Page 7 of Age of Shade

Obviously pleased I asked, Ruby’s lips curl into a smirk. “Liam said to offer a thousand. Though I bet if I tell him you’re not so sure, he’d double it. The guy owns one of the fanciest hotels in the city, so he can afford it.” She winks at me. “I totally talked you up, telling him how smart and pretty you are, and thatyou’re going to be a social worker and have a heart of gold. All the good stuff.”

It’s like all the air has been sucked out of my lungs.

Ruby picks up her phone, and I watch her thumbs fly over the screen as my mind races just as quickly.

Athousanddollars for only a few hours? It would normally take me weeks to make that kind of money. With my internship, soon things will get even tighter.I need money.

It would be stupid not to do this, right? I mean, I wouldn’t need to take my clothes off or let some guy take pictures of my feet. I’d just need to wear a new dress and make conversation with a lonely guy so his friend can slobber all over my friend. We’d be in a public place, so the risk of being murdered seems minimal, and I don’t have plans until my double shift at the coffee shop tomorrow. I’m supposed to be painting the bathrooms for Doctor Roth this weekend, but if I stay up late after my double shift—

“Oh, shit.” Ruby giggles, thrusting her phone in my face.

Ruby: Hey, handsome. I don’t know if my friend is game for tonight. She’s SO CUTE and doesn’t want to let down her boss on such short notice! ??

Daddy Liam ????: Offer her $3k to sweeten the deal, babydoll. She sounds like exactly what my friend needs.

I almost choke on my tongue.Three thousand dollars?

Ruby stares at me expectantly and, with all reasonable objections forgotten, I nod.

Three thousand dollars is enough to cover the lost income from all the time I’ll be spending at my internship while still having plenty left over to start saving for an apartment.

I feel a not-so-little pang at the thought of never finding another note from Doctor Roth, but I’ve already been there too long. He’s been so kind to keep this arrangement going, but I don’t want to push it too far. Not to mention, it would be nice to sleep somewhere without the anxiety of what will happen to me if he suddenly decides he’s had enough of our agreement.

I’ll miss him, but I know it’s time. All it will take is abandoning my stubborn self-reliance for a few hours.

Besides, this is my last semester. Against all odds, I’ve reached the final sprint of my college career. I only have a few more months of classes, internship hours, and working two jobs before I graduate and can get a job doing something that’s actually meaningful.

A familiar fantasy blooms in my imagination, the one where I’m older, more beautiful and more sophisticated. I go back to the practice to thank Doctor Roth for everything he did for me, then maybe he would ask me to dinner to talk, and that would be the beginning. I know he’s older than me, and more successful, but maybe if we met when Iwasn’ta homeless twenty-one-year-old sleeping on his couch…

“It’ll be fun,” Ruby promises as she thumbs out a message, presumably relaying the good news to her sugar daddy. “We can go shopping after the test and find you something killer to wear.”

“Okay,” I agree numbly, my hand pressing over the sudden point of pain in the center of my chest. It’s ridiculous to feel like you’re betraying a man you’ve only met in person once and who has never expressed even the slightest romantic interest in you.

It’s just dinner.I can do this.

CHAPTER FOUR

ASHER

The Witt Hotel is one of those everlasting testaments to New York City. It’s not the most polished or modern building; the marble exterior is grungy, and the doormen wear the same forest-green uniforms as they did a century ago when The Witt first opened its doors. Despite all that, the place is a mecca for old-money travelers, reliably drawing the kind of clientele who want to make a statement without standing out.

In other words, not me.

If it weren’t for a comical twist of fate that landed the scholarship student in a college dorm with the heir to The Witt Hotel dynasty when we were eighteen, I would never have stepped foot in this place. Liam Witt and I were an odd pair back in the day, and we still are now. We have practically nothing in common and most of the time he drives me insane, yet he’s been my closest friend for over twenty years.

Anyone would think I’d have grown accustomed to his hedonistic behavior by now, but the asshole still manages to surprise me.

“I thought you’d be pleased!” Liam’s laugh draws the curious eyes of the other guests seated around us in The Witt’s lounge. Being here, with him, always makes me feel like I’m in afishbowl. People are always looking, eager to walk away from their stay with some anecdote about the hotel’s infamous owner.

When Liam called me earlier this week with the invitation to spend the weekend, it seemed appealing. The practice is normally open on Saturday mornings and I typically go in Sunday to finish up paperwork, but the wedding of one of my hygienists has sent most of my staff out of town. A few days downtown on Liam’s dime, catching up with my old friend, would be fun. At least, it would be better than hiding away in my godawful apartment or going to a wedding where I’d know no one but my staff.

I should have known better.

Gritting my teeth, I glare across the low lounge table at him, willing my voice to remain even. “I’mnotpleased.”

Swirling a glass of scotch that probably costs more than my car, Liam leans back in his chair, surveying me with his trademark, maddening smirk. “I thought you wanted to start dating again.”

Telling this mananythingis such a mistake. He’s proven it time and again, yet I never learn.

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