DEVIL'S BARGAIN

CHAPTER 1: A Night to Remember

. Her waist-length light brown hair looked a bit faded due to the semester's stress; she ran a finger through it, allowing it to fall over her shoulders. She ran her fingers through her light brown hair, allowing it to cascade in soft waves around her shoulders. Her emerald green eyes lit up with eagerness to finally unwind.

She was wearing a silky black dress that hugged her curves and stopped mid-thigh, complimenting herself, Vienna Stewart stood in front of her full-length mirror and stared back at her fair skin. She heard a knock on her door just as she applied a final touch of red lipstick.

“Are you ready, Vienna?” her friend Kiara called out in a sing-song manner, her voice full of excitement.

“Yeah, I just need a few!” Vienna replied, putting on her red stiletto heels and grabbing her purse. She opened the door and did a little twirl for her friend.

.“OMG! You look so hot, Vee; you will definitely be on a lot of people’s radar tonight.” Kiara said a little animatedly. “I love the lower back of that dress!”

“Thanks so much, babe, You look so beautiful in that dress,” Vienna said. Kiara had on an olive green dress with a plunging neckline embellished with glittery stones, which she paired with heels and a clutch with shiny details. Vienna couldn’t help but feel envious of her friend, who could effortlessly pull off such colors.

Salvatore’s Den was one of Zurich’s high-end clubs, known for its luxury that smelled of class and was only open to people of rich social standing. Vienna and Kiara had the privilege of getting into the club because of their socialite friend, Joyce.

“Hi, ladies,” Joyce, a lady with very prominent Asian features in a gold dress, greeted, waving her hands to Vienna and Kiara,“ You both look amazing.”

“So do you!” Vienna and Kiara said as they hugged each other.

“They are with me,” Joyce said to the bouncer, showing him her membership card. The bouncer nodded at them and they sashayed inside.

“OMG! This place is so elegant; I can’t believe I’m standing in this beauty,” Vienna said, struck with awe.

“Welcome to where the rich come to play, ladies,” Joyce said, smiling widely as they made their way to the dance floor, the music enveloping them. “Let's have some fun!”

Vienna swayed her hips to the beat of the music, dancing arm in arm with her friends. She felt someone come up behind her.

“Hey there gorgeous, can I dance with you?” The man said, “You’ve got some great moves there,” he said, sizing her up in a flirty way.

“ No, thanks, I’m already dancing with my friends,” She said, not feeling like rubbing against a random guy.

“Come on, it’s just one dance, how about a drink then?” The man said again.

“No, thank you, I’m good,” Vienna replied.

“ I just want to treat you, I don’t mean any harm”, the man persisted.

“She said no. Can you leave her alone,” Kiara said with a steely gaze when she noticed Vienna’s discomfort. The man backed away after glaring at them.

“Come on, let’s head to the bar. I’m sure some drinks would be good,” Kiara said.

“You guys go ahead, I’m going to dance some more” Joyce replied.

“Alright then,” Kiara said, leading Vienna away from the dance floor towards the bar.

“ Hi, I would love to order two dirty Martini,” Kiara said to the cute bartender, winking at him,“ Two dirty Martini coming right up,” he said, throwing her a flirty smile.

Soon, the two orders became different, and Vienna began to feel freer; she flirted with the men who showed interest, though never going overboard.

“Hey, we should do shots,” Layla said, approaching them at the bar.

“ I’m down for that, “ Vienna said, laughing. “Um… I don’t think that’s a good idea, you are already drunk Vee”, Kiara said.

“ Come on don’t be a killjoy, I can handle it” Vienna reprimanded Kiara.

“Hooray! The game is on,” Layla said. “ Scott! Three rounds of Tequila” she said to the bartender.

They downed their shots, vibing to the music and the atmosphere of the place. Hours passed, and numerous shots and cocktails were drunk. Vienna began to feel the aftereffects of alcohol. Her mind felt drowsy, and she felt exhausted from all the dancing. She stumbled her way to the bar and, in a drunken haze, slammed into the credenza that held the luxurious wines showcased at the club.

The noise of glass shattering caught the attention of the guests in the club. She felt confused and tipsy.

“ Are you OK?” Layla and Kiara asked, running to her with worry etched on their faces.

“ I must have hit something“ Vienna replied, still confused and out of it.

“ Yeah, you are right, you did hit something, and it’s not something cheap at all,” Kiara said with her eyes widened at the broken bottles of expensive wine lying on the ground.

“ What’s going on here?” A loud voice boomed, it was the manager of the club.

Vienna, in her hazy haze, tried to explain “Oh… I must …have w-walked into something while trying to find the restroom “

“ Those are some very expensive vintage wines you’ve broken, and they make quite a fortune. I’m going to ask you and your friends to come with me to settle this. If not, we will have to turn you over to the police for destroying private property “, the manager said with a very stern face.

Vienna and her friends were dumbfounded, fear gripped them as they heard the word ‘police’.

“ I didn’t ..mean so,” Vienna said.

“ It was just a mistake, Sir, we will pay for the damage, no need to call the police, Sir.” Joyce and Kiara tried to mediate.

“ Fine, but we will have to keep you all here until a settlement agreement is reached.”

The manager

He led them past a large office, situated on the top floor just overlooking the bar area, to a private room. In the room was a king-sized bed, a table, and a chair with a small wardrobe and dresser. There was also a little bathroom in the room.

“You guys can rest here until the morning,“ the manager told Vienna and her friends and left.

They all looked at each other with fear in their eyes. Vienna had sobered up a little from the incident. “Don’t worry Vienna, we are going to help you out of this mess,” Kiara said, while Joyce nodded in agreement.

They hugged each other and lay down to sleep; as Vienna drifted in and out of sleep, she thought of the huge debt she had put herself in, knowing that there was no way those bottles of wine could be less than a million dollars.