Total pages in book: 88
Estimated words: 82878 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 414(@200wpm)___ 332(@250wpm)___ 276(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 82878 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 414(@200wpm)___ 332(@250wpm)___ 276(@300wpm)
Amelia. That’s her name. It suits her somehow. I turn and begin to walk away. She follows me silently.
“Wait in the car,” I tell Jerome, my driver, as I reach the entrance.
He nods without question.
I go outside and turn around to wait for her. She opens the door but hangs back as if she is afraid of me.
“I’m sorry you got caught up in that,” I say. “Ivan had no right to put his hand on you like that.”
“I should have been more careful,” she answers, her voice breaking. She presses her lips together immediately and her eyes begin to swim with tears again.
“It was a bit of alcohol. No big deal,” I say.
She swallows hard, as if she is unsure of my motives. All the while tears are pouring down her face.
I smile at her, trying to think of a way to stop the rolling tears. “You probably shouldn’t be quite so clumsy as a waitress though.”
She gives a short laugh and sniffs. “I sure made a great impression on my first night, huh?”
I laugh, which is odd in itself. I hardly ever laugh out loud, but I can’t help it. Through all of this, she has managed to keep a sense of humor. Which makes her quite the little heroine in my eyes.
“Can I ask you something without you thinking I’m coming on to you?” I ask.
She shrugs. “Sure.”
“What’s a girl like you doing working in a hole like this?”
Her bottom lip wobbles again and I find myself regretting the question. Another odd emotion for me.
“Hey, it’s ok. I’m not judging you or anything, I’m just curious.”
She exhales, a heartfelt sigh full of troubles. One a girl of her age shouldn’t have to express.
“You want the truth?” she asks.
“Nothing else will do.”
“Are you sure? It’s not a pretty story...”
I nod. “I’m sure I can handle it.”
“Okay, today, my stepdad tried to rape me, but that’s not the big deal. The real kicker is my mom took his side. So, I walked out of his house with a duffle bag of clothes and hardly any money. I took this job because it’s the only one I could find. It was a choice between doing this or ending up on the streets. Which technically, I still am, but hopefully, if I can keep this job, not for much longer.”
“You don’t have anywhere to stay tonight?” I ask calmly, even though I’m furious on her behalf. I want to punch her stepdad and shake her brainless mother.
“Nope,” she whispers. “But since the bar is open pretty late, I’m hoping to hang around here until the very moment it closes. And then it won’t be that long to wait until daylight comes. I can hopefully find somewhere then.”
I know I should walk away. This is the right moment to stuff some cash in her and walk away forever.
Amelia isn’t my problem. I have enough of those. But there’s something about her that I can’t walk away from. I don’t know what it is, but I tell myself it’s because her tough talking doesn’t hide the vulnerability in her eyes, or the fact that I can see she’s actually terrified of her situation.
“How old are you?”
“Eighteen,” she lies.
I frown.
“Well, I’ll be eighteen in a month.”
I sigh. I’m probably going to regret this, but what the hell. “How are you at cleaning?”
She frowns. “Cleaning?”
“You know. Vacuuming. Polishing.”
“That kind of shit, I can do with my eyes closed,” she replies quickly, as if she has come into territory she recognizes and is comfortable with.
“Good. How would you like to join my team of maids? You’d be cleaning my private quarters and maybe one or two of my offices. Fifteen dollars an hour plus accommodation.”
“Why would you do that?” she asks, raising an eyebrow suspiciously.
Why indeed? I shrug. “Because you look like you could use a break.” I glance at my watch. “I have to be elsewhere soon, do you want the job, or do you want to go back in there and keep working for Larry?”
“I want the job,” she says quickly, flashing a big smile at me.
“Right. Go back in and get your stuff. I’ll be right here if Larry gives you any trouble.”
She nods then turns and walks back into the bar; her head held high. I can’t help but watch the way her ass sways in the tight little skirt Larry has her wearing.
As the door closes, I turn away, frowning.
Deliberately, I put her out of my head and turn to the very real problem I have to solve: Alexei’s ‘business’ that I have unwillingly inherited is basically a loan shark enterprise enforced by brute criminals. I came to this bar to observe first-hand the operation he ran, and I’m not impressed at all. At the very least, I should get rid of Ivan and his goons. And I will, when Marcus, my operations manager comes back from vacation.