Master of Lust

72  Laying the Pitch

Chapter - 72

"Your offer is really too good. But who says we can't mix business with pleasure?"  Rick scratched his head, and spoke with a heavy heart.

I mean, come on, ten million dollars! You don't say no to that unless you're Scrooge McDuck, or well, poor as dirt, like Rick's bank account. And even if you're not scraping pennies together, ten million is like hitting the jackpot. McDuck, who won't even let go of a penny, might even kill for that ten million. But wait for it, because here comes the kicker. He had to say bye-bye to that mountain of moolah. Why? Because the system waved something in his face that's rarer than finding a four-leaf clover – Experience Points.

So there was nothing else to discuss. The more he drags this out, the guiltier he would feel as conversation went on. [

1. Tell Evelina. You want to fuck her. Straight and simple. (Temptation + 10)

2. Try to set up the mood. Compliment Evelina (Temptation + 5)

]

"Let me be clear with you, lady," Rick was done playing coy. He stared right into Evelina's eyes and spilled the beans, "I want you. I want to fuck you. Here and now."

Evelina was caught off guard by the sudden boldness,  her eyebrows shooting up to the moon. Even her poker face couldn't hide her surprise, "This is so unexpected..."

But before she could finish her sentence, Rick interrupted, a determined look in his eyes, "Wait, just hear me out. I've got an idea."

As Rick made his audacious proposal, the forest seemed to hold its breath. Evelina's eyebrow arched in surprise, and she couldn't believe her ears. It was so out of the blue.

Rick, however, wasn't backing down. He had a proposition in mind and he was ready to sell it.

Evelina still looking a bit bewildered, finally gave a hesitant nod. "Alright, you better have something good up your sleeve to explain this absurdity."

[

1. Offer Evelina a deal, against saving her. (Temptation + 10)

2. Plead her to have sex with you. (Temptation - 45)

]

'So she is a business woman. Profits and Losses.' Rick was enlightened. n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

Rick leaned in, keeping his voice low and conspiratorial, "Listen, lady, I've got an offer for you. I'll be your knight in shining armor, save you from that old man, and keep you safe from any harm. And in return...well, you and me, we are going to get down, real down."

Evelina's expression morphed from surprise to full-on skepticism as she processed Rick's wild idea. She was one tough cookie and not someone who'd be easily swayed. Her voice had an icy edge as she replied, "So, you're basically asking me to trade my safety for...well, selling myself to you?"

Rick, not the least bit fazed and sporting a hint of amusement, shook his head and decided to clarify his peculiar proposal. "Nah, not quite, Evelina. Think of it more like a survival strategy. It's either we both go down with the ship, or you let me, well, scratch my itch, and we both get to sail to safety. The choice is yours."

"I can't believe you're actually suggesting this," Evelina grumbled, struggling to wrap her head around the audacity of Rick's plan. She questioned him with disbelief, "So, you're saying you can only save me if I... do that? That's just absurd."

"You really think that makes any sense?" Eveline asked, she could not believe Rick's guts to actually say that.

Rick shrugged and continued with his unique logic, "Well, you see, look, my powers are kinda unique. They're fueled by, well, uh, doing 'that thing.' I don't know why we're tiptoeing around the word 'sex.' You are over 18, right? But yeah, that's how I managed to fend off those weaklings back there."

"I arrived in this forest after, um, some serious, vigorous workouts in the boudoir, a serious, good few rounds of pounding the hole, and it gave me the energy I needed to survive. But now that I've used it all to save you, I need to... replenish."

"And for that, your man and you are the only power outlets available. And, let's be real, I don't know about you, but  I'm not into touching the guy. I don't swing that way."

"This is ridiculous. I can't believe you're serious." Evelina couldn't help but be incredulous about the situation, her voice oozed with disbelief as she exclaimed.

"Why are you like a stuck gramophone?" Rick rolled his eyes, looking slightly annoyed by her persistent skepticism, and replied, "Desperate times call for desperate measures. It's your call. Do you want to do it or not?"

"No way, there's got to be another way," Evelina said, hesitating for a moment before reluctantly she resigned a  sigh, "I can't believe you want me to consider that."

Evelina's initial disbelief quickly transformed into frustration as she found Rick's idea utterly ridiculous, "This is nuts, Rick. There's got to be another solution. If you need more money, I can give you even more of it."

[

1. Tell Evelina. Money means nothing to him in front of her. (Temptation + 10)

2. Brag about you having no need of money. (Temptation - 5)

]

"Money? Even ten million bucks aren't cutting it? What's next, you'll offer twenty? Thirty? Even more?" Rick shot Evelina a scornful look. "Money means squat to me in front of you."

But as much as Rick pretended to be unfazed, inside, he was practically tearing his hair out. I mean, we're talking about "Ten Million dollars" or even more here!

'But what if...' And then, in the middle of his silent hair-pulling, an absolutely crazy idea popped into Rick's head. His eyes darted toward Evelina, 'What if we...?'

"What are you saying?" Evelina said, her face still emotionless while facing. But down there, she was tightly holding her shirt.

"Come on, Evelina, think it over. It's like a jackpot for both of us. We get what we want, and we don't end up worm food."

"Would you rather go for it with that old geezer, or me? I'm betting I'm a lot more exciting than that fossil."

"This is crazy."

[

1. Kiss Evelina. (Temptation + 5)

2. Pull back and wait for Evelina to make the first move. (Temptation - 15)

]

There was no other choice.  Rick leaned in closer without any warning, declaring, "I'm going to kiss you. If you're so against it, just shove me away."

~  ~  ~  ~  ~

Amanda sat alone in the locker  room, gripping her phone like it held the answers to life's biggest mysteries. Her face was a landscape of frustration, and she found herself muttering her thoughts to the empty air.

"Why isn't he responding to my messages?" She sighed heavily, giving her hair a tousled shake for added drama.

"It's been two whole days without a call. Where in the world is he?" Her brows knitted into a perplexed frown as she stared at the uncooperative screen.

"Could he be cheating on me?" She whispered the question like a ghostly suspicion, her imagination conjuring up wild scenarios as her thumb nervously tap-danced across the silent screen.

Just as Amanda was about to fire off another text to Rick, her phone practically jumped out of her hand with a blaring ringtone.

She snatched it up, her face etched with confusion. It was a call from her fellow nurse, and her frown deepened. Amanda paused for a moment, caught between a whirlwind of emotions.

But the ringing persisted, and Amanda's mood worsened with the continuous ringing. She reluctantly answered, her voice quivering, "Hello?"

"Get over to Doctor Rachel's office pronto. She's waiting for you," a voice on the other end of the line rushed out, and Amanda's heart raced. Her heart sank, and her irritation at Rick's silence was swiftly overshadowed by the urgency when she heard Rachel was the one looking for her.

Reluctantly, she looked at her phone, her thoughts momentarily interrupted. With a heavy heart, she acknowledged that there were far more pressing matters. She swiftly stashed her phone in her locker, snagged her coat, and dashed out of the room, heading for Doctor Rachel's office. ~  ~  ~  ~  ~

"Room 108. This is it"

Gloria stared at the door as she  stood before an apartment, her phone clutched tightly in one hand while her other hand held the crumpled piece of paper with the apartment's address.

Right at this moment, she was standing in front of Rick's apartment. She'd come to meet him, driven by an unsettling sense of unease that had been eating at her since his sudden vanishing act. Just two days ago, he'd messaged her, saying he had to take off urgently, right before their scheduled rendezvous. She couldn't quite wrap her head around the idea that he'd jet off without any explanation.

As Gloria wavered in front of the doorbell, her thoughts swirled like a tornado, each one clawing for a piece of her attention.

"What if he's actually telling the truth?" A pesky little voice of doubt danced around inside her head. She had to grudgingly admit that there was a chance something seriously crucial had cropped up in Rick's world. But her gut wouldn't let her ignore that nagging suspicion either. "I have to talk to him," she declared to herself, her resolve hardening. The bizarre incident at the store had thrown her for a loop, and the idea of Rick blabbing about it to anyone made her stomach churn. Her secret had to stay locked away, deep in the vault.

Gloria glanced at the door, her heart pounding with uncertainty. "What if he's angry at me for being here unannounced? What if he then decides to tell everyone about that day?" She knew that confronting him like this could backfire. Her mind raced with thoughts of the potential consequences.

Time seemed to stretch, and the temptation to send a text message tugged at her. But Rick had been ignoring her messages, and her intuition told her that face-to-face was the way to go, to decipher the truth in his expressions and body language.

Bracing herself, she gathered her courage and finally pushed the doorbell. The subtle chime echoed through the corridor, causing her heart to do a full sprint in her chest.

The door did swing open, but it wasn't Rick's apartment that greeted her. Instead, it was the door of the neighboring unit that squeaked open, and a curious face poked out. "Hey, who are you? What's going on outside Rick's place?" The voice dripped with skepticism and wariness.

.

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