Elizabeth Finn: The Devil’s Pawn

To Georgia, thank you for being my very first fan and taking a gamble on this story. LSB has been a joy to work with. What an awesome experience.

The dark-eyed man looks me over slowly from top to toe. I’m too terrified to look at him, but as he finishes his tour of my naked body, I can feel his eyes penetrating mine. His gaze is unrelenting, and as the other two men who just entered the room with him look me over and then ignore me, he continues to keep his eyes trained on me. My own, however, are glued to his shoulder, where I can see him watching me, but safely avoid the hatred that seethes from his face.

Mr. Grayson, the man who brought me to this interview room ten minutes ago before ordering me to strip, then follows the three men in and closes the door behind them. He finally asks me to sit. I turn to find my seat, and my head moves back around to the waiting group as I lower myself to the chair. I make the mistake of meeting the dark-eyed man’s gaze. As my eyes lock on his, it is the last semblance of control I have over them for the entirety of our meeting. I’m caught in his view, unable to look away but not wanting to hold his eyes. He’s terrifyingly beautiful, but harsh. His eyes are dark and piercing. His expression is hateful. He does not like me, and he is making it well understood he is no friend of mine.

When he breaks my gaze, it is only long enough to glare at Mr. Grayson, but I take the opportunity to suck in a deep breath of relaxing air, hoping desperately to regain my bearings. The other men are blessedly ignoring me. Why on earth will he not do the same? I pray quickly that I won’t end up working for this man. The fear would be paralyzing. Why should I assume so much about this man that I don’t even know? The expression in his eyes is harsh and demanding. He doesn’t like me, of that I’m certain, and as his eyes return to mine, I realize quickly my assumptions were correct.

“This must be a fucking joke.” His eyes hold mine as he insults me to my face with no regard for my dignity whatsoever.

Mr. Grayson laughs easily before he responds, “On the contrary. It is no joke. She is our newest employee, and one of you will need to make room for her on your floor.”

Dark-eyed man snorts derisively as my gaze flits away from his quickly, managing to find a moment’s reprieve from his glare.

But Mr. Grayson isn’t done speaking. “Oh… and another treat.” He’s being sarcastic. “She’s a virgin.” His smile says, “eat shit,” to the dark-eyed man.

I can see Mr. Grayson is enjoying dark-eyed man’s resentment at my presence. And while I can’t possibly understand the dynamic of this group, it would seem Mr. Grayson’s taunting hatred is being saved solely for the dark-eyed man. The other two men are calm and, for all intents and purposes, bored.

Mr. Grayson continues with a glint in his eye directed toward dark-eyed man. “So what do you say? Who wants her?”

Mr. Grayson eyes the dark-eyed man, challenging him to respond, and dark-eyed man wastes no time. “Not a chance. I’m not interested in raping virgins.”

“No one forced her to be here.” Then, turning his eyes to me, Mr. Grayson asks, “Are you here of your own accord, dear?”

I nod, letting my eyes drop to my lap quickly. The dark-eyed man snorts, and as my eyes dart to him, I regret it instantly as he pins me to my chair with his searing stare once again.

For the first time, the dark-eyed man speaks directly to me, and I instantly wish I could disappear. “You’re here to pay a debt, I assume?” I nod, and he continues. “Is this debt your own?” I shake my head, and he continues again. “Whose debt do you carry?”

“My father’s,” I whisper at a nearly inaudible level, but the men sitting in front of me hear me just fine.

They all continue to look at me steadily while the dark-eyed man holds my eyes, refusing to let go of my gaze. “And your dear father, where is he now? Prison, abandoned you perhaps?”

I continue to look into the bottomless pits of his eyes, powerless to look away, but my voice is stuck in my throat, refusing to come out. This man is dangerously close to my secret, and I’m not sure I could deny him the truth if he asked for it.

After long seconds of waiting for my response, he snaps, and I jump. “Speak!”

“Dead…” My eyes finally drop from his, unable to hold his stare any longer.

But I can feel his eyes still on me as I gulp deep breaths of air, begging my body not to turn into a quivering leaf in front of these men. My skin prickles in goose bumps at his intrusive stare, but I’m frozen in place, unable to move, much less look at him. Mr. Grayson offers a less than sincere apology as I nod imperceptibly.

The dark-eyed man finally pulls his eyes from me and speaks to Mr. Grayson, blessedly leaving me alone for the time being. “No one is here of their own choosing, least of all her. And in case you haven’t noticed, she doesn’t belong here.”

My eyes flit up to him before I can stop them, just to see that he’s returned his gaze to me and has abandoned his comment to Mr. Grayson.

But Mr. Grayson hasn’t given up the conversation, and his next statement stops any further argument on the matter. “Well, Derek, I’m so sorry you feel that way.” The feigned sympathy is an obvious insult without a shred of authenticity. “I don’t really feel like juggling women around between the floors, and as the only man here with an opening on his floor, she’s going to be your responsibility whether you like it or not. Do us all a favor and try not to take your disappointment at my decision out on the poor girl.”

Mr. Grayson eyes the dark-eyed man, Derek, coolly; he’s enjoying his torment. As I watch the dark-eyed Derek return a glare filled with hatred and loathing of this man, it becomes quite obvious these two men are not friends. Derek continues to eye Mr. Grayson with a venomous glare for many long and uncomfortable moments, saying nothing at all.

Finally, Mr. Grayson gives one final order. “You’ll have six weeks to get her ready for the floor, and I expect you to do just that. Fuck her, train her, break her in. I expect her working and making money in a month and a half.”

Dark-eyed Derek will indeed be my boss; my worst nightmare has just come true. The other men return their eyes to Derek, who is now seething with hatred not only for me, but Mr. Grayson as well. I stare at his shoulder, unable to look up at his eyes, which have now returned to me.

Mr. Grayson stands and approaches me, leaning down to my ear, and as he turns his head to meet Derek’s eyes, he speaks in my ear. “Now let’s see that pretty little pussy of yours. Scoot your bottom to the edge of the seat and lean back in the chair.”

Terror sets in as I slowly fight my willpower and force my body into position. I have no idea what Mr. Grayson has in mind, but I’m already utterly naked and exposed, and I can’t imagine how much more terrifying this situation can get. I find out soon enough it can get a whole lot worse.

As Derek continues to glare, Mr. Grayson continues speaking in my ear, “Now open your legs wide and spread your cunt lips for Derek. Let him see what he’ll be working with.”

I hesitate. Of course I hesitate! This is what I signed up for, but I can barely breathe, let alone touch myself the way he’s asking. Derek continues to stare at me with not so much as an inkling of interest in my body, but a small universe of hatred boiling behind his eyes. When I fail to heed Mr. Grayson’s request, Derek snorts a derisive snort at him before continuing to hate me with his eyes.