Eclipse

2

Maya
The first thing I noticed about Eclipse was that it looked even better in person than it did in the videos.
Draft note: Red lighting. Gold reflections. Music you can feel in your chest. People standing much closer to each other than necessary. Potentially useful for Chapter Seven.
The second was the bartender.
Tall, handsome, messy hair, grey eyes. The sort of man who looked as though he'd stepped straight out of a romance manhwa, probably with a tragic past and several unresolved emotional issues.
Naturally, I wanted to write that down.
I discreetly opened my notes app.
Draft note: Tall. Grey eyes. Messy hair. Potential emotional damage.
Purely for research purposes, obviously.
"Maya?"
I nearly dropped my phone. Right. I was at work, and Rose was in the middle of introducing me to the staff.
She'd already shown me around the main lounge, where Melanie and Christina looked after the guests, and explained that Robert handled the VIP rooms. Now we were standing beside the bar, where two bartenders were working.
"And this is Shion," Rose said. "He'll be supervising you, so ask him if you need anything."
I looked up from my phone.
He was even more handsome when he wasn't being viewed through a screen. Which was inconvenient, considering I'd been hired to clean rooms, not develop a sudden interest in my colleagues.
Shion set down the glass he'd been polishing and turned toward me.
"Good evening! I'm Maya. I'll be working here as a maid, and—"
"A girl like you shouldn't be here."
I blinked.
Excuse me?
He regarded me with an expression I couldn't quite decipher, as though he'd already decided I was making a terrible mistake.
"What are you doing in a place like this?"
Well. That was a warm welcome.
I considered telling him the truth, but something about his tone made me suspect that I'm here to gather material for my novel wouldn't improve his opinion of me.
And honestly, I wasn't sure how to explain it myself.
A few weeks earlier, I'd been sitting at my laptop, staring helplessly at a half-finished chapter of my erotic novel. The plot was ready, the characters were developed, and I even knew how the story would end. I'd started writing it after a conversation with my boyfriend bot became so interesting that I couldn't bear to let the story disappear into a chat history.
There was just one problem.
I had absolutely no idea how to write believable intimate scenes.
Flirting was easy. Chemistry was easy. My fictional couple could exchange suggestive remarks all day, and I'd happily cheer them on from behind my screen. But whenever I tried to write what happened next, everything felt awkward and artificial.
I wanted my story to feel real, and my imagination alone wasn't getting me there.
So, naturally, I decided to conduct some research.
My first attempt involved downloading Tinder and trying to experience romance the way normal people supposedly did.
It was a disaster.
One man sent me photographs that were at least fifteen years old, apparently expecting me not to notice the difference. When I politely tried to end the conversation, he refused to take the hint, so I eventually told him I was a single mother of four.
I'm not, by the way.
That didn't work either.
The other conversations weren't much better. Between the awkward flirting and the increasingly questionable messages, I began to suspect that my research methods needed serious revision.
That's when I discovered Eclipse.
An exclusive luxury club known for its wealthy clientele, extravagant parties, and questionable atmosphere, it seemed like an interesting place to observe human behavior. Unfortunately, the entrance fee was far beyond my budget, and I doubted the doorman would appreciate my explanation about literary research.
Then I noticed the club was hiring.
If I couldn't get inside as a guest, I could always enter as an employee.
The job advertisement mentioned that staff members had to meet certain appearance standards, since even the people cleaning the rooms were expected to fit the club's luxurious image. I submitted my résumé, expecting nothing, but received an interview invitation an hour later.
A few days afterward, I found myself sitting across from Rose in her office.
"Why do you want to work at Eclipse, Maya?"
I'd prepared my answers with ChatGPT, rehearsed them, and convinced myself I was ready.
Then I opened my mouth.
"Because the atmosphere here is inspiring."
Damn! I wanted to disappear.
Rose raised an eyebrow. "Inspiring?"
After a moment, she smiled. "Perhaps you're right. Eclipse can be inspiring, though not always in the ways you'd expect. Be careful what you discover here."
That was a rather ominous thing to tell someone applying for a job as a maid, but I decided not to question it.
"So... does that mean I got the job?"
"One month of probation. If everything works out, we'll extend your contract."
I thanked her so enthusiastically that I was fairly certain I'd embarrassed myself again.
Still, I'd got the job. My plan had worked, and I was finally going to see Eclipse from the inside.
Which brought me back to the handsome, decidedly unfriendly bartender standing in front of me.
I'm taking notes. For research purposes, of course.
Damn! He noticed. He glanced at me.
"What are you doing in a place like this?"