Naomi Rose 的作品

Ella's POV.I snapped my head toward him, and felt slightly embarrassed when I realized he'd caught me. The look on his face told me he knew exactly what I'd been thinking. Such an annoyingly quick-witted man.I cleared my throat, and quickly looked away.“How did you know I was there?” I asked, trying to sound casual. “At the bar, I mean.”He shrugged, drifting his eyes back to the window. “Coincidence. But believe whatever makes you sleep tonight.”I stared at him. “Coincidence?” I repeated slowly. “So you just happened to walk into a random bar, at the exact time I was being auctioned off… and just happened to bid fifty million dollars on me?”He didn't respond. But I pressed further. "That doesn't make any sense.”He finally turned his head and looked at me with a frown. “You want to talk about what doesn’t make sense?” he said. “Fine. What the heck were you thinking, going to work in a place like that?” His dark eyes slowly slid down my body, “With such a nasty outfit…” he added.

Ella's POV.The manager turned to me, and the look on his face was wild; he was silently screaming at me to keep my mouth shut. He stepped closer, grabbing my arm, whispering so only I could hear. “Listen,” he said firmly. “These are powerful men and I can’t afford to cross either of them. This… this is the only way nobody walks out hating me and my bar stays standing. So, you’re going to stand right here and let it happen. Got it?”I opened my mouth to argue, but nothing came out. And honestly? He was right. I got myself in this mess and made myself the centerpiece of a fight I had no control over.Jason broke the silence first. "Fine." He shrugged casually like it was nothing. "Let's bid for her.”He looked at the other man, who gave the tiniest nod; just once. He was obviously trying to keep the peace for my sake, and not let things get rougher than it already was."Good, good!" The manager clapped his hands and signaled to some big guys standing nearby. "Take her to the stage.""

Ella's POV "No way," I heard one of his rich friends say, lounging back in his chair. His eyes slid over me slowly. "Wait, does she actually work here?"He laughed. "Oh, this night just got interesting."I ignored him and stepped closer to the table."Hey," another one snapped his fingers. "Call girl. You gonna take our order, or are you planning to keep staring at us?"Me?! Call girl?I placed the menus on the table and waited for each of them to order what they wanted."I'm not a call girl," I said evenly. "These are the menus. Place your order."My words only made them grin. As I leaned over the table to take the tab, one of them suddenly grabbed my waist. I felt my entire body freeze."Mmm," he mumbled. "This uniform looks really good on you. How about you ditch it and give us a show?" He pointed lazily toward the pole by the stage. "You should entertain us."Heat rushed through me and I felt anger, shock, and humiliation all at once. I stepped back hard and slapped his hand away

Ella's POV Instead, I felt his hands adjusting my coat, to cover my body.My eyes flew open as I took in the hard look on his face."Do you honestly think I need to pay a woman for sex?" he asked, cutting through the silence. "I'm sure you know I have many options."Heat rushed straight to my cheeks."I just thought...""You thought offering yourself would make me help you," he said flatly, cutting me off. "You're already trapped in a scandal, Miss Hammond. And the last thing you'd want to do is turn into exactly what they're accusing you of."That sounded like he didn't believe the rumors.But why?Had he actually looked into my story?The thought made my heart stutter, but the weight of his words were slowly crushing me.He didn't want me.I dropped my gaze, and I knew he could see the embarrassment written all over me.When he spoke again, his tone softened and he spoke a bit gentler."Listen," he said, "I have a sister and I would never encourage her to trade her body for surviva

Ella's POV."Mr. Chairman," the receptionist blurted, quickly standing to her feet. Her polished attitude suddenly fell apart, and I wanted to smirk with satisfaction, but I held it in."I asked you a question, Jane," he said, narrowing his eyes at her. "Since when do you decide who gets sent away and who gets to see me? You know the protocol. You're to call my office, and I decide who I see. Not you."She swallowed hard and dropped her gaze to the floor like she couldn't bear to meet his eyes."Come with me."It took me a second to realize he was talking to me. One look at the receptionist's furious stare snapped me out of it, and I nearly stumbled over my feet trying to catch up to him. He walked through a luxurious waiting room until we reached a glass elevator.The elevator was sleek and very high-tech. Its touch screen lightened up as he tapped in a code before pressing the floor number.He stood close, too close that the elevator felt smaller despite its size. I could smell his

Ella's POV "HELL, NO!!!" I hissed, keeping my voice low so my mom wouldn't hear us. "Syl! You're really telling me to sleep with a random stranger for money?!"The idea alone made my stomach twist."I just want you to survive!" Sylvia shot back. "I'm looking at the options, Ella! It's either you end up as Jason's mistress, or you die trying to fight him, or you use the one resource you have that isn't under his control to get the money and get free!" She said, urgency and desperation filling her eyes."It's just one night, Ella. Just one transaction. Then the debt is gone, and Jason loses his leverage over you." "I'm not saying it's a pretty idea, but it's a path. Unless you've got a better idea?""So your brilliant plan is to sell myself to a man I puked on? That's your solution?" I gawked at her."I mean... if you ask me, from what you told me, he didn't exactly... seem uninterested in you." She shrugged, sinking back on the bed.I raised an eyebrow, a mix of amusement and disbeli