Owned by the Hitman

Chapter 10: Katy

It's New Year's Eve, and I still haven't told anyone about the deal.

I hold the ladder steady for Natalie as she works on the light fixtures for the big night. New Year's is always a booming event for any club, anywhere. In Brighton Beach, though, it's all the more important that everything go off without a hitch. People come from all over to start the New Year with a bang, and the Amber Room is not going to miss out on those crowds.

Especially since I've got the money to make that happen now.

To my surprise, that's been the biggest change in my life since agreeing to be Ivan's for a year. Even when I first accepted his deal, I knew the dizzying high I got from the outpour of affection wouldn't last. Later that very night, I started to worry about whether he'd change for the worse as soon as it started, but so far it's felt like, well, having a boyfriend.

He started by telling me that we were going to stop selling my stuff, and that alone took a huge weight off my shoulders. We put all of my possessions back into place, and he even helped me reorganize some of the house, which was long overdue. He hasn't even told me to move in with him, which I thought would happen right off the bat.

Instead, I've found myself with breathing room to get the club back on its feet with the spare money I have.

And I'm not wasting any time putting it to use.

"Okay Natalie, 2016. Is that motorcycle ride gonna happen for me now, or what?" Ashton chimes from across the room while she moves around the walls, changing bulbs on the floodlights. She's been trying to get Natalie to let her ride her bike since getting hired.

"What's that? Can't hear you, the lights are a little loud up here," she calls back, half-hidden in the hanging lights.

On a regular day, the ceiling looks like a starry sky, a canvas of hanging lights that make the little club seem like a ballroom. For tonight, Natalie's brought out the heavy artillery: amber lights in ornate patterns around the whole room, almost doubling the brightness of the room, set to light up at the stroke of midnight. Natalie used to work on theater sets, so she volunteered to handle the "stage-setting" for tonight.

"Tch," Ashton clicks, "you never let me have any fun."

"Do too. I let you help me wax it last time."

"That wasn't as fun as you said it would be."

"See?" Natalie winks down at me, "She doesn't even appreciate my heartfelt generosity."

I roll my eyes. "Anyway, are you sure this stuff is safe? It's been a good couple of months, but I don't think a fire inspector having an aneurism in the building would do much to keep it that way." All I've told the staff is that the payments have been worked out. They got the message not to press further.

"I mean," Natalie puts a hand on her hip, tilting her head to the side, "the chances of something happening on one night are, like, pretty slim, you know? And besides, if something does go up in flames, we can use Charlie as a wet blanket, right Charlie?"

The bouncer in the corner doesn't look up from his phone, but grunts noncommittally. He's been on dating websites all morning.

"What'd I tell ya?" Natalie grins back at me, climbing down from the ladder and scooting it over a few feet to start working on another section of the ceiling. "Anyway, everyone will be too distracted getting a New Year's Eve kiss to notice a little electrical fire, yeah?"

I snort. "No, see, it'll be too hot in here already from that, we don't need any more heat adding to it!"

We laugh, and my mind wanders to Ivan. I haven't heard from him all day. He hasn't said anything about plans for tonight. Maybe he isn't much of a New Year's kind of guy?