The Bargaining Chip

My patience was frayed, but my eyes wouldn’t leave her. I should be focused on business. But instead, I found myself staring at her. She didn’t belong here, yet here she was, standing in the middle of a situation she shouldn’t have seen.

I forced my gaze back to John, the pathetic bastard groveling at my feet. The idiot had been one of my workers for years, but he had caused me more trouble than he was worth.

Always in debt, always making promises to pay, and the minute he managed to scrape together enough to cover his losses, he went right back to gambling. The bastard loved to gamble more than he loved his own life. And now he owed me too much.

“I’m sure you know what happens to men who owe me money, John?” I asked, my voice cold and devoid of any emotion.

John looked up at me, his face pale, his eyes wide with fear. “Please, sir,” he begged, his voice trembling. “I just need more time. I swear I’ll pay you back. You know I always do. Just give me a little more time.”

Time. That’s all they ever begged for. But time wasn’t free. Time is fucking money.

I narrowed my eyes at him, considering his plea. “And what will you give me until you pay up?” I asked, leaning in slightly, letting the menace in my voice seep through.

“Maybe I should cut off one of your hands,” I suggested, my voice dripping with venom. “Might make it harder for you to gamble away my money.”

John’s face drained of color, and he began to plead even more desperately. “No, please! I can’t lose my hand. I will pay you back I—”

“Nah, I need something more concrete because your words mean nothing,” I interrupted.

I tilted my head, taking a step closer. “What could you possibly offer me, John, that’s worth waiting for?”

He stammered, stumbling over his words like a man drowning in desperation. And then, his gaze shifted, landing on her. Lucia.

“I have something else,” he said, his voice shaky but determined. “You can have her, Lucia. She’s untouched. She can be yours, in exchange for the money.”

The fury that erupted inside me was instantaneous. How dare he? How dare he offer her to me like she was some kind of object? My fists clenched at my sides, and I had to force myself to stay calm.

“I can have any woman I want,” I growled, my voice low and dangerous. “What makes you think I want her?”

John’s eyes flicked nervously between me and Lucia. “Because she’s untouched,” he repeated, desperation lacing his words. “You would be her first.”

I couldn’t stand the way he looked at her, the way he saw her as nothing more than a bargaining chip. But I glanced at her anyway. Lucia’s eyes were filled with fury, and the hatred burning in them was clear hatred for him. And maybe for me too. I couldn’t blame her. The thought of someone treating her this way...

My gaze softened as I looked at her. “Is it true?” I asked, my voice much quieter now. “Are you... untouched?”

She hesitated for a moment, then gave a small, almost imperceptible nod. She hated him, that much was clear. And yet, she stood silently, not stopping this.

A surge of satisfaction coursed through me, knowing that no one had ever touched her.

“You have one week,” I said to John, my eyes not leaving Lucia. How come I have never seen her before now?

“Does that mean you agree to have her?” John asks sounding delight.

“One week. Get out of my office.”

Lucia looked like she was about to cry as reality dawned on her. She turned to look at John, her eyes holding several questions she was too scared to voice out. But the bastard didn’t spare her a glance as he hurried out of my office.

“Get the boys to clean this up,” I said to my men pointing at the body on the floor.

“Come with me,” I directed at Lucia. But she didn’t take any step. She just stood rooted in her spot. Turning to my two men who were still in the room, I signaled for them to leave.

“Do you have a problem with your hearing?” I asked once it was just us in the room.

She slowly turned to look at me, her eyes filled with tears. “How much does my step father owe you? I will pay back,” she said in a trembling voice.

“Except you have five thousand grand, I suggest you do as I say.” Her eyes widen the moment the words left my mouth. “So do have the money?” She shook her head. “Yeah, that was what I thought, now come with me, I hate repeating myself.”