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“Royce, Eric Royce,” I whisper.
Wint frowns. “We don’t have a member by that name, Candy. Maybe you were mistaken,” he says softly.
Surprisingly, it’s Frost who jumps to my defence.
“No way. You didn’t see her come out of that room. She knows what she saw. She’s not mistaken.”
“Can you describe him to me? Or even just tell me which seat he’s in?”
I shake my head. “I didn’t get a good look at the players when they came in. I didn’t see which seats they took aside from Dash and the VIP. He told me not to speak.”
“How do you know it was him then?” Wint asks curiously, cocking his head to the side. Thank god he doesn’t sound accusatory or disbelieving.
“I only heard his voice. It was enough.”
Wint looks troubled, and he nods his head slowly. “Alright. I’ll take care of it. Let me speak to North.”
I expect him to leave but he pulls a phone from his pocket and turns away from us as he calls the boss. Is he still the boss though if they’re all owners? It feels like weeks not hours since I was in the office reeling from that revelation.
I try to ignore Wint’s side of the conversation but even though I can’t hear his murmured, urgent words, I can feel the tension bleeding into the room, can see it in the rigid set of his shoulders, the fist curled by his side.
He hangs up but it takes several deep breaths before he turns back to face us, and I flush with embarrassment when I realise I’m still crumpled on the floor like a dramatic princess. I get to my feet and wash my hands to distract myself, and check how bad my makeup looks. It looks fine. My skin is paler than usual and blotchy, but I didn’t cry, so Elle’s handiwork is still in place. Goes to show what several hundred pounds’ worth of product can do, versus supermarket brands. I would have probably sweated my old makeup off with the stress alone. If I still had it, that is.
“Candy, I’m really sorry,” Wint begins. I look up from the sink and meet his green eyes in the mirror. Instead of bright leafy orbs, his gaze is dark and stormy, like wet ivy or pine needles at midnight. It’s just as sharp.
“Why are you sorry?”
“We don’t have an Eric Royce within our membership. At all. North just confirmed it. Which means that someone is here under a false name.” He grimaces and scrubs a hand over his short stubble, looking torn. “I hate to have to ask you to do this, but we need you to go back into the room and show us where he’s sitting.”
My knees buckle but Frost is there to catch me, and I wish I’d just stayed on the floor.What was the point in trying to pull myself together only to let Wint’s words tear me back to pieces?
“I—”
I really need this job. If I don’t do this, they’ll let me go for sure. They’ll probably let me go anyway. They don’t need a member of staff causing trouble. But maybe if I do this…
“Stop.” The voice is commanding, but kind. I drag my gaze back up to the mirror and I’m ensnared by Frost. The sharp lines of his face seem harsher than ever but there’s kindness in his silver eyes. “Whatever you’re thinking, just stop. You don’t have to do this.”
I breathe a little easier and find myself nodding.
“Turn around and look at me, Candy,” Wint softly demands. I couldn’t disobey him even if I wanted to. I’m facing him before I even consciously move my body. “That’s it, well done. Now look at me with those beautiful eyes.”
Like the first time we met, I’m staring at the floor taking in his shiny black dress shoes, but at his words my gaze slowly travels up towards his face.
“You don’t have to do this. No-one will think any less of you if you tell me no,” he says firmly. “But… I can’t run the riskof anyone in my club getting hurt. If you do this, we would be indebted to you. Anything you want, you name it and it’s yours.”
He thinks I’ll put a price on facing my abuser? What, demand a pay rise or an extension of my contract? Or am I thinking too small? What’s the going rate for battling demons? A car? A holiday? A house?
My fear morphs to anger. Drawing my shoulders back, I raise my chin and stare Wint dead in the eyes. “I don’t wantanythingfor doing this. I’m not going to do it because I want you indebted to me. I’m going to do this to protect the other women that work and visit here. No one deserves to be alone with that monster.”
“And you won’t be alone with him either,” Frost tells me firmly. “Dash and Don are in the room, and Don knows exactly what’s going on because he’s wearing an earpiece and by now North will have looped him in.”
“Okay.” I nod, trying to look and sound braver than I feel. I hope they can’t see my knees shaking. “How do I do this?”
“Take the bottle of Macallan back into the room with you. If they question where you’ve been, tell them you were getting the correct vintage. Mr. Edmondson will want to inspect it, then will give you the go ahead to serve him and the others. When you pour Royce’s drink, look at Don and give him a nod.”
“Then w-what?” I curse myself for trembling.
“Nothing dramatic. Return the bottle to Edmondson’s side, do as he says and wait. We’ll take care of the rest but it will be subtle and swift. You won’t have to wait long.”
