The Sinner's Club [18+]

chapter fifteen.

REAPER SLEEPS ON my couch again. He doesn't say much to me throughout the day, sitting in what is quickly becoming his corner of the diner and watching me work.

By the time we get to the club, I am ready to hide from his piercing stare, but I know he won't look away from me the entire night while I serve drinks.

Except Nathaniel is waiting for me at the bar.

"There she is," he says, a smirk already playing on his lips. "Come along, little bird."

"What? Where?"

He throws me a look that tells me not to question him and I sigh and follow obediently.

Reaper tries to come with us, but Nathaniel waves him off, "You're on the door tonight."

Reaper's expression sours further, annoyance flashing across his face. "It's ok," I silently mouth at him.

When we are in Nathaniel's office, I cross my arms, trying to look a little more intimidating than I really am. "What do you want now? If you keep stopping me from working, I'm going to be paying off this debt till I'm fifty. Speaking of which, we really should set a defined timeline."

Nathaniel's smirk grows. "I like this new Wren. She's bossy." He comes close to me, till I have to tilt my head back to maintain eye contact. This near, I can see streaks of caramel brown in his otherwise dark eyes. His hand lifts and his knuckles run gently down my cheek, making my breath hitch. Then he suddenly grips my jaw tight. "But you don't dictate the terms of our agreement. I do. And you're going to work for me for as long as I fucking tell you to. Understood?"

I glare at him, refusing to speak.

"When I ask you a question," he says, pressing his body to mine, dipping his head low, "you answer. Do you understand?"

"Yes," I bite out. "Let go of me."

His nose brushes mine and the twisting in my stomach is wrong. But it is compelling all the same, this clenching of desire.

Then, he steps back and I can breathe again.

"I want you to have a look at something for me," he says, moving over to his desk and pushing forward a heavy file. "It's the current plans for the new franchise. I want your input."

"What?" My face scrunches up. "My input? Why?"

His eyes lock with mine. "Do you know how I got to be one of the most powerful people in this city, Wren?"

"I don't know, rich parents probably."

His eyebrows jump up and any smug smirk is wiped from his face. "That's what you think? That I'm some trust fund, nepotism asshole?"

I definitely think you're an asshole. I just shrug.

"No," he says forcefully. "I didn't grow up rich. I clawed my way to the top. And I only managed to get there because I recognize talent...and capitalize on it."

"Talent like Gabi?" I shouldn't say it, but it's something I've been thinking about for too long.

All the men and women who work here are attractive and desirable, but Gabi is on another level. Men salivate for her, are willing to drop thousands of dollars just for a lap dance with her and she rarely even takes off her lingerie. To see her completely naked is upwards of ten thousand dollars.

There is something magnetic about her. And Nathaniel certainly capitalizes on it.

But now his gaze grows murderous. "You don't know what you're talking about, Wren," he bites out. "Don't speak about things you don't understand."