“No, it’s ok. I don’t want to force her out into a hostile environment. Besides Trish has found a jogging buddy and they’ve become fast friends. I just asked as I don’t understand why she was put into the situation in the first place.”
“I think you should ask her yourself. She just arrived with Trish,” Thomas smiled then it slipped from his face. “I think they may have injured themselves when they went jogging this morning.”
Ben looked over his shoulder and spotted the two ladies. They were indeed walking tenderly. Only he knew it had nothing to do with the jog.
His face warmed up and he waved them over. He flagged a waiter who slid a two seater table up against theirs. Trish eased herself down on the bench next to Ben and Rain carefully sat on the chair.
Rochelle was supressing her laughter. She knew exactly what this had been caused by and Ben’s blush confirmed it. Susan’s eyes were twinkling and she had the faintest of smiles on her lips. Rochelle wasn’t sure what that meant.
Trish stuck her tongue out at Rochelle which caused her to snort and spray crumbs from her muffin across the table. Thomas leaned back in surprise but the crumbs never made it to him. Rochelle gasped.
“Oh! I’m so sorry!” Rochelle said.
“It’s ok. You didn’t get me,” he said with a grin.
“I think you two should skip the ride this morning,” Ben suggested.
Rochelle leapt from her chair and rushed away towards the rest rooms with her napkin held over her mouth as she lost control of her laughter.
Thomas watched Rochelle leave with a puzzled expression and turned to look at Ben whose face was red and he was avoiding his eyes. He looked to Trish who was smirking after her fleeing friend. She looked to Thomas and opened her mouth to explain.
“Trish!” Ben growled and she shrugged at Thomas.
“How would we go about cancelling the ATV’s for Trish and Rain?” Ben asked trying to change the subject.
“Uh, I think Style was arranging it. You’d have to speak with him. I think I saw him over by the far side of the dining area as we came in.”
Ben nodded and stood up to go find Style. If he remembered from the previous night the man was short and had a beard. He looked around and spotted a table of six of the crew. He recognized Killah, Night, the one Rochelle called Millionz, and Style. He wasn’t sure about the other two. He walked up to the table.
“Good morning!” Ben said in greeting. He received several nods from the others but Killah returned his greeting. That done he turned to Style. “Excuse me, Style?” the man turned in his chair to look up at him. “Trish and Rain are not up to joining us for the ATV ride this morning. We’ll need to cancel for them.”
“Boca’s coming,” Night said.
Ben looked over at the man. “Rain’s not well enough to handle the ride.”
“Not your call. She works for us. Boca comes.” Night repeated coldly.
Ben looked at Night who stared back at him, daring him to start something. Ben looked at the others and they were all looking uncomfortable. Night snorted dismissively and went back to eating his breakfast.
He had no desire to get into a pissing contest with the punk so Ben walked back to his table. Rochelle was sitting next to Thomas and she spotted the frustration on Ben’s face immediately.
“What’s wrong?” she asked.
“I asked Style to cancel the ATV tour for Trish and Rain and Night told me Rain had to come. I explained she wasn’t well but he told me it wasn’t my call and that she was going.” He looked over at Rain and she glanced back nervously. She was almost panicked. Thomas had a sour look on his face. “What the hell is going on? Why is everyone so scared of him?”
Thomas answered. “He’s an old… friend of Danny’s and… he gets his way. I don’t know why Danny defends him. He’s bad news, especially with women.”
“Rain, you don’t have to go. They don’t own you,” Ben said.
“Ben, I’m broke. I spent a fortune on my education but no one will hire me! I’m buried in debt! I need this paycheque! Yes… they do own me!” Rain said, a tear welling in her eye.
“How much is your student loan? How much are they paying you for this trip?” Ben asked.
She looked at him bleakly. “I owe a little more than $82, 000. They’re paying me $15, 000 to stay with the crew through the entire tour. I just have two more weeks to go then I get paid.”
“How long have you been with them so far? Do you have a written contract?”
She looked at the table. “Three weeks. No, just a verbal one with Dream’s manager.”
“What do you do?” Thomas asked as his curiosity was driving him mad.
Rain glanced at Trish. “Physical therapy,” she muttered.
“A euphemism for fluffer,” Trish said.
“Trish,” Ben admonished her with a frown as Rain bit her lip in pain. He knelt down next to Rain’s chair. “Listen to me. I’m willing to buy out your contract. It’s not California but I have a friend who’s a hospital administrator back home. I’ll give her a call and ask if she has any openings or has contacts that can find you a job. You’ll have to prove yourself to them and you’ll likely start at the bottom. I can also offer you a place to live while you pay off your debts. I’m renovating a house for my daughters and it will have extra rooms in it. Help around the house to keep it clean and that will cover your rent. Trish lives a few doors over so you would have a local jogging partner. What do you say?”
Rain looked into Ben’s eyes in shock. Her mouth opened then closed. She looked at Rochelle’s smiling face then to Trish who grinned at her.
“Say yes!” the redhead pushed.
“The-the catch?” she stuttered quietly.
“None,” Ben said looking her straight in the eyes.
Rain struggled to swallow then looked at Ben cautiously. “If you’re buying out my contract, what do you want me to do for it?”
Ben looked at Trish. “Keep this one out of trouble while we’re here,” he said with a smile.
“Hey!”
Ben caught Rain’s eyes again. “Seriously, I’m not expecting you to do anything except keep us company. I wouldn’t mind picking your brain about some psychology questions I have. What do you think?”
An enormous smile burst across Rain’s face and she nodded quickly as tears pooled in her long lashes. Ben gave her a hug and she was trembling. He pulled back and smiled at her.
“I’ll speak with Dream and let him know.” He looked at Thomas. “I assume that’s who I should speak to.”
“I have no idea. Sorry,” Thomas shrugged.
Ben stood up and made his way back to speak with Style. He saw Dream standing next to the table with La’Shia. Perfect.
“Good morning!” he said with a smile and the couple turned and greeted him in return.
“I wasn’t sure who to speak to about this but I assume you have a direct line to your manager. Rain won’t be continuing on with your group.”
“THE FUCK YOU SAY! THE BITCH WORKS FOR US!” Night yelled and stood up to glare at Ben.
“I do say as she no longer works for you. She works for me,” Ben replied calmly as he looked Night in the eye. He saw the man wasn’t totally stable. That could be a problem. Night stormed out of the restaurant as the group watched nervously. They cast warning glances at Ben.
He turned to address the couple once more. “This is better for everyone involved as she wasn’t happy and many of your group weren’t happy she was along. We discovered last night that she had nowhere to sleep. Trish and I let her use our sofa bed.”
“If she wasn’t happy why did she take the job?” La’Shia snapped, upset at how bad it made them look that one of the people they were responsible for had been neglected.
“Student loans. She’s been unable to get work in the field she studied for and she’s drowning in debt.” Ben replied. La’Shia’s face showed her surprise. “It wasn’t work she wanted to do but the payout would have made a big dent in her debt.”
“If she quits, she doesn’t get paid,” Dream said stiffly. La’Shia looked at him in surprise.
“It was a verbal contract between her and your manager giving her no protection to get paid at the end at all. She must have been pretty desperate to take the job.” Ben sighed. “I told her I would buy out her contract. She can earn her money by keeping Trish company on her jogs. I certainly can’t keep up with the woman. I’m going to try to get Rain a job in her field when we get home and she can stay in a spare bedroom of the house I’m renovating for my daughters.”
La’Shia stared at Ben. “Why are you doing this?”
“Why wouldn’t I? She’s an investment in the future. Filling the world with smarter, happier people just makes sense doesn’t it? Isn’t that a world you want to live in?” Ben asked.
“You gonna pay off her debts too?” Dream blurted angrily.
Ben stared at the man for a moment. “No. She’ll pay off her own debts. She incurred them. By paying them off herself she’ll earn a huge amount of self-respect. I’m just giving her the opportunity to succeed on her own.”
La’Shia was glaring at her fiancé. “What is wrong with you?”
“Ben disrespected Night.”
“If you can explain to me how freeing a woman from indentured servitude disrespects the man, I’m all ears,” Ben said to Dream. He just scowled at Ben, pulled his arm from La’Shia’s hand and left the restaurant, presumably to find his friend.
Killah stood, walked over to Ben and gave him an evaluating look. “A word of caution. Watch your back. Night’s a crazy motherfucker. And dangerous. He’ll get payback.”
“For what? For preventing him from treating the woman as his personal sex slave?” Ben said in frustration. The big man looked him in the eye and nodded. Then he headed back to the buffet.
Ben looked at La’Shia who was still watching the door Dream left through. He turned to Style who was watching him nervously. “As well as Trish and Rain, you can cancel for me as well.” Style just nodded.
As Ben turned to head back to his table La’Shia placed a hand on his arm. She had a pained expression in her eyes.
“I didn’t understand until just now why Trent hired Boca.”
“Rain,” Ben corrected.
“Sorry, Rain. The ladies we invited along for the tour are in relationships with the crew or are friends. None will go near Night. Rain must have been hired for him as she… couldn’t refuse.”