The La Fire Club was abuzz with excitement. As Amber walked into the dressing room to collect her uniform, she saw women primming themselves in front of the vanity tables with lights, looking even more made up than usual. They were chatting with each other excitedly, some giggling, others gushing and a few were even adding more padding to their push up bras.
“Amber! How do I look?” a busty blonde quipped, turning around to face Amber. Her breasts were practically spilling out of her corset.
“Um…chesty?” she wasn’t exactly sure what to say but the answer seemed to satisfy the blonde who went back to facing the mirror, apparently to add even more padding.
Amber made her way to the back of the dressing room where she found Lola, sitting crossed legged and alone on the sofa where they first met yesterday. Unlike the other girls, Lola had a book on her lap and a pen tucked neatly behind her ear.
Amber had to smile, she liked Lola. The girl was as honest as anyone could get.
“Good evening Lola, what are you doing?” she sat herself down, peering into Lola’s book. It looked like some sort of accounting textbook.
Lola did not look up, “Mid term’s coming up. Gotta cram for it.”
Amber was impressed, in a way, Lola reminded her of her own brother.
“I see,” she nodded starting to get up, not wanting to interrupt Lola’s studies when Lola suddenly grabbed her hand.
“Hey, sit down.”
“I don’t want to disturb you studying,” Amber smiled sheepishly. Her reply elicited a burst of laughter from her newfound friend. “Don’t worry, sit down. I haven’t asked you about yesterday. What happened?”
So Amber sat back down and told Lola a lighter version of the incident, downplaying what had actually happened. That was Amber Banks for you; the submissive floormat who let people walk all over her.
Amber tried to change the topic, “Is something happening today? Everyone seems so…so…”
“Animated?”
It wasn’t exactly the word she was looking for but ‘animated’ felt apt, given how the hostesses were talking in excited high pitched voices all the while dancing and prancing around in the room.
“Uh yeah…”
Lola chuckled, “It’s Auction Week.”
“Auction Week? What are we auctioning?” No sooner had the words left her mouth than she realized what was happening. Lola set her book aside and gave Amber a little smirk.
“Darling, I think you already know,” Lola’s eyes went to the sexily dressed women in the room. “Every month, La Fire Club holds an auction week. The highest bidder gets to spend a week with one of the girls and in return, the girl gets fifty grand, plus any other gifts that her ‘owner’ might bestow upon her during that week.”
Amber’s mouth dropped to an ‘O’. She had heard of things like these but never in her life did she think she would actually be a witness to one.
“Interested?” Lola gave her a naughty smile.
Amber raised her hands signalling her surrender, “Thanks but no thanks.” Granted, fifty grand was a lot but she could not imagine auctioning herself to any man. “Will you be auctioned off?” she asked. What if the sleazy man made a bid for Lola?
Lola laughed and pulled out her pen, hitting it gently it on Amber’s head, “It’s not compulsory silly. Only those who offer themselves will be auctioned off. I’m just here to earn some pocket money, nothing more.”
At Lola’s answer, Amber felt a wave of relief washing over her. For a moment, she had been worried for Lola.
Suddenly, Madam Cecil burst into the room, shouting frantically, “Amber! Amber Banks!” Heads shot up from the vanity table, curious to know what would cause their usually calm and collected madam to run in like a madwoman.
Amber jumped up from her seat and gulped, her hands rolled into a ball, did she do something wrong again?
Madam Cecil spotted Amber and waved her hands in the air, “Amber! There you are! Come! Fabian Williams is looking for you!”
Fabian Williams? It was the man who helped her last night!
From the seat, Lola let out a loud ‘oooohhhhh’ before giving Amber a nudge and a wink.
***
Fabian should have been at his father’s house, but he wasn’t. He had actually driven to the wrought iron gates of his father’s mansion only to reverse his car at the last minute. With nowhere left to go, he found himself heading towards the La Fire Club.
And now, here he was, in the privacy of his room sipping the vodka that eluded him the night before. He had ordered an extra glass, just in case the redhead, Amber wanted one. Fabian was not ready to admit it, but he was besotted by the doe-eyed girl. There was something about her that drew him to her. She seemed so pure, so fragile that he wanted to wrap his arms around her to protect her from the world.
Seriously? He shook his head.
She had told him bits and pieces of her life story last night and while he had not verified it, he found himself believing in her. This was not like him at all. Fabian Williams did not trust people easily. And yet here he was, specifically requesting for her to serve him on this particular night. He wondered if she would be able to enchant him again tonight. Fabian Williams wondered many things.
A knock came at the door and he got up, only to sit himself down awkwardly.
Why do I need to stand up? She’s here to serve me, not the other way around, he asserted to himself, wondering why he was suddenly acting like a bumbling fool. Usually, it was women who would act the fool around him.
“Come in,” he called out. Great, I sound like hermit the frog.
A head popped in but it was not the face of an angel. Instead, it was the face of a man he once called friend. It was the face of the man who had betrayed his trust.
Liam Smith. His one-time partner and best friend opened the door wide and strode in with a big smile plastered on his face. He had a big nose and a rabbit’s ears, plus dark blonde hair that had the unfortunate tendency to stick up, which at first glance made him look like a clown. But his intense black eyes belied the comparison. Even when he laughed, which was often, he looked like he was thinking.
“Fabian!”
Fabian made no move to get up, “Get out.”
Liam ignored Fabian’s words and walked straight to Fabian’s bar ignoring the tension between them. He settled himself onto a stool and took a sip from the extra glass of vodka. The two of them had forged a friendship while pursuing their degrees at MIT, to the point where they became partners and started Virtuex together. Then the fallout came.
Fabian scowled, “You’re not welcomed here.”
“Oh come on, I missed you.”
“What do you want?”
“VX2’s blueprint.” VX2 was Virtuex’s most successful innovation to date. VX2 was a combination of virtual simulation and telepresence surgery which allowed for countless operations to be conducted remotely. It was hailed as the invention of the century and rumour had it that Fabian Williams would be the next recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize.
Fabian scoffed, finally looking at Liam in the eye. “It’s mine.”
Liam returned with a steady gaze, vodka swirling in his glass, “I helped you build it.”
“All you did was put your initials on the design. Now get out.”
“Fabian, I..”
Fabian would not hear of it, enough lawsuits were going on with Liam’s company as it was, “GET OUT!”
By this time, Amber and Madam Cecil were standing at the door to Fabian's room. Both women had witnessed the men’s argument.
Liam shrugged, not deterred, gently he put the glass down and raised his hands in mock surrender, “Alright, calm down. We’ll talk again.”
Fabian motioned for the women to come in but kept his eye on Liam, “No we won’t.”
Liam walked out, passing both the women but not before he gave Cecil a peck on the cheek. His eyes fell on Amber and his lips curled into a seductive smile before he gave her a nod and walked out of sight.
“Now, now Fabian. I’ve sent you Amber, so please remove the scowl from that handsome face of yours,” Madam Cecil teased, pushing Amber towards Fabian who remained seated on the sofa. Amber felt like a piece of property and did not appreciate it. “Madam Cecil, I’m only here for waitressing works,” she said exasperatedly, suddenly wondering if she should be wary of Fabian Williams. Did a sleazy beast lay beneath the facade of this handsome man? She could feel her heart beating faster. Fabian waved his hand at Madam Cecil, “You may leave us now.” Amber shot Cecil an anxious look and to which the older woman replied, “Amber my dear girl, Fabian is one of our most well-behaved customers here. You’re in good hands.” With that, the head hostess turned around and strode out of the room – her hips swaying against her insanely tight pencil skirt and heels digging into the soft carpeted floor with every step before she finally closed the door behind her
Amber was dreaming, but like everyone else who dreamt, she did not realise that she had tumbled down the rabbit hole…. ‘She was standing alone in a semi-darkened room and mist surrounded her. A single window was positioned above her, allowing a little bit of light to stream down into the room. “Hello?” she called out nervously, trying to see what lay ahead of her. She took a few steps forward cautiously with her arms stretched out, not wanting to knock into anything when suddenly she bumped into something soft. She looked down and gasped. The mist that enveloped the room earlier on began to dissipate to reveal the body of a battered man lying at her feet. He was chained in shackles and curled up like a cat. Then to her horror, the man stirred. Amber tried to run but for some reason, her movements felt heavy, as if she was underwater. She could hardly move at all. Help! She wanted to call
The journey home for Amber was a daze. She had no idea how she managed to even make it back in one piece. What had Anson done? He normally couldn’t even hurt a fly! There must have been some kind of misunderstanding.Her hands trembled as she fumbled with the keys to the door. They jingled too much and she couldn’t fit the key into the lock.Damnit! Open!Frustrated, she kicked the door only to let out a little yelp.Calm down. I need to calm down.She took a deep breath and slowly inserted the key into the keyhole again, this time, it worked and the door creaked to an open.Although it was nearing dawn, the room was still quite dark and while the windows were left open, Anson had drawn the curtains to a close.“Anson?” Amber whispered, closing the door behind her. Then in the corner of their little room, right beneath the window sill, Amber saw her brother, huddled under the curtain that flap
The line sounded too cheesy to be a threat.“I know what your brother did.”“Excuse me?” Amber frowned into her phone. It sounded like a ripoff from the 1997 horror flick ‘I Know What You Did Last Summer’. And because of that, Amber had trouble taking the call seriously at first.Until the caller said, “I can prove his innocence.”That sealed the deal for her. As much as she had tried to encourage Anson to turn himself in to the police, deep down, she had been filled with dread. The alleyway was a blindspot and all evidence pointed to Anson. There were witnesses from the first night when Anson had a heated verbal exchange with the man. And he had touched the knife with his bare hands for goodness sake!So when the mysterious caller dangled the key to freedom for her brother, of course she had to take it. But Amber was no fool, she knew there would be a catch.“Who is this?” she whis
A numbing icy wave washed over Amber upon hearing Liam’s words. They repulsed her. “What do you mean?” she asked, taking a cautious step back, bumping into the door from where they had entered earlier and shredding her palms with her clenched fingernails. Anson instinctively stepped in front of his sister, shielding her tiny frame with his own. His body language practically screamed, ‘Stay away from my sister!’. At this, Liam began to laugh as if Amber had just asked the funniest question. He laughed so hard he had to hold his sides and the siblings stood silently watching him rocking back and forth in his swivel chair, waiting for him to catch his breath. She took his laughter as a sign of him not lusting after her body; which in a way came as a huge relief. Even Anson started to relax a little. Perhaps Liam Smith wanted something menial, like a week of housekeeping perhaps? It was a naïve thought, but for a moment Amber truly thought all would be we
What have I gotten myself into? Amber wondered as she stared at her reflection. In the full-length mirror that hung from the crimson white walls of the dressing room stood a stranger. Is that me? She gaped, peering into the mirror and raised her right hand, waving it slightly. The redhead in the mirror waved back. She could not believe her eyes. Standing in front of her was a beautiful, elegant and sexy looking woman. She blinked, feeling a little like Cinderella. Except Cinderella had never been auctioned off dressed like this, she thought wryly before her reflection tugged at her attention once more. Her eyelashes had been curled up to bring focus to her emerald eyes and while her face had largely been kept to a bare minimum, it was clean and glowy with only a faint red tint to her lips. Her neck looked extra slender, and it was all due to the silken black kimono with gold butterflies that parted suggestively at her shoulde
Fabian Williams was furious. And rightly so. What the hell is she doing?! He had started the day with a blast - his company had successfully acquired the Silverware, a company from New York specializing in virtual reality systems. He even declined the offer to celebrate the victory with Elon Musk just so he could come to the La Fire Club to see her! Elon Musk! He had turned down the great Elon Musk just to find out that Amber Banks was auctioning herself off! Damn it! Has she gone mad?! Fabian stood in a darkened lounge lit with low lights on the first floor of the La Fire Club. The lounge was big as it was spacious, with plush armchairs sprawled around and scantily clad women serving drinks in sheer lacy kimonos. A few men were here, some of whom Fabian knew and some he did not bother to get to know. These men were here for one thing and one thing only. Sex. Fabian himself had been here before, he had even ‘purchased’ a few
Her fate was sealed. A man had offered six million for her body. Had it been a dream, she probably would have woken up laughing. Except that this was real. This was a living nightmare. Amber looked up from the maroon carpeted floor where she stood, shielding her emerald eyes from the glare of the spotlight with her hand only to see an enormous blackened mirror greeting her from the first floor. She quickly looked over at Cecil, biting her lips in anxiety. She could feel her heart beating furiously and it felt like it would burst from her chest at any given moment now. Please let it be Fabian Williams…she willed, ignoring the deafening cheers and applause that came from the all-around sound system. The room’s speaker system was connected to the lounge above and while she could not see any of the bidders, she could hear their every cheer and jeer. She did not like their voices, they all sounded like hyenas creeping in on their prey. Madam Cecil