Page 50 of Ruthless Heir

“I’m glad to know.”

“What’s the job?” This was the plot twist to her earlier comment.

“It's a waitressing position for high-profile clientele. It's five hundred a night with tips. You could be looking at anything from earning a grand a night to… well, at that place anything can happen. A guy could tip you ten grand just because he likes the look of you.”

“I’d just have to sell my soul,” I fill in.

She bites the inside of her lip. “Kind of. But you get your soul back once you're free of the debt. You'd definitely be able to pay the arrears with no problem by the end of the month. And if you stayed a little longer, like two to three months, you could pay off everything.”

Everything.

The word echoes in my mind and I imagine myself debt free. But what is the cost of freedom? “It’s not going to just be serving drinks, is it?”

“No. You’d have to do it topless and um… give lap dances. You’d get more money depending on what you’d be willing to do.”

I groan. “So, I’d become a slut?”

“Harper, it’s not like that.”

“It sounds like it.”

I look away from her and gaze out to The Gill, watching the swans swim past. My heart sinks with every second that passes and I think of how low I've fallen.

“You have the job if you want it,” Beth says in a reflective tone. “The hours are eight until midnight and you pick the days you want to work. If you want the job you’d just need to drop by and fill in some paperwork then do the training when they schedule you.”

Slowly, I look back at her. “Would you do it if you were me?”

She frowns. “You can't ask me that, Harper. We're so different from each other. Hence it's me who's telling you about this job and not the other way around. Also, if something likethis never crossed your mind before I think it's testament to howdifferentwe are, but to answer your question, yes. I would do it in a heartbeat. Ididdo it.”

I suck in a breath. “When?”

“A few years back when you left for UCLA. My mom was sick. She needed brain surgery. We didn’t have the money and the insurance wouldn’t cover the cost.”

My insides squeeze and I look at her, hoping she’ll tell me it’s not true. Except why would she lie about something like that?

“Why didn’t you tell me? I never knew your mom was sick like that.”

“I didn't want you to know. You had a lot going on.Toomuch. You were just getting back on track after the accident. So I did what I had to do.”

“You saved your mom.” I bring my hands together on my lap and lean closer.

“I did. And I have no regrets because Isavedmy mom. She gave up a lot to raise me when my father walked out on us. So I saw it as my turn to take care of her.”

I nod in understanding. Now that she's laid out her story, taking a job at a sex club feels like a no-brainer if I want to save myself. “I’m sorry I wasn’t there for you.”

“You were. You just didn’t know in what way. It was great just speaking to you when you called.”

“That’s not enough. I’ll make it up to you.”

“Let’s get rid of your debt first.”

“Yes.” Clearing that debt would free me from Nick, too. I could even be out of Asher's place and in my own apartment near campus where I could stay for as long as I wanted to.

“I’ll take the job.”One more thing to hide from Asher.What lie am I going to tell him now? I’ll have to think about it. “Thank you for getting it for me.”

“No worries. I’ll send over my friend's details and you can make contact.”

“Sure. This seems like the way, doesn’t it?”

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