A Twinkle In The Stars

Chapter 8

The next morning I woke up to the sun in my eyes. Margo was still asleep. I picked up my phone and saw it was ten in the morning. I decided to see if Madame Zay had deposited the money into my account. What I  saw next made me scream:

$110,000 staring back at me.

Margo shot up and looked at me.

"What time is it? What's wrong?" She shot questions at me.

I didn't say anything I just showed her my account balance.

"Oh my God! It was only like ten thousand yesterday! You got one hundred thousand dollars from Madame Zay just from one night?!" She shrieked.

I nodded.

She picked me up and spent me around.

"This is great! We might be able to go to college!" Margo cheered.

Denver and Star came into the room sleep still written on their faces.

"What's going on?" Star rubbed her eyes.

"Madame Zay paid me one-hundred thousand dollars." I showed them my bank statements.

Denver snatched my phone

"Is this real?" Star questioned looking between me and the phone.

"It says its from Zay Enterprises." I shrugged.

"Damn. Let me go get ready for my task." Denver left the room.

"Isn't it later tonight?!" I called after him.

"Shit if it's a hundred thousand dollars on the line gotta get prepared in advance!" He called back from his room.

We all laughed at Denver.

***

A couple hours later Madame Zay pulled up to the front of the house and picked up Denver. He had on a white dress shirt three buttons unbuttoned to show his toned chest. He had on his black and grey plaid slacks that stopped at his shins with his all black doc martins on. He looked really cute.

"I hope your skills will prevail tonight." Madame Zay handed him the pills. 

"I won't disappoint." Denver winked.

She handed him the photo and his heart ran cold.

"My target is a...woman?" Denver looked urgently between Madame Zay and the photo.

"You need to put your sexuality aside and show me that you can be diverse. I need to be able to trust you and this will prove your worthiness to me." Madame Zay purred.

She shooed him out of the car. He swiped the sweat from his forehead, tucked the pills and photo away, and went inside the nightclub.

Denver stalked inside and headed for the bar, liquid courage to get this done quickly.

"Hey handsome, can I buy you a drink." A woman slid up next to him.

To his surprise and as if God himself had decided to cut Denver a break, it was his target.

She was a multi-million dollar investor. Her name was Ellie Singleton.

"Drink for drink." Denver winked.

She ordered the first round and he bought the second. She bout the third and he bout the fourth. In between rounds of vodka and laughter he slipped the pills into her drink.

She downed the drink and relief washed over him, but the seven shots of vodka had washed over him too.

He took her by the hand and led her to the dance floor and danced to beat of the pulsing music. Before he knew it, she had slumped against him.

Quickly, he dragged her body out of the crowd and to the exit. When he got outside two policemen were waiting for him.

"Are you Denver Reid?" The policeman asked.

"Yes sir is there a problem?" Denver tried to play it cool.

"Who is this unconscious young woman?" The second policeman looked over at Ellie who was still unconscious.

"M-my girlfriend. She had a little too much to drink and I'm just taking her home." Denver kept his cool.

"Well, it was reported that you have drugged this young woman by a bartender who saw you slip this young lady two pills." The policeman began taking his handcuffs out.

"Gentleman please this is all a big misunderstanding." Denver looked for Madame Zay's car.

Denver began to panic.

"This isn't my fault. I work for a woman named Madame Zay and she is in charge of Zay Enterprises. She makes me and my friends drug people and empty their bank-" 

The policeman struck Denver over the head with their baton.

***

Denver woke up with his surroundings seeming familiar. He could see someone in front of him.

It was Madame Zay.

"Glad to see your awake."Madame Zay seemed calm for someone who was just outted to the police.

"M-Madame Zay I-"

"Silence. I'm talking now. Do you know how much money you could have cost me tonight?" Madame Zay circled him.

Denver shook his head.

"For starters I would've had to get my trustee lawyer on the phone and pay off the police who aren't already on my pay roll which could have set me back a million or two. Then pay someone to get rid of my little problem, you I mean. That would have been at least half a million. Devin your costing me one point five million dollars and you have yet to prove your worth to me. What is stopping me from putting a bullet through your skull right here right now?" Madame Zay sat on her desk crossing her legs.

Denver almost fainted.

"No need in pleading and bargaining. I could kill you right here and no one would even so much as take a second glance at me. That's how much power I hold here. Now, I'm not gonna kill you because your not worth the wasted blood. Now for your consequence." She smirked.

She went over to the other side of the desk and took her seat.

"Star or Aracely?" She grinned evily.

"What?!" Denver shrieked.

"Choose or I will." She urged.

"Star or Aracely?" She listed again.

Denver contemplated for a while.

"Choose me. Choose me please. I'll take the consequence they've done nothing wrong." Devin cried, hot tears painting his face.

"Choose." Madame Zay prompted again.

"Please." Denver pleaded.

"Choose." Madame Zay waited patiently a grin on her face.

Denver felt like the air was leaving his body and he was suffocating. How could he choose between both his best friends Margo would be crushed at both choices. But in the end he did choose:

He chose me.