Excerpt of The Assignment 1 by Abby Weeks

The car came to a halt at the bottom of the staircase and
with a deep breath of trepidation, Lacey stepped out into
the cold, night air. She ran up the steps and the guard
bowed to her and opened the front door.

If she’d been impressed by the mansion’s exterior, the
interior was even more impressive. She found herself in a
white marble hallway that felt like the entrance to a royal
mausoleum. A glass chandelier hung above her. The walls,
ceiling and floor were all made of the same marbled rock. A
wine red carpet led to the end of the hall. Lacey walked
quickly along it to the end of the hall.

Once through the second set of frosted glass doors she found
herself inside the house proper. It was enormous. To one
side was a grand, oaken staircase that curled up to the
second floor. The ceiling was of inlaid wood with oriental
motifs and the floor was of parquet, polished to a high
sheen.

A slight man with dark hair and rather severe features was
waiting for her in the middle of the hallway. Lacey wondered
if he’d been standing there like that since Benny had said
she was coming.

“Lacey Gardner?” the man said.
He spoke with a distinctly French accent.

“Yes,” Lacey said, a little uncertainly.

“Please follow me,” the man said formally.

Lacey followed him into an enormous drawing room with the
same parquet flooring and brocaded upholstery she’d seen in
the grand hall. Bookshelves lined one wall and high,
curtained windows lined the other. The ceiling was so high
that there was a walkway, like a balcony, half way up the
bookshelves. The room was long and at the far end was a bar
with glasses hanging above it. The feeling in the room was
distinctly masculine, with a globe, leather-bound books, and
a billiards table set among the leather and brocaded
furniture. Ashtrays were spread around the room and Lacey
could smell the distinct, acrid smell of cigar smoke in the
air.

Apart from herself and the man who’d led her there, the room
was empty.

“My name is Nicolas Rétif,” the man said. “I’m the concierge
of The Club here and am responsible for many of the comings
and goings.”

“I see,” Lacey said.

“Allow me to take your coat.”

Lacey took off the soft, white fur coat and handed it to
Nicolas.

“I’ll take the rest of your clothing too. If you don’t
mind.”

The formality of the way he spoke belied the fact that he
had just asked her to strip naked in front of him. The room
was warm and comfortable. Soft light, almost like candle
light, gave it a warmth that was both alluring and inviting.
And of course, Lacey had been well aware that she would be
getting naked for these men. That was was what she was there
for, after all.

Even still, Nicolas’s request caught her off guard. She’d
imagined that she would be stripping in a bedroom with a man
who’d been flirting with her all night, perhaps after a few
glasses of fine wine. She hadn’t thought she’d be asked to
strip naked as soon as she arrived at the house.

She smiled thinly at Nicolas as she unclasped the back of
her dress and let it fall to the ground. She had nothing
else on apart from the shoes she’d been wearing and she
didn’t offer to remove those.

She looked at Nicolas as he stooped down to pick up her
delicate dress. It was by her ankles and he was down at her
feet. She stepped out of the dress to allow him to pick it
up but he didn’t. He just held it and remained down by her
feet where he was. She noticed him raise his eyes and look
at her. He looked at her feet in the black pumps, her slim
ankles, long calfs, and firmly toned thighs. Then he looked
at her bare, shaved, pink vagina. His face was just inches
from it.