Chapter 6

Dominic grabbed his jacket off the chair, glanced over when he saw Emilia waking up, then slipped it on. He pulled a business card out of the pocket and handed it to her, smirking with a trace of mockery. “I don’t carry cash. I’ll have my assistant send the money over. I’m not a fan of your mouth, but I gotta admit, your body’s got potential. If you're up for being my kept woman, you know where to find me.” Ever since his first love left, no woman had really done it for him. He couldn’t even manage to get it up most of the time. But last night, something just clicked. At least for now, he hadn’t lost interest in her body just yet. Emilia didn’t take the card. Instead, she bit back the pain and let out a playful laugh. “Mr. Hayes, you joke too much. Someone like me doesn’t deserve that kind of honor. But hang on, I’ll come with you and pick up the money.” If they sent the money to the club, she knew Ms. Carter would take a cut. She needed every cent right now and couldn’t risk losing any of it. Dominic shot her a sideways look. “Heh, sure you can even stand?” This guy was seriously... “I’ll manage.” As he headed toward the bedroom, Emilia forced herself to get out of bed despite the soreness. She quickly dressed, tidied her messy hair in the bathroom mirror, and grabbed her purse to follow him out. She was still wearing the short nightclub dress from the night before, and the moment they stepped out, she drew more than a few stares. Emilia ignored them, clutching her bag over her chest to cover up, and hurried to catch up to Dominic and get into the car. Roughly twenty minutes later, they pulled into the parking lot of Dominic’s company. Sitting in the car, Emilia was tense, her nerves bundled tight. After a few minutes, Dominic’s assistant walked over and handed her a platinum card. “Miss Hart, here’s the payment. The PIN is 3456.” “Thanks,” Emilia said quickly, her voice trembling just a bit as her eyes welled with emotion. Finally—she got the money. “Mr. Hayes was quite pleased,” the assistant added, tossing the business card onto Emilia’s lap with a knowing look. “You might want to hang on to that. Something tells me you’ll need it.” By the time Emilia snapped back to reality, she was holding the card tightly in her hand. Dominic. The name alone stung.