“And this is a request you thought I might refuse?”

I shrug. “You might not need another employee or not want to take one on. It’s just…I enjoy being at the club. I like being able to help people. I like the guys and I like spending time with you. But I understand—”

His hand fists in my hair and he tilts my head back, cutting me off with a gentle kiss.

“If you need money, just ask. But I know you’re proud and if you want to work for it, you work as many hours as you need to. You are an incredible asset to the club. Everyone loves you. The pay stays the same.”

My eyes fill and I try to pull away, but he cups my face with his hands and holds my gaze. “Anything you want from me, Makayla, baby, you can have.”

Ah. So sweet. The moment is ruined only by the hum of a floor polisher, the ding of the elevator, and the slither of guilt up my spine. If I didn’t need the money, would I have offered to work at the club? But more troubling, do I feel the same way about him?

Chapter 19

This one is quite wet

Four days later, I spill the entire debt collector story to Charlie over a box of donuts at a local donut shop. He offers to help. I refuse. My mother never once accepted money from friends or family when we were on our own, and I can’t bring myself to do it either. Self-reliance is one lesson I learned well. I already feel like I’m betraying her by working for Max and being overpaid.

“So what are you going to do?” He licks each of his fingers before sticking them back in the box.

“I’ve got a second job at Max’s club.”

Charlie waggles his eyebrows and picks up a chocolate dip. “Why work for the billionaire boyfriend? Why don’t you just hit him up for some cash? You could promise to work it off in the bedroom.”

“He’s not a billionaire.” I bite into my sugary sweet honey glazed. “No private jet. No yacht. No helicopter. No glider. No security team shadowing his every move. He has a successful company, and he seems to be financially comfortable, but our outings so far have been pretty sedate. He’s as close to a regular guy as they come.” Except for the ropes and D-rings on the desk.

Charlie frowns. “I thought you said he had a butler and a chauffeur and a limo and a kick-ass pad.”

I shrug. “He said he entertains a lot of clients. I think those are all business expenses. And his club is just a big warehouse. It isn’t like those top-class MMA facilities with mirrored fitness studios and high-tech equipment. He’s not really the type of guy to splash money around.”

Charlie snorts a laugh. “That’s why he blew one million bucks to keep you out of Doctor Drake’s clutches at the auction.”

“He bought a necklace.”

“He bought you. A man spends money like that, a man thinks he owns you. Don’t forget it.” He licks chocolate off his fingers and pulls out a cruller.

The door opens and a cool breeze dissipates the thick yeasty smell of baking donuts. I shiver and shrug on my sweater. A man in a brown jacket with sandy brown hair takes a seat at the table beside us and orders a coffee.

“You still haven’t told me where he’s taking you tonight.”

“The Symphony Gala.” My lips quiver with a repressed smile, and I blow on my fingernails and rub them on my shirt.

Charlie’s eyes widen. “No way! That’s super swanky. I wouldn’t call that sedate.”

I grin and lean over the table. “I KNOW. I’m so excited. I’ve never been to a society event before. He’s even buying me something to wear from a little boutique he knows.”

“DO NOT drink anything.” Charlie’s smile fades and he waggles a finger at me. “You know what happens when you drink too much. You need to act classy. Don’t embarrass him.”

I lean back in my chair and sigh. “Don’t be overly dramatic. I’ve matured since the beer pong incident.”

Charlie snorts a laugh. “I thought you said he caught you playing strip poker on the weekend.”

“That’s different. I knew what I was doing. I can even remember some of it.”

The man in the brown jacket chokes on his coffee and dabs at his lips with a napkin.

“Moving off the topic of my drunken exploits,” I say, “you’ve been chomping at the bit to tell me something, so spill.” I bite into a Bavarian cream and watch my thighs expand. Charlie licks his fingers and spears another chocolate dip.

“I slept with Doris.”

“You’re kidding!” I lean right over the table. “You and Big Doris?”

Charlie blushes. “We had a lot to drink at the Heart 2 Heart benefit. One thing led to another and suddenly we were in her bedroom.”

I snort and spew donut across the table. “Naturally. After a woman slaps you in a public place for stealing a kiss, of course you would want to sleep with her.”

“Anyhoo.” Charlie leans in and breathes donut in my face. “This is where it gets really interesting.”

“I was interested from the second you said you ‘slept with Big Doris.’”

Charlie looks around and then takes a bite of his donut. “The minute the door closed, she was all over me. She tore off my clothes in a frenzy of lust and then she—”

“Big Doris?” I interject, more to save my innocent ears than for clarification.

Charlie nods.

“Big Doris tore off your clothes in a frenzy of lust?”