Those eyes. Still windows to her soul. I can read them like a book.
“A hundred dollars? Well, Bill—I think you’re going to get what you want.” Max’s grin gets even bigger.
“Two hundred.” I hold up my hand and shoot daggers at the man called Bill; he’s old enough to be Kiana’s grandfather.
“Whoa, we’ve got a war now!” Max laughs. Kiana’s demeanor doesn’t change, but her eyes are glazing over.
She realizes I’m going to win. Maybe she sees the determination. I might not be rolling in money like I used to, but this isn’t the kind of place where someone will spend much more than I’ve already offered to get a lap dance.
A couple of others bid, but I match them with a ten percent jump every time. I made my statement when I doubled it. Now I just need to wear them out. That doesn’t take long.
“I believe the war is over.” Max locks eyes on me. “The winner is—I’m sorry, I don’t believe you’re one of our regulars.”
“Bram,” I reply with a nod.
“Okay, Bram.” Max lets go of Kiana’s waist. “Come and claim your prize.”
Gladly. Just not for the reason you think. Kiana shifts on her toes as I approach the stage, but she doesn’t let the smile fade from her face. Another part of her act. Smile through it all, no matter how degrading or awful it is.
I extend my hand, and she takes it. I have to put on an act too. If I want to take her behind the curtain and finish the conversation we started, I can’t let anyone here see that this is anything more than a lap dance I paid for.
“One moment, sir.” Max puts his hand on my shoulder. “You have to pay up front, I’m afraid.”
This gets a laugh from the crowd. I just glare at Max and fork over the money. The deal is made. The crowd parts, some guys slap me on the shoulder, others just give me a jealous stare—except Bill. He’s looks like he’s somewhere between amused and pissed off. Probably because he expects to get what I paid for at a discounted rate when I pop her lap dance cherry. But I’m not going to do that. She’ll be fully clothed for the entirety of this discussion.
“Sit down.” I motion to the chair when we get behind the curtain. “Let’s finish our conversation.”
“No.” She looks through the crack in the curtain then pulls it closed. “My boss is going to be watching.”
“Watching?” I raise an eyebrow. “How?”
“There.” She points, and I have to narrow my eyes to see a pinhole camera that is obviously filming our encounter.
“What the fuck?” I growl angrily.
“You paid for a lap dance.” She sighs. “So you’re the one who has to sit down.”
“No.” I shake my head. “Just tell me what is really going on here, and that will be the end of it. I’ll fix this, Kiana. Trust me.”
“You can’t.” She looks down at the floor. “It’s not something you can just snap your fingers at and get it to go away.”
“Try me.” I put my hands on my hip.
“Fine.” Her tone stiffens up. “Got a few hundred grand laying around? That’s what my brother owes to a man who will kill him if I don’t keep making regular payments.”
“That’s...” I blink in surprise.
“Crazy? Yeah, I know.” She sighs. “But this isn’t a game, and my brother’s life means a whole lot more than my dignity right now.”
I don’t know what I was expecting, but it wasn’t that. I figured it was something bad, like being forced to work against her will, anything to give me an excuse to put my fist through someone on our way out. Her brother? He was always the good kid between the two of them. Obviously a lot that has changed since I last spoke to Lawson.
“Okay.” I finally regain my composure. “Then let’s figure it out, but not here. You don’t need to do this. There has to be another way…”
“I wouldn’t be here if there was.” She glances at the camera. “And if my boss doesn’t like what he sees when he gets to the security room, this isn’t going to be an option either.”
“I don’t want a lap dance from you.” I hold up my hand. “I’ll tell him I changed my mind.”
“It’s too late for that.” Kiana sighs. “You’re my first customer—if I screw this up, I won’t get another chance.”
I’d welcome that—celebrate it even—but I can’t. My financial situation has never been worse. I can’t write a check and get Kiana’s brother out of whatever mess he’s in, certainly not to the tune of a few hundred grand.
“Sit down, Bram.” Kiana points at the chair. “You’re going to have to get what you paid for, and at least pretend like you want to be here.”
I briefly look toward the camera and then take my seat. I immediately remember how I reacted when Kiana first took the stage, what the sight of her gorgeous curves did to me. I managed not to watch the stage when she was doing her routine earlier. It won’t be that easy to ignore her when she’s right in front of me.
She may be my best friend’s daughter.
But she’s all grown up now…
Chapter Seven
Kiana
Bram knows the truth. So be it. He can’t fix anything. His company was doing well when my father left, but now neither of them have that kind of money laying around. They were better together, terrible apart. My father has said that enough, but he’s too stubborn to pick up the phone. So is Bram. It’s past the point of being too late. I don’t even know if Bram would
