NEED TO KNOW

Over four weeks leading up to publication, PEOPLE has exclusive serial excerpts from bestselling Irish novelist John Boyne's The Elements

Read the second excerpt below

The Elements arrives on shelves Sept. 9 from Henry Holt and Company

If you missed PEOPLE's first exclusive excerpt from John Boyne's The Elements, read it here .

EARTH

Soon, Rafe put me to work.

I had a very particular clientele. Mostly men in late middle age. Thriving in financially successful jobs. Some in the public eye. Occasionally married. I was professional in my dealings with them but clear from the start about what I was willing to do and what I was not. If a client ignored my rules, then I would leave, and Rafe never reproached me for this. On the contrary, I knew he could be unforgiving

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