Page 58 of Such a Good Girl

“Hey,” I said, lowering my voice so the other staff members wandering around didn’t hear me, “I’d love to hear more about those private circles you were talking about earlier.”

“What do you want to know?”

“Well, who’s involved in that? Is it just the clients, or do the owners participate, too?”

“I’ve heard Theo and Rian do sometimes, but I’m not sure about West.”

“Where do they hold these private circles?”

She handed me a drink and took a sip of hers, her eyes darting behind me.

“Uh, I gotta go, Rosie,” she said, her face falling as she quickly left.

I looked up in the mirror behind the bar and saw Theo standing behind me.

“What were you asking Lily about?” he demanded.

“Oh!” I said, turning to face him. He looked furious. “Hi, Theo. Uh, nothing, really.”

“I heard you asking about a private circle?”

“Well, yeah…”

“Are you trying to lure business away from our club, Rosie?”

“What? Oh, god, no, not at all.”

“That’s what it fucking sounded like. I knew we couldn’t trust you. Get your shit and get out, you’re fired.”

“What?” I shouted, loudly enough to get Rian’s attention from the other side of the room. I looked around for West, but he hadn’t shown up at all tonight.

“I mean it, get the fuck out!” Theo roared.

“Theo, I wasn’t —.”

“What are you doing, Theo?” Rian asked, once he’d finally come over to us.

“She was asking about private circles and shit. I don’t know what she’s up to. But we have a no tolerance policy and I’m not having it.”

“Theo, you know West will lose his shit if you fire his favorite waitress just for asking innocent questions.” Rian turned to me. “You aren’t fired, Rosie. Go home, though.”

“Thank you, Rian,” I said, offering him a grateful look as I walked away, mentally kicking myself. I’d have to be more careful next time. But I really needed to find out more about these private circles. Were the victims involved? And if so, who else was?

I ran into West in the hallway as he headed to his office.

“Hey,” I said. “I was wondering if you’d show up.”

“Yeah, Theo sent me a message when the coast was clear. The last thing I want is to see my ex getting railed by a bunch of dudes. I’m pretty sure she does that shit just to fuck with me. She thinks it’s going to make me jealous, but it doesn’t.”

“I saw that. Sounds like you’re really, truly done with her?”

“Absolutely,” he assured me. “Hey, can you come in my office for a minute? Are you leaving?”

“Yes, I was on my way out.” As I followed him, I contemplated telling him about Theo trying to fire me. Theo would mention it to him, no doubt.

I opted to get ahead of the situation.

“I need to tell you something,” I said, once he’d shut the door and sat down at his desk.

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