Luna led me in that direction. Eyes crawled over me as we walked across the room. When we reached the bar, I watched as a slim blonde poured a glass of premium vodka over ice and handed it to a man in a charcoal suit.
I looked around. All the men in here wore designer suits and expensive watches on their wrists. These weren't normal businessmen. They reeked of money and power.
Clearly, this was no networking event. When men like this congregated in one place, it typically meant bad things were in play.
Luna placed a hand between my shoulders and shoved me forward. I resolved right then that if Ron asked me to work at another private party, I’d turn him down.
"Danica, show the new girl the ropes. The rest of the guests will be here within the hour." Then she turned to me and said under her breath, "Be careful,cara. Ignore whatever you see here tonight." I shivered as she left me to my fate.
The more time I spent in this private function room, the more I wanted to run away screaming. Midnight had come and gone and my feet were on fire. I rarely wore heels, even though they gave me added height. Rarely wore dresses, either.
The older I got, the more I preferred to blend into the shadows, and the best way to do that was by wearing shapeless garments in dull colors. The silver sequined non-dress draping my curves attracted more attention than I was comfortable with. More than any woman would be comfortable with unless she danced around a pole with her tits out.
Someone's hand grabbed my butt I as slid past a table of older men, and I resisted the urge to stab it with a fork. The pungent stench of Cuban cigars clung to my skin, leaving a bitter taste in my mouth. I'd need a shower when I got back to the hostel to wash it off.
"More drinks, honey," a gray-haired man barked, his eyes slithering over my chest. The food servers had been and gone. All that remained of the meal were stacks of dirty dishes and a ton of uneaten delicacies. Whatever these men had come here for, it certainly wasn't the food.
My stomach growled ominously, but I pushed through the discomfort and headed to the bar to collect more drinks. Danica cracked open another bottle of tequila and poured more shots.
"The entertainment is about to start," she told me in a low voice, nodding toward the small stage on the left. As I turned to look, the overhead lights dimmed, and the atmosphere changed from inebriated good humor to one of intense anticipation.
What exactly were these men here for?
"Quick, serve them now," Danica urged, shoving the tray at me. "Then get straight back over here."
I took the tray of drinks and headed over to the table that had ordered more tequila. The gray-haired man didn't botheracknowledging me this time. He and all the other men in the room were too busy staring at the stage to notice the servers.
"I hear Avram Marku's back on the scene," a bald man commented to his neighbor as the guy hosting the event stepped onto the stage with a broad smile.Marku. Why was that name familiar? I wracked my brain but got nothing.
"Yeah, he’s here this evening," the second man replied.
The suited man on the stage tapped the mic loudly.
"Gentlemen! So happy you could all join me tonight." The chatter died down amid palpable excitement. I finished unloading my tray and scurried back to the bar.
"Tonight, we have a selection of new toys for you to admire, fresh from our supplier. If there are any that take your fancy, please do let me know once the show ends, and arrangements will be made as per the usual protocols. And yes, before anyone asks, we do accept crypto." Someone chuckled, although I had no clue why.
"Now, without further ado, let the show begin!" Jesus. This man had a high opinion of himself. He seemed to think this was the Greatest Show on Earth rather than a sleazy room in a shitty nightclub.
"Whatever happens, do not react," Danica whispered in my ear as one of the other girls ducked away behind the bar. "He'll be watching to make sure you don't react. The last new girl lost her shit, and we didn't see her again."
The man in charge - Rafe, Danica had called him - stepped off the stage and took a seat with a group near the front.
Danica's warning rang in my ears as the stage lights brightened and the curtain fell back to reveal a chair. And on that chair sat a young blonde girl, barely 16, if not younger. It was hard to tell with the makeup plastered on her face.
I gasped loudly enough to capture Rafe's attention. He glared my way as Danica gripped my arm and hissed, "Shut the fuck up!"
The brunette on Danica's left ignored us both. She didn't seem at all bothered about the girl on the stage. Instead of watching, she carried on wiping down the bar and loading the dishwasher.
"Why is she here?" I asked Danica in a low voice while schooling my face back into a neutral expression. Rafe's gaze narrowed on me for a few more seconds before someone said something in his ear and he turned away.
"She's part of the entertainment. That's all you need to know."
I swallowed the words I wanted to say and Danica released my arm, apparently satisfied I wasn't about to do anything stupid, like storm onto the stage. If I was Thea, I probably would have done exactly that, but I had no skills and I wasn't brave enough to attempt a rescue in a room full of dangerous men.
Instead, I had no choice but to watch as two men appeared behind the girl and proceeded to touch her.
Intimately.
