus, the sex was phenomenal. she was kinky and flexible as shit."

"and what? now, you want to pass your kinky, flexible leftovers to me? i'm touched, man, but i'm gonna have to pass," mike said, not hiding his disturbed expression.

lucas's nostrils flared, "hell fucking no. you're not touching her, but i know she has friends in similar... fields."

"you mean your paid girlfriend knows other call girls?" the CEO taunted him, picking up on the protectiveness lucas had for his mystery girl.

"she's not a call girl, asshole," he bit back.

"wait, lucas, do you have a girlfriend you're hiding from us?" dustin asked, slowly but surely catching up.

mike corrected him, "a paid girlfriend."

"i don't pay her," lucas objected. "not anymore, at least."

"ooh, i sense a story," dustin cooed, placing his fingers in his temples. "come on, tell us. you know you want to."

lucas rolled his eyes. "it's max."

mike cocked his head back. "max? wait, you pay max?" he questioned, thinking about how many times he'd seen her at lucas's apartment or how many times he brought her around.

he knew the two weren't exclusive, but they definitely had something going on.

"i used to, back when we first met. it's different, now. i'm on the road a lot again, so i can't see her much. i still send her checks, but she doesn't ever cash them. it's kind of messy, now, but that's my own fault."

dustin frowned at the obvious sadness taunting his friend's confession.

"gotta be honest, you're not really selling me on the call girl thing," mike said, breaking the ice and earning a glare from lucas in the process.

"would you rather continue having your sexual preferences discussed in an influencer's comment section?" he reminded.

mike cringed at the thought. he didn't want to admit it, but lucas was partially right. he was tired of thinking he found a normal girl to share a night (but just one) of hot sex with just to get a call from his personal assistant asking if he was aware of the tummy-tea promoter discussing his dick size online.

people even made "thirst edits" of him using his pictures from the forbes 30 under 30 shoot he did last fall.

he asked, "how does it even work? i would just meet up with this is chick once a week to fuck and send her away with cash? discretion or not, that sounds like prostitution."

dustin nodded. "it kind of does, yeah."

"it's not prostitution, and it works however you want it to. i paid max monthly, and we saw each other as much as we wanted. our deal was pretty simple, but i'm sure being the acclaimed business man you are, you'll have your list of terms and conditions and contingencies or whatever the fuck."

his brows furrowed. "do you even know what a contingency is?"

lucas ignored the comment. "do you want me to ask max about it or not?"

"what if i sign this contract with this girl and then our sexual preferences don't even align?" the black-haired man prompted.

"then the contract would be terminated. either of you can terminate the contract whenever it stops benefiting you. but don't worry, i'll make sure whoever max suggests is compatible with a kinky fuck like you."

mike turned the idea over in his mind, considering if such an arrangement was really necessary. at first, the girls blasting the details of their sexual exploits to the public was just an annoyance but he knew he was developing a reputation for something other than owning and operating the top investing firm in the midwest — and he hated it.

his father's passing left him with a shell of a once-successful company at the ripe age of 22, and in just four years, he's revived it and turned it into something his father never even dreamt of. it was worth billions.

he was worth billions.

yet he was about to agree to pay a woman for sex in exchange for her discretion.

it felt like a joke.

"fine," he resolved. "i'll try it."

note: hello! i've got lots going on at the moment, but i've been trying to write i promise! i'm so appreciative of the support i've gotten on this book already. thank you guys, i'm so glad you're excited! i promise that mike and el will meet next chapter!