Chapter 11
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Aspen
My mouth opened and closed like a gaping fish, gasping for air. No matter how much oxygen I breathed into my lungs, it still didn’t feel like it was enough. Moans bounced off the walls of the rather large office, my gaze glued to the couple fucking on the wide sofa. Usually, it would be easy to overlook. I’ve seen people fuck before and it never had this impact on me. Quite the opposite really. My cheeks heated at the memory of Raven and Hunter in that shower, but the feeling was gone as quickly as it resurfaced. Raven was gone, and this wasn’t Hunter.
The woman was on all fours, her black hair spilling in front of her face. Her breasts were large and nice to look at—even for me, and her hips jiggled with every movement. She was absolutely stunning.
“Ah,” a feminine voice spoke up, acknowledging my existence for the first time. Swinging my gaze over to the wooden desk at the far end of the room, a woman sat perched on her desk. One leg was crossed in front of the other and her dark hair was pulled into a sleek bun. “Come,” she urged, motioning me over.
Rocky could fuck who he wanted. I didn’t know why he was here, or who that girl was, but it was the least of my concerns. He was too wrapped up in her to even notice that I’d walked into the room. Pain splintered through my chest, trying to call me a liar. I did care, but I didn’t know why.
Striding to the far end of the room, I halted once reaching my destination. This must be Talissa. She was beautiful and had a motherly glow to her. Her skin was smooth, and her eyes were painted in dark liner.
“You were interested in working here?” she questioned, over the sound of skin slapping and moans echoing through the room.
Wincing, I nodded. Did she usually conduct meetings like this? I guess this was the best way to find out if someone would be a good fit to work here or not, considering this was a sex club and all.
“Have you ever been here before?”
“No. I just moved here this year. After—” the moans and slapping noises were throwing me off, especially because the guy fucking her was someone, I’ve apparently grown to like a little bit over the last couple weeks. Clearing my throat, I continued. “After something traumatic happened in my life, I realized I needed a job. This one intrigued me most out of my limited list of options.”
Talissa’s red lips twitched into a small smile. She seemed elegant and poised. It was ironic that she owned this establishment.
“I see. Were you wanting to be an escort, exotic dancer, or cocktail server? We have janitorial open as well, but you’re much too pretty to be scrubbing vomit and shit. There’s also the hybrid option if you’d enjoy dancing and fucking. The payout for that is exceptionally well, and you’d be monitored by security at all times and escorted to your car at the end of each shift.”
I told myself that I wouldn’t be pimping myself out, but there was something about this woman that just made me want to do whatever she wanted me to. She had that easiness about her that was just welcoming and kind. It wasn’t like I’ve never been used before. At least this way, I’d make money off these scumbags.
“How much better is the payout for hybrid?” I probed, my palms sweating and my subconscious screaming at me for being a hypocritical hoe.
Shifting on the desk, she smiled down at me. “On average, our dancers make three-thousand-dollars a night, though, there are slow nights and there are bigger nights. Lap dances here are thirty dollars a song, then we have the shower rooms and champagne rooms, as well as the VIP area. Those costs depend on what package the customer purchases. You also get paid when a customer buys you a drink. For our escorts, blow jobs cost four-hundred-dollars, sex costs one-thousand-dollars, and if they want to spend the entire night with you, that’s four-grand.”
My jaw hit the floor. I could be rich doing this. I wouldn’t even need an education in order to better my financial standing and find my sister. The sound of grunts sliced through my thoughts, and I turned my head to look at the couple. Rocky pulled out, white filling the inside of the condom. Tugging it off, he tossed it into the trash near the door and turned to face Talissa. When his gaze met mine, his eyes widened in astonishment and his skin paled.
I didn’t pay him any mind and turned away from him. My heart felt heavy in my chest for unknown reasons, and until I figured out what that meant, he deserved the cold-shoulder.
“Hybrid sounds nice,” I agreed, loud enough for Rocky to hear me.
“I thought it might. We get a lot of women who just want to dance until they hear the money difference.”
Rocky cursed under his breath and the sound of shuffling followed as the two dressed themselves. Within minutes, him and the girls he was with approached, standing too close to me for my liking. A coat of sweat covered them both and my stomach coiled.
“Was that performance good enough for you?” Rocky growled, intervening with our conversation.
Talissa glanced over, her lips drawn into a thin line. “Don’t interrupt us. Take a seat, I’ll get back with you two in a moment.” Authority dripped from her tone and a sense of comfort wrapped around me like a vice.
Rocky looked like he was about to argue, but the girl beside him placed a hand on his shoulder in a comforting manner, preventing him from doing so. My blood boiled from the sight, and I peeled my gaze away from them. They could have each other. Rocky followed her back to the sofa they’d been on seconds ago and my teeth ground together in disdain.
Clearing her throat, she pulled my attention back to her. “What’s your name, sweet girl?” she asked.
“Aspen. Aspen Palmer.”
Talissa’s eyes widened and mine narrowed. I suppose it wasn’t that much of a surprise if she’d heard about me, considering I was technically missing. There were probably posters up everywhere by now—assuming anyone gave a shit.
“You’re hired,” she said abruptly. “Come in tomorrow with your ID. I’ll have the paperwork all ready for you by then, and you’ll be good to start as soon as tomorrow if you want. Don’t worry about outfits, we have some here you can borrow. You’ll be required to work a minimum of three days a week, but you’re more than welcome to work as much as you want.”
A grin split my face and I nodded eagerly. “Thank you so much.”
“Isn’t Aspen that missing girl everyone’s been talking about?” Rocky’s mistress whispered.
Talissa narrowed her eyes and then looked at me, obviously hearing what was going on in the background. “Missing?” she questioned with a raised eyebrow.
“It’s a long story.”
After showering and grabbing a bite for dinner, I sank down onto the sofa beside Monroe who was nursing a glass of bourbon. My mind was still pinned on the events that had taken place earlier. My life was about to change drastically, and I couldn’t be happier in this moment. For once, I genuinely felt like things might be okay. Not the bullshit lies I kept feeding to myself and to everyone else, but truthfully.
“You ready to talk about why you looked like you saw a ghost coming out of that club earlier?” Monroe pried. When he initially asked, I told him I didn’t want to talk about it, but now I was feeling a little better about the whole situation.
I nodded. “Rocky was there. When I entered the boss’s office, he was fucking some girl on the couch. We had to do our interview over the sounds of their moaning and grunting.” A shiver shook my body. I’d probably never be able to unhear that.
“Barlow was there?” he repeated, scrunching up his face like the thought of him being there was too much.
“Yep. It was definitely awkward.” I shrugged. “But I got the job, and the payout is amazing, so that was a bonus.”
Before Monroe could even think about replying, Caroline burst through the front door, shopping bags in hand. My gaze tracked her movements, landing on one of the bags with a Gucci logo embedded into it.
That’s gotta hurt Monroe’s wallet.
As if reading my thoughts, his jaw tightened, and his hands balled into fists. Caroline halted on the opposite side of the coffee table, a smug look overtaking her features—like she was enjoying this.
“Caroline,” he began. “Please tell me that you didn’t dip into our savings for designer clothes.”
She scoffed and rolled her eyes before setting her bags down near her feet. “Of course not. What do you take me for? I also got jewelry and perfume.”
Anger burrowed through me and before I knew it, I was on my feet. People were starving, children didn’t have mothers, the world was in a fucking crisis, and she would take advantage of a good man, stealing money he didn’t have just to make herself feel relevant. It was sickening.
Caroline looked at me in surprise before schooling her features and raising a drawn-on eyebrow. The careless act didn’t suit her well.
“You’re a money-hungry bitch,” I snapped. “What? Your parents got tired of you mooching off them because they never taught you basic life skills like how to be successful in life, so you thought you could use this man to your advantage?” Malice dripped from every syllable I uttered, rage driving me.
“Aspen—” Monroe started but was immediately cut off by his cunt of a wife.
“Isn’t this cute?” she snorted; the question obviously rhetorical. Her scathing glare cut to her husband. “Maybe if you were more of a man, a little high school slut wouldn’t feel the need to protect you.”
Monroe released a loaded sigh and pinched the bridge of his nose. “I fucking give up,” he muttered with a shake of his head. “Caroline, I want you the fuck out of my house. Now. ”
A dramatic gasp slipped from her lips as pure shock engraved itself into her plastic face. How she was surprised, I didn’t know. This had been a long time coming. It wasn’t like she loved him. The stupid bitch was sucking him dry and didn’t give a shit about it.
After she managed to compose herself…somewhat, she slid her glare in my direction. “Because of her ?” she accused, enunciating ‘her’ like it was supposed to change whatever it was she was saying.
Monroe lifted his head and looked her in the eye. His jaw was tight with tension, and frustration was evident on his handsome face. “This has nothing to do with Aspen. You’re constantly taking money we don’t have and blowing it. You’re selfish, and you’ve done nothing but treat Aspen like shit since she got here. I can’t do it anymore.”
Caroline whipped her head in my direction, baring her porcelain veneers. Without warning, she strode forward at an incredible speed considering she was in high stilettos.
PTSD set in and I was moving to meet her head on. My heart leapt in my throat. Not because I was scared of her, but because all I could see was Myles grabbing me and tearing my panties from my body. All I could see was Hunter and Collin barging into my room and putting a bag on my head. All I could see was being naked and bound while my body was scarred with cigarette burns.
My chest rose and fell at a rapid speed. As soon as Caroline raised her arm to hit me, my fist was flying. A crunch sounded beneath the brunt of my fist and a screech echoed around the room, searing into my eardrums.
The woman stumbled back, clutching her nose, blood slipping through her fingers.
“Listen here, you plastic bitch,” I seethed. “If you ever attempt anything like that again, next time, you’ll end up with way more than a broken nose.” My body was shaking, and unwanted tears stung the back of my eyes from all the memories I’d been working to avoid since I woke up.
Monroe was slow getting up, but eventually, I felt his presence beside me. “Why don’t you head to your room while I take care of this,” he suggested calmly.
Reluctantly, I nodded. Adrenaline was still pumping through me, and the urge to punch her again was strong. This must have been a weird position for Monroe. I didn’t mean to lose my shit; it just happened, and I’d do it again.
Sighing, I made my way down the hallway and slipped into my room. The sound of the air-conditioner was loud, preventing me from being able to hear anything aside from incoherent mumbles.
Making my way over to my bed, I sat down and threw my legs out in front of me. My phone was still on the nightstand where I’d left it, so I reached for the device, causing the screen to light up. My eyebrows furrowed as they took in the list of notifications from Rocky. Three missed calls and five texts. I really wasn’t in the mood to deal with him, but I was itching to do something after my recent encounter with the trophy wife.
Unlocking the phone, I hit the ‘message’ icon at the bottom of the screen.
Rocky
What were you doing at Club Euphoria? Are you actually going to work there?
I didn’t mean for you to see that.
Aspen. Please call me back.
Are you avoiding me?
I’m about to come over. Answer the fucking phone.
I rolled my eyes. What was I doing at Club Euphoria? What the hell was he doing there? He was being a hypocrite. Biting the inside of my cheek, I debated calling him back. Considering that Monroe didn’t need any more drama tonight, I hit his contact and dialed his number.
“Thank fuck,” he said into the receiver almost instantly. “I thought you were mad at me.”
“That’s debatable.” I wasn’t sure if m ad was the right word. He sure as hell didn’t owe me anything. I was definitely confused though.
He released a sigh, followed by a moment of silence. “Look,” he began. “My friend got in some trouble a while back with the owner of the club and had to repay a debt. That debt was working for her. Dixie wasn’t comfortable sleeping with a stranger, so she asked me. Talissa distributes porn on the downlow. Only her ‘in’ crowd knows about it.”
I scoffed while processing this information. I had no right to be mad or jealous, but I couldn’t help how I felt. Rocky seemed different. But he was just a more discrete version of Collin.
“Fucking your friend is a huge red flag my dude,” I snarked. “It’s my bad really. I thought you were different.” Without giving him a chance to reply, I hung up and silenced my phone, tossing it on the bed beside me.
From now on, I was just going to rely on myself. These little phony ass dudes in this town couldn’t be trusted.