Chapter 2

Mia went off to wrap things up, and a new hostess stepped in to keep me company.

She called herself Cindy Lopez, keeping a cheerful smile the whole time. "So, Ms. Evans, what kind of company do you prefer? I can arrange someone to hang out with you."

"Any new faces lately?" I asked.

Cindy's eyes lit up. "Oh, absolutely! We got a whole batch of newbies in. None of them have even been on the floor yet, totally brand new and untouched."

Cindy led me into a quiet private room.

Before long, she came back with a row of boys, all with their heads down, looking stiff and awkward.

I scanned the group, then pointed at the one in the corner who looked completely lost. "Him."

Cindy quickly shooed the others out and dragged the boy right up to me. "Come on, say hello."

The boy looked up, his ears turning red. "Hey, I'm Bruce. It's my first time working here, so I'm not really sure what I'm supposed to do. Let me know if you want anything."

I patted the spot next to me on the couch. "Relax, no need to be nervous. If you can sing, do a couple of songs. If not, hang out and share some fruit with me."

"I'm actually pretty decent at singing," Bruce replied.

He picked up the microphone and sang "My Heart Will Go On." His voice was clean and gentle.

I leaned back on the couch, listening to the old song, and before I knew it, I was lost in memories.

Our villas were right next door to each other, and since Ryan and I were about the same age, we basically grew up side by side.

The day everything fell apart for Ryan's family, I was on vacation overseas.

My dad called me, saying David Sinclair, Ryan's father, got busted for financial crimes and the whole family's assets were frozen.

By the time I rushed back, Monica Sinclair, Ryan's mother, had already jumped off the building.

Ryan got dragged off by loan sharks and forced to work as a male host at a nightclub to pay off the debt.

When I rushed to the club to find him, he was all bruised up, curled up in a corner.

When he saw me, his eyes welled up with tears, and he turned his head away. "You shouldn't come to places like this. It's dirty."

I couldn't stand seeing him suffer, so I started requesting him every single night.

At first, he kept turning me down, telling me not to throw money at him, that he wasn't worth it.

But after a while, he started to change. He began piling on the makeup, whispering sweet nothings, and hustling those ridiculously overpriced drinks.

He even started hinting that I should go ahead and be his sponsor.

By then, I was a little disappointed.

But "disappointed" didn't really cover it. It was more like a tangled mess of emotions and heartache, watching him get swallowed up by the club scene.

Especially since he was the guy I grew up with. When I looked back at our lives, I realized he wasn't the same person anymore.

A few days ago, I couldn't stand by and watch Ryan keep spiraling down, so I went to my dad and begged him to pull some strings and get Ryan out of this mess.

My dad only had one condition. He'd help Ryan, but I had to cut all ties with the Sinclairs for good.

I agreed. So, I came here to tell him about it.

But I never expected he'd actually join forces with strangers to set me up.

When Bruce finished singing, he put the mic back on the stand and shot me a nervous look. "Was it bad? You haven't said anything, Ms. Evans."

I shook myself out of it. "No, you did really well. You sang with a lot of feeling."

Bruce breathed out, fidgeting with his hands on his knees, looking lost for words.

I asked, "So, how much are you supposed to sell tonight, according to your manager?"

He muttered, "300 dollars worth of drinks."

I pressed the service button.

Cindy came in with a big smile. "Ms. Evans, what can I do for you?"

"Starting tomorrow, Bruce doesn't have to work the floor anymore," I said, pulling out a card. "I'm putting 600,000 dollars in my account, and today, I want three Golden Bonus packages for him."

Cindy's eyes went wide, and she kept bowing. "Yes, right away! Bruce, hurry up and thank Ms. Evans."

Bruce jumped to his feet and bowed deeply. "Thank you, Ms. Evans!"

Once the transaction was done, I smiled and grabbed my bag. "Bruce, I'm heading out. I'll come see you again tomorrow."

Cindy, Bruce, and a few other waiters who'd been waiting around all walked me out.

As we walked down the hallway, we bumped into Mia.

She was on the phone, sounding anxious. I caught her whispering, "What do we do? The guest ordered 1.5 million dollars' worth of drinks, but now they're refusing to pay."

I didn't pay it any mind and took the elevator downstairs.

Once we got downstairs, Bruce, blushing, opened the car door for me and whispered, "Charlotte, I'll be waiting for you tomorrow."

I slid into the car, smiled at him, and said, "Okay."

*****

When I got home, I kicked off my heels.

My dad poked his head out of the study. "Did you tell Ryan about it yet? I've already got the money and the contract ready."

"Forget about him," I said.

My dad blinked in surprise. "What happened? Didn't you like him? Weren't you always booking him at the club every night?"

"Dad, who said I liked him? I pitied him. That's all."

"Seriously?"

"Of course, it's true. Who in their right mind would fall for a club gigolo? Am I stupid or what?"

"Alright, whatever you say."

"Then I'll hold onto the money for you. Didn't you want to start that M-something-N project a while back? Use it for that," he added.

*****

The next night, when I went back to the club, Cindy and Bruce were already waiting for me at the entrance.

Ryan would never have dared to imagine getting this kind of treatment.

He always thought it was embarrassing, saying it was crushing his dignity.

"M-Ms. Evans, do I look alright today? Am I still your type?" Bruce stammered, rushing over as soon as he saw me, clearly nervous.

I looked him up and down.

He'd gone out of his way to style his hair and put on a touch of eyeliner, standing there all stiff and formal, blushing hard.

I pinched his cheek. "Not bad. You look pretty cute."

Cindy laughed. "Bruce was so excited last night that he didn't sleep a wink. He got up super early, spent ages getting ready, hoping to impress you."

Bruce quickly tugged at her sleeve. "Come on, Cindy. Don't embarrass me"

I laughed and ruffled Bruce's hair. "You really went out of your way. I love it."

Bruce, still blushing, led me into the private room.

Just as I settled in, it hit me. I'd promised Leo he could join us yesterday. "Is Leo around? Have him come over."

Bruce looked down, his voice barely above a whisper. "Ms. Evans, am I too boring for you?"

"Not at all," I said, ruffling his hair. "The more, the merrier."

Leo showed up in no time. He slid right next to me, grabbed the bottle, and was about to pour me a drink.

I raised my hand to stop him. "I'm allergic to alcohol, so I don't drink."

He paused, then quickly switched to juice. "No worries, we'll drink, and Ms. Evans can have some grape juice."

I sipped my grape juice, listening to Bruce sing.

After the song, Bruce sat there, fidgeting nervously, and the atmosphere felt a little stiff.

Leo glanced at me, then at Bruce, and grinned. "Just sitting here singing is dull. Ms. Evans, why don't we play something a little more interesting?"

"Sure, you decide," I said.

He jerked his chin at Bruce. "Bruce, kneel at Ms. Evans's feet and let her feed you a drink."

Bruce's ears turned bright red. He shuffled over, dropped to one knee in front of me, and looked up with a shy, pleading look. "Ms. Evans, be gentle with me, okay?"

"Okay." I nodded, brought the glass to his lips, and slowly tilted it.

But honestly, it was my first time doing something like this, so I was pretty awkward.

Bruce still choked on the drink and started coughing like crazy.

I hurried to pat his back.

Once Bruce finally stopped coughing, he curled up against my legs, looking up at me with those teary, red eyes. He looked so helpless.

My heart skipped a beat. I leaned in and gently kissed his forehead.

Suddenly, the door to the private room was thrown open. Ryan stormed in, his eyes blazing red. "Charlotte, what the hell are you doing?"