When University student Erin Edberg finds herself desperate and starving, the sweet introvert takes on two jobs: one working at a strip club, and the other working for a serial womanizer. She has no idea how dangerously entwined the two will become...
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ERIN'S POV
"If I see a glass of wine after last night, I'll hurl!" Simone rests her head on the library desk. "I'm so tired."
I look across the top of my laptop and say, "that's one of my rules, no party's midweek."
"Not that you party midweek or weekends," Simone frowns.
"Very true," I say. But she doesn't know my primary concern is studying, making money and calculating a blueprint to keep me on course for the next year.
Simone lifts her head just enough to rest her hand under her chin. "So, I didn't tell you I dumped Dean yesterday. Caught the lying arse fart making tidal waves in the spa bath with another girl. He can apologize until the next lunar eclipse, and I still wouldn't take him back. I'm done."
"What a pig... You ok?"
"Will be. Apart from my head throbbing like a cracked egg." She pushes up from her chair. "Sorry, babes, but I can't study right now. I need my bed and a long sleep. "
"Actually," I say, "that works out well for me too."
"Why? What you got planned?"
"Meeting someone."
"Someone hot?"
I shrug. "No clue. Never seen the guy." Not that it matters. I stack my papers in a neat pile and push them back into the plastic sleeve. I don't tell her anything more since I'm not ready to admit that I messed up, and now I'm living the consequences of my actions.
***
An hour later, and I'm destined for the beachside suburb of Double Bay to meet the mysterious Mr. Styles. The ride there turns chaotic when the bus I am traveling on rips the door from a parked car.
After that, I walk the rest of the way since google maps says my destination is 2 kilometers from my current location. But things go from bad to worse when I lose google maps, and some pig in an overpriced sports car almost hits me while crossing the road.
By the time I arrive at my destination, I'm exhausted, sunburnt, and my head is throbbing. As I strike the silver doorknocker, I draw in an anxious breath. Stay calm. I'm ok. I made the right decision coming here. Which brings me back to why I am here-- to meet Mr. Styles; not that I know who he is? He's most likely a middle-aged man with a receding hairline and a pudgy wife.
I wipe my sweaty palms down my dress and over my protruding hipbones, trying to catch my breath after walking the streets of this affluent neighborhood and almost becoming roadkill. A chain rattles, the door opens, and my breath catches at sight of a hot guy standing on the other side of the door. His level of hotness unsettles me. I wasn't expecting this. But as nervous as I am, I force a smile. "Hi. I'm looking for Mr. Styles?"
"Why?" His tone is harsh. "Who are you?"
"I'm Erin Edberg. I um... spoke to Mr. Styles yesterday. He's expecting me. Unless I messed the address up and this is the wrong house."
"No. You're at the right house. So I guess you better come in."
Everything about this this situation tells me not to enter. But it's too late to back out now. I need food and money. Without it... well, without I'll face another night of starvation, which will lead to another night of crying myself to sleep.
He taps his long finger against the door. "Are you coming in or not?"
I take a reluctant step through the door and onto the wooden floorboards. It's hard to believe two weeks ago I was living with mum and without a care or problem. Today, I am in a strange man's house hoping he's not a lunatic.
When the front door to this seaside mansion slams shut behind me, I spin around, expecting him pull me into a chokehold and drag me into my worst nightmare. Instead, he breezes past me in his snug black jeans, black tee-shirt, and bare feet.
I eye him up cautiously as he strides out ahead of me. He's tall and powerfully built at least a head taller than me, and his shoulders are wide, and his hips narrow. He's extremely fit. If this turns ugly, I could never fight him off.
"Follow me." He instructs. It comes out more an order than a request.
If I don't make it back to the dorm tonight, will anyone notice I am missing? Will anyone notice me missing from class tomorrow? Unlikely. And those who do know me would never expect me to go to a strange man's house. This is out of character for me.
When he opens the last door at the end of the hall, my heart hammers. Common sense tells me to be on guard. This man could be a well-dressed sicko with an ulterior motive for wanting me here.
"Sorry I'm so late." I smile to lighten the uncomfortable tension. "But the bus I was on had an accident and then my phone ran out of data, which meant I couldn't access Google maps, which also meant—"
"Stop." His pale blue eyes pin mine. "I don't wanna hear excuses. You're two hours late. Not only have you kept me waiting, but you've ruined my morning, and cost me thousands in damages."
My heart flutters. "Excuse me?"
"Don't pretend that wasn't you jaywalking earlier. Thanks to you, I have a cracked bumper, a buckled rim, and that's without doing a proper inspection to see what other damage you caused!"
"You mean you're the lunatic who almost hit me?" And when I say almost, I mean I could feel the heat radiating off his car, it was that close.
His dark brow arches. "Hardly a lunatic. But yes, I almost run you over, which would have been your own fault. "
"But you were speeding!"
"And if you'd been watching the road, I wouldn't have had to run up the gutter to miss you. Now, here you are, expecting me to pay you."
I will myself not to cry. But when a single tear falls from my eye and hits my cheek, I lower my head and wipe it away, not wanting him to see how vulnerable I am. I need his money, which is the only reason I'm still here.
"I'm sorry for snapping at you, Miss Edberg. That was unprofessional of me... I'm," he gulps, his Adam's apple bopping, as if he's swallowing his words. "I didn't mean to upset you. How about we get back to the reason you're here?"
"Of course." My voice is low. "Only, I'm, well, I'm a little confused about what it is you want me to do?"
"Well, I'm not sure what you're confused about? But I can tell you this, what I need doesn't require brains."
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