“No,” she spat. He could have said he was going to throw ten, and she still wouldn’t change her mind.
She tried to walk away, snatching her arm from his grip, but she didn’t get very far before he grabbed her mouth. She stared at him wide-eyed as he revealed a gag in his hand before trying to place it on her. Honey struggled against his hold, terrified.
“Don’t raise your price too much,” he told her as she struggled. “It’ll be good for us both. I’ve always wanted a taste of Honey.”
She panicked as she struggled even further, thrashing her body about. Then, finally, they fell to the ground, and she could push him off. As she got up and scrambled away, he tried to grab her but narrowly missed her and only ended up ripping her bodice instead. But Honey didn’t let that stop her as she hit the button, ringing the alarm. She then went over and grabbed the lamp off the side table, holding it as a weapon.
“If you touch me again, I swear I’ll hit you with this until I see the white meat,” Honey said, breathing heavily.
The man stood up, looking livid, his face red with anger. “I pay way too much at this club to be treated like this by a Black bitch like you.”
The door swung open, and James stepped inside. He looked between them two, taking in the scene before he walked over to the man.
“Come on. You have to leave,” James said.
“Me? Leave? I pay both of your salaries here. I won’t leave,” the man spat. But James ignored him as he grabbed him and wrestled him out. “I won’t stand for this. I’m going to tell Antonis and get you both fired. Fuck you, you fucking—”
The rest of his words snuffled out as James took him out of the back area. Once he was gone, Honey fell to her knees, covering her exposed chest as tears fell from her eyes. She couldn’t believe something like this had happened on the very first night.
Moments later, the sound of shoes storming down the hall made her look up to see Nikos standing in the doorway. They stared at each other until Nikos took off his jacket, came over, and draped it over her shoulder before pulling her into a hug.
“Did he do anything to you?” he asked.
For some reason, his question made her cry harder, but it seemed that Nikos wanted answers. He grabbed her chin, forcing her to look into his blue eyes.
“Did he do anything to you?” he asked again, demanding an answer. Honey sniffled.
“He tried to force toys on me, which wasn’t a part of the deal, and when I said no, he tried to force a gag in my mouth,” Honey said, shaking. “I know he might be an important member, but—”
“No,” Nikos said, cutting her off. She stared at him, confused, wondering if she had crossed a line, knowing that if one of the other girls did this with an important client, Antonis would not be pleased at all. He treated his important elite client members like gods here who could get whatever they wanted, and she had just broken that rule.
When James came back into the room, Nikos turned to him.
“I want that man out of here and never let him back on the premises,” Nikos said. “Tell Christos to handle him.”
Honey’s eyes widened. She didn’t want him hurting anyone on her behalf. It was enough that he was gone.
“Nikos—”
“It’s more than just you,” Nikos told her. “He needs to know that he can’t treat women however he wants, especially the women who work for me.”
Honey found herself staring at Nikos, feeling like she was speaking to a man she had never met before. None of the owners of clubs ever spoke like this before, especially the men. They usually didn’t care.
“But I promise I won’t kill him,” Nikos told her. “I won’t put something like that on your conscious.”
She was grateful that Nikos understood her apprehensions without her explaining them. He helped her off the floor so she could sit on the bed. James took his orders and left, giving her a sympathetic look, but she was glad he had stayed true to his word and immediately came to her rescue.
“I thought I could do this,” Honey said, shaking her head. “I don’t think I can anymore.”
She had wanted this for so long, thinking it would be the easiest way to achieve her dream, but the reality of it was haunting. To be under that gaze, looked at like that, and treated like a toy was something she couldn’t accept, especially when her words didn’t matter at all.
“I’ll have Angela vet them for you, so you won’t have to experience anything forceful like this again,” Nikos told her, but Honey shook her head.
“I don’t think I’ll be ready to do something like this again yet,” she said as she looked at the room in disgust before she bit down on her lip, frustrated with the situation and herself.
“I was this close,” she said. “I wanted this for so long and begged for it, but now this happened.”
It was quiet for a moment as she simmered in anger while Nikos sat beside her, providing comfort in him simply being there.
