The Invitation (2 page)

The doorbell
chimed a second time and Nancy opened it, feeling very much like
this was all a dream.

“Miss Nancy
Cooper?” asked the tall good looking man who was wearing a
chauffeur’s uniform, complete with dinky little hat.

Nancy
nodded.

“Your transport
awaits.”

I can’t
believe this,
she thought, following the driver to the waiting
black limo. He opened the passenger door for her and she got
in.

The man didn’t
speak to her throughout the half hour drive, he didn’t so much as
turn round to look at her once. The drove passed the city border
and out onto the winding countryside roads. The further away from
the city they got, the more nervous she became.

At last the
limo indicated left down a narrow gravel road that was nothing more
than a dirt track. They rounded a corner and a mansion loomed
ahead, invisible from the main road.

The sun was
setting behind it, lending it a foreboding air. The house was big
and square and looked like a stately home or some kind of
institution. Or something straight out of an eighties horror film.
All it needed now was a thunder storm and it would be perfect.

“This is where
Jasper Sharpe lives?” she said stupidly.

The driver
acted like he didn’t hear her.

They parked on
the forecourt, adjacent to the large water fountain with the
obligatory naked female stone statues.

She sat dazed
on the backseat, not trusting her legs to carry her. The driver
opened her door.

“Follow me
please.”

She did, and
stood shivering on the wide porch, despite the warmth of the summer
evening.

Jasper Sharpe
opened the door and the driver seemed to melt away. The sight of
him knocked her breath out. He looked more devilishly handsome than
ever. He wore a dinner jacket and looked every inch the perfect
gentleman. But a gentleman that was as hard as nails and as cold as
ice. James Bond meets Dracula, she thought wryly.

“Nancy, I’m so
glad you could make it tonight, please, come in.”

The opulent
hallway overwhelmed her for a moment and she realised her mouth was
hanging open like a gormless idiot.

“You have a
beautiful home.”

“Thanks.
Unfortunately I’m not here much. I love the north of England but I
spend most of my time in London because of work.”

Her heels
clicked loudly on the highly polished wooden floor as she followed
him down the long hallway. Large oils hung from the walls, mainly
hunting seats and some old looking portraits. An elaborate
chandelier hung from the ceiling that dazzled her with crystal
light.

He opened a
door on the right and stepped to one side to allow her to pass.

Now she really
had to control her mouth and stop it from hanging open. The room
was beautiful. Big and grand, it oozed money old and new. It was
almost the size of a ballroom, at the centre of which was a massive
and long, highly sheened table with places set for six. The biggest
chandelier Nancy had ever seen hung from the ceiling and ornate,
vintage furniture was artistically placed throughout the room. A
chaise-lounge here, a Chesterfield sofa there, elaborately
patterned rugs that she was sure had to be the real deal from
Persia.

In the few
seconds it took for her to grow accustomed to her opulent
surroundings, she was oblivious to the fact she was not alone.

It was only now
she noticed the four other women who had previously been
overshadowed by the sheer size and grandeur of the room.

They were all
dressed up like her. More so, in fact. They huddled together over
by the bay window, and all three of them had turned to look at her
expectantly.

Are there only
four of us here? This is too damn weird…

“Come and meet
the other guests,” Jasper said, leading the way.

“Ladies, I’d
like you to meet the fourth and final contestant, Nancy Cooper.
Nancy, this is Jennifer Brown, Abigail Welch and Julie
Perkins.”

They all
murmured their greetings, and Nancy forced herself to remember
their names by attaching it to their hair colour. She had a feeling
that it was important to remember their names. This was a ‘game’
after all.

Jennifer was
easy to remember because she bore a striking resemblance to
Jennifer Anniston, complete with the famous long haircut from her
earlier days. Abigail was a tall and top heavy redhead and Julie
was a petite blonde.

OK, so Abigail
red, Julie blonde and Jennifer Anniston. Got it. I hope.

“Shall we sit
at the table? Drinks and snacks will be served before the games
begin.”

Jasper took his
place at the head of the table, Nancy and the Jennifer Anniston
lookalike sat to his right, blonde Julie and red headed Abigail sat
to his left. Even with five of them round the table, there was room
for ten more.

For some reason
this made Nancy feel suddenly very alone and scared.

“Welcome to my
home, I am thrilled you could all make it tonight,” Jasper said, an
unholy sparkle in his pale blue eyes.

Movement on the
other side of the room caught Nancy’s eye and she and the other
four woman swivelled their heads to look.

Nancy instantly
recognised the woman carrying a wine bottle in each hand. On her
feet she wore thin high heels and her blonde hair was styled in the
same smooth updo she had worn yesterday at the interview.

And that was
all she wore. Her nude and tanned body glistened under the bright
light of the chandelier and her little breasts jiggled as she
walked.

Nancy caught
the eye of blonde Julie sitting opposite her and saw she looked as
shocked as she felt.

The woman
stopped at Jasper’s side.

“Red or white?”
Jasper asked Nancy who was sitting closest to him.

“Red,” she
replied, her voice catching in her throat.

“Pour the lady
a glass of red, Slut.”

Slut? Did he
just call her Slut?

Nancy watched
dumbfounded as the woman filled her glass with red wine. Jasper
repeated the question to each woman until every glass was
filled.

The woman set
the bottles down in the middle of the table and resumed her
position by Jasper’s side.

“As I was
saying,” Jasper continued to his stunned audience. “I am so glad
you could all make it tonight. As I made you all aware during the
interview, there will be games at this party. What I didn’t tell
you is that there is also another quarter of a million pounds at
stake. Only one of you will walk away with a million pounds but
everyone at this table will probably leave with a fair few
thousand. If, of course, you play the game to my satisfaction.”

“This is
seriously fucked up,” muttered petite blonde Julie.

“I’m sorry my
dear, did you say something?”

Julie blushed
to the roots of her loosely held up platinum hair.

“It’s just
weird that’s all. I don’t get why you’re doing this,” she said,
voicing everybody’s unspoken thought.

“It’s really
quite simple. I believe that deep down, every last one of you is a
whore. I believe that all women are slags and every female has a
price. And breaking down a real woman is so much more satisfying
than paying a professional, like my good friend Slut here.” He
smacked the naked woman hard on her backside. “This is a woman who
will do absolutely anything I ask of her, she’s the best and most
highly paid whore in the business. And as pleasurable as that is,
it’s not as fun as having a real woman bending to your will.”

“You are sick,”
said the outspoken Julie. “You can’t go around talking to women
like this. I’m outta here.”

She stood up
abruptly, scraping her chair backwards.

Nancy
wholeheartedly agreed with her. She was about to stand up with her
when Jasper got to his feet and banged the flat of his palms on the
table.

“Listen up and
listen good,” he said directly to Julie. “You are free to leave at
any time but hear this. I will pay you two thousand pounds in cash
right now if you touch Slut’s nipple for fifteen seconds. And then
you are free to go if you still so wish.”

Nancy watched
the indecision flash across the young woman’s face.

“Are you
serious? All I have to do is touch her nipple and you’ll give me
two thousand pounds and then I’m free to leave immediately with the
money?”

“Yes. And just
one other small thing. During that fifteen seconds I can say
whatever I want to you and you are not allowed to answer me back.
Back chatting me will result in you getting no money.”

“OK, fine, I
can do that. And then I’m gone.”

“As you wish,”
Jasper said with a self-satisfied smirk.

Nancy had heard
enough and stood up.

“You’ll have to
forgive me Mr Sharpe, but I find this whole thing distasteful. I
know the fact I came here in the first place says a lot about my
character, but at the same time I’ve seen enough. I don’t want any
part of it.”

“So you don’t
wish to help your Mother?”

“You’re a
bastard Mr Sharpe.”

“And you, my
dear, are a slut. I will give you three thousand pounds if you stay
and watch Julie touch this whore’s nipple. At least that will pay
for your taxi home.”

He was right of
course. She hadn’t even thought of getting home again, a taxi from
here into the city would cost a fortune.

Come on
Nancy,
she thought.
He’s offering you three grand to watch
her touch the woman’s nipple…

“OK, OK, I’ll
watch. And then I’m gone.”

“Whatever.” He
turned his attention to Julie, leaning nonchelently back in the
chair. “Do it, bitch. On your feet.”

Nancy watched
Julie bristle at his words, at the way she physically had to hold
down her retort.

She got to her
feet and stood before the naked woman. She reached out to touch the
woman’s nipple, grimacing as she did so whilst holding her hand
completely still on the woman’s breast.

“Good little
whore,” Jasper said. “It’s no wonder your husband left you and took
the kid with him. How old is your little girl now? Why, two years
and seven months I believe. You’re a lousy Mother and your daughter
is better off without you. You might intend to use my money to get
her back, but you don’t deserve her. I bet you’d let me bend you
over the table right now and nail you in the arse if the price was
right.”

Julie had
turned a darker shade of pink but she didn’t break contact with the
woman’s breast. Nancy felt sorry for her, suffering through
Jasper’s attempts to verbally humiliate her. She watched her
counting silently beneath her breath and Jasper laughed softly.

“Just remember
my little slag, don’t backchat me or you won’t get paid. Time’s up,
you can let go now.”

Julie’s hand
withdrew at lightning speed from the woman’s chest, a disgusted
look on her face.

“I’d like my
money now Mr Sharpe. Please.”

“Me too,” Nancy
added, standing up.

“Of course
ladies.” He turned his attention to the naked woman. “Fetch the
suitcase Slut.”

The woman
elegantly crossed the room, her heels click-clacking on the wooden
floor. She retrieved a black leather suitcase tucked next to the
large bookshelf in the far corner of the room and made her way
back.

Jasper took it
from her and laid if flat on the table. The lid pinged open,
revealing a pile of banknotes secured together with elastic bands
in neat little wads.

He took out
five wads and handed two to Julie and three to Nancy.

“Each wad is a
grand. Count it if you wish.”

Julie and Nancy
both opened up their handbags and placed the money inside.

“Shall we call
a taxi?” Nancy asked the blonde.

“Sure,” Julie
said, smiling back at her.

Conscious of
every single pair of eyes on her, Nancy began to walk on unsteady
legs towards the door with Julie just a few steps behind her.

“Wait,” Jasper
called out.

Nancy
froze.

No,
she
thought, her heart sinking down to her elegant spiked heels.
Whatever you’re going to offer me, just no. This isn’t me, I
can’t do this…

“Six grand each
if you both stay for another half an hour. You don’t even have to
do anything, all I request is the pleasure of your company. All I
ask is for you to stay and be an observer.”

“That’s all we
have to do?” Julie piped up instantly. “All we have to do is stay
for another half hour, do you give your word we don’t actually have
to do anything?”

There has to be
a catch, I don’t believe him. I want to go home.

But Nancy
remained stood half way across the room, torn between doing what
was right and the desperate greed stirred up within her at having
such vast sums of money in such easy reach.

“You have my
word. All I ask is that you don’t backchat, I won’t pay if your
mouth gets smart. So what do you both say? Nancy?”

He said her
name so softly it made her shiver. She just looked at him, never
having felt so torn in her life.

“Fuck it, I’m
in,” Julie said, obviously having no such dilemma because she had
already resumed her place at the table.

Sighing deeply,
Nancy made her way back over. For a brief second a look of relief
passed over his face like a cloud, but just as quick it was gone
again and Nancy thought that maybe she had imagined it.

But a sixth
sense warned that she was getting special treatment, that for some
reason he had singled her out.

The thought
chilled her.

She sat down
again at the table and the Jennifer Anniston lookalike next to her
glared at her.

What’s
rattled her cage,
Nancy wondered. Then the red headed girl
called Abigail who was sitting opposite her spoke up, answering her
question.