Buying Love Teaser

“Do you swear to tell the truth and nothing but the truth, so help you God?”

“I do,” I murmured. The bailiff indicated for me to sit and I sat in the witness box. Liam was at his table, across from me, looking over his notes. The judge was to my right. He was an older gentleman with kind brown eyes and thick salt and pepper hair. Across the courtroom, Esme sat at the table, wearing an ugly suit and her blonde hair growing out from when she was arrested. She looked like shit, not even remotely appearing like the suave woman she once was. Her lawyer was young, barely out of law school, but he seemed determined to get his client off.

“Ms. Swan. Thank you for being here today,” Liam said, standing up and smoothing out his tie. “Can you please tell me your relationship to the defendant?”

“I contacted her in August to make arrangements to use one of her escorts for a party that I was required to attend,” I answered. “I chose Edward Masen from her website. We had several phone conversations, confirming dates and times, as well as payment for services rendered.”

“Was she professional on the phone?”

“A little cold, but professional, yes,” I replied.

“And how was your date with Edward Masen? Did he live up to expectations?” Liam asked.

“He arrived on time, with a rose, and he was well-spoken, respectful and kind,” I smiled. “He played the part of my boyfriend perfectly and I was pleased with him.”

“Did you notice if there was anything wrong with Mr. Masen?”

“Objection! Leading the witness!” Esme’s attorney, a young, angry man named Harold, barked.

“Sustained,” the judge replied. “Mr. Mackenzie, you know better.”

“My apologies,” Liam smiled tightly. Taking a breath, he turned back to me and asked, “How long did Mr. Masen stay? Did he stay for the whole party?”

“He did and afterward, we went up to my room,” I answered. “Esme was adamant on him spending the night.”

“Did you have sex with him?” Liam questioned.

“No, but we did fool around. I was attracted to Mr. Masen. He was everything that liked in a man: tall, lean, handsome, smart, sexy. We had chemistry,” I blushed. “I’m a single woman and he was a single man. Most people fool around at the end of a date.”

“And what happened after your date with Edward?”

“I called Esme and made arrangements to use Edward as a long-term escort for upcoming events, acting as my boyfriend. As mentioned earlier, we had chemistry and we had a lot of fun together. However, with each date we had, I noticed that he became more and more detached. He was jumpy and he didn’t like to be touched,” I frowned.

Liam strolled, glaring at Harold, challenging him to object. I had opened the door to where Liam could ask his previous question. “Seeing the change in his behavior, did you ask Edward why?”

“He never told me, but I did notice that he was thinner and he was always covered with bruises,” I replied, “especially around his wrists and scars on his back.”