He was holding court with three people in business attire, but he was in a pair of shorts and a tee shirt, sipping a beer like he was on vacation. An open box in front of him contained one remaining dessert of some sort. These Instagram people obviously knew his weakness and had brought him something special.

He was going to rot that smile right out of his mouth with his sweet tooth. How did he maintain his physique on that much sugar? His whole life seemed like a vacation from reality.

When we got to the table, everyone stood up and Asha made the introductions, pointing me to the seat on the couch next to Alex Chase. The vibe between us was charged with tension, but I greeted him warmly, conscious of the fact we had an audience.

Asha gestured in my direction, but leaned in and spoke in a hushed tone. “This is on the DL, but you guys should keep an eye on Elena here.”

Three heads swiveled to me with calculating interest and carrion smiles.

“I thought she looked familiar,” the guy on the left exclaimed. “You’re from—” He snapped his fingers like he was trying to recall where he’d seen me. I saw the moment it clicked for him. “From that video! You’re the infamous Lady Elena!”

The looks on their faces had changed now they recognized I was a sex worker, but if anything they looked even more eager to capitalize on my fifteen minutes of fame.

Asha whispered with conspiratorial glee, “We’ve been keeping it secret until it’s all announced, but she’s got big things coming down the pipeline so you guys should talk.”

She was good. From her tone, even I felt like I had just landed a TV show, though nothing like that had been discussed yet.

“I’m pretty proud of her.” Alex weaved his fingers into mine, gazing at me adoringly.

The three suits glanced at each other, understanding gleaming on their faces. I fought the urge to swat his hand away, and I swore he knew. His thumb stroked my wrist gently, as though soothing me.

Condescending fucker.

“Thanks, darling,” I cooed with an equally saccharine smile. I reached for the last tiny cake he’d saved and popped it in my mouth with a flourish. Theft had never tasted so satisfying.

He grinned, watching my mouth with fascination as I chewed.

“Here, you’ve got a little…” He reached for my face. I was positive there was nothing there, but he swiped the corner of my bottom lip with his thumb.

Biting an A-lister at the Chateau Marmont was most likely frowned upon, so I resisted, giving him a look that promised retribution without dropping my smile.

“Well, we’ll leave you to it!” one of the Instagram guys said, jumping up. “But here’s my card. We should set up a meeting.” He held it out to me and I smiled graciously and tucked it away as they said their goodbyes to the others.