Page 17 of Until

"What do you want to know?"

"I want to know about last night. Did you find him? The man with the green mask.”

"No, he found me."

Alex’s eyebrows shoot up and he looks at me with a renewed interest.

"So you didn't even need to find him." He strokes his chin as a smile slowly grows on his face. "I knew he would like you."

Alex’s shoulders straighten with pride. He gets up and starts to pace the room, lost in thought.

So he found you. And then you danced with him?"

I nodded.

"Excellent." Alex walks over to the desk and opens the briefcase sitting on top. From the suitcase, he pulls out a stack of hundred-dollar bills, turns back to me, and hands me the money. "That's yours. $20,000 in cash as promised. See, I told you there wasn't a catch."

I have never seen so much cash before in my life. Let alone hold it. I quickly shove the cash into my handbag before he can change his mind.

"Thank you," I say. "I still don't know why you wanted me to do this, but I really appreciate the money." I rise to my feet, ready to leave, when he raises his index finger towards me.

“Want to make some more money?” he asks.

I eye him suspiciously.

"I guess that depends on what you have in mind."

"How about you give me a few more details from last night?" He motions with his hand back to the couch that I was sitting on. Then he grabs his briefcase off the desk and places it on the bed next to the dress. He opens it, revealing that it’s full of cash.

"Did he ever give you his name?"

"No. When we were in the room he asked me a few times for my name but you told me to not give it to him so I didn't." Dammit, I can’t believe I mention the room.

An excited look crosses Alex’s face. He grabs a smaller stack of 20s and tosses it onto my lap.

"Tell me about the room."

I sigh, disappointed at my big mouth. I look down at my lap and pick up the cash. There has to be at least a few hundred dollars there. My mind starts spinning with how much groceries I can buy.

“The room is on the second floor, away from the ballroom. We had to go up a large staircase, and then through two hallways before getting there. It has a glass wall that overlooks the dance floor." I looked around the hotel room mentally comparing it’s size to the one we were in. "The room is probably around this size. It has dark walls and a plush carpet. There was a bar in one quarter and a couch in the middle."

He puts his hand up, telling me to stop before nodding his approval.

"There's no bed in that room at all, is there?"

"No, just the bar, the couch, and some chairs."

"Did you have sex with him?"

I can’t believe his question. I looked down at my lap as heat rushed to my cheeks, and my anger swelled. "No! But whether we did or not that would be none of your business."

Alex chuckles as he waves his index finger at me. "You did something. I can tell. That's one of the reasons I chose you. It's nothing to be ashamed of, Carina. If anything you should be proud of yourself. You did a much better job than I would have ever imagined." He reaches into his briefcase and grabs the smaller wad of hundreds than what he paid me with before. He holds it up before handing it to me. "That's $10,000. Consider that bonus. Plus, if you’d like to keep the dress, and everything, consider it yours.”

I stare at the money in disbelief. A weight lifts off my shoulders as I realize I have over $30,000 in cash. I put the money in my handbag, and walk over to the dress before putting my hand on it lovingly.

“Thank you,” I whisper.

“So tell me, Carina, how would you like to go back to the ball?”

---