I spotted Steve, my one and only friend, heading my way with another guy in tow. Savely Aviren, the owner of this so-called “club”—or, to put it bluntly, brothel. And not just this one, but a whole network of them across the country. He fit the place perfectly, like he was its living embodiment. I couldn’t tell who copied who—him or the club. Polished, slick, dressed to the nines, but despite the fancy facade, he made you want to recoil and steer clear. Honestly, why the hell did we even need him?
My company dealt in mining and selling precious gems. Truth be told, we were after rare crystals valued in my world, stumbling upon worthless trinkets like diamonds, rubies, and other junk along the way, which we sold off.
This Savely guy wanted to sign a deal, become a shareholder. I already knew I’d say no before I even set foot in here. So why did I come? Oh, the higher powers knew why. I kept asking myself that question and couldn’t find an answer.
“Maximilian,” he said, extending a hand in greeting.
I shook it, quietly cursing under my breath.
“Hey,” I replied. And to avoid wasting time on pointless small talk and cut this interaction short, I pressed on. “What’s this meeting about? I don’t handle business in off-hours settings like this.”
“What business, buddy? What are you talking about?” That “buddy” grated on my nerves. “We’re just hanging out. Maybe I can even offer you a little gift. Look at all these roses around. Pick any one you like.”
I opened my mouth to shoot back a snarky refusal when the front door swung open, and a thick wave of vanilla scent hit my lungs. I wanted to cough it out, to escape while I still could. But my eyes were already searching for the source. “It’s her. Damn it. It’s her. And she’s a prostitute.”
There was no doubt about it. Even if I didn’t know that regular women—wives, girlfriends, or friends—weren’t allowed in here. Only prostitutes. I would’ve figured it out anyway. Bold, war-paint makeup. Scraps of fabric that were supposed to pass as a dress but barely qualified. Sky-high heels. This woman was on the hunt. Beautiful, seductive, and undeniably an expensive prostitute.
“Who’s that?” I nodded in her direction.
“No idea,” Savely chuckled. “You don’t think I personally know every whore here, do you? Want me to call her over?”
I barely restrained myself from decking him. It took a few minutes to get a grip on my temper.
“Nah, I’ll just watch for now.”
The woman strutted confidently to the bar, perched on a stool, and crossed her legs. Long, seductive, perfect legs. She ordered something from the bartender. When she sipped her cocktail through a straw, damn it, my body reacted.
“What’s the going rate in this place?” I asked, turning to Savely.
“Don’t insult me. I can make a gift like that for a friend.”
No, a fight was definitely unavoidable by the end of the night.
“I asked how much.”
“Depends on the category. A hundred, two hundred, maybe more. The girl you’re staring at could go for five hundred. Though it depends on how long she’s been in the game. Wear and tear isn’t kind to them.”
He let out a sleazy giggle, like some prissy little lady, like one of these women around us. A broken nose would suit him—add a bit of toughness.
So, five hundred. Fine. I’d buy her for the night. I’d buy a child from her. In the end, it wasn’t so bad. This actually made things easier. Everything was falling into place.
Oh, now I realize that was just the beginning. That was the moment you roll a snowball down a hill, clueless about the massive boulder it’ll turn into by the time it reaches the bottom. But back then, I was blindly reveling in my decision, gloating over the fact that the search was finally over.
The woman kept sitting there, her gaze sliding over the crowd. Assessing. I was doing the same—assessing her. She looked about twenty-five, maybe twenty-seven. Not exactly young, so definitely not a newbie. Thick, black hair cascaded down to her waist. Blue eyes, flawless features. Lips. Lips you’d give half the world for. The other half for her chest. Damn. Why would a beauty like her do this? Wouldn’t it be easier to snag some rich idiot as a steady sugar daddy and milk him for cash and gifts? Just like the temporary women in my life had done to me. I doubted that’d be a tough task for her.
I started noticing the interested glances thrown her way. It pissed me off. Infuriated me. She didn’t even know yet that her career was over. There she was, smiling at some jerk sitting just a table away from her. He smiled back, whispered something to the waiter, and a moment later, a new cocktail appeared in front of her. Again, that straw between her lips. Damn. I couldn’t let myself think about what I’d rather see there instead.
She, damn it, winked at him. While this place still had a chance of staying intact, I stood up and headed her way. I sat on the stool next to her.
“Hey,” I said, expecting to see excitement and greed in her eyes. She’d landed a client like me. She should be thrilled at her luck.
“Hey,” she shot back indifferently. Her gaze lingered on me for a split second before drifting back to that other guy. Another smile for him.
“I’ll pay double,” I said. That should’ve been a compelling argument.
“Not interested.”
More curses ran through my head. I’d never been turned down before. And I couldn’t believe the first to do it was a prostitute.
“Triple,” I growled through gritted teeth.
“Dude, get lost. Are you deaf or something? Not. Interested,” she spelled out, hissing at me while still flashing a smile at that jerk.
I tried to piece together everything she’d said, to make sense of it, to find some logic. But I couldn’t. So I stood up, walked over to the guy who was getting her approval, leaned down, and whispered:
“You’ve got two minutes to get out of here.”
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So, ladies, what can I say? After wrapping up the “White Panther” series, I thought I’d breathe a sigh of relief. Done. The end. No more ideas in my head. I’d finally get some peace. Yeah, right!))) Inspired by your feedback and hearts, I can’t stop myself. I hope I’m not getting on your nerves too much. Looking forward to your reactions. And your critiques!)