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14

KEANE

It was my first night working at my new job, and unlike what they told me to do, I did not wear my tightest jeans. I just wanted to go in, serve some drinks, and leave. I didn’t want to give any hint to the customers that I was there for anything else, and I was sure to wear a shirt that showed off my mating mark.

This was a job, nothing more, and I could tell my mate was not happy about where I was working. He’d said multiple times that I didn’t need to work and that if I wanted to I should get one I loved. But I wanted to contribute fiscally. And right now, this was the way to do so.

Boaz had been so busy he hadn’t heard me tell him that I even had a job. He didn’t need the added stress of having me work somewhere he wasn’t comfortable, and that already had me planning to keep the job hunt going. But for now, this would have to do. And who knew, maybe I’d finish my first shift and discover it was the best job ever. I’d work, go home, and show him lots of money and all would be great. Or maybe it would suck, and I’d go home and never come back. But either way, I was doing this. I owed it to both of us to at least try.

I went in, and it wasn’t very crowded, still as dark and dingy as I remembered it. The floor was sticky and the air smoky, despite smoking inside being illegal in this state. But a job was a job, right.

I asked for the owner. They weren’t there, but they sent over a manager. “You the new guy?”

“Yeah. Keane.”

“All right, come with me.” So much for small talk.

I followed him to what I thought was the office, but it turned out to be a corridor that led to a whole other establishment. There were offices along the way and storerooms, but the vibe was very different when we came out the other side.

“I’m confused.”

He looked at me. “You’re working at Moonbound?”

“Uh-huh.”

“Well, you were just at the bar side. And now you are in the club side.” The owner hadn’t mentioned that at all.

The manager, who still had not told me his name, stopped and looked at me like I was the stupidest creature they ever did see. “You were hired to work at the club.”

“He didn’t tell me.”

“Well, maybe you were hired to work at the bar, then. That would explain those jeans.” Those , as if they were to be looked down on. Oh well. I wasn’t here for fashion week. “You’re working at the club now. We need the help. There’s already a line outside.”

I didn’t know how to respond, so I stood there waiting for him to tell me what to do next.

“Well, do you want the job or not?”

“Yeah, I want the job.” The vibe was so different in this room, but my feet weren’t sticking to the floor, so there was that.

“All right, look around and tell me what you notice.”

I listed off a bunch of random things I saw, and he let out a long sigh.

“Wrong. You’re underdressed.” Why was this guy such an asshole?

“Huh?”

“Look at the servers. They’re all wearing suits.” It took me five seconds to see he was right.

“He told me to wear jeans,” I explained.

“He was gonna have you work at the bar. I’m not.”

“This is all I have.” Even at home I didn’t have a suit.

“Come back with me. I’m sure we have one that will fit you.”

We ended up in one of the storerooms where he tossed me a suit. “It’s as close as we’ve got to your size. Get changed and meet me on the floor.”

“This is a storeroom, not a changing room, not a bathroom.”

“Correct. Now get dressed. Time is ticking, and I want to tell the bouncers to start moving the crowd in. Hang your clothes on the hook when you’re done.”

I did as he said, putting on the suit. The suit did not fit, at least it didn’t feel like it fit. It was tight, but maybe that was the look.

Part of me said I should leave, but club was nicer than bar, right? This was like a promotion of sorts. Please let it be better than my last one.

I found the manager, who gruffly said his name was Ralph. Before we could talk, a man in red came over and said, “I’ll take… I’ll take him.” He pointed to me.

What the fuck.

“Understood.” Ralph watched the man in red leave then turned to me. “Change of plans again. You’re going to be running VIP tonight.”

“I don’t even know how to do the non-VIP,” I said.

“Doesn’t matter. VIP’s easy here. It’s small. All you have to do is get people what they want, and usually it’s a bottle of something, so you don’t even have to mix drinks. Keep them happy and done.”

“I—I don’t even know where everything is.” Or anything, for that matter.

“Hank!” Ralph called over his shoulder. “Give the new guy the ten-minute version of training.”

“Can do, boss.”

Hank, dressed in an outfit similar to mine but fitting much better, came over. “All right, try and keep up.”

Hank gave me a quick tour, showed me how to order drinks, where to put in meal tickets, and how to cash out. I wasn’t sure I remembered a single thing. It was all coming at me so quickly, but the next thing I knew, I was being brought to the VIP room, which actually looked more like I was walking into something pretty darn sketchy than someplace fancy.

I guessed I always thought it would be elegant and regal and red carpets for a VIP room. But this wasn’t that. It was dingy, dark, and smoky. But it did have privacy, which I guessed was the point. When I got inside, the man in red was there beside a blond alpha in a suit vest with a T-shirt under it.

“About time you got here. Tell the bartender I want my regular,” the alpha barked. “With four glasses.”

At least it wasn’t going to be just him. I wasn’t sure how long I’d be comfortable being around this alpha while I was alone. Pretty sure that time had already passed.

“Who should I say wants their regular?”

“He’ll know who I am.” The man looked me up and down.

I scurried out to the bar. Said what the man told me to say to the bartender and waited.

“Oh, the alphahole is here.” The bartender’s response was hardly comforting.

I still didn’t know who the guy was, but I had a bottle of wine and four glasses on the tray heading back out a minute later. There weren’t even four people in the room when I left, but I was hoping there would be when I got back. I wasn’t looking forward to any alone time with him.

I brought the tray to him. There were other people in the VIP area now, but they didn’t seem to pay me any mind. At least we weren’t alone. “This is what the bartender sent.”

“Yeah, because it’s my regular. Hurry up, open it.”

I fumbled with it. A lot. This was not my skill set, but I eventually got it open and poured a glass for the man and held it out to him.

“Fill all four,” he ordered

“Yes, sir.” I reached for the next glass.

“Alpha.”

“Excuse me?” I was so confused.

“Yes, Alpha ,” he instructed.

Great. It was one of those assholes.

“Yes, Alpha,” I repeated back like a good little worker bee.

I poured the four glasses and set the nearly empty bottle down.

“Is there anything else I may do for you?” Like leave. Please say leave.

“Yeah. You need to drink yours.”

“Oh, I’m working—” I reminded him.

“Did I ask you if you were working? I don’t pay to drink alone.” He picked up a glass and handed it to me, and I shook my head.

“I’m working, sir. It’s my first night.”

“You’re working, who?” It was going to be a long-ass night if he kept talking to me like this.

“I’m working, Alpha. This is my first night. I don’t think I’m supposed to be drinking?—”

He threw a hundred-dollar bill and I watched it fall to the tray. “There’s more. Drink.”

I thought back to that night, the one where I was drugged, how I swore I wouldn’t drink so much as a sip of anything that didn’t come from my own bottle. But I was the one who poured this wine, right? So it was fine. I opened it and everything.

Gods, I wished I had poured smaller portions. I took a sip. It wasn’t horrible. I wasn’t a wine kind of guy, but the Alpha drank his down and barked, “Keep up.”

He reached to take the hundred-dollar bill back, and something in me snapped. I wasn’t going to get fired my first day, and I definitely wasn’t going to lose what I thought would probably be the grand total of my tips over a little wine.

And I downed my drink.

“That’s what I’m talking about.” He threw another hundred-dollar bill on the tray. “Grab yours.”

I went to reach for the glass, but missed. And I reached again, but missed. “I don’t understand what’s?—”

“Just relax.” He pushed me onto the couch. “Just relax and enjoy. You’re getting for free what most people have to pay for.”

And that’s when everything started getting so blurry that I had to close my eyes.

Fuck.

I was drugged. When had they slipped it into my drink? I hadn’t looked away for a second… except when I watched that stupid money land on the tray.

Double fuck.

I tried to get up. He pushed me down. I tried to get up again. At this point, I didn’t even know if I was up or not. I was flailing my arms, or at least trying to, when I heard my mate’s voice—just as everything went dark.

Dark.