Page 86 of Made to Sin

“A place where sleazy men aren’t even trying to hide that they’re staring down your cleavage.”

I tilted my head. “Seriously? That’s your reasoning? Trust me, that happens all the time. I’m used to it.”

He turned toward me briefly. “You’re going to let men assault you for some quick cash, and call it okay?”

“When you put it that way, it makes it seem much worse than it actually is. But yes.”

My response wasn’t what he wanted to hear. With a low curse, he roughly pulled over to the side of the deserted road.

Something in my guts told me he wouldn’t hurt me, but it was scary to be in the middle of nowhere with a furious mobster nonetheless. “What are you doing?” I worriedly asked.

With a slam of the door shutting behind him, he rounded the hood to the passenger side. My eyes entrancingly followed his approaching figure. He blended too effortlessly into the night, creating an unnerving sensation in the pits of my stomach.

Lady Luck, please, don’t let today be the day he got tired of my presence and decided to kill me.

He opened my door and kneeled until we were at eye level. His voice was softer than I expected. “Let me make it clear, sweetheart, you are not going back to that place or any place where you have to show off your body to some scumbags.”

“But I need a job,” I protested.

It wasn’t to be stubborn, I really needed one if I planned on moving out any time soon.

He wasn’t swayed.

“I gave you my card.”

“I don’t want to use your money.”

It was easy for someone as rich as him to throw money around, but I felt bad using it. It wasn’t because of my outstanding morals or anything, but because there was nothing more irksome to me than feeling like I owed somebody. And I owed him a lot already.

“Why not?” He blandly asked.

I played with my shirt hem. “Because I want to make my own.”

His face morphed into one of impatience upon hearing my lackluster reasoning. “No.”

“Yes,” I argued.

His eyes narrowed at me.

Regardless of how uncomfortable I felt, I held his glare.

When he saw that I wasn’t going to back down, he compromised with a tired shake of his head. “Fine, if you want to be abartender so bad, it’s going to be at my club.”

My brows furrowed at the thought of him being my boss, but the circumstances were better than the previous bar. Plus, it made me feel a bit safer knowing he was nearby, ready to kill for me.

Who was I kidding? I didn’t have another choice. If I wanted a job on Beneveti land, I would have to do it under his conditions.

“Okay…” I mumbled. The dread in my voice made it sound like I was signing up for something much worse than a job, but that was the effect he had.

He seemed content with my answer and got up.

Before he walked away, I grabbed onto his wrist. “Wait, but first, I need to make some things clear.”

His gaze fell to where I held him.

“What is it, Katarina,” he roughly asked as though the mere touch bothered him.

Heat flushed my cheeks as I dropped his hand and cleared my throat, trying to remember my stipulations through the embarrassment. “If I work for you, there’s no special treatment. No extra pay, no easy tasks, nothing you wouldn’t do for a regular employee.”