"How much did you take from Azure Bay, all told?" Asher Keating asked, somewhat curious.
"Eight hundred thousand," Leah Sinclair replied softly.
"Eight hundred thousand. Minus my three hundred thousand, that still leaves five hundred thousand. Do you have any idea how long it'll take you to pay that back?"
"I know. One night as a hostess is five thousand. They take three thousand, so I'm left with two. I'd still need one hundred and sixty-six days. If I give them the full five thousand and take nothing, I'd need one hundred days." Leah had already calculated it.
"You think all you have to do is pour drinks?" 'This girl is an idiot,' Asher Keating thought. 'Once you're in a place like that, do you really think you call the shots on whether you're just pouring drinks or... something else?'
"They promised me. Aside from my first time, they won't force me to do anything else," Leah replied wearily.
"Idiot," Asher Keating muttered. He stood, retrieved a bag from the outer room, grabbed a bottle of water, and tossed them both onto the bed. "I tore your clothes yesterday; they're unwearable. Consider this a replacement. There's a morning-after pill in the bag. Take it. Now."
Leah quickly fumbled for the pill and swallowed it in front of him.
"I'll have the three hundred thousand wired over in a bit. As for you... you're on your own."
Without another glance at Leah, he strode out of the room. Leah heard the door CLICK shut. With a trembling hand, she picked up the bag from the bed. Inside was a white dress from a brand she had only ever dared to admire from afar in the mall.
She remembered a shopping trip with her best friend, Sheila Hughes. Sheila had dragged her into the store to look at a dress, but the price tag had sent them scurrying out in embarrassment. They had sworn to each other that day that after graduation, they would make good money and, no matter what, buy a dress from that brand.
'I can't believe this is how I got my first dress from this brand.' Her tears fell, soaking into the fabric. She hadn't cried last night, no matter how much it hurt, but at the sight of this dress, she couldn't hold back any longer. She buried her face in the soft material and let out muffled, suppressed sobs.
Grandma Sinclair had liver cancer and needed a transplant to survive. The medical bills were staggering—the treatment and surgery would cost around eight hundred thousand. Back then, there wasn't even a suitable donor, so all Leah could do was wait, desperately looking for jobs and part-time work. Then, a month later, the hospital called. Someone who had signed an organ donor card had died in a car accident. His liver was a perfect match for her grandmother. They asked if she wanted to schedule the surgery.
At that very moment, she was interviewing at Azure Bay. She figured she could hold her liquor, and it seemed like the fastest way to make some cash. Being attractive and a college student, she passed the interview easily. The HR manager overheard her phone call, learned of her plight, and offered to lend her the eight hundred thousand she needed for the emergency, proposing to deduct it from her future wages.
Overcome with gratitude, Leah signed the contract without a second glance. She took the money straight to the hospital so Grandma Sinclair could have the surgery. The operation was a success. Back then, she had been so happy, thinking that if she just worked hard—not even taking a single day off—at five thousand a night, she could pay it all back in just one hundred and sixty days. With her other part-time jobs, it might not even take that long.
But when she returned to Azure Bay, she was horrified to learn that the contract she'd signed wasn't just for hostessing. It also included her virginity. They had already set the price: two hundred thousand. She refused.
But they produced the contract. It was stated in black and white: if she breached the agreement, the company had the right to sue her for damages, doubling her debt to one million six hundred thousand.
One million six hundred thousand was unthinkable; at the time, even fifty thousand was an astronomical sum for Leah. If not for her grandmother's illness, she never would have even considered coming to a place like this. She stubbornly refused.
Eve, the woman assigned to manage her, was somewhat sympathetic to her plight. She kept trying to persuade her. "Sweetie, just think about it. You owe eight hundred thousand. One night, and two hundred thousand of that is gone. You'll pay off the remaining six hundred thousand in no time. If you're just willing to sacrifice a little, won't it all be over much faster?"
She considered calling the police, but Eve warned her that the owner of Azure Bay was not someone to be trifled with. Besides, she had signed the contract of her own free will. No one had forced her.
Even if she went to the police, she'd still owe every penny, and the scandal would likely spread to her university. Leah was an orphan, found on Grandma Sinclair's doorstep as a baby. Her grandmother had named her for the dawn, as that was when she was found.
Grandma Sinclair wasn't well-off, but she had always been wonderful to Leah. Her own son and his family never understood why she would take in a foundling, but Grandma Sinclair insisted it was fate. She raised Leah as her own and made sure she got an education.
The day Leah was accepted into university, Grandma Sinclair was so happy she invited all the neighbors over for a celebratory dinner. Leah had dreamed of graduating, getting a good job, and supporting her grandmother in her old age. But she never imagined her grandmother would be diagnosed with such a disease. Grandma Sinclair's son and daughter-in-law flatly refused to pay for treatment. Only Leah wouldn't give up.
Grandma Sinclair's daughter-in-law had sneered, "If you want her treated, you pay for it. That old hag raised you, after all. It's about time you repaid the favor." Then she and her husband disappeared, cutting off all contact.
Leah hesitated, terrified of what the news would do to Grandma Sinclair. Seeing her waver, Eve pressed on. "It's just one night. Look, I've got something for you. If you're really scared you can't go through with it, just come to me. I promise, after you take this, you'll just feel good. The night will be over before you know it. We can worry about the rest later."
The first time she was called to a client's table, the man was fat and greasy. Just sitting next to him made her feel nauseous. His hand was reaching for her, and Leah was afraid she was about to slap him when Ethan Shaw arrived.
Azure Bay had already started spreading the rumor that they had a girl who looked just like the celebrity Madeline Sterling. That's what brought Ethan Shaw to the club. When he saw her, he agreed there was a resemblance. He immediately told Eve to keep Leah reserved. "Young Master Keating is coming back in half a month," he'd said. "Don't let her do anything until then. Her first time must be saved for him." He transferred a hundred thousand on the spot.
The portly client knew who Ethan Shaw was and didn't dare cause a fuss, so he had to swallow his pride. The matter was smoothed over after Eve promised to find him some other, even better girls.
Leah didn't know how to feel in that moment, but she couldn't deny the immense wave of relief that washed over her. She had been prepared for the worst, but if her first time had been with a man like that... she was afraid she might have actually thrown up.
Leah replayed the recent events in her mind as she showered. Her whole body ached. She'd glanced in the mirror earlier, and the sight of her own body, covered in bruises, had been unbearable.
That man, Keating... other than slowing down for a moment when he realized it was her first time, he hadn't been gentle at all. She knew the drug she'd taken was partly to blame, which made her feel slightly at fault. Still, she was grateful. At least her first time had been with him. At least the memory wouldn't make her sick.