The Cunning (18+)

9

"I can't believe you're getting her special bread," Sam muttered. Jase tapped ash from his cigarette out the car window, staring at the shops across the road.

"She has an intolerance. It's like I wouldn't give one of the girls with a nut allergy a fucking Snickers. Stop making a big deal out of it."

"Or she's seeing what she can get away with," Sam said. Jase didn't react. If Madison thought she had the upper hand because he had taken her dietary requirements into account, she was profoundly mistaken. He was only out to make his own life easier. If she wanted to eat weird textured bread to prove some point, that was her choice. Sam continued. "Especially after all she got was a telling-off for what she did to Charlie." The mental playback of Madison cracking Charlie in the face made Jase chuckle.

"Was a fucking good head butt, though," he said, looking at Sam, who allowed a smile to creep across his face. None of them liked Charlie. He was loud and boastful and twice as arrogant as anyone Jase dealt with regularly. It made it easier to let Madison's actions slide.

"That's beside the point," Sam said, all serious again. "She's already too big for her boots."

Jase sighed. "Her bark is bigger than her bite. You didn't see the look on her face when I took her upstairs." Even the blush on her cheeks had paled when she realised she was in trouble.

Sam grunted, and Jase flicked his cigarette butt, getting out and heading into the shop. He returned with the cheapest loaf of gluten-free bread, tossing it onto Sam's lap as he settled back into the driver's seat.

"When are you going to give her a customer?" Sam asked.

"As I said, when she's less aggressive," Jase replied, pulling away from the curb.

"Some guys like aggression." Jase hummed a short laugh, as if it were a light-hearted joke, but didn't say anything else on the matter. The less attention Madison got, the better.

Benny would soon pump her with all sorts to chill her out if she carried on. Jase didn't want to have to resort to that. She had made it clear she would throw him under the bus if she thought for a second it would benefit her. Thinking up a more substantial reason why he wasn't making her work was proving difficult. Benny would start getting impatient. Jase needed to convince Madison that bringing up their encounter wasn't worth mentioning.

When they got back to the house, he took her fresh toast.

"It's gluten-free bread," he said, sliding it on the drawers and leaving without another word. They'd already had too many interactions. She was getting too comfortable around him for his liking.

*

"We had a call for Madison today," Benny said, rolling a joint as Jase entered the living room.

"And?" he asked. Benny looked at him as he licked the paper, folding it over.

"He wants to know when he can come and see her."

Jase dropped into his chair, taking his phone out and feigning nonchalance as he thought on his feet. Benny wasn't as simple to placate as the others. He would need a better reason than her explosive temper for why Jase wouldn't have her work yet. That wouldn't bother Benny. He'd have her tortured into submission.

"When she's eighteen," Jase replied. Benny studied him with beady eyes.

"What do you mean?" he asked, his face pinched with pending disapproval. Jase lifted and dropped one shoulder. He had known Benny for years. The mere insinuation of acquiring more money had never failed to grasp his attention.

"Unless he wants to pay another twenty bags." Benny's brows twitched with interest. "Think about it," Jase said, "he paid us to get her here, not her services. And he lied about her age. He told us she was eighteen. You know there's more risk taking girls under eighteen. Besides, if he's paid that much for one girl, why not make him pay a bit more? He's eager enough if he's calling us." Benny cocked his head. Jase milked the situation for all it was worth. "We keep her untouched for him until she's eighteen or, he pays more to get her now."