Chapter 35 Chapter 35
Amber
I stood awkwardly by the door, letting my gaze roam around the space.
To the far right, I saw a group of masked men seated around a couch, laughing loudly as a girl who was around the same age as me bent down to pick up something.
A man slapped her ass and pulled her close, holding a thick wad of dollars between his teeth that she leaned forward to take from her own mouth.
Fuck!
What kind of place had I walked into?
Before anybody would spot me, I immediately hurried over to one of the bar counters ahead of me where a few women were waiting for their turns.
“Lucky girl, that money will pay her rent for over a year.” One of the several women grumbled, as she looked at her reflection on the glass panels lined with expensive liquor bottles and adjusted her dress to make her cleavage look even more prominent.
“Oh come on, look at that freak running his hands all over her. I would gag. That’s the bloke who calls himself Shane and he stinks horribly.”
The others giggled as I tried to ease my mind, somehow relieved that I wouldn’t have to engage in any of those activities unless someone specifically asked me for me to serve them.
I could just hide behind this counter, look at who Clarke was meeting and then slip out, never to return again.
So, I let the conversation run as background noise, keeping my eyes peeled for Clarke. And sure enough, I spotted him enter through the door Chen had dragged me.
So he was a VIP guest here which means he frequented this place enough.
Surely, I would find something about him tonight. Hopes soared inside me as a woman quickly filled her tray with drinks and strutted over to them.
He looked a little tense and worried as he walked in with two other men. They quickly grabbed a few masks and put them on before walking over to a groove of sorts with a couch embedded inside it, making it look like the massive couch had sunk in the floor.
There was just one other man seated on the couch beside theirs, a girl pouring him drinks already.
“Ooh, the creepy VIP with loads of money is here. It's my time to shine ladies” Someone announced but I was too busy watching Clarke to keep track of the conversation.
The woman reached Clarke and his group of friends and offered them their drinks. Clarke in particular looked her up and down, his beady eyes raking her as he grabbed her by the waist pulling her closer.
“You aren’t new here are you?” He asked and she batted her eyelashes.
“I am experienced…very experienced” She replied slyly.
Even from behind the half mask Clarke wore, I could see his eyes shine with lust.
“Then show me what you got” He said, pulling out a thick wad of notes that he tucked in her bosom.
The rest of the men laughed as she grabbed a bottle and he opened his mouth wide open for her to pour it directly in his mouth.
“We can’t continue like this, Clarke. The situation is getting serious” The man beside him whined.
Clarke thrust his hand towards the side without looking at him, asking him to keep quiet.
“Let me relax a bit first, then we talk.”
However, the one beside him grew impatient.
“You don’t understand…” He began but Clarke’s face scrunched in annoyance as he gulped the whiskey and looked at his companion.
“This isn’t the place or time to discuss business.” Clarke said, looking around suspiciously and then lowered his voice.
Shit. I had to get closer to them to hear better.
So I quickly placed a few glasses and bottles on my tray and hurried over to the couch beside Clarke’s, hoping to pretend I was serving the guest while eavesdropping on Clarke’s conversation.
From this angle, I couldn’t see the face of the man and I didn’t even want to. I simply stood between the space separating the two couches, pretending to serve drinks.
Meanwhile, Clarke and the men continued chatting.
“She is pissed because of the recent events.” One of the two men shared.
Clarke pulled the server closer, grabbing her by her waist, almost making her chest collide with his.
“I am doing the cleanup. I did one just yesterday night so quit grumbling” Clarke muttered.
My eyes widened at that line.
Was he referring to the murder as cleanup?
“Not enough. We have to increase our speed.” The man who had been silent all this time said as he looked around.
“Besides, I need to relax as well.” His gaze fell on me. “Come over here and serve me!”
He barked and I froze. If I got too close to Clarke, he would see my face and then my coverup would blow to pieces.
But I also couldn’t just stand there stupidly and attract more attention.
So I gripped my tray tightly and walked over, ensuring the fur scarf hid much of my face as I handed him the drink and wished to step away.
However, his hand shot out and grabbed mine, startling me.
“Where are you going? Don’t you want some extra money?” He looked at me with obvious lust as he too pulled out a thick stash of notes from his pockets.
“No please” I fought to keep the panic out of my voice but that only made him laugh.
“You will enjoy it darling” He said in a lecherous grin and his hand came to grab my waist, already inching lower towards my ass.
Just then the lone guest who had been sitting on the next couch, one who I had offered drinks to without looking at his face shouted,
“Where the hell is my fresh face? Bloody Chen robbed me of my money.”
His voice was deep and thick but I thanked the Goddess for his timely intervention even if he didn’t know how he had just saved me.
“I am here” I squeaked and rushed over to him, doing the mental gymnastics of how to now thwart whatever demands he might make.
The man who had grabbed my wrist let go grudgingly as I rushed towards my customer.
“Sorry, I wasn’t…” I began and quickly held out a glass for him as his gaze landed on my feet and traveled all the way up leisurely to stop at my lips before being dragged up to hold my gaze.
I tried not to gasp as silver eyes from under a half mask stared back at me.
My eyes couldn’t grow any wider than they already were.
Damian had been sitting here all this time? I didn’t think I would be relieved to see the face of the guy who wanted me dead but here I was.
My fingers trembled slightly as he looked at me again, after letting realization sink inside me that he had once again saved me.
How many favors was I going to owe this man?