Chapter 40

Ava.

"You've shown dedication and hard work in your position as a waitress here at the Billionaire's Club. Your pay will be increased by five percent, and after a year, it will be reconsidered again," Aiden said to me, and I nodded excitedly.

"Thank you so much," I said, my legs shaking excitedly under the table.

After arriving at work today, Aiden asked me to come to his office. There was a satisfied look on his face as I walked in. As usual, he looked impeccable. He wore a dark green suit that hugged his slim figure perfectly, and his hair was swept back with not a strand out of place. His blue eyes glanced at me.

"It's been two weeks, and you're already doing very well. You are familiar with the drinks, and your customer interaction is good. There's room for improvement, but you'll learn on the job. That would be all for now; you can leave," Aiden said.

I sprang to my feet, grinning widely. "Thank you so much, sir," I said before heading for the door. His voice stopped me.

"Did you speak to Mikhail after I warned you not to?" he asked, his voice betraying any emotion I might have perceived.

I didn't trust myself to turn and look him in the eye as the image of Mikhail and I kissing resurfaced in my mind.

"No, sir," I lied through gritted teeth.

That was the last time I was going to be talking to the Billionaire, so there wasn't any need to tell Aiden about something that was no more and implicate myself after I was out of probation.

"Good. I hope you can remember the rules. It's only been two weeks since you started. I'd hate to fire you for breaking them," he said to me, and I could feel his gaze burning into my back. I nodded.

"Yes, sir. I understand," I said before opening the door and leaving his office.

I went to the dressing room and saw that Mia was the only one who had arrived. She typed on her phone and looked up at me as I walked in. I admired her blue gown, which had stones that glittered under the light. Her hair was curled and fell past her shoulders in a soft wave.

"Hey," I greeted awkwardly, closing the door and heading to my table. I was greeted back with silence, but I wasn't really expecting anything from her anyways.

There was an awkward silence before she broke it.

"You usually come late. Why are you early today?" she asked, not turning to look at me.

"Oh, I was in the neighborhood," I responded to her, drumming my fingers against the table.

"Hmm," Mia said before dropping her phone, folding her arms, and then turning to me without saying anything else.

I squirmed under her burning gaze, not backing down from our eye lock. After a few seconds, she looked away and then rose up, leaving me alone in the room.

I sighed in relief, relaxing against the chair, just as my phone rang. I picked it up to see a number I hadn't saved before accepting the call and placing it on my left ear.

"Hello?" I said when there was silence at the other end. Then I heard the sound of footsteps before the person spoke.

"Ava," it said, and I instantly recognized it as Mikhail's voice.

"How did you get my number, Mikhail?" I asked, feeling irritated, but a faint blush stained my cheeks.

"I have various ways of getting what I want, and your number isn't an exception," I rolled my eyes.

"What do you want? I have to work now."

"I know you need money. You need a better apartment, and while you might be comfortable staying at 'his' place, I know you'd still like to get your own," Mikhail said, emphasizing the word 'his' with so much disgust I could feel it in my ears.

"So I'm going to offer you a deal. You'll go on a date with me twice, I mean dinner, and I'll give you ten thousand dollars for each day," Mikhail said, and I could feel him smirking.

Ten thousand dollars per day! That's twenty thousand dollars in all!

With that money, I could even assist Jayden in paying Avery's medical bill, get my own apartment, and not feel like a burden to him. I could even start considering going to the state college to study art!

My blood pumped in my veins excitedly. But there was a catch: going with Mikhail would only lead to insults, and I could get fired if Aiden caught us.

A part of me felt guilty, but another part of me was excited to go out with Mikhail, and the last part of me was greedy to get my hands on such a huge amount.

I suddenly wanted to cry at how much I had changed over the years, how money-conscious I had become, and how people like Mikhail and Karina could use money to make them do their will and order me around.

I felt disgusted that I was even considering it, but at the same time, that money could open doors for me and get me to school!

"So what do you say?" Mikhail asked after a while.

"Why do you want to go out with me so badly? This is the second time you're asking for a date. Besides, you've called me a shameless poor person with no dignity, and all of a sudden, you want to eat and clink glasses with me?" I asked, gaining a lot of confidence, mostly because we weren't talking face-to-face.

There was a long pause before Mikhail spoke again. "I don't know. For the first time, I want to have something that proves difficult for me."

"So I'm just a challenge to your ego and pride?" I asked, unbelievably.

"Yes."

I sighed. Of course, Mikhail would have such a mindset. "I can't make it for dinner; let's do lunch or brunch."

"Lunch? I smiled.

"No. It must be dinner."

"But I'll be working by then," I argued.

"Then think of something to tell Aiden. You're a smart girl. I know you'll figure something out. My PA would be in communication with you. See you soon." Mikhail finished, ending the call before I could say anything else.

I growled angrily, throwing my phone on the desk before burying my face in my palm. I couldn't do this. What if Aiden found out? Or Jayden?

It would crush Jayden that I was going out with another guy after all he's done for me.

But it would also help Avery and me. And Avery comes first despite everything.

The door opened to reveal Mia and Olivia, who walked in quietly until Olivia saw me and ran to me. She was wearing blue jeans and a big white hoodie, and there was a black bag hanging over her shoulders.

"Hey cutie." She greeted me, pecking me on the lips before pulling back.

"So what did Aiden say about your probation period?" Olivia asked, coming to sit at my table.

From the corner of my eyes, I saw Mia frown, taking her seat and tapping her phone again, totally ignoring us once more. But neither of us minded her.

"I'm an official staff now!" I yelled, and Olivia pulled me into a crashing hug once more.

"I'm so happy!"

"Me too. Welcome to the family, Ava. I can't wait to tell the others. Can't you say anything, Mia?" Olivia turned to her.

I grimaced, and Mia looked up at me. "Welcome," she said through gritted teeth before raising her brow at Olivia, who smiled before facing me and pinching my cheeks. But before she could say anything else, the door opened, and Willow burst in. She wore an extremely short dress with a fur jacket, a pair of sunglasses resting on her nose.

Lisa followed quietly after her, and I waved, and she nodded before taking her corner at the end of the room. She was wearing a long, weird cream-colored dress and black boots that clanked heavily on the floor as she walked. Her fringe covered half of her eyes.

Willow slammed the door dramatically and pulled down her glasses, peeping at us with a smirk on her face.

"Guess what?" She said, eyes darting across each of us as she grinned excitedly and waited for our response.

"You finally got breast implants," Olivia snickered, and Willow rolled her eyes.

"It's my birthday, bitches!" She yelled, slamming her feet to the floor excitedly and twirling around. "Although I can't wait to get my breast implants though," she smirked.

"Happy birthday, Willow!" Olivia cheered, going to hug her, and I stood up too, smiling at Willow, who started twerking in the center of the room.

"Happy birthday," I said. Mia and Lisa grunted a happy birthday before Willow walked up to them, pulling everyone to the center of the room.

"You guys know the tradition, right? You know what it calls for?" Willow asked excitedly, fisting her hands and waving them in the air as if she was holding a pair of pom-poms.

Lisa grimaced, and Mia responded. "Yeah." She smiled at Willow, who smirked and turned to me along with everyone else.

"What?" I asked awkwardly as everyone's gaze burned into me as if I was oblivious to what they had in their heads. Which I was!

"Every time it's someone's birthday, Aiden lets us take home the outfit for that day. He specifically picks the outfit because he knows each of our birthdays," Olivia started to explain.

"And he picks the hottest outfits, trust me!" Willow screamed.

"And then we meet every hour at the bar and gulp down a cup of any alcoholic drink of our choice. We keep doing that until the end of the night. We start at exactly 8 p.m."

"And at the end of the night, we'll all be drunk!" Willow yelled excitedly. "It's been a while since I've gotten drunk!" she said, and Olivia clapped excitedly.

"Also, guys, Ava is now a part of the club, so we have two celebrations tonight. Usually, we do the same thing, drink a cup of any alcoholic drink every hour too, but the new person only gets to keep the clothes, and trust me, it's going to be sexy. But in your case, I'm sure Aiden would give you another dress for you to keep. Just don't forget to tell me. Because tonight we all have to wear the same outfits."

"Yeah! So instead, we are going to be downing two cups of alcohol every hour. Last year on Lisa's birthday, we got drunk at exactly past two, and I remember tripping on the stairs." Willow laughed, and even Mia smiled excitedly at the memory.

"Damn. It wouldn't be midnight yet before every one of us is drunk this time because we are taking two cups at a time," Lisa said, but her eyes sparked with excitement.

"You all seem really happy, even you, Lisa," I said.

"Yeah. It's the only day Aiden lets us slack off work. And it's kinda fun too," she responded.

"Plus, we get cool expensive outfits!" Willow chimed in.

"And free drinks!" Olivia yelled.

"And we get drunk too. I'm really looking forward to that. For once, I need to forget about y'all," Mia said, folding her arms and looking away from us.

"Come on, don't be such a buzzkill," Willow said, throwing her arm over Mia's shoulders. And I was surprised when Mia didn't push her off.

"I'll get you a present tomorrow," she said, her cheeks flaming red.

"Aww. Thank you." Willow pecked her on the cheek before raising her hands in the air excitedly.

"Tonight, we party and get drunk! Wooohooo!" she screamed, and everyone else joined in the cheer, while I stood there wondering how I had never been drunk in my entire life.

The night would really be a long one, and I couldn't stop the excitement that bubbled inside of me.

"So how do we get home then if we are drunk?" I asked, thinking of how I would get home when I wasn't going to be right in the head.

But instead of responding, everyone burst into laughter at my question.

"Don't think much about it. First, we party, then we figure that out," Olivia said, and Willow laughed excitedly, stretching her hand.

"Come on, guys. Let's call it in." She grinned, and Olivia placed her hand on top of hers, followed by Mia and then me, and finally Lisa.

"Tonight rarely ever happens, so let's all take the opportunity to dance, twerk in some d's, get drunk, and have the best nights of our lives," Willow said, and we all burst out in laughter.

"In 3! 2! 1!"

"Yeah!!!" We all responded, throwing our hands in the air excitedly.