CHAPTER 19
Haley
By the time the next night rolled around, everything was back to normal. Almost. Aldrich was missing, which should have made me feel more at ease, but instead, I kept looking over my shoulder, wonderingwhenhe was going to show up. After years of him being at the Dahlia District within the first hour of business, it was strange, and eerie, for him to be missing.
Lucas was running late too. He had business to take care of, something about an acquisition. It meant that I had more free time than I wanted.
Most of the members were already occupied. And the ones that weren’t were waiting for their favorite servers? I didn’t have the energy to entertain someone new. That’s what happened with Lucas; I was no lazy, and no longer interested in learning new members.
But that wasn’t fair to Lucas, or to me. I needed to treat this like work, not like a club where I was a member too.
Mel was lounging in a bucket chair, her legs sprawled over one of the armrests. A few buckets of paint were waiting at the edge of the stage. She sat up when she saw me.
“Haley,” she said. “I want to talk to you about last night.”
I collapsed into the seat next to her. My heart rate steadily increased, but I reminded myself that this was Mel. She wasn’t Aldrich. “What’s up?” I asked.
“Aldrich offered us money to say that stuff to you,” she said. “I don’t know what you did to piss him off so much, but he was pretty avid that we say those particular insults to you.” She looked around cautiously. “I guess no one wanted to be the person who actually went through with it.”
Except for Mel. She ran a hand through her thick, maroon hair.
“I wasn’t going to either, but then he made me an offer I couldn’t refuse.”
Her eyes sparkled at those words, and I angled closer. “Your freedom?”
She nodded, a subtle smile on her face. “Pay off my debts to Dahlia. Give me a home.”
My breath caught in my throat. “You’re not going to live with him, are you?”
She slunk back into her chair. “I’ve had my fair share of assholes.”
“He’s notjustan asshole.”
She raised a brow and tilted her head. “What? Are you jealous?”
Of her with Aldrich? No way. But I didn’t want to tell her that. She seemed so happy about the situation. But I needed to warn her that both of his wives had died mysteriously of the same cause. She deserved to know.
“No. Not that,” I stated. “He’s just—” How did I put it? “Aldrich is just—”
“Look,” Mel said, cutting me off, “I’m sorry about what I did. Calling you a ‘whore’ in front of everyone. For what it’s worth, no one wanted to do it. Including me.”
Those words sucked the air out of me. I’m sure her apology was genuine. I had no idea why it wouldn’t be. And I understood where she was coming from. It was hard to pass up freedom from your debts, even if it came with humiliating your friend. But I didn’t want to talk about it anymore. At least not that.
“How much longer do you have here, then?” I asked.
“I don’t know.” She shrugged. “Aldrich said something about a business acquisition. Said he couldn’t be here tonight.”
That was strange. Lucas had said the same thing. They each had their own investment firms; maybe it was luck that they were both acquiring new companies on the same day.
“Was that why he was celebrating last night?”
“I think so,” Mel said. A few new members sat down, and Mel glanced at the clock on her phone. “Shit. I gotta start.” She stood up. “No hard feelings, right?”
“None.”
The stage lighting dimmed, and I took that as an opportunity to excuse myself. I found Lucas sitting on a stool at the bar. I touched his back, but he didn’t move. I slid onto the seat next to him.
“How long have you been here?” I asked. He stared into the empty glass, not saying a word, or even turning towards me. “Is everything alright?”
