I was loaned thirteen. Now, I owe twenty-five as payment plus interest. But I don’t begrudge any of this because I needed that money and was willing to do anything to get it. The fact that the sale of my house fell through and I couldn’t get the equity out to pay off the loan didn’t really touch my lender’s heart. He came after me and roughed me up good, imposing a final deadline I had better make or I would be hurt a lot worse.
I had four weeks to come up with the funds or my dead, bullet-riddled body would be put out in the Nevada desert for coyotes to tear apart. Okay, that’s an exaggeration, but I don’t want to incur his wrath any further. I just want him out of my life.
I’m pinning my hopes on Jerico Jameson to bail me out, hoping he’ll work out some type of reasonable payment plan. I’m assuming he’s an honorable guy as Jayce seemed positive he’d give me the money with easy repayment terms and a much lower interest.
“What was the money for?” Jerico asks again. “And when do you need it by?”
“Like I said… family emergency.” This was very much true, but he didn’t need to know the details.
My six-year-old niece, who I help my mom care for, needed a heart-valve replacement. Since she’s uninsured, the hospital wanted a deposit before they’d do the surgery. I was able to cash out twenty-seven thousand from my 401K plan, but I had to borrow the other thirteen. It came at a huge risk, but I figured I’d just sell my house, take the equity out of it—which wasn’t much but would at least cover the loan payoff—and all would be fine. Except the people who were going to buy it backed out at the last second, so now I was up shit creek without a paddle.
Since Jerico has asked me twice what the money was for, I expect him to push the issue. Instead, he asks, “What are you offering in terms of repayment?”
I blink at him in surprise. He wants me to suggest something? “Um… well, I need twenty-five to pay off the loan within thirty days. I could maybe pay it back over five years with some interest, of course, for your trouble.”
Jerico gives a bark of laughter, but his expression is not amused. “Miss Barnes, I’m not a bank. I don’t make long-term loans. I’ll give you the money… but at a twenty-two percent rate that would be due thirty days after I give you the money.”
“Impossible,” I whisper. My house was not going to sell, so I couldn’t pay it back that fast. The reason the buyers had backed out was that the home inspection revealed there was major termite damage. It was going to cost thousands to fix it. The house was a no-go. “That puts me in the same exact situation I’m in now.”
“That’s my offer,” he says softly. And the implication is “take it or leave it.”
“Mr. Jameson,” I say as I lean forward in my chair and try to push the tears back. “I really, really need your help. My brother saved your life. The favor I’m asking is not for the actual money, but a reasonable way I can repay it. I can’t get that much money together in thirty days. Can’t you please work something out with me that I can actually succeed at?”
He appraises me critically again. This time, he lets his gaze roam over my entire body as I sit in the chair opposite of him. When his eyes come back to mine, he says, “Are you willing to work off the debt?”
“Work off the debt?” I repeat skeptically. He owns a sex club after all.
“Yes. Here at The Wicked Horse,” he explains.
This perks my interest because I happen to need a job, and I’m insanely curious about what happens inside of this place. I’ve always been adventurous that way. When Corinne was in the hospital for her heart-valve replacement, I had to miss work. My employers were not forgiving, and they gave my job away to the temp who had replaced me. I’d been there six years and had hardly missed work, but I asked for a week off and they fired me.
Assholes.
So I’m unemployed right now and could use a job. While my mom’s paycheck helps cover half the expenses, it doesn’t pay for everything and my meager savings are about exhausted.
Leaning forward in my chair, I ask, “What does that mean… work here?”
“You know what this club is?” he counters.
I nod. “A sex club.”
“What would my job duties be?” I ask.
“They’d be whatever I tell you they were,” he says.
A little taken aback, I wonder if I am mistaking that look in his eyes.
Sinister?
Lustful?
But I must be mistaken because he says, “For example, I might have you work the hostess stand in The Social Room, or tend the bar. This may seem shocking to you, but I might use you as a waitress who sells condoms and lube and such. Or it could be something as mundane as cleaning my apartment. Let’s say you’d be my personal employee for whatever was needed.”
This has potential. It is all stuff I can do, and none of what he listed bothers me in the slightest.
“There are a variety of other jobs that mainly involve cleaning and making the club look beautiful at all times,” he adds on. “It’s physical work.”
“But I wouldn’t be expected to have sex with anyone?” I ask cautiously, because while I like sex a whole hell of a lot, I’m not whoring myself out.
“I don’t run a brothel, Miss Barnes,” he drawls, and I can tell I’ve offended him.
“I’m sorry—”
He talks right over me to clarify. “I do not expect you to have sex with any of the members as part of your repayment of the loan.”
“How much time is needed to pay you back the loan?” This sounds too easy.
“Four weeks. That’s when your deadline is, right?”
“All you want is four weeks of work for twenty-five thousand dollars?” I ask incredulously. “Because I’m sorry… nothing in life is that easy.”
Jerico cocks an eyebrow at me. “While I have no clue about your work ethic or any particular talents you may have, Miss Barnes, I’m requiring four weeks of work so that—for all intents and purposes—we have a legitimate deal. My granting you the favor I owe your brother isn’t the money I’m giving you. As you said, it’s the easy repayment plan that will wipe my debt clean with him.”
Well, there you go. Now we’re on the same page.
“One last thing,” I say quickly. “I lost my job a few weeks ago, so I’m hunting for a new one. Would my hours here be evenings or day shifts? I just need to know how to narrow my search. Still have to pay my bills, you know?”
“Tell you what,” Jerico says as he stands up and walks over to a cabinet on the adjacent wall to his desk. “I’ll give you extra shifts at time and a half to add onto the front or back of your regular shifts. If you’re working the condiment trays, you can make pretty good money in tips. More than enough to cover your bills, I’m sure.”
My mind races through everything to make sure I haven’t missed anything. I get twenty-five thousand for working at The Wicked Horse for a month. I don’t have to have sex with the members. He’ll give me extra work at overtime rate so I can pay my share of the living expenses. I can then walk away debt free and start my life over again, leaving these hellish weeks behind.
Sucking in a big breath, I let it out as I stand from my chair to face him. “Then I gratefully accept, Mr. Jameson.”
His back is to me as he pulls a painting away from the wall to reveal a safe behind it. He looks over his shoulder at me briefly. “Let’s just make it Jerico.”