Dirty Little Secrets

10.

SUMMER'S POV

I sat very still in the back seat. George was talking to Clyde about something in the front. Neither of them had noticed.

My phone buzzed again. A text from Mr. Noel this time.

"Come to the club tonight. We need to talk."

I stared at the window at the city sliding past in the dark.

"You've gone quiet," George said from the front, glancing at me in the mirror.

"Just tired," I said.

He looked at me for long. But he said nothing.

I turned back to the window and began counting the minutes until eleven. The drive to George was quiet. When we finally arrived, I helped Clyde to settle in, made dinner, and we watched the series "Everybody hates Chris!" My mind was so far away, while we were into the movie, that I did not hear George call my name.

"Summer! Down to earth, girl!" He shaked me. "What are you think about, that made you zone out, completely." He asked me, staring deeply into my soul.

"It is nothing." I said quickly and avoided his eyes. I checked the time on my phone. It was ten minutes to eleven.

"Oh! Lord, I'm late!" I panicked. I rushed to grab my coat, because it was still cold outside due to the rain.

"Of Clyde wakes up, remind him to use his medication." I told George and almost bolted out of the door, when George suddenly stood in front of me.

"Where the hell, do you think you are going to, at this late hour?" He growled at me. He was visibly anger.

"George, calm down." I said to him. I had not told him about what happened at the club today and I do not plan to tell him.

"Kingsley texted me that his mom is sick and he needed help." I lied. My eyes were hovering up and down.

"You are lying, Summer." He said. "Look at me straight in the eyes and tell me again."

I panicked. Almost immediately, my phone rang. It was Kingsley. Talk about right timing. "See!" I showed it to him.

"Since when have you been friends? The last time I checked, you hated his guts." He said.

"People can grow on you!" I hugged him and bolted out. s**t, I only had five minutes left to get to the club.

I arrived at the club, the dim hallway completely devoid of the usual music and laughter that echoed during peak hours. I immediately went to Noel's office, pushing the door open without even knocking.

Mr. Noel was sitting behind his desk, but he wasn't looking at his paperwork this time. I stepped into the room, my breathing shallow as I demanded answers. "Mr. Noel, I'm here. Why did you want to see me? What is this about?"

I was so consumed by my own panic, so focused on the man who had fired me, that I did not notice that a man was seated in the room too, until he spoke.

"Always so impatient, Dark Bird," a voice murmured from the shadows of the corner armchair.

The voice was familiar to me, but I did not recognize him right away. I turned slowly, squinting through the dim, amber lighting of the office.

The man leaned forward into the light, a twisted, knowing smirk playing on his lips. "Don't tell me you've forgotten me already? We had such an... illuminating conversation right here in this building not too long ago."

"The ropes, the video, your stubborn little outbursts... ring any bells?"

I gasped. He was the older man that wanted had abducted me and wanted me to sign a contract with him. The memory hit me like a physical blow—the cold basement, the masked figures, the terrifying threats against Clyde, and this very man caressing my face while demanding my compliance. Fear gripped me instantly. My knees felt weak, and I had to press my hand against the back of a nearby chair just to keep myself upright.

"You..." I choked out, my voice trembling despite my best efforts to sound brave. "What are you doing here? Who are you?"

He stood up, smoothing the front of hisv tailored suit, looking every bit the wealthy, powerful aristocrat. "You can call me Mr. Robert," he said smoothly.

The name hit my ears like a thunderclap.. "Kingsley Roberts... Mr. Roberts," my mind whispered in a brief flash of panic. No. It was just a coincidence. New York was a massive city, and Roberts was a common enough name. There was no way my quiet, protective savior at school was connected to this monster. I couldn't let my mind wander down that terrifying rabbit hole.

My jaws tightened as I forced herself to meet his ruthless gaze. "Why did you call me back here? Why is Mr. Noel letting you sit in his office?"

Mr. Robert chuckled, a low, grating sound that made my skin crawl. "I told you before, Dark Bird. You are fit for the job, and I don't like losing things that belong to me. I want you to sign the contract. Work for me, and your little financial problems disappear."

She refuses again. "I told you before, and I'll say it again: hell no," I spat, channeling every ounce of the "Dark Bird" armor I had left. "You threatened my brother. You blackmailed me. I will never work for you."

Mr. Robert didn't even flinch at my anger. Instead, he glanced over at Mr. Noel, who was sitting entirely silent, staring straight ahead like a puppet on a string.

"You're a smart girl, Summer," Mr. Robert said, using my real name like a threat. "But you are completely broke. You have no job, your rent is due in a matter of days, and your precious little brother is currently reco1vering in a hospital because you can't even afford a working inhaler. Noel here answers to me. If you want your job back—if you want to ensure you keep a roof over Clyde's head—you will sign the papers."

Every protective instinct in my body screamed at me to run, but the crushing weight of reality pulled me right back down. Two months of outstanding rent. An empty bank account. Clyde's fragile health. If I walked out, we would be on the streets by the end of the week. I was completely trapped, suffocating under the pressure.

With trembling fingers, I reached for the pen resting on the desk. My heart wept, but my hand moved anyway.

The heavy office door burst open with a sudden slam. I jumped, dropping the pen onto the desk, my eyes flying to the doorway. Standing there, breathing heavily with rain dripping from his dark hair, was Kingsley.

"Kingsley?!" I gasped, my mind completely short-circuiting as I looked between him and the signed contract on the desk. "What the hell are you doing here? How did you find me?"

Kingsley's eyes scanned the room, his gaze locking onto me with fierce intensity, completely ignoring the older man in the corner for a split second. He said George sent him. "George called me," Kingsley said, his voice laced with tightly coiled anger and worry. "He knew you were lying about my mom being sick. He checked your phone records or text history, saw the messages from Noel, and told me to get down here before you did something stupid."

Before I could even process Kingsley's words, Mr. Robert let out a slow, mocking hum from behind me.

"Well, well. What a touching rescue mission," Mr. Robert purred, stepping forward. He picked up the signed document from the desk, tapping the paper against his palm with a triumphant grin. He looked directly at me, completely ignoring Kingsley's hostile posture.

"Don't forget our agreement, little princess. Ink is on the paper now. Whenever I need you, for whatever job I deem fit, you must always show up. No exceptions. No delays."

The room felt entirely suffocating. I felt a cold dread settle deep into my bones as I realized what I had just bartered away.

Mr. Robert folded the contract neatly and slid it into his inner jacket pocket. He took a long stare at both of them, his calculating eyes moving slowly from my pale face over to Kingsley's rigid, trembling frame. A strange, dark amusement flickered in the old man's eyes, an unreadable expression passing over his face as he studied the boy standing in the doorway.

Without another word, he brushed past Kingsley and left, the click of his expensive shoes fading down the empty corridor, leaving us trapped in a devastating silence.