Page 11 of Ruining Vanessa

My curiosity about the accounting is disrupted by another hard period cramp. I wince and rub my lower belly.

“Wait!” I call out, jogging up to Donny. “Um, Donny…Before you go, are there any painkillers? I’ve got the worst cramps.”

Donny waves dismissively. “Yeah, yeah, supply closet, box at the bottom. Use the sheet to mark down anything that’s low stock.”

I nod. “Thank you.” The supply closet isn’t far, and I tell Stef, “I’ll be right back.”

She hesitates. “I’m not supposed to let you wander by yourself…”

I gesture to the hall. “I’m just going right over there. I promise I’ll be right back.”

Stef doesn’t look convinced, but Bobbi says, “I think she’s learned her lesson. Just let her go so we can get this shit finished.”

Stef nods slowly. “If you’re not back in like a minute, I’m going to come looking for you. I’ll walk with you to the kitchen to get something to drink.”

“Okay.”

Bobbi is right. I’m not going to try anything dumb. But I don’t need an escort to the closet that’s barely ten steps away, even if it is out of sight.

But my resolve to not do anything dumb instantly evaporates when I see what else is in the box with the ibuprofen.

Contraceptive sponges.

I recognize them from freshman orientation. I need to hurry, and I don’t have time to think my way through this. I snatch up a few and shove them into my jean pockets, putting a few more under the waistband of my pants. Heart racing, I grab the bottle of painkillers and shake out a few before tossing it back into the box.

Am I going to get away with this?

No. Probably not. I don’t want to risk endangering the other girls. But it’d be nice to have the option… Just in case.

I close the door and turn back to the other room. I feel like I can barely breathe, and I’m so sure I’m going to get caught. I have to try to play it cool and hope no one notices the bulges in my pockets and pants. At least Damien’s shirt is long enough to cover it all.

Nobody says anything at all while I help clean.

“It was nice to hang out with you again,” Stef says when we’re done and she leads me back to my room. “Sorry I have to lock you up again.”

I shake my head. “It’s okay. I understand. I’m not going to give you a hard time or anything.” I force a smile and go back into my room, sitting down so she can chain my ankle back to the bed.

My heart is still racing, and I can’t believe I got away with this. Maybe I can get away with using them… I know their prevention rate isn’t as high as birth control pills or condoms, but it’s at least a chance.

“See you later,” Stef says. She lets herself out of my room, and I hear the deadbolt slide into place.

I glance up at the camera, the light slowly blinking and reminding me of its presence. Damn it. I need to figure out how to hide these without being caught. I hadn’t quite thought that through when I’d grabbed them, but I hadn’t had the time.

Good thing I have hours of boredom to use to think it through.

3

DAMIEN

“I don’t know what to tell you. Your accountant’s wrong,” Donny says, handing me the ledger. “Everything works out.”

The small office is dimly lit, so it’s hard to make out the numbers, especially with Donny’s bad handwriting. I scan the columns, trying to find obvious mistakes, but this is all a lot easier sitting at a computer with accounting software.

Our main accountant insisted there was something off with Ntimacy’s numbers, but he couldn’t tell us what, exactly, the problem was. “Based on past earnings, and all your other clubs, I just don’t think it makes sense.”

Another headache to deal with. It doesn’t help that Donny hates math, and Paul is too useless to be trusted with any of this.

“Double-check it,” I tell him. “I don’t want to have to tell Giulio in a month that you’ve been fucking things up.”

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