Ruthless Heir (Ruthless Billionaires #5)

Chapter 10

Chapter Ten

Harper

Beth sits across from me on the park bench and places the bag of sandwiches between us.

Today is Thursday. We decided to come to Central Park for a change of scenery.

Beth wanted to meet up to talk about my job prospects. I chose the park because it’s less stifling.

Things have been better between Asher and I since we agreed to a truce at the diner, but my anxiety is through the roof. I’m no further along in my plans than I was last week.

I also already know this is not going to be a good meeting. The moment Beth ordered extra-large cups of hot chocolate for us with triple shots of hazelnut syrup I knew a difficult discussion lay ahead.

Either she came up with nothing and wants to brainstorm potential jobs. Or she’s come up with something and it’s not going to be something I’m going to like.

Regardless I appreciate the time she’s taken to help me. She didn’t need to do any of it.

“Go on, tell me,” I say. “Whatever it is can't be worse than the twenty job rejections I've received over the last few days. They have been pouring in like the rain.”

“Oh, sweetie, I’m so sorry.” She winces.

“It’s okay. It is what it is.”

Beth sighs and takes a sip of her hot chocolate before she sets the cup down between us and shuffles to face me. “I have good news and bad news depending on how you look at it.”

Oh God. The last time Beth said something like that to me she wanted me to go on a blind date. I ended up being stuck with a guy who sold cockroaches for a living. I’d never even heard of that before. Usually people try to get rid of things like that, not supply them.

“Can I have the good news first?” I tame my hair as a gust of wind lifts the ends about my face.

“Sure.” She nods. “The good news is I found you two jobs.”

My eyes widen. “But that's great news. What could be the bad news?”

“Wait until you hear it.” The shadow of worry washes over her face. “But first I want you to consider doing both if that’s an option.”

“ Both ?”

“Yes. I'm extremely worried about you, Harper.”

She knows Vito messaged me the other day. “I know you are.”

“Seriously, it feels like your situation is getting worse.”

“Because it is,” I reply. “The clock is ticking and I have nothing. Tell me what the jobs are.”

“Job number one is at Le Blanche Global. Asher is looking for a PR assistant and a full-time publicist.”

My shoulders sink and I breathe out a tension-riddled sigh. “A job with Asher, Beth? He'd never give me a job at his precious company.”

“You don’t know that.”

“Yes, I do.” The truce between Asher and me seems to be working so far but it’s early days. “I’m still lying to him. As long as those lies exist all hell will break loose between us if he finds out.”

“He might not need to. Just hear me out. You learned a lot from Nick and helped him with stuff for his big music bands. This wouldn’t be that much different.”

“I learned some stuff from Nick but my PR skills are well below what someone like Asher would need.”

“Remember how you helped me with marketing and brand ideas when I started the salon?” Beth sounds enthusiastic.

“Yeah, but that's a small business. Le Blanche Global is a multi-international whatever company. I can't do anything there.”

“Maybe Asher might give you a chance. At least for the assistant position. Assistants always pick up things on the job. More importantly, the pay is insanely good for an assistant’s post and the listing said there was room for flexibility.”

“That doesn't sound too bad. How much is the pay?”

“Five grand a month because you might have to work out of town at a whim's notice.”

I gape at her in shock. “Five grand a month? Are you serious?”

Beth nods thoughtfully. “See, that's why I think you should at least ask him. It couldn't hurt to ask, right?”

“No, it couldn't. A job like that would be really good for me. It also sounds like a job where I wouldn't need to think too much.”

“It would be exactly like that.”

I've been worried about getting a job where I'd have to be more involved than I’d like. Jobs like that can overpower your studies.

I could handle PR. When I did it before it came second nature to me because I know how to talk to people.

“I'm going to ask him about it.”

“I'm so glad you’ll ask. I think it’s a great idea. You also get paid weekly, and you get a travel and food allowance.”

“That's even better.”

“I thought so, too, but the downside is it won't pay the debt, will it?”

The little bubble of hope inside me sinks and I'm reminded of how much I owe Vito. “No, it won't pay the debt. I'm scared, Beth. We're running into week two and I’m not sure what more I can do.”

“Well, maybe I may have the answer for that.”

My interest piques once more. “What is it?”

“Please don’t be mad at me.”

“Starting a sentence like that doesn’t exactly sound good, Beth.”

“I know but I have my reasons and I don’t want you to get mad at me. A friend of mine can get you a job at the Dark Odyssey. You know it's a?—”

“Sex club.” All the blood drains from my body as I stare back at her.

“I don’t want you to think I’m insulting you by even bringing it up, so before you turn me down and end our lifetime friendship, continue listening.”

“I would never end our friendship over something like that.”

“I’m glad to know.”

“What’s the job?” This was the plot twist to her earlier comment.

“It's a waitressing position for high-profile clientele. It's five hundred a night with tips. You could be looking at anything from earning a grand a night to… well, at that place anything can happen. A guy could tip you ten grand just because he likes the look of you.”

“I’d just have to sell my soul,” I fill in.

She bites the inside of her lip. “Kind of. But you get your soul back once you're free of the debt. You'd definitely be able to pay the arrears with no problem by the end of the month. And if you stayed a little longer, like two to three months, you could pay off everything.”

Everything.

The word echoes in my mind and I imagine myself debt free. But what is the cost of freedom? “It’s not going to just be serving drinks, is it?”

“No. You’d have to do it topless and um… give lap dances. You’d get more money depending on what you’d be willing to do.”

I groan. “So, I’d become a slut?”

“Harper, it’s not like that.”

“It sounds like it.”

I look away from her and gaze out to The Gill, watching the swans swim past. My heart sinks with every second that passes and I think of how low I've fallen.

“You have the job if you want it,” Beth says in a reflective tone. “The hours are eight until midnight and you pick the days you want to work. If you want the job you’d just need to drop by and fill in some paperwork then do the training when they schedule you.”

Slowly, I look back at her. “Would you do it if you were me?”

She frowns. “You can't ask me that, Harper. We're so different from each other. Hence it's me who's telling you about this job and not the other way around. Also, if something like this never crossed your mind before I think it's testament to how different we are, but to answer your question, yes. I would do it in a heartbeat. I did do it.”

I suck in a breath. “When?”

“A few years back when you left for UCLA. My mom was sick. She needed brain surgery. We didn’t have the money and the insurance wouldn’t cover the cost.”

My insides squeeze and I look at her, hoping she’ll tell me it’s not true. Except why would she lie about something like that?

“Why didn’t you tell me? I never knew your mom was sick like that.”

“I didn't want you to know. You had a lot going on. Too much. You were just getting back on track after the accident. So I did what I had to do.”

“You saved your mom.” I bring my hands together on my lap and lean closer.

“I did. And I have no regrets because I saved my mom. She gave up a lot to raise me when my father walked out on us. So I saw it as my turn to take care of her.”

I nod in understanding. Now that she's laid out her story, taking a job at a sex club feels like a no-brainer if I want to save myself. “I’m sorry I wasn’t there for you.”

“You were. You just didn’t know in what way. It was great just speaking to you when you called.”

“That’s not enough. I’ll make it up to you.”

“Let’s get rid of your debt first.”

“Yes.” Clearing that debt would free me from Nick, too. I could even be out of Asher's place and in my own apartment near campus where I could stay for as long as I wanted to.

“I’ll take the job.” One more thing to hide from Asher. What lie am I going to tell him now? I’ll have to think about it. “Thank you for getting it for me.”

“No worries. I’ll send over my friend's details and you can make contact.”

“Sure. This seems like the way, doesn’t it?”

Beth nods. “Yeah. You could spend the next six to eight weeks at the club just to get the money you need quickly. Then do Asher's job during the day to get you through college.”

“Sounds like a plan.”

“Maybe in six weeks you’ll be sitting here debt free.”

“That would be a dream.” And a relief on my soul. I don’t know how much more I can take of the mental and emotional impact worrying is having on me. It’s making me sick.

“I think you could make it happen.”

If I don’t want to ask Asher for help this is my only option.