Testing out his new power

Simon took another look at them, irritation warring with something more inconvenient. Both women were attractive, undeniably so, and the letter’s promise pressed at the back of his mind like an exposed wire. He did not like the direction his thoughts were drifting, and he liked even less how easily they went there.

They had helped themselves to his wine. They had used his apartment. His space. The familiar, bitter logic followed close behind. Actions had consequences. Why should this be any different?

He exhaled through his nose, annoyed at himself for even considering it.

“You will answer me, honestly without twisting your words” Simon said, voice flat despite the edge underneath. “Do you find me attractive?”

The words hung there, and he knew the moment they left his mouth that he had already crossed a line.

“Not really,” Ashlynn said without hesitation. “You keep yourself in decent shape, sure. But you’re not tall enough. Not handsome enough.”

She delivered it calmly, almost casually, standing there in a dress that looked one wrong movement away from failing its job entirely.

Simon absorbed it without reaction. He had expected as much. Seventeen years of dealing with people had taught him exactly where he ranked in most strangers’ eyes.

“You keep a neat place,” she went on. “So, I could see myself sticking around. Letting you spend money on me. Taking advantage of that.”

Her tone stayed flat and practical, as if she were laying out terms instead of stripping him down with casual precision. No hesitation. No softening. Just the truth, delivered because she no longer had the option to dress it up.

Simon watched her closely. Even now, even after using his bed and his wine and reducing him to a list of shortcomings, she was still striking. Self-assured. Comfortable in her own skin.

“I’m pretty much the same,” Lauren said, just as plainly. “Emily mentioned it too, offhand. Said if you weren’t doing well financially or couldn’t provide, she would have dropped you for a younger guy.”

The words landed exactly where Simon expected them to.

That did not make them hurt any less.

He kept his face still, years of practice holding the reaction in place. He had always known this was part of the equation. You did not spend seventeen years watching people bargain with each other without learning how shallow the math could be. Usually, he kept thoughts like that buried under long shifts and quiet nights. Easier to ignore when they stayed unspoken.

Hearing it repeated so casually, passed around like common knowledge, scraped harder than he liked.

Simon’s eyes flicked to Lauren despite himself. Red hair framing a face that drew attention without trying. Attractive, confident, standing there delivering honesty she had not chosen to give. He registered it and pushed it aside, the way he always did.

“Emily will wake up,” Simon said evenly, “stand beside me, and speak only when spoken to. That stays in effect until I say otherwise.”

The response was immediate.

Her eyes snapped open, confusion flickering across her face before her body moved anyway. She pushed herself upright and crossed the room with unsteady steps, coming to a stop beside Lauren and Ashlynn. Up close, Simon registered her the same way he always had. Attractive, carefully put together even half awake. Familiar. That familiarity felt thinner now.

He looked at all three of them, letting the silence do its work.

“You’ve shown very little respect,” Simon said. “For me. For my space. For my property. I’m done extending courtesy where it hasn’t been returned.”

Their heads dipped in unison. Agreement without hesitation. No resistance.

Simon watched it happen, jaw tight.

“From now on,” Simon said quietly, “all three of you are attracted to me. Not to what I can give you. To me. My body. My personality. My looks. Who I am. My word comes first. Nothing else.”

He did not raise his voice. He did not dramatize it. He delivered it the same way he gave instructions on shift, clear and final.

The change was immediate.

Their expressions shifted, subtle at first, then unmistakable. Interest sharpened. Their eyes lingered where they had skimmed before. Something warmer crept in, something deeper, threaded with need and devotion.

Emily looked at him the way she had not in months. Ashlynn’s confidence softened into open attention. Lauren’s guarded posture melted away.

All three of them were focused on him now.

Simon felt it settle over the room like a pressure change, invisible but undeniable.

For a moment, he simply stood there, watching three undeniably attractive women look at him with a mixture of longing and attachment he had never been on the receiving end of.

“From now on, you can behave normally,” Simon said. “You don’t need my permission to interact with the world.”

The words settled, and nothing resisted them.

He watched the three women for a moment, taking in the way they stood close now, attentive, focused. Attractive, all of them, in different ways. He registered it with the same detached awareness he brought to everything else, even as something darker and more complicated stirred underneath.

A slow, tired smile tugged at his mouth.

“Ladies,” he said, voice dry but edged with intent, “I’ve just come back from a long, miserable day at work. Don’t you think I’ve earned a little appreciation?”

He met their eyes one by one, already knowing what answer he was going to get.