CHAPTER 1

“You can do this” I whispered to myself as I stared at my reflection in the mirror. Another day, another migraine. Even from the closed staff bathroom, I could hear the loud music and feel the vibration from the bass. I washed my hands quickly before putting my hair in a bun. I was adjusting my apron when someone walked into the bathroom.

“Tommy looks pissed” the girl says with a blank face.

“He’s always pissed. If I could have a dollar for every time he’s annoyed, I’d be rich” I roll my eyes.

The girl laughs at my statement as she fixes her hair. “That’s so true, Emma” She hesitated for a moment. “Some of the girls are going to a party later if you’re interested”

“I won’t be available after work, Gracie. I’ll be visiting-“

“Your mom.” Gracie finished. I could only stare apologetically while she nodded. “It's fine. Maybe next time….. Shifts start in five” I watched her leave, feeling bad knowing there’s nothing I could do about it.

I came out of the bathroom later and winced at the sudden intrusion of loud music in my ears. I hated it here. The ear-splitting sounds, the blinding lights, the smell of whiskey, and the old men seeking a thrill from their boring corporate lives.

I was wiping down the counter while the bartender restocked on the liquor and Gracie joined me later. I glanced around. Seats were already filling up. I sighed deeply, mentally preparing myself for a grueling day of work. My feet were already killing me.

A man came to the counter moments later. A smile worthy of an Oscar appeared on my face. “What can I get you, hon?” I asked.

He glanced at me and smirked at Gracie, eyeing her up and down. “I'll have a whiskey, neat” She immediately turned to inform the bartender but the man grabbed her arm. “I want you to make it”

“Excuse me,” she asked, her smile cracking. The man only grinned “Pour the whiskey for me, doll. It’s not a big deal”

“Oh course, sir. I’ll do that right now” After she poured his whiskey, he lightly sipped before making a dissatisfied grunt. “This isn’t whiskey neat”

“Sir, it’s exactly like you wanted it. I poured it straight from the bottle” she explained nervously.

“Then you must have put something in the bottle, idiot” he yelled, attracting attention from people close by.

I started to panic. “Sir please, calm down. I’ll pour you-“

“Don’t tell me to calm down, you bitch” he stood up. “Who do you think you are?” the bartender rushed to call the manager before I could stop him.

My mind started racing. It was obvious who would win in this scenario. Knowing Tommy, he would most likely fire us both. I couldn’t afford to lose this job. My mother was all I could think of. I grabbed onto his sleeve while maintaining my formal tone. “Sir, you don’t need to blow this out of proportion. I’ll get you another glass on the house”. 

The man glared at me viciously as he raised a hand. I closed my eyes, knowing what would come next.

“What’s the problem here?” I heard a deep manly voice approaching the counter. I squinted my eyes open and there he was. Tall, muscular and extremely attractive. His face looked familiar. He wore a black suit, no tie, posture too calm for someone in a place like this. He was accompanied by some men with similar builds. The way they carried themselves only complemented the man’s aura. I watched as the man from before fumbled his words.

“W-well, she started it” The man pointed at Gracie who squealed and instinctively hid behind me. His eyes were on me now, cold and unreadable. He noticed my trembling hands “Looks like you were disrupting the peace if you asked me” he said before turning back to the man. Suddenly, my manager came running towards us fuming, probably to fire us when he saw the tall man. He instantly deflated and spoke softly. “What do you need, Mr. Reeves? Are my staff causing you any trouble?” Tommy glared at us.

Mr. Reeves nodded towards the jerk from earlier “Ask him”. All eyes turned to the man who was fidgeting. “N-nothing is wrong. I was just leaving” and muttered something under his breath before he left the bar. Everyone who had come to witness the drama dispersed and Mr. Reeves walked back to his seat while Tommy followed him like a loyal dog awaiting a command.

“Who was that guy?” I muttered to myself, my eyes still glued to his back. “That’s Damon Reeves. CEO of Reeves Syndicate”. Gracie responded and my eyes widened in surprise. The Reeves Syndicate handled billion-dollar mergers across three continents without leaving a paper trail. I had seen his picture in an article a few days back. Tommy came towards the counter and signaled us to follow him. I gulped, worried about what he wanted to say. He scolded us in his office and told Gracie to clean the toilets for a week then sent me to get back to work.

I served the people at my tables with a smile on my face. Laughing at their bad jokes and inflating their egos; encouraging huge tips and great feedback. This wasn’t a job. It was survival and I was going to make it out alive. I was picking up some glasses from my table when I saw him. He was looking at me. I gulped as my heart raced. He had that same unreadable expression. His eyes only followed me as I walked back to the counter. I decided to go to the restroom to check on Gracie. “I can’t wait to kill that bastard”

I froze. “He thinks he’s so powerful just because he has a strong following. Are you sure this plan will work?” the man asked another guy in the room. I could hear the other man chuckle. “After Damon Reeves is dead, there will be no one to stop us from getting what we want. His empire will crumble and the assets will be ours for the taking”. I covered my mouth before I could scream. “All we have to do is wait for the weapon shipments from the south to arrive. He’ll be dead before the week's out. No more Reeves. No more competition.” 

I staggered backwards and accidentally slipped and knocked over a vase, causing a loud crashing sound. I didn’t get the chance to stand up before they opened the door. I shrieked as soon as they saw me, and my heart pounded against my chest. “I think this bitch heard us” the first man I had heard said as he brought out his gun but the second man held his shoulder as he looked around. I noticed a tattoo of a viper on his neck as he watched the area cautiously. “Let’s take her for now. We’ll wait for Dennis before we kill her” Before they could pick me up, a drunk man approached us limping.

This caused the perfect distraction for me to take off towards the bar where there were people. The first man immediately chased after me and fired his gun, causing everyone to scramble towards the exit. I bumped into what felt like a strong wall. It was Damon Reeves. Wasting no time, he took my hand and ran out of the building, using the crowd. A car immediately pulled up in front of us and we leapt into it. The man from earlier started firing and us as we drove away.

My heart was beating hard in my chest. I closed my eyes, trying to calm down, unknowingly gripping Mr. Reeves' hand. I only noticed after we had been driving for a while. I let go quickly, feeling embarrassed. “Thank you’ I hesitated ‘for everything.” I brushed a strand of hair behind my ear. “Don’t be” he responded dismissively, only sparing me a glance. I didn’t look up at him. I didn’t have the courage to. I only stared at the window while tugging on my whiskey-stained apron.

I realized we were going in an unfamiliar direction “Where are we going?” I asked.

“To my cabin” He answered.

Panic started to rise in me. “Why?”

He looked at me now. Cold yet persuasive. “You have something I want”

“A-and that is?” I raised an eyebrow in confusion.

“Those men you were running away from. You’re going to tell me what you heard”

“I have nothing to do with this, please.” My heart pounded against my chest. “I didn’t do anything.” I pleaded.

“We just want to ask some questions. Nothing serious. Just tell us what you know and you’ll be on your way” There was silence in the car after that. It wasn’t long before we reached his cabin. I watched Mr. Reeves walk into it while I was ushered in and taken to his office.

“Let’s cut to the chase. Who are you? Are you a spy sent from a criminal organization to spy on me?” he inquired, two men at his side.

“No, I’m just a normal person, sir. I’m just a waitress.” Mr. Reeves raised an eyebrow.

“Then why was that man after you?”

I paused “I was at the wrong place at the wrong time, sir.” He noticed my deflection

“What did you hear?” he asked seriously.

I gulped and looked down. He noticed my hesitation and scoffed. “If you don’t tell me, I can have you arrested.”

“T-there were two men.” I began “There were talking aboutkilling you” Mr. Reeves gave no reaction, like he was hearing a daily report. I shuddered at the thought of how his life must be.

“They’re handling some weapon shipments in the south this week. They were planning on attacking your base with it”  

“Is there anything else you can recall?”

I racked my brain as I tried to remember. “No”

Mr. Reeves immediately asked both of his men to make some phone calls, leaving us alone.

“C-can I leave now?” I inquired, attempting to stand up.

He waited a beat and stared at me for a moment while tapping on his desk “Let’s make a deal.” He said in a calm and decisive tone while I stared at him cautiously.

“My offer is simple,” he said, leaning back in his leather chair, his voice colder than the iced whiskey in his glass. “Help us track down those people you overheard earlier and act as bait for a few months”

His eyes were steel—sharp, unreadable.

I swallowed hard. I was a waitress. He was a billionaire. We lived in different worlds. But my mother was dying, and I needed money fast.

“And in return?” I asked, my voice barely a whisper.

“You get two million dollars as well as protection from the criminal organization looking for you,” he said flatly.

My hands trembled in my lap. This wasn’t a proposal. It was a transaction.

I thought of my sick mother in the hospital and inhaled deeply. 

“Deal.”