I had a history with Rhys Callahan. The kind that doesn't see the light of day. He paid my way through college; I kept his bed warm. Then one day, he said he wanted to get married and start a family. So, he ended it. Years later, we met again. I was a grad student, following my professor to a pitch meeting to beg for funding. After too many glasses of wine, I clung to him, refusing to let go. "I make three grand a month now," I slurred. "I can give you two. Will you sleep with me?" The room went silent. My colleagues tried to explain. "She's drunk! Mr. Callahan, you just... you must look a lot like her ex-boyfriend. Her... her dead ex-boyfriend." His face, already dark, turned black. "So," he seethed, "you've been telling everyone I'm dead?" 1 Professor Davies was dragging us out to schmooze again. "Listen to me," he stressed, "the ones who can drink, you drink. The ones who can talk, you talk. Just be smart. Be charming." "We're researchers, not... escorts," Sarah, a junior in the lab, muttered. The rumor was this investor was some rough-around-the-edges, new-money guy. The kind of guy who loves a good 'ol boys' club dinner, which is exactly the kind of thing we academics suck at. "You think I want to do this?" Davies sighed. "The grant money's gone. If I can't find funding, I can't keep the lab open. I'll have to farm you all out to partner universities." That shut us up. We all knew he was in a tough spot. The door opened. "Sorry I'm late, Professor." A low, smooth voice cut through the room. The other students started whispering. "I thought you said he was some old rich guy? That man is gorgeous." "And... intense." I looked up, and my blood ran cold. It had been five years. Rhys Callahan had changed. The rough-edged, punk vibe was gone, replaced by a perfectly tailored suit. But the wildness in his eyes was still there, just... deeper, more controlled. More dangerous. Professor Davies shot to his feet. "Mr. Callahan! A pleasure! These are my top students." Rhys gave a short nod, taking the seat at the head of the table. His gaze swept over us, casual, cold. Davies gave us the look. One by one, we stood up to toast him. The same women who were just complaining were now falling all over themselves. "Mr. Callahan, I'm Sarah. It's an honor to meet you." "Mr. Callahan, we're so excited by the prospect of this partnership." I huddled in the corner, trying to shrink, staring at my plate. "And this," Professor Davies said, "is my top doctoral candidate, Maya. Maya, don't just sit there. A toast." I stood up, my legs shaking. I raised my glass, unable to meet his eyes. "Mr. Callahan. Hi." He just sat there, watching me, not raising his own glass. Davies quickly jumped in. "She's a quiet one! All work, this one. Spends all her time buried in research." Rhys's eyes were locked on my face, tracing every line. Finally, he spoke. "Studious. That's a good thing." "Exactly!" Davies said, relieved. "And Maya's been with me since her Master's. Her work is brilliant. This project, I'm telling you, the potential is huge. We just need the capital to..." He shot me another look. I took a deep breath, forcing myself to meet Rhys's gaze. "Mr. Callahan. Our data is solid, and the market applications are... are significant. If you'd be willing to invest..." He cut me off with a dry, humorless chuckle. "Ms. ...?" "She's Maya Harris," Davies supplied. "Ms. Harris. I'm a businessman. I only care about one thing: a fair exchange." A fair exchange. Those words hit me like a slap. He was right. That's all it ever was. He paid my tuition. I slept with him. And now, here I was, begging him for money again. 2 When I was eighteen, my mom remarried. I'd lost count of which husband this was. She was so hopeful, dragging me and my suitcase into the home of a man who seemed... nice. Respectable. He bought me new clothes. He gave me an allowance. He'd smile and ruffle my hair. For a second, I almost believed I had a father. Until the night he came into my room. He said if I was "good" to him, he'd give me money. He'd make sure my mom and I had a good life. I ran to my mom, crying. She slapped me. She asked me why I was dressing like that. She accused me of trying to steal her man. She called me a slut. I didn't know what to do. I couldn't go home. I had almost no money. Near the school, there was a 24-hour LAN center. An all-night pass was ten bucks. The guy who ran it looked like trouble. Bleached-blonde hair, a full sleeve of tattoos. The place was full of keyboard-clacking and cigarette smoke. I stood outside for a long time before I got the nerve to go in. "All-night pass," I whispered. He looked up. He had intense eyes under a heavy brow. He looked... mean. I started shaking. "You eighteen?" I fumbled for my ID. Thank God, I'd just had my birthday. The center had a small, private booth. One computer, one tiny, hard sofa. I'd sit there, reading my textbooks, doing homework. When I got hungry, I'd eat the half a sandwich I'd saved from lunch. When I got sleepy, I'd curl up on that sofa. It was freezing, but it was the cheapest, safest place I could find. At least there, no one tried to pull my clothes off in the middle of the night. I did this for days. Finally, one night when I slid my ID across the counter, he looked up, annoyed. "You're a student. Why are you in here every night instead of at home?" he grumbled. "You'll get yourself into trouble." I just mumbled, "None of your business." He cursed under his breath but didn't say anything else. Until the night a couple of guys in the next booth, drunk, kicked my door open. "Well, look what we have here. All alone, sweetheart? Let's keep you warm." I scrambled into the corner, terrified. Rhys heard the commotion. He was there in a second. He grabbed the main guy by the collar and threw him out of the booth. He kicked him, hard. "You think you can pull that shit in my place? Huh?" He didn't stop until the guy was begging. When he came back, he was still furious, glaring at me. "You're not even using the computer. What the hell are you doing here?" "I... I am..." "The monitor's been off for three hours. What are you playing at?" He was yelling now. "Get out of here! Go home! This is no place for a kid!" I wouldn't move. After a long, tense silence, I whispered, "I don't... I don't have a home." He ran his hand through his stupid hair, frustrated. He grabbed my backpack. "C'mon." Behind the LAN center was a crappy, one-bedroom apartment. Clothes piled on the sofa, beer cans on the coffee table. He pointed. "This place. Ten bucks a day. You in or out?" I had no choice. "In." He tossed me a key and left. 3 Rhys was barely ever there. I'd go straight from school to the apartment. I'd eat my leftover sandwich for dinner. On the fifth day, I was gnawing on a stale piece of bread when he came in. "Move over," he said, frowning. I scooted over on the tiny sofa. He dropped a bag of takeout on the table. Barbecue. The smell of brisket filled the room. I was so hungry, I couldn't stop staring. He glanced at me. "Want some?" I was wary. "Does it... cost extra?" He actually laughed. "Just clean up the mess." It was the best meal I'd ever had. After that, he started coming back more often. He'd always bring food. Tacos, pizza, sometimes a hot bowl of pho. I'd devour it. "Jesus, Maya," he'd say, watching me. "You eat like a wolf." I was just... starving. After dinner, I'd study on the sofa. He'd play video games, a cigarette dangling from his lips. He'd stay up all night, but every so often he'd look at the clock and snap at me. "It's midnight. Go to bed." I'd pack up my books. "Rhys? Smoking is... it's bad for you." "Live fast, die young," he'd mutter, not looking away from the screen. "And," I added quietly, "I read online... it can make you... infertile." He froze. "Shit," he cursed, and stubbed out the cigarette. "Why didn't you say so?" I slept in the bedroom. He slept on the sofa. It was way too small for him, but he'd just crash, sleeping like a rock. I never thought my life would intersect with someone like him. He was terrifying. He got into fights. Even the jocks at school were afraid of him. And here I was, the "good student," sharing a tiny apartment with him. It was... weird. And safe. Eventually, my money ran out. "Rhys... the rent... can I pay you... after I graduate?" He raised an eyebrow. "Can you cook? Clean?" He nodded at the apartment. "Work it off." So I did. I cleaned, I did his laundry. He even started giving me an "allowance." For the first time in my life, I wasn't hungry. That apartment became my sanctuary. He had friends over, guys and girls. "Damn, Rhys," one of them said, "when did your place get so clean?" Then they saw me. "Whoa! Hiding one in here, man? If Chrissy finds out, she's gonna lose it." I'd seen Chrissy. Tall, hot, built. So that was his type. One day, she cornered me outside. "Who are you to Rhys?" I just stared at my feet. "Ask him." That night, Rhys came home, staring at me. "Maya. Who am I to you?" My heart pounded. "No one." He scoffed, and tossed a bag of walnuts on the table. "Heard these are good for your brain. You need it." He spent the next ten minutes trying to crack them with his bare hands. "Cool, right?" he'd ask, showing me. He was such an idiot. I didn't say that, though. "Rhys," I asked him once, "why the blonde hair?" "It's not blonde," he snapped. "It's golden." "So... a golden retriever?" He glared. "You're getting bold, Maya." But I wasn't scared anymore. His bark was worse than his bite. "Rhys," I told him, right before exams, "I'm applying to UT. It's across town, but I can take the bus." He just shoved a handful of walnuts at me. "You think it's that easy to get into UT? Eat. Your brain needs help." 4 Before my last final, my mom showed up at school. "Maya, honey, that bastard is gone. He got into some trouble and skipped town. Come home, baby. I'll make you dinner." She bought me a new dress. She brushed my hair. I thought... I thought she actually missed me. Until we got to her apartment, and I saw the strange men sitting on her sofa. "Maya, this is Mr. Henderson. He owns a factory. He's a very good man! He wants to marry you." She was selling me. "No." She slapped me. "Don't you 'no' me! You think I don't know about you and that thug from the LAN center? You're already sleeping around, you might as well get paid for it! I raised you! It's time you paid me back!" She took my ID and my phone and locked me in the bedroom. Two days later, Rhys kicked the door in. The second he held out his hand, I burst into tears. My mom screamed. "She's my daughter! You can't just have her for free!" Her voice was so loud the neighbors came out. I was so humiliated I couldn't move. Rhys just looked at her, his voice cold. "How much?" "Twenty... twenty thousand dollars." He left. He came back ten minutes later with a duffel bag and dumped it on the floor. "From now on," he said, "Maya Harris has nothing to do with you." He grabbed my wrist and pulled me out of that building. I followed him, sobbing. He turned, his voice rough. "Stop crying. It's annoying." He drove me to my finals every day that week. He waited outside the entire time. The night after my last exam, we ate. I was so full of fear and... something else. I walked up behind him and wrapped my arms around his waist. "Rhys... you can... you can sleep in the bed tonight." He went completely still. "What did you say?" "I can't pay you back," I whispered, my face buried in his back. "And... I need money for college..." The truth was, I was terrified. Finals were over. I had no reason to stay. I knew about student loans. But I was desperate. I wanted a reason to be tied to him. He paid $20,000 to buy my freedom. But it just made me his.
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