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Jade
This is nothing like any interview I’ve done before. For one, it’s happening in a cramped office filled with piles of old coats and forgotten office supplies—the kind of space where files go to die. The air is thick with the scent of sweat and stale coffee. Seated at the worn desk in the middle of the room is a man who’s barely looked up at me since I walked in. He seems oblivious to my presence as he rummages through drawers, searching for something.
When I was brought to this office, I had no idea what to expect, but it was definitely not this. Maybe if I didn’t need this job, I would have thought twice before walking inside, but I do. My roommate assured me that this place has the kind of schedule that would allow me to go to college and still work enough hours to pay my bills.
I shift nervously in my seat, trying my best to focus on what brought me here, but I can’t help but notice the clutter around me. It’s suffocating. Stacks of papers teeter precariously on the small desk, a forgotten jacket hangs on the back of the door, and a single dirty window barely lets any light in. The contrast between this office and the opulence of the club beyond it is shocking.
I should say something, right?
Surely there’s no way he’s forgotten I’m here. The room is the size of a closet, and there are only two of us in here. Well, that and the moths circling the single light in the room.
I clear my throat, running my shaky hands over my lap as I attempt to draw attention to myself. But the man barely looks up, cursing under his breath as he opens one drawer after another. I’m starting to rethink my decision to come here when he suddenly claps, the sound nearly sending me toppling off my seat. He makes a triumphant sound as he reaches into the drawer, so I assume that he’s found what he was looking for.
“About fucking time!” he hisses, and I curiously peek around to see him reach in for a pack of cigarettes and pop one between his lips. He then proceeds to pat all his clothes before grabbing a lighter from his jacket pocket. I fight the urge to wrinkle my nose as he lights the cigarette, clicking the lighter shut as he exhales right into my face.
I clear my throat once more, and this time, his eyes shift to mine. I get a better look at the man for the first time since walking into the room, and I bite back a surprised gasp at what I see. His eyes are bloodshot with an unsettling intensity in them. There is something cold and lifeless about his dark gaze, but it’s the way he trails them over me that sends a cold shiver rolling down my back. I fight the urge to tug down the short black dress I’m wearing. I didn’t exactly want to come to an interview wearing such a revealing dress, but my roommate Natalie insisted that I needed to wear it since I would be working at a club and expected to wear something similar.
“The server’s uniforms are all short. You need to stop being such a prude if you want to get hired,” she’d told me when I pointed out how uncomfortable I felt wearing something so revealing. “This is not a corporate job, Jade. No one will hire you if you show up dressed like a nun.”
Her words made sense at the time, but maybe I should have fought her on it a little more. Now I have to sit still as this stranger runs his eyes over my body and pretend it’s normal.
When the man lifts his gaze back to mine, I read something akin to excitement in those dark eyes that is unnerving for some reason, but I push back my fear. My roommate sent me to this man, and if she trusts him, then I have no reason not to. I know better than to judge a book by its cover.
Pushing down my nerves, I flash the man a smile and sit up straight. “Mr. Buck, I’m here about the server job. My name is Jade Purdy, and I was sent here by Natalie—”
“Ah yes, Natalie told me about you,” he says, blowing thick smoke into the air, nearly suffocating me, but I fight back the urge to cough. “She forgot to mention that you are a little skinny, but I guess we can look past that with such a pretty face and a hot rack like yours. Are those real?” he asks, nodding toward my chest.
I blink at the man, taken aback by his crude words, but Natalie did tell me to not act surprised if he did or said something weird. I am, after all, interviewing to work as a server in one of the most exclusive clubs in the city known for its sexy atmosphere. I suppose the manager of such a place would be a bit vulgar, and it’s something I’m going to have to get used to.
I can do this!
A few comments about my body and face should not set me off. I’ll probably have to get used to that kind of language if I am to survive working here.
“Mr. Buck—”
“How old did you say you are?”
I didn’t. “Twenty-one, sir.”
“Buck,” he cuts in. “But you don’t need to worry about that. It’s not my name you’ll be screaming tonight anyway.” There is a smirk on his lips that I respond to with an awkward smile, unsure what the joke is.
My brows draw in confusion. Does he mean that I’ll be working under a different manager? Oh, thank God. I hope it’s someone less crude who doesn’t look at me the way this man does. I realize I’m focusing on the wrong thing and completely forgetting the fact that he just mentioned working tonight. Excitement bubbles inside of me as I lean forward. “Mr—Sorry, I mean Buck. Do you mean that I can start work now?”
His eyes narrow on mine. “Is that going to be a problem?”
“Not at all,” I hurry to say, running a hand through my hair the way I do whenever I am nervous or excited. Right now, I’m both. I didn’t expect to get the job when he hasn’t even looked at my resume. He and Natalie must be good friends if he trusts her recommendation so easily. “I’m just a little taken aback because you haven’t really asked me about my past experience.”
Something dark crosses his expression, and he sits up, eyes flaring with rage as he leans forward. “I was told you have no experience.”
“Not in this field,” I explain. “Natalie assured me that she’d told you a bit about my previous employment. I’ve never worked as a server at a club before, but I’ve worked as a waitress, and there isn’t much difference between the two. Right?” At least I hope there’s not.
The dark expression on Buck’s face stays as his cigarette is suspended between his fingers, spilling ash onto the mountain of files lying on the desk. I am half terrified that I’ve said something wrong given his hard expression, so I hurry to assure the man that he doesn’t have to worry about me. I really need this job, so I want him to know that I’m qualified for it.
“I brought with me a hard copy of my resume, but I can email you a soft copy as well,” I say, placing the file I brought with me on top of the other clutter on of his desk and slowly pushing it toward him. “I’ll give you a little background about myself. I come from Petersburg; it’s a small town about two hundred miles from the city. Before coming to Chicago, I worked as a waitress at a restaurant back home and got along pretty well with the customers. I’ve also…” my voice trails off when I notice his gaze narrowing in anger. “I’m sorry, D-did I say something wrong?”
“Is this some kind of joke?”
I jump back at his harsh tone. I wet my dry lips, trying to ignore the rapid beating of my heart. “Um, what do you mean?”
“Why the fuck do you think I would care about the shitty jobs you’ve had before?”
I swallow nervously, confused. Don’t employers typically ask about your work background before hiring you? “I’m confused…”
“What the hell are you confused about? No one gives a fuck about any of the work you’ve done. You are acting like you are here to work the club floor or something,” he says with a sneer, bringing his cigarette back to his lips.
I stare at the man, blinking rapidly at as I try to make sense of his words. Is he not hiring servers? But Natalie told me…our conversation…
What am I doing here if he’s not interviewing me for a server job? And why does he keep asking about my experience if he doesn’t want to know where I’ve worked before? This feels like some crazy fever dream. Nothing makes sense.
“It seems there’s been some kind of misunderstanding,” I say, reaching over and tugging my file back. “I was told that there is a job opening and that you are hiring servers. That’s why I’m here.”
Silence.
Tense silence as I wait for the man to explain the misunderstanding. Instead, he stares blankly at me before his mouth opens and the most horrendous sound I’ve ever heard roars out of him. He’s laughing. It takes me a couple of seconds to realize that the sound he’s making is laughter. He gasps and chokes on the smoke from the cigarette before releasing a series of coughs, but he recovers fast enough to keep on laughing.
“Oh God, that’s a good one. A server?” He coughs, wiping a stray tear with the back of his hand. “Jesus Christ, I don’t know how Natalie comes up with these stories.”
For the first time since walking in here, I question if maybe I’ve gotten myself into a dangerous situation. Natalie assured me that Buck was a nice guy and that she’d put in a good word for me to get hired, but something about all this is obviously wrong. “There is no job opening, is there?” I ask as the truth slowly dawns on me.
“Oh, there’s a job opening alright, but not one that involves serving drinks.” He chuckles, fixing those bloodshot dead eyes on me. “You, sweetheart, will be offering up something entirely different on the stage.”
“S-stage?”
“Exactly. You’re going to stand up there and charm our clientele into bidding on you for the night. A pretty thing like you will fetch a tidy sum for the club. Natalie said you’re a virgin. If that’s true, you’re going to be real popular with tonight’s crowd. Do a good job tonight, and it will make your time working for the club easier.”
I wait for him to tell me that he’s kidding. Maybe this is some kind of a prank that Natalie and this guy are pulling on me, and yet, something feels off. The urge to leave this room becomes insistent. I still don’t quite understand what’s happening here, but I don’t want to stay long enough for the man to explain. I just need to leave.
I push up from my seat quickly, which sends it toppling over. My knees are a little shaky, which makes me stumble back, and I grab the wall to keep myself upright. “I…I don’t know what kind of game you are playing, but I’m leaving.” I say shakily. “I don’t want this job anymore.”
Buck puts out the cigarette with the stack on his desk before tossing it to the floor. “Leaving is no longer an option, sweetheart.”
Oh, I’m done listening to him. Whatever sick games he’s playing, I’m done entertaining him. I’ll go to Natalie for an explanation. I’m sure she’ll have a good reason for sending me to someone like this. We haven’t been roommates long, but she’s never given me any reason to doubt her before this. With that in mind, I turn around and grab the doorknob, letting out a relieved sigh when it turns. I open the door, ready to make my escape, but standing on the other side is the biggest man I have ever seen, well over six feet packed with muscles and eyes so cold, I freeze on the spot.
“W-what the hell is this? You can’t keep me here!” I stammer, turning around to look at Buck, who’s not even gotten up from his seat.
“You’re here for work, aren’t you?”
“I…I don’t want it anymore,” I whisper. “You c-can’t keep me here against my will. Let me go, or I’ll call the cops!” The smile drops from his face at the mention of calling the cops, and it’s enough to have him rising from his chair. He rounds the desk and walks toward me, and I can almost feel my knees buckle from the weight of nerves. “You can’t keep me here! Natalie knows where I am, and she’ll call the cops if I don’t get back to our apartment.”
“Do you still not understand what’s happening here?” Buck scoffs, raking his eyes over my body once more. “There is no server job. Natalie sent you to me knowing fully what is going to happen to you. You belong to the club now, sweetheart. You’re not going anywhere.”
“What do you mean Natalie sent me knowing what was going to happen to me?” I ask, my heart racing with fear. “People aren’t property! You have to let me go!”
I lurch forward, willing to take my chances getting past the giant in the doorway, but he grabs my arms and pins them at my side. No matter how much I struggle or kick, I can’t get away. But I don’t stop, not until Buck shoves a gun in my face.
“You are going to make this club a shit ton of money,” he says. “And if you want to stay in one piece while you do it, you’re going to have to learn to shut up and play nice.”
“N-no. You can’t k-keep me here,” I cry.
He only chuckles. “Oh, the men are going to love you. It’s not often that we get virgins. I was ecstatic when Natalie mentioned your lack of experience, and the men will go wild for it too.” I evade his touch when he brings his fingers up to caress my cheek. “Tonight, we are going to offer you up on auction to some very wealthy men, and they’re going to bid huge sums of money on you. I can already imagine them foaming at the mouth with desire to corrupt a pretty little flower like yourself. There will be a bidding war for a chance to claim you—take you—but only one lucky man will have the opportunity to do so tonight. Only one man can buy your innocence. Maybe he’ll share, who knows?”
Is that what he meant by experience ? Sex?
My heart races faster with every word the man is saying, and by the time he’s done, it’s pounding hard and threatening to break out of my chest. I’m a trembling mess, backing away from the man, but there’s nowhere to go with the giant’s hands still holding my arms. “I…I don’t consent to this,” I say weakly, praying to whoever’s listening to wake me from this nightmare.
“Doesn’t matter,” Buck says with a twisted grin. “Putting up a fight will only excite those sick bastards more.”
I open my mouth, trying and failing to find the words I need to convince Buck to let me go. I stare at him, praying that this is some twisted prank, but I read the sick excitement in his eyes. God, I was doomed the second I walked into this office.
No, it seems my damnation came before that.
I was doomed the moment I met my roommate. The dress Natalie pushed me to wear and the makeup we spent hours perfecting—laughing in the mirror together when she smudged my lipstick—to the stilettos she let me borrow as if she was doing me a favor. All of it was her preparing me for the auction block.
I trusted her!
I trusted the wrong person, and now, my virginity is about to be auctioned off to a room full of strangers.