4

ROSE

When I'd asked Cathy for a job, I prayed and hoped things would go smoothly for me, and it did. For a moment at least. Not only did I find a job, it paid well, and on top of that, I was going to get tips from my first customers. Everything was going well, until they weren't.

One minute I was telling myself that maybe, just maybe I could actually help father and get the last couple of days out of my system, but apparently, fate had other plans for me.

Plans that involved three men I never thought I'd be seeing again.

What were they doing here?

A million and one thoughts ran through my mind all at once, and no matter how hard I tried to get rid of them, they just didn't budge. Suddenly, the club didn't feel so airy and lively anymore. My breath hitched in my throat and I felt suffocated to the point I thought I was going to pass out. Maybe if I did, they would think I was dead and finally leave me alone. Even though I knew the chances of that happening was closer to zero than anything, a girl could at least dream, right?

Wrong.

My first instinct was to run, but my feet stayed planted on the ground. For some strange reason, the comfortable shoes I'd worn this evening, felt like I was standing over a volcano. My pulse roared in my ears as I glanced around the club, and I hated the reality that hit me square in the jaw.

I didn’t want to believe that this was the only way. After what had happened, there was no way I could walk up to them. I'd practically ignored and insulted them when they came by, so going to them willingly, would be nothing short of a death wish.

My pulse thundered all the more as I did a quick scan of the place. Maybe if I could find another waitress or someone kind enough to deliver their drink, the problem would go away, for now. However, the more I searched, the less workers I saw. If I didn't know better, I would have said I was the only employee in here.

Fuck.

After counting to ten and back to one again, hoping it would help keep my anxiety in check, I swallowed and forced my legs to move. Prior to this moment, their order had come in through another waiter, but I guess I was too preoccupied with the tips I'd gotten to focus on anything else.

I approached their table, my hands steady only because shock had numbed everything else.

“Gentlemen, your drinks,” I said, setting the glasses down carefully.

One of them watched me like I was something fragile and already broken. I wasn't a mind reader, but I just knew for a fact that that scene in the dean's office was currently replaying in their head, and before things could go from bad to worse, an idea popped up at the back of my mind.

“I’m sorry about earlier,” I added quickly. “I shouldn’t have walked out. Tomorrow I’ll contact my family lawyer, and we’ll draw up a payment plan, so we can put all of this behind us.”

I wasn't sure what I was expecting when the words tumbled past my lips, but the moment I was done, the room felt darker suddenly.

One of them, the scariest looking one, leaned back and gestured lazily around him, and that's when I realized they weren't entirely alone. A couple of girls flanked their sides. They were three in total, and for some strange reason, I hated that they were so close to each other. Before I could think too much of it, another man said something low to the girls seated with them.

“Excuse us ladies,” he told them.

The girls didn’t argue. They just stood and left without a glance back. My stomach twisted immediately, and I'd never felt more alone than I did right now.

“Is that so?” The man closest to me tilted his head, his deep baritone voice bringing me back to reality “Contact your lawyer and pay with what money?”

I stiffened. Yeah, they definitely knew.

“Certainly not from your father’s company,” he continued smoothly, “since it’s going bankrupt.”

The words hit like a slap.

I hadn’t forgotten, but hearing it thrown at me like that made my throat burn.

“You’ll need more than a waitress job to pay us off,” he said. “No matter how much you're being paid here.”

My ears rang, and even though tears threatened to spill from I eyes, I fought against them. It was one thing to cry, but it was another thing entirely to cry in front of them, and I would rather die than show them how much all of this was weighing down on me.

“Here is a thought,.” The third man finally spoke.  His voice was calm, too calm, and I should have taken that as a sign that everything was about to go haywire. “How about you work for us.”

“Wait.” My heart skipped. “W-what?”

“You heard me, and it's not exactly a hard job.” The first man smiled. “Don’t look so scared, all you have to do is be our pet.”

The world around me tilted immediately. Of all the things they could have said, I never thought that would be on the top of their list. My vision blurred as the word echoed in my head.

Pet.

They wanted me to be their pet

“Y-you mean….” My mouth went dry and I couldn’t even finish the sentence. I wasn’t naïve. I was still a virgin, but I knew exactly what that meant, and there were three of them. “Pet, as in your sex slave? Listen, I can work,” I said quickly, panic clawing its way up my chest. “As a maid, an assistant. Anything. Anything but that.”

“Isn't that cute?” One of them chuckled softly. “How many years do you think it would take you to pay thirty million as a maid?”

“Or have you forgotten about your poor old father and his dying company?” Another added, casually cruel,

Something snapped in then, and without thinking, I blurted out the first words that came to mind.

“He’s sick because of you,” I said, my voice shaking. “You did this to him.”

“We never touched him, we only asked questions.” The man across from me shrugged. “He panicked because he had something to hide.” Liar.

My hands curled around the tray under my arm, because their words stung, and if they did, maybe there was a little truth in them.

Time seemed to slow to a halt as they waited for my response. All around me, the music from the speakers blasted, but believe me when I said I couldn't hear a thing.

“Read.” The one wearing glasses as he slid a document toward me.

I looked down and immediately realized it was a contract

An agreement.

My chest tightened as I scanned the words, cold, legal, and merciless. I would belong to them until the debt was paid. This wasn’t a request, it was a verdict.

“I won’t,” I whispered. “I can’t.”

“Then you’ll never work again.” He smiled faintly. “Anywhere, and not even as a cleaner. I'll make sure of that. You will watch your father die and his company crumble. Don’t even get me started on jail time.

I had barely gotten a chance for their words to sink in before my phone buzzed.

It rang once, twice, and on the third ring, I dropped the tray and answered the unknown number flashing on my screen.

“Hello? I'm Dr Henry” A man's voice, professional and almost cold reached my ears immediately. “Am I on to Miss Rose?”

I gulped as realization dawned on me. The hospital, he was calling from the hospital, which meant something had gone wrong.

“Yes, this is she.” My fingers shook as I answered. The music was loud, but the words cut through it like a blade. “How can I help you?” My father was at home, safe. Why was the hospital calling me?

“Your father was brought in ten minutes ago, he managed to call the ambulance before he passed out. He needs surgery immediately.” his words landed immediately, and it was a miracle how my knees didn't give way from beneath me. “If we delay even for a minute, he might not make it.”

“Please, you have to save him.” The words toppled past my lips faster than I could catch them. “You have to…”

“We can't move forward without a deposit.” He cut me off and I felt my blood run cold. “You have at most an hour to arrange the money miss.”

The world tilted, and even though I wanted nothing more than to scream and probably cry, I only ended the call and stood there, frozen, barely breathing. I'd almost forgotten where I was, until one of them pushed the pen closer to me.

“You sign,” he said gently, “and your father lives. The bills will be handled. After that, you continue working until your debt is paid.”

Only a fool would turn down their offer now, and maybe I was one, but I would do anything to make sure father survived. I didn’t read another word again. This time, I signed.

“Good girl.” One of the men muttered, a sly smirk making its way to his lips. My skin crawled at what I'd just done, but I pushed it aside immediately. “You can go to the hospital. Everything will be settled when you get there.”

Everything after that happened too fast. One minute I was still grappling with what had just happened, and the next the transfer came through. I had barely gotten to the hospital before the doctor called me up to know they'd gotten the money. The surgery happened and the next four hours had to be the longest in my entire life.

Luckily for me, father survived, and when I stood beside his bed, unconscious but breathing, the doctor told me I could go home. I wasn't considering it, or maybe I was, but it didn't matter because my phone chose the worse time to buzz again.

“Royale Hotel.” The text read. “Now.”

My breath hitched in my throat immediately. I didn't remember giving them my number, but I just knew the text had come from them, and judging from the power they exuded, I told myself I had more things to worry about than how they'd gotten my number.

I gave father one last glance before heading to the hotel. I didn’t have a choice, were the words I kept on muttering to myself. Maybe if I said it a good number of times, I would actually believe it. 

The receptionist looked at me like she already knew who I was and what I was there for, but she handed me the keycard without a word.

They were waiting.

In daylight, they looked even more dangerous. They were impossibly handsome, with sharp lines, and controlled expressions. I couldn't even begin to describe how hot and sexy they looked individually. I could fill up an entire notebook, and it still wouldn't do justice to how they looked. Power clung to them like a second skin, and I actually found myself being drawn to them more than I was willing to admit.

“We should introduce ourselves,” one said calmly.

“I’m Enzo,” said the first.

“I’m Rowan,” said the second.

“And I'm Nathaniel,” said the third.

There was something about standing in their presence that made me hot all over. I'd steeled my mind for this moment the minute my pen touched that paper, but seeing my new reality play out in front of me was almost hard to bear

Like that wasn't enough, Enzo looked at me, eyes dark and assessing.

“Take off your clothes, little Rose,” he said. “You start work today.”