chapter 5

I sit across from Courtney at a raised tabletop in a bar in Queen Anne. She’d texted me after work demanding to know how my one-night stand had gone and suggesting we meet for drinks.

While seeing Courtney is always a good time and would normally be a fun choice to destress after my first day of work, this day has been … one weird fucking day.

“So he wasgood?” Courtney asks with a smirk.

I nod. “Yeah.” While I’d be gushing to Courtney over all the gory details if it were this morning, I’ve definitely lost my giddiness over the whole encounter. And I’m worried to bring upthosedetails. Part of me wonders if it’s a good idea. Maybe I should just take this secret to my grave, act as if it never happened, and hope it never gets out.

Besides, I’m embarrassed. I accidentally slept with my boss the night before I met him. Who the fuck does that happen to?

“What about you?” I press, changing the subject. “You go home with anyone?”

She shrugs. “No. Didn’t meet anyone I liked enough.”

My phone vibrates against my leg, and I pull it out of my jeans. It’s an email notification. Normally, I’d ignore emails after hours, but after my meeting with Asher today, I’m paranoid it might be him. And I can’t risk any more reasons for him to dislike me.

I pull up the email, skimming it.

Shit. It’s worse than Asher. Much worse.

“What is it?” Courtney asks, noticing my attention to my phone.

“Fuck,” I mutter, rereading the email. “It’s from the lawyer handling my dad’s estate.”

Courtney’s eyebrows knit together in sympathy. “Oh no.”

I sigh in frustration, tossing my phone onto the table. “I thought I had a year to pay off the debts and settle everything, but it turns out I only have a few months. Three. Three months!” I rub my temples, panic setting in. “I can’t pay off all that money in three months. I’ll lose the house.”

Shit. I’d thought there was a way out. A way to not lose absolutely everything in my life. Maybe my family had to go, but at least I’d get to keep the house with all their memories. But no. Life has a cruel way of taking everything, bit by bit.

I feel tears prickling at the corners of my eyes.

Courtney reaches across the table to put a hand over mine. “I’m sorry, Liv,” she says softly.

I shake my head, holding back the tears.

“Three months?” she repeats. “How much can you save from your new job in that time? You’re making more now, right?”

I nod. “I’m making more, but it’s not enough. I’d budgeted six months—and that was even a stretch.”

Courtney is silent for a moment. “Liv,” she says after a long pause. “I might know a way for you to save up the money.”

I glance up at her, although my hopes aren’t high. I don’t really see a way out of this right now.

“You know that new job I told you about?”

“The one with the connections that got us into that fancy bar?”

She nods. “It’s uh … unorthodox, to say the least. But it pays well, and … they’re looking for more girls.”

I frown. “What kind of job is it?”

She snorts. “You’re gonna think I’m crazy. But I swear it’s legit, and it’s not as awkward as you’d think.”

I resist the urge to roll my eyes. “What is it?”

She purses her lips. “I work for a gentlemen’s club. A real fancy one. I’m a waitress. Only … I waitress topless.”

I sit in silence for a long moment until finally, a laugh bursts out of me. “You’re kidding.”

Courtney chuckles. “I’m not. And the pay is crazy. The payandthe tips. Liv, you might be able to pay off your dad’s medical debt in just a few weeks of doing this.”

I stare at her incredulously. Both because she’s actually doing this for a job and that she’s suggesting I do it too. “Courtney, I can’t walk aroundtoplessfor money.”

She gives me a dismissive wave. “It sounds much sleazier than it is. I mean, obviously guys are leering at you, but they can’t touch, and security is super tight there. It’s weird at first, but you get used to it real quick.”

I laugh. “I can’t believe this is your job.”

Courtney grins.

“How long have you been doing this?”

She shrugs. “On and off for a month or two. I swear, it’s great money. Consider it.”

I shake my head. “I don’t know, Courtney. I’m not … adventurous like that.”

She snorts. “Well, let me know if you change your mind. They’re low on waitresses, and I could definitely get you in.”

I chuckle, taking a sip of wine. As per usual, Courtney is as entertaining as ever. Of course she’d be the one with the shocking job making tons of cash. And while I admire her courage, I’m just too much of a

chicken to ever attempt such a thing.