It was a question I was shocked to be asking myself, which meant I needed to step lightly. All of this was fake. Phillip wasn’t actually my fiancé, and none of this would go past the week.
The car came to a stop, and a thought dawned on me. Maybe it was an ethical decision. Maybe Phillip had a moral code against sleeping with professionals like myself. I couldn’t really blame him. It was my job to court men around. In his eyes, I was probably used goods. Damaged, in some way.
Damaged. That was a good word for me.
“Welcome! I didn’t expect the two of you until dinner, but this is perfect timing. Come, come, let me show you the estate,” Cristoff said.
He opened up my car door and held out his hand to help me out. I was glad for the distraction. The last thing I needed to be doing was analyzing my client on why he wouldn’t sleep with me. It would only have me traveling down a rabbit hole that would make me feel sorry for myself. I forced on a smile and got ready to play pretend, watching as Phillip got out of the car. I slipped my arm into his and smiled kindly up at him, watching as he greeted Cristoff with a firm handshake.
“Your property is beautiful,” he said.
“Let me show you around. I can give you the lay of the land, then the two of you can get settled in your bedroom,” Cristoff said.
I watched Phillip’s face pale a fraction, and it made my heart sink. Was it really that terrible to share a room with the likes of me?
Cristoff walked us up the steps and through the massive double doors. It dumped us into a foyer with two massive staircases on either side of the room. He walked us straight through, showing us where the indoor pool was as well as the hot tub and sauna. He showed us the sprawling kitchen where his personal chef was already preparing for dinner, and he told us to help ourselves to anything we could want. The library really caught my eye, however. Floor-to-ceiling walls with staircases to get to multiple levels of books, two fireplaces to warm the room along with comfortable seating delicately placed alongside coffee-brewing stations and miniature bars.
It felt like something out of a fairy tale.
“I’ll show you around the rest of the grounds later on, but I want to show the two of you to your bedroom. You’ll go up these flight of steps and walk all the way down to the door in front of you. I’m sure it will be a comfortable stay, especially since that particular room has a private terrace view of the backyard. You’ll be able to see the stables, the running horses, the tennis courts, and the beautiful Vienna sunset from there,” Cristoff said.
He grabbed the doors and threw them open, and I tried to hide my astonishment. He really wasn’t joking. There was a massive four-poster bed with sheer curtains hanging down around it. The french double doors led out onto a massive terrace with wrought iron furniture fit for seating an entire family. I slipped from Phillip’s arm and walked over to the door in the corner. I opened it and gazed into the most incredible bathroom I had ever seen. There was a stone walk-in shower, a deeply carved onyx-marbled bathtub with jets, a double vanity with every single want a person would need access to in order to make themselves presentable, and the softest towels I’d ever seen.
I was almost afraid to touch them.
“Well, I can see where you might be spending your time,” Cristoff said.
I turned around and smiled at him before I put on my best charming smile.
“Your generosity is too much. Thank you for such lovely accommodations,” I said.
“Only the best for potential business partners. Phillip wined and dined me in his finest establishments whenever I traveled to see him. It is only fair I return the favor, especially when his lovely fiancée is in tow,” he said.
I slid by Cristoff and brushed my hand against him, gracing him with a small, thankful touch. Men like him enjoyed thanks like that. And I figured it would bode well for buttering him up more once Phillip opened his mouth about business. The second I stepped into the bedroom, however, I picked up on how nervous Phillip was. He kept staring at the bed, like he couldn’t believe the two of us would be in it.
“I’ll leave the two of you to settle in. The driver should be bringing your things up soon, and dinner will be ready at six. And just to let you know, no one else will be around you during the evenings. Mine and my wife’s bedroom is actually on the first floor on the other side of the estate. So, don’t worry about enjoying yourselves.”