CHAPTER 5: Tempted by $100,000

Sabrina’s POV.

Skye is a thorn in my flesh. She got arrested for getting into a gang fight involving BAD’s gang against some other crew. And the moment I bailed her out, she ran right back to him. I was juggling everything: searching for her, staying with Ami at the hospital, and still trying to hold onto my job. Time slipped through my fingers, and before I knew it, I was already late for work. Bree had to stay with Ami in my place.

The second I stepped into the club, one of the dancers told me Lady B wanted to see me. My heart sank. I already knew I was in serious trouble. Lady B is a hard nut to crack, and I knew I had messed up the moment I showed up two hours late to work.

“I’m sorry, Lady B. I had an emergency. My sister was arrested, and it was tough getting her out. Please." I pleaded, hoping she’d hand me my costume. She ignored me, focused on slicing into her steak like I was invisible. 

“Please, Lady B. I promise.” Her cutlery clicked on her plate as she dropped it down to look at me. 

“Spicy, I don’t even like you. The only reason you still have this job is because you’re good at what you do and you make so much money for the Club. But since you are starting to mess that up, I’ll have to throw you out,” she snapped. I dropped to my knees. “Please… I promise… I swear it won’t happen again.”

“It better not,” she said, flinging my costume at me.

“Now, hurry up. You’ve got a customer in the VIP section.” I caught the outfit and rushed toward the locker room, only to find Bam, the most popular stripper at Eden. I usually avoided her because she was trouble. Her energy shifted the moment she saw me. She leaned against the mirror, arms crossed, eyes locked on me as I applied my makeup hurriedly.

“What do you want, Bam? I’m not in the mood for drama,” I said, my tone low and tired.

“You couldn’t handle my drama even if you tried,” she said, her voice like venom.

“I just came to remind you that your days at Club Eden are numbered. Soon, they’ll throw you out like the lowlife you are, and all those VIPs you stole will come running back to my big ass.”

“I didn’t steal anything. They keep requesting me. What do you expect me to do, turn them down?”

She stepped closer like she was going to shove her glittery acrylic nails into my eyes. I froze.

“Enough, Bam!” Lady B’s voice cracked through the tension. “I’ll lose money if you injure her.”

Bam scoffed, brushed her shoulder against mine, and walked away like she owned the club.

“And you,” Lady B barked at me,

“why are you still here? Didn’t I tell you to go to VIP?”

“Yes, ma’am.” I quickly pulled on my costume, tied my mask into place, and sprayed on my signature vanilla-citrus perfume. My hands trembled. My heart raced. I prayed it wasn’t Jace waiting for me. I didn’t want to see him, not tonight. When I finally stepped into the VIP room, relief washed over me. It wasn’t Jace. The man waiting wore a casual white two-piece and a Rolex wristwatch and had faded waves in his hair.

His golden-brown eyes studied me calmly. I recognised him almost instantly. He was a star player for the Whitecastle Striker hockey club, the same team Jace and the Timberwolves would be facing soon for the championship. He is the star of his team, too. I’d seen his face on the school gossip corner. What were the odds?

“Good evening, sir,” I began in my usual routine. “My name is Spicy, and I’m here to give you the full VIP experience. My rules are no touching, no happy endings, and if you need extra time, you’ll have to……”

“No need for the speech,” he interrupted smoothly. “I already know who you are. You were all over the news last weekend after Jace Harrington got into a fight over you. That got my attention. My name is Nico. Nice to finally meet you, Spicy.” He leaned in and tucked a stray curl behind my ear. His touch was light, but it made my skin crawl.

“I had to see for myself what made the almighty Jace Harrington lose his mind over a stripper. You smell sweet… I wonder how you taste.” He teased. 

I shuddered. “I don’t do happy endings,” I said, more firmly now.

He chuckled. “Not yet. Let’s save the juicy part for later. I have a deal for you.”

I hesitated. “What kind of deal?”

“Jace seems to like you. I have ears everywhere, in case you didn’t know. I’ve got someone on his team feeding me info.”

“Okay… and why are you telling me this?”

“Because I want you to do something for me. Something small. And I’ll make it worth your while.”

“I’m sorry, but if it’s not a lap dance, I can’t help you.” I tried to leave, but he wasn’t finished.

“I paid for the whole night and left a fat tip for Lady B and your manager. I wonder what they’d do if they found out you refused to entertain me.”

I stopped in my tracks. Slowly, I turned back to face him.

“What do you want?” I asked.

“Good girl.” He smirked. “The championship game is in a few weeks. As usual, Jace and his team will be here the night before to celebrate and loosen up. Not too much alcohol. Just music, dancing, and a bit of flexing. I know he’ll ask you to dance for him in VIP. When he does, I want you to drug him. Nothing fatal, just enough to mess with his performance.”

I blinked, stunned. “What? Are you insane? That’s illegal. I could go to jail!”

“Relax,” he said calmly. “The substance is slow-acting. It’ll take hours to reach his bloodstream. No one will suspect a thing.”

“I’m not doing that,” I said,

moving toward the door.

“$100,000.”

My feet stopped again. That was a lot of money. That kind of money could do wonders for Ami’s treatment. It could buy us time. Options. It was tempting. And maybe, just maybe, it was the perfect way to get even with Jace for all the crap he’d put me through.

“Just one drop, Spicy. That’s all it takes,” he added.

“One drop,” I echoed, my voice dry. “And it won’t kill him, right?”

“No casualty,” he promised with a crooked smile that only lifted one cheek.

I stared at him for a long moment. My heart thundered in my chest. Every nerve screamed at me to walk away, but the image of Ami hooked up to all those machines clouded my judgement.

“I’m in,” I whispered.