Chapter 59: Temptation in the Shadows!
Micah’s POV
It took a whole damn minute for my frozen mind to reboot and drag me back to reality.
My brain was entirely fried. The woman... I mean, the man sitting behind that massive desk was so outrageously, breathtakingly pretty that my tongue felt glued to the roof of my mouth. I couldn’t utter a single coherent word. I just stood there, staring like a complete idiot, my mouth slightly open while my heart slammed against my ribs like a trapped bird.
He smoothly got off his leather chair and walked out from behind the mahogany table.
As he stepped into the light, my eyes widened even further. He was tall—easily over six feet—moving with grace that felt both hyper-feminine and intensely intimidating. The moment I realized he was walking straight toward me, my instincts took over. I took two rapid steps backward, my hands coming up in a defensive posture.
"Hey! Don’t scare him, Phoenix!" Raven barked from near the door, folding her dark arms across her chest.
Phoenix didn’t stop. He paid his sister zero attention, closing the distance between us until he was standing directly in front of me. The scent of expensive jasmine, crushed vanilla, and dark tobacco wrapped around my senses, completely intoxicating. I froze, unable to take another step back as he leaned in close.
Slowly, he lifted one hand, tilting his head slightly as he used his long, deep-crimson acrylic nails to gently tip my chin upward.
"Micah. Micah. Micah," he purred softly, murmuring my name over and over like a dark prayer. His free hand reached up, light fingers drumming against his styled hair.
"Your name is... absolutely beautiful," he murmured, his dark, painted eyes searching my face with an intense focus.
I swallowed hard, my throat painfully dry as I tried to peek over his shoulder at Raven. This is a good thing, right? He isn’t going to murder me, right?
"Will you do the job?" Phoenix asked suddenly, his sharp tone slicing right through the quiet room.
A desperate surge of adrenaline hit my chest. I had the sudden, wild urge to scream yes right then and there—to snatch whatever money he was offering, grab my pay, and run as far away from my father and Noah as humanly possible. But sanity caught up to me just in time. I didn’t even know what the actual job was yet.
"W-what job?" I whimpered out, my voice breaking pathetic and soft.
Phoenix squinted his dark, heavily lined eyes, his razor-sharp cheekbones tightening as he turned his head slowly toward Raven. "You didn’t explain the role to him?"
"There was no time! He probably snuck out of his house so his father wouldn’t find out!" Raven snapped back defensively. She strutted across the room, walked over to a plush, plump orange velvet couch in the corner, and sank deep into it, kicking her heavy combat boots onto the glass coffee table.
Phoenix let out a dramatically heavy groan, rolling his eyes before turning back and walking toward his executive desk. He reached into a top drawer, pulled out a small black remote control, and pointed it at the far wall. He pushed a button.
CLICK.
The massive, hidden television screen mounted on the wall lit up with brilliant, crisp color.
I blinked, stepping closer to look at the silent video feed.
The camera was showing the ultra-exclusive VIP lounges on the floor below. Beautiful, delicate young people dressed in impossibly short, shimmering designer dresses and sheer silk shirts were laughing, pouring vintage champagne, and hanging tightly around the shoulders of heavy-set, immensely wealthy men in tailored suits. They were sitting on dark leather couches, feeding them grapes, whispering in their ears, and letting those powerful men rest heavy hands on their thighs.
"That is your job," Phoenix said simply, pointing the black remote right at the screen.
My heart completely stopped.
My job? I stared at the screen, my brain wildly trying to process what I was looking at. I couldn’t see any standard waiters, bar flexers, or busboys...
Hold on.
My eyes zoomed in on the screen, my stomach dropping into a bottomless pit. Those stunning, delicate girls in the glowing dresses... some of them had broader shoulders, sharper jaws. They weren’t girls. They were boys. Young, gorgeous cross-dressing boys. And those powerful, expensive-looking men resting their hands on their legs were... the VIP clients.
This... this was the job? Host boy? High-end companion?
My eyes dilated in pure horror as my gaze darted rapidly back and forth between the glowing TV screen and Raven, who was nonchalantly checking her fingernails on the couch.
This was what she had brought me here for? Selling my presence, my smiles, my body to wealthy old men in private lounges? A sickening wave of heat flared up my neck, my stomach churning in violent protest. But who was I to complain? I was the one who had run to her in a desperate, panic-stricken frenzy, practically begging for a way out. I was the one desperate for cash to escape my father’s house. I just... I really hadn’t expected something like this.
"C-can I get something else?" I stammered out, my hands trembling violently at my sides. "Like... a cleaning job? Or... working in the back kitchen?"
Phoenix let out a soft laugh, a genuinely amused smile touching his painted crimson lips.
"I’m afraid I could never employ a beautiful creature like you as a mere cleaner, darling," Phoenix drawled, walking around his desk toward me once more. "Yes, I am far too greedy for that. A face like yours doesn’t belong in a dark kitchen washing grease off plates. You deserve to be our biggest star. You would bring this club to its knees."
I clenched my hands into tight, white-knuckled fists at my sides, swallowing hard against the thick knot in my throat. I couldn’t breathe.
"I really like you, Micah," Phoenix continued, his tone softening into something smooth, persuasive, and intensely intoxicating. "You’re... like I already said, stunningly beautiful. A rare gem. I’d love to invest in you—give you the best clothes, the best cut of the house. So, take some time. Think about it properly. And if you change your mind..."
He pulled a sleek silver pen from his breast pocket, picked up a stark white card from his desk, and rapidly scribbled a string of numbers across the back. He held it out toward me between two crimson-nailed fingers.
I reached out with a trembling hand, taking the pristine white card. I stared down at it. It was thick, heavy paper, embossed with the gold logo of the club, an official email, and a private, handwritten mobile number right across the bottom.
"I’ll even increase your base fee if you want," Phoenix added, offering me a slow, wicked wink. "Trust me, our VIP clients absolutely adore innocent little beauties like you. You’ll be drowning in cash within a week."
"T-thank you," I whispered, my voice barely audible as I quickly slid the heavy card into the inner pocket of my suit jacket, right next to my pounding heart.
Phoenix suddenly snapped his head toward the orange couch, his glamorous expression instantly shifting into an annoyed glare.
"Why are you still sitting there on my couch?" he barked at his sister. "Take him home before his father notices he’s gone!"
"Ask nicely, you tyrant!" Raven grumbled, rolling her eyes dramatic as she swung her legs off the coffee table and stood up.
Phoenix turned back to me, his harsh glare melting away into a warm, lingering smile. He lifted a hand and gave me a lazy, elegant wave. "See you very soon, Micah."
"Goodbye," I mumbled, offering a weak wave of my own as Raven grabbed my arm, leading me out of his lavish office, past the armed guards, and down the velvet-lined elevator to the parking lot.
The entire ride back home was consumed by a suffocating, heavy silence. The distorted rock music was playing from the speakers, but I didn’t hear a single note. My mind was spinning out of control, replaying the images on that television screen over and over again.
Ten thousand a night. More with tips. A free apartment from Phoenix. Freedom from my father.
Was I really desperate enough to let strange, wealthy men touch me, flirt with me, buy me drinks? The thought made my skin crawl with fear... but then I thought about father’s cold, dead eyes. I thought about the way he looked at me like I was a mistake. I thought about Noah’s terrifying, suffocating obsession, biting my neck and marking me like an animal.
Is sitting in a VIP lounge really worse than living in that house?
"Just give it a real thought, Micah," Raven said softly, shattering my thoughts as she pulled her sedan to a quiet stop right in front of my house.
I blinked, turning my head to look at her dark profile.
"I hardly ever see my brother get genuinely interested in people," Raven continued, her tone serious for the first time all night. "If he likes you—which he clearly does—he’s going to try really hard to get you. He won’t let it go easily. So, think really hard about it."
I gave a slow, rigid nod, my chest aching. "I will."
I reached for the door handle, ready to jump out, but Raven reached over and tapped my knee, stopping me in my tracks.
"Don’t forget tomorrow’s article either," she said, giving me a playful wink. "You need to turn that draft in by morning."
I secretly rolled my eyes, letting out a soft sigh as I pushed the passenger door open. "I won’t forget."
I stepped out onto the damp pavement, closing the door quietly behind me. I stood on the curb, watching the red taillights of her car fade down the dark street until she disappeared around the corner.
The night air was freezing, biting through my dark suit. I reached my hand into my jacket pocket, my fingertips brushing against the sharp, rigid edge of Phoenix’s private card.
"If Raven says it’s good... maybe I really should just give it a try," I mumbled under my breath, staring up at the dark, silent windows of the house. "It’s my only way out."
"Give what a try?" a deep, ice-cold voice suddenly growled directly behind my left ear.
The sound hit me like an electric shock. I flinched so violently my entire body leaped into the air, a loud, terrified shriek tearing from my throat as my heart slammed into my throat. I nearly jumped clean out of my own skin.
"N-Noah?!" I screamed, spinning around in terror.
Before the name could fully leave my lips, a large, warm, heavy hand shot out from the shadows of the porch, brutally clapping directly over my mouth and nose, suffocating my scream.
"Not so loud, Micah," Noah hissed, his voice dropping into a terrifying whisper that made the hair on my arms stand up.
He didn’t pull his hand away. His broad, towering frame completely stepped out of the darkness, crowding me, pinning me against the chill of the night. His icy blue eyes weren’t looking at me... they were burning holes down the empty street, staring directly at the exact spot where Raven’s car had just vanished into the night.
A suffocating wave of panic seized my entire body. My lungs screamed for air beneath his palm, my knees buckling as his dark, murderous aura crushed the breath right out of me.
Slowly, terrifyingly, Noah lowered his gaze back down to mine. The unhinged madness swirling in his pupils made my blood run instantly cold.
"Tell me, Micah..." Noah purred softly, his grip on my jaw tightening until it hurt. "Where the fuck have you been?"
I couldn’t answer. His hand was locking my mouth shut.
"Sneaking out in a suit... in the middle of the night... with that goth girl from school," Noah whispered, his head dipping lower until his lips brushed against my sensitive earlobe.
His dark eyes narrowed, his voice dropping into a deadly promise that sent cold dread straight down into my gut.
"Think very, very carefully before you even try to lie to me."
’Fuck,’ My mind screamed in absolute, helpless horror as tears filled my eyes. ’I am completely screwed.’