Page 21 of Keeping My Enemies Closer: Pt. 1

I shook my head, though I couldn’t believe that I was actually considering it.“I don’t know, Marcelle.It’s just so...one night isn’t enough to give it serious consideration.”

She let out a sigh before saying, “Look, I know what I’m asking of you is big and...well, yeah, it can be considered a bit dangerous when you consider who is behind the auction.Still, the bidding maxes out at one-million dollars, Zoya.After the Korolevs take their cut of thirty percent, that can leave you with seven-hundred-thousand flippin’ dollars, and you’re crazy if you think that amount of money isn’t life-changing.”

“But-”

“It’s also tax-free,” she snorted.

“Marcelle, I just don’t know,” I repeated.“It’s just...I don’t know if I can have sex with someone so coldly.I mean...there has to be chemistry, don’t you think?”

“You want to talk about chemistry,” she huffed.“Well, being able to replace my windshield if it gets crack is what turns me on.Being able to replace the brake pads in my car turns me on.Being able to live without counting pennies in between paychecks is what turns me on, Zoya.”

She had a point.

“Okay...just...can you give me some time to think about it?”I asked, actually considering it when she kept laying out all the positives.I mean, it wasn’t like I was a virgin any-damn-way.It also wasn’t like I’d never had a one-night stand before, either.

“That’s fair,” she replied.“But I need to know by four tomorrow, so that I’ll have time to grab Montana’s ID from her.”

I nodded, my thoughts everywhere.“Yeah, of course.”

Marcelle grinned as she grabbed my arms, then leaned in to kiss me on the cheek theatrically, and I couldn’t help but smile at her enthusiasm.For all that we led very different lives, she was so easily likeable, and if I had been in a position to have friends, I’d consider Marcelle to be one of them.

“Okay, I gotta go,” she said as she dropped her hands from my arms.“I’m meeting some friends at the club for a few drinks, and you’re more than welcome to join us after your shift.”

I couldn’t afford to.

I couldn’t afford to, and that’s when her talk about tires, refrigerators, and windshields hit me hard.I couldn’t even go out for drinks with people, and that’s when I realized that maybe pride and modesty had no place in my life any longer.

Chapter 11

Kasimir~

While I’d had my doubts, I could admit that Stephanie had done a good job of overseeing the auction in Aurora’s partial absence.The hotel that Aurora had chosen was classy, but it was also small, which helped with the security detail.All of the ‘dates’ were to take place in the reserved rooms upstairs, and that was to ensure that none of the participants overstepped and got away free.

At any rate, tonight’s auction had ten girls and thirty participants, making the bidding interesting, which was the entire point.While some of these women might be here for some easy money, some were here because they were desperate for some breathing room, and even though I’d been raised with unlimited wealth at my fingertips, that didn’t mean that I didn’t understand desperation.In fact, I saw what desperation could do to a person whenever I became their living nightmare.

After one last patrol of the entire hotel-which Aurora had rented out completely for the night-I walked back into the hotel’s conference room where Stephanie was attending to the remaining details, and while she didn’t know it, it was on her to make Aurora’s night a success, or else she was going to have me to deal with, and nobody in their right mind wanted to do that.