Page 5 of Surrender to Me

“What happened?” she demanded.

I flopped onto the plush bed, staring at the high, vaulted ceiling. “This retreat is a whole scam.”

She snorted. “So, no rich old man cut you a million-dollar check on sight?”

“Not exactly,” I muttered. “More like a bunch of nodding politely while barely listening before rejecting me in under thirty seconds.”

She groaned. “Idiots.”

“Right?”

“So what now?”

I hesitated. I could lie. I could tell her I was just going to try again tomorrow, go back to networking, smiling, and selling my brand the hard way. Or I could tell her the truth. That an older, fine ass, tattooed, sinfully rich man had just offered me everything I wanted in exchange for my submission. I closed my eyes, pressing my fingers against my forehead.

“Honey?” Tyrae’s voice cut through my thoughts. “You just got real quiet. What’s up?”

I exhaled slowly, going to retrieve the black business card. “I… might have another option,” I said carefully.

“Okayyy…”

I sat up, crossing my legs under me. “Okay, so after the first few rejections at the mixer, I stopped at this bar off the main resort. It was a private spot, not part of the retreat.”

Tyrae made a humming noise. “Sounds sketchy. Go on.”

I rolled my eyes. “It wasn’t. It was actually nice. Low lights, expensive liquor, no annoying investors pretending to care about my brand for thirty seconds before rejecting me.”

“Okay, so you found a bar. Get to the good part.”

I swallowed. “There was a man there but not just any man, though,” I admitted, fingers tracing the hem of my dress absentmindedly. “He was… different. Older. Tatted. Stupidly fine.”

Tyrae’s laughter was instant. “Oh, bitch. I knew this was going somewhere.”

I ignored her, my stomach tightening as I said the next part. “He, uh… made me an offer.”

Silence. “What kinda offer?”

I hesitated, then forced myself to say it. “He said he’d fund my entire business,” I breathed out. “Write a check, no strings attached but in exchange, I have to spend the rest of the weekend with him.”

“Like… romantically? Or sexually?”

“Bitch… obviously both.”

Tyrae cackled, loud and unhinged. “Oh my God, Honey! What the hell?!”

I flopped back against the pillows, groaning. “I know.”

“Youdon’tknow!” she shrieked. “Because if you did, you wouldn’t be telling me this like it was some casual business proposal. This is literally the plot of an erotic novel.”

I covered my face with one hand, heat rising up my neck. “Exactly. It’s fucking crazy.”

“Crazy?” Tyrae scoffed. “Girl, that’s not crazy. That’s elite ho shit. That’s rich men making scandalous offers in secret bars because they’re used to getting what they want. Who is this man?!”

I sighed, reaching for the business card. “His name is Legend. No last name.”

Tyrae went quiet for a second, then muttered, “Sounds like the kinda man who has offshore accounts and a personal chef.”

“Exactly.”

---