The Neighbor [The Complete Collection] (24 page)

Janey was just relieved that she had a friend in the room. She didn’t know what Malcolm’s intentions were, or how he would be able to help her if that was in fact what he was here to do, but it was still a comfort that he was there.

—I’m sure you’ve told all your associates about us, Ben said to Malcolm.

—I have indeed, Malcolm said. They’re very excited, I assure you.

—Well, we’re very excited too, Ben said. It’s been an absolute honor and privilege to get into business with you folks.

—Glad to hear it, Malcolm said.

Janey wondered what they were talking about. She had no idea Malcolm new Ben. She wondered when that had happened. Had he known Ben when he fooled around with her in Henry Walden’s house? Was there some sort of set up here? Were Henry and Malcolm in on all of this with Ben?

She thought back to all the times she’d been with Henry, the time he’d filled the swimming pool with roses, the care he’d taken of her in the hospital, and she refused to believe that he was in on some sort of arrangement with Ben. She had to believe that Malcolm was here to help her, to rescue her, and that Henry had somehow sent him.

—Well, Ben said, feel free to inspect the goods.

—Certainly, Malcolm said.

He addressed the two women.

—Ladies, would you please turn around for me?

Suzy turned around so that she was kneeling on the sofa with her back to Malcolm. She leaned over the back of the sofa and pushed her bum out toward him, giving him a good view of her bottom. Janey followed Suzy’s lead and adopted the same position.

—Open up for the man, Luke said.

They both grabbed their buttocks and pulled them open, allowing Malcolm to see their assholes and vaginas from behind.

—Perfect, Malcolm said. This is going to be perfect.

—Ok, Ben said. So we’re on?

—Yes. Definitely.

—So is everyone going to come here?

—That’s the next thing I wanted to discuss with you, Malcolm said. Our owner has a party planned downtown tonight. He was wondering if we could use the girls as entertainment there.

Ben looked a little surprised by the request. He looked at Luke. Luke gave a small shrug.

—We thought everything would be happening here, Ben said, hesitantly.

—Yes. Of course. Ordinarily we’d be more than happy to come here. It’s just, tonight is a special situation. We have some very important clients to entertain and we’d love to have these two fine ladies present.

—I don’t know, Luke said. We haven’t sent the girls out before. We usually like to be present when they’re on display.

—Yes, I completely understand. It’s just, tonight is a very important night for Northrop. Mr Walden has made this request personally. I can also assure both of you that you are more than welcome to attend the function. In fact, Ben, you should be there in any case. If you’re going to be handling our legal work, you should get to know as many of our clients at first hand as possible.

Janey watched the exchange with interest. It seemed Henry Walden was behind Northrop, which was the amazing new client that had propelled Ben to such rapid success in his firm so recently. That
was
news! Whatever was going on, she began to get the feeling that Ben was getting in beyond his depth. Not only had Henry sent someone here to look out for her, but he also seemed to be the one behind Ben’s big deal. That changed things. That gave Henry all the power. Ben’s whole business would be in jeopardy if Henry was able to pull the strings on the Northrop deal!

Janey felt a flutter of excitement. Could this really be happening? She’d known Henry wanted to look out for her, but had he actually gone to such lengths as this? Was he pulling all the strings?

Even just the mention of his name seemed to change things for Luke and Ben. They were beginning to look a lot more amenable to the idea of this party now that his name had come into the equation. They also seemed somewhat excited at the prospect of being invited along to the party too.

—Ok, Ben said. I think we can make this happen. We had better let these girls get upstairs and get rested. I imagine they have quite a night ahead of them.

—They certainly do, Malcolm said. But I want to take them now. I’ll show them around Walden’s mansion, let them know what we’ll be expecting from them, show them where they can rest and get dressed. That sort of thing.

—And what about us?

—Yes. You two arrive at eight. That will allow you to get acquainted with the lay of the land before the other guests arrive. It will also give you, Ben, a chance to talk business with Henry. I believe he wants to increase the business he gives you.

—Already? We haven’t even started work on his file yet.

—Yes. He said you guys might even want to consider opening an office in Albany to service his needs.

—An entire office?

—A small one, but yes. He’ll tell you all about it himself, Malcolm said.

Janey could see the cogs of Ben’s greedy mind working already. Opening a separate office in Albany, that was too much. That was beyond his wildest dreams. Not only was he going to be a partner, it looked like he was going to become one of the most important partners in the whole firm. He’d be head of the long sought after Albany office. Janey knew that was what Ben was thinking.

She just prayed that it was all a ruse. She prayed Malcolm was here to rescue her, and not to make Ben’s dreams come true.

VII

S
UZY AND JANEY WERE SENT
upstairs to dress before leaving the house. They didn’t have much time to talk. Ben stayed downstairs with Malcolm, obviously excited about all the news he’d just received. Luke came upstairs with them. They didn’t take off the leather straps but they put on the silk negligees from the night before. There were also some warmer cotton gowns that they threw on over the negligees for warmth.

—You two do exactly what these guys want, Luke was saying.

—Don’t worry, Suzy said, giving him a naughty grin. We’ll do exactly what they want.

—But don’t give away the entire show before I get there, Luke said.

—Of course not honey, Suzy said.

—I don’t want to miss the party.

—You won’t, Suzy said as she tied the robe around her waist.

When they were both dressed, Luke brought them back down the stairs. Ben was still talking to Malcolm, explaining all the exciting plans he had for the work that Northrop was sending his way. Malcolm seemed to be humoring him, nodding politely and listening to everything Ben had to say.

When he saw the girls come down the stairs he smiled at Janey. She smiled back, a brief, unnoticeable smile. It was the first time she’d smiled since leaving the hospital. It was such a small gesture but enough to reassure her that Malcolm was in deed there to help her. They got ready to leave the house with Malcolm.

—See you boys at eight, Malcolm said to Ben and Luke.

Suzy and Janey followed him out to the Mercedes. He held the door for them, letting them into the backseat. He went around to the front and got in the driver’s seat. He started the engine and began turning out of the driveway. The car moved slowly but steadily along the driveway, passing the trees and bushes that had been so terrifying to Janey the night before. She felt the tension in her muscles and the fear in her chest dissipate as they drove away from the house, but it wasn’t till the car got back onto the highway that she could actually breathe normally. She’d been so worried that something was going to happen before they reached the highway that would halt their escape.

Out on the highway, Malcolm turned to them.

—It’s so nice to see you again, Janey, he said.

Janey couldn’t even put into words how much of a relief it was to see him. She just smiled. Suzy looked at her, daggers in her eyes. This was the first moment that she realized Janey knew Malcolm. She didn’t understand how that was possible. This was Janey’s first time being let in on the swinging activity and she shouldn’t have known any of the men that came by. Suzy didn’t even know Malcolm. How could Janey?

—Is that heat enough for you both? he said as he turned up the dial.

—Yes, thank you, Janey said.

As the car wound through the forests outside the city, Janey began to feel an enormous weight of oppression lift from her. It was as if the world had grown brighter. She finally felt safe. After all that had happened to her in the past few weeks, and especially since she’d left the hospital the day before, she began to feel that she was finally climbing out of the dark pit she’d been in. She felt as if she was escaping Ben’s clutches.

Suzy brought her back from her thoughts by nudging her lightly.

—What the hell’s going on? she whispered to Janey.

—Don’t worry, Janey said, doing nothing to keep her voice down. Malcolm is a good friend of mine. He’ll take good care of us.

Suzy looked worried. She was beginning to realize that she’d been outplayed. She was used to being the one with the upper hand. She’d enjoyed watching Janey squirm. Well, now it was her turn for a change.

Malcolm drove them through Troy and onto the I-787 towards Albany. They got off at the South Mall by all the grand state capital buildings and turned onto Washington Street. It was an impressive neighborhood filled with state and federal buildings, public institutions, and headquarters for important companies. A few blocks farther, just past the Albany Institute of History and Art, the car pulled up to a set of high, metal gates. A guard in a little cabin nodded at Malcolm and the gates opened automatically.

—What is this place? Suzy said.

Janey had no idea. She’d never been there or anywhere like it in her life. It seemed like the entrance to a hotel. The driveway was lined with iron lamps and small, carefully pruned shrubs. The car pulled up to the steps of an enormous mansion and a uniformed guard opened the car door for them. Malcolm left the engine running for the guard to take the car away and led the two ladies up the steps and into the entrance hall of the mansion. It was the grandest, most fabulously decorated building Janey had ever seen. It was like a grand hotel.

—Where are we? she said to Malcolm.

—This is all Walden’s, he said, simply.

Janey looked at Suzy. Suzy didn’t have a clue what was going on. It was obvious she’d never been anywhere like this either. She was more used to being fucked in public parking lots, it seemed. Unfortunately, that was all Janey had been used to lately too.

They walked up through the hall and through a doorway to a large drawing room. Sitting at a chair by a fire, reading a heavy, leather-bound book, was Henry.

As soon as he saw them he got up from his chair. He looked straight into Janey’s eyes.

—At last, he said, affectionately. I’ve been so worried about you.

VIII

J
ANEY COULDN’T HELP HERSELF.
When she saw Henry Walden standing there, looking kindly at her, she burst into floods of tears that she just couldn’t stop. She’d been through so much, she’d suffered so deeply and been so afraid for her safety, that seeing him now was just too much. Even just looking at his face made her feel safe and secure.

As he came over to her and took her in his arms, she wept openly. Suzy watched the whole thing with a growing sense of unease. This wasn’t at all what it was supposed to be. The kinds of men who usually took her away did not save women. They abused them. This was the last thing she had expected and the last thing she wanted.

—What the hell is going on? she demanded.

Henry and Malcolm looked at her as if she were an intruder at a private family reunion.

—Ah, yes, Henry said after a minute. The
other
woman.

—What is this? Suzy said, sounding increasingly desperate.

She looked around the room, as if seeking some means of escape. In this place, surrounded by a high fence and guarded gates, she was unlikely to find one.

—This is probably not something you’d want to be a part of, Henry said to Suzy. Might I suggest that you go wait somewhere else. Somewhere that you might be more comfortable.

—What are you talking about?

—We have rooms here where you’ll be more than comfortable.

—I’m not going to any rooms. I want to leave this place right now, Suzy said.

—I’m afraid you’ll have to wait a few hours, Henry said. We’ll let you go soon enough. It’s just that we have some unfinished business with Janey’s husband and we wouldn’t be very happy if you were to let the cat out of the bag, so to speak.

—What the hell is going on here? Suzy said, angrily. You can’t keep me here. It’s kidnapping.

Henry waved a hand in the air and in an instant, two men in uniforms came into the room. Janey couldn’t tell where exactly they’d come from, they must have been waiting for a signal. The men took Suzy away and she seemed to go quietly enough. She was reluctant but she didn’t have much of a choice.

—Where are they taking her? Janey said.

—Just to one of the guest rooms, Henry said. We’ve got dozens of them here. Hers won’t have a telephone.

—Well, it’s more than she deserves, Janey said.

Henry nodded.

—In any case, she’ll be out soon enough. I just don’t want her warning your husband before we get a chance to confront him.

—Confront him?

—Yes. I mean to confront the brute about the way he’s been treating you. First, though, I imagine you’d like to freshen up.

Janey very much wanted to freshen up. She felt exhausted. Henry had another servant come and escort her to a fabulous suite. Not only did it have all of the comforts that she could have asked for from a room, but it also seemed to have been fully stocked with clothes that were in her size. Henry sure didn’t do things by half measures. When he meant to look after someone, he thought of everything that they might need.

She took a quick shower and retouched her makeup. The bathroom was fully equipped with any cosmetics she might have needed. She took off all the leather straps. The one on her neck was difficult to remove but with the help of a mirror she was finally able to unclasp it. She put on some jeans and a sweater from the clothes that were in the closet. They were nothing fancy, but good quality. There was also a selection of shoes and she put on some loafers.