Page 55 of House of Payne

I cross my arms over my chest and swallow. “I didn’t know.”

“Now you do.” She finally looks at me, her yellow catlike eyes studying me openly. “I know you’re here to pay off a debt, but you’re still expected to do it well.”

I nod.

“In the mornings, you should show up dressed in casual attire and use your ID to access the downstairs floor. Once you’re here, you should change into your uniform and come find me for a list of your tasks for the day.”

I glance around the empty locker room. “Okay.”

Miss Deveroux’s expression softens. “I’ll give you a minute. Come and find me when you’re ready.”

Without waiting for a response, she spins on her heel, her shoes clicking steadily against the floors. As soon as the door shuts behind her, I lean against the nearest wall and inhale. Tears prick my eyes as I place a hand over my chest and feel my heart thump. After splashing cold water on my face, I step back outside and find Miss Deveroux standing in a quiet corner, her bright eyes wide and assessing.

“You’ve never done anything like this,” she comments before turning to face me. “You should learn to hide your nervousness. You don’t want anyone here to use it against you.”

I clench my hands into fists. “How would they? I’m just here to clean.”

Miss Deveroux gives me a cryptic smile. “I know what you must be thinking, but this is nothing like those Epstein or Weinstein sex rings. That’s not how things are done here. The media frenzy was a shitstorm, and it nearly scared away some of our more prominent clients.”

She motions to me, and I fall into step beside her as she points out the playrooms on display and a slew of shower stalls. She even points out a few faceless Wall Street execs on our tour, pausing when she reaches the bar. Wordlessly, she steps behind it and pours me a drink.

“Underage sex isn’t allowed. Neither is rape. Everyone here is here of their free will.”

I tilt the glass back, and it burns my throat. “I’m sure the women under contract don’t see it that way.”

“Some women choose to work here.”

I frown at the glass, seeing an image of myself in Mason’s office, shame and pleasure burning through me in equal parts. “I’m not talking about the women who choose to work here, and you know that.”

No woman in her right mind would choose to be indebted to a man’s every whim and desire.

There are always options, and as far as I could tell, any woman who wound up here was desperate or had nothing to go back to.

Why else would they spend their time in a house of depravity?

“No one is here by force, London.” Miss Deveroux’s voice is firm. “I know it’s difficult for you to understand, but everyone—including you—has a choice.”

I snap my gaze up to hers. “I’m not here by choice. I’m here because I didn’t have one.”

I will not stand by and let my father pay for his mistakes, not when he bit off more than he could chew.

Not when there’s a way for me to help dig him out of the hole he’s in.

What kind of daughter would I be if I stood by and did nothing?

“You could pay off the debt in other ways,” Miss Deveroux reminds me in the same even tone. “No one is forcing you to be here.”

I shove the glass away. “With the kind of money my dad owes? How else am I supposed to pay it off?”

The entire thing is rigged, and we both know it.

Miss Deveroux might be here by choice, but a lot of the women here, myself included, came here as a last resort.

Miss Deveroux raises an eyebrow. “You could let them collect.”

“And let my dad lose his diner? After everything he’s been through? Ican’t let that happen.”

My dad isn’t the only one who’s given up a lot to see the diner through.