Taking the Bait

I grabbed my things and got up.

I needed to clear my head, and somehow Diego always helped with that.

When I stepped outside, I spotted him leaning against a brand-new BMW. I’d never understood how he managed things like this. He wasn’t rich. At least not officially. But somehow, luxury always seemed to orbit around him. It had been that way since college.

“Did you come here just to show off?” I teased.

The idiot pulled me into a hug and pressed a quick kiss to my cheek.

“What, you’re not happy to see me?” he shot back with a grin.

I was.

I just wished some of his luck would rub off on me too.

“With how desperately I need money right now, the least you could do is tell me where you found your gold mine,” I joked.

Mostly joked.

Diego gave me a strange look. Quick enough that I almost missed it. But for a second, it felt like he was carefully choosing his response instead of laughing it off.

We got into the car and started driving, talking about random things along the way. For a few minutes, I managed to forget the office. The locked door. My boss’s filthy smile.

Until Diego brought up the one subject I’d been trying not to think about.

“The money you need… it’s for your mom?”

I glanced at him and nodded. Diego had always known about her illness.

“Yeah. She needs more treatments, and the insurance company refuses to cover them.”

His expression tightened with concern, and he rubbed the back of his neck. I knew that gesture. Whenever Diego looked like that, something was coming.

And it usually wasn’t good.

“Look, man… I don’t know if you could do what I do to afford all this.” He smiled faintly out the side of his mouth. “You’re too straight-laced. I’m not sure you’d have the guts for this kind of work.”

I stared at him, disbelief washing over me.

Then, for one insane second, a terrible idea crossed my mind.

“Diego… you’re not, like, involved with something illegal, are you?” I asked, half joking, half bracing for him to say yes.

He burst out laughing. Loud enough to turn heads around us, like I’d just asked the dumbest question imaginable.

“No, you idiot.” He was still grinning when he continued. “But if you’re willing to give it a shot, I can take you there after work.”

He shrugged casually, like this was no big deal.

“It’s only at night. Won’t interfere with your job at the company at all.” Then his eyes dragged over me more carefully than usual. “Although honestly… with that pretty face of yours, you’d make a lot more money working for Ágata.”

The comment lingered in the air a second too long.

A bad feeling settled low in my stomach immediately.

What the hell did my face have to do with the job?

We arrived at the restaurant, but I barely noticed where we were sitting. The conversation kept replaying in my head, impossible to ignore now that he’d opened the door.

Curiosity hit before common sense could stop it.

“So…” I said slowly, looking across the table at him. “What exactly do you do?”

Diego only smiled.

Resting his elbows on the table, he laced his fingers together with infuriating calm, like he was about to say something that would permanently change the way I saw him.

“You’ll find out when we get there,” he replied smoothly. “And if you want, you can start tonight. I’ll call Ágata and let her know I’m bringing you.”

The smile that followed made it painfully obvious he knew exactly what he was doing.

I sighed. There was no point trying to squeeze more information out of him.

After lunch, I went back to the office, but the knot in my stomach refused to loosen. My mind kept spiraling, trying to figure out what kind of job paid enough to afford luxury cars and designer clothes overnight.

None of the possibilities felt good.

And somehow, that made me keep searching harder for one that did.

The afternoon dragged by like the clock had decided to punish me personally. By the time work finally ended, I gathered the presentation reports for the company president’s visit and headed toward my boss’s office.

I knocked once and stepped inside.

Instant regret.

Someone was under his desk.

For a second, I froze.

It wasn’t exactly shocking. Not really. But still…

I knew immediately what was happening. The restless movement of a visible foot gave everything away.

I kept my expression neutral, walked over to the desk, placed the folders down, and excused myself like I hadn’t noticed a thing.

Back at my cubicle, while packing my things, I saw one of my coworkers leaving the office. He avoided looking at anyone as he hurried past, moving too fast, like if he disappeared quickly enough nobody would say anything.

Funny.

He was one of the people who always swore he’d never sell himself for a promotion.

I lowered my gaze, careful not to react in a way that might reveal what I’d seen.

I hope I never end up that desperate.

The thought came bitter and immediate as I shoved papers into my bag harder than necessary.

A few minutes later, I left the building.

Diego was already waiting outside.

I climbed into the car, and we headed toward one of the wealthiest neighborhoods in the city. The farther we drove, the heavier the unease settled inside me, quiet but impossible to ignore.