Chapter 3

"I tried calling. But the appointment time they gave me was two months from now," Victoria replied, raising her voice a bit.

"Yes, that's because I'm a busy man."

"I just wanted to talk to you about my father," she said.

Nic turned to Jimmy. "Hey, Jimmy, do you remember the days when a man had a problem with another man, they would handle it. I don't recall the man sending his daughter to do it, do you?"

"No sir, I sure don't. Seems like something a pussy would do."

Nic turned back around to glare at Victoria. "I agree."

"My father—"

"--your father is the one who owes me money. He needs to come see me. Not you."

"He's sick, that's why I'm here," Victoria whispered, nearing tears.

Nic looked at the poor girl in her cheap black dress. She was a pretty girl. Beautiful in fact. Nowhere near as tall as Amber, but definitely more shapely. Truth be told, her body was starting to make him think thoughts that he shouldn't be thinking. She was wearing too much makeup though, and her thick curly hair was pulled back into a ponytail. He would love to see what it looked like down around her face. Her skin was a delicious, creamy coffee color, and she had wide chocolate brown eyes, with long eyelashes that were caked in mascara. Nic wished he could tell her that he sympathized with her father being ill, but in his line of work, showing sympathy was a weakness and a definite no-no.

"Do you have my money or not?" he asked, ignoring her last statement.

Victoria wanted to smack that bastard. She hated his frosty stare and nonchalant attitude. She was talking about her family here! They were drowning, all because of him.

"How much exactly does my father owe you?"

"Seventy thousand," he said, without flinching.

Victoria nearly choked on her spit. Seventy thousand dollars!!

Nic could tell by her widened eyes and slightly parted mouth, that she wasn't expecting the figure to be so high. Interest was a bitch.

Victoria tried to regain her composure. "Mr. Andretti, we don't have that kind of money. We never had, and probably never will."

"Your father should have thought about that, before he asked my father for the loan years ago. I never would have given him the money. Trying to open a soul food restaurant in the middle of a Korean neighborhood was a dumb fucking idea. Why either one of them couldn't figure that out, is beyond me. So that's the situation we are in."

Victoria stared down at her hands. Well, now was her time to offer her proposition to him. Her last shot.

"Well, I have a potential solution, Mr. Andretti," she said, looking up at him.

Nic stared at her warm eyes, and then his gaze lowered to her lips and then her full breasts. His eyes lingered there for a moment, before he looked back at her face. He smiled on the inside when he noticed her narrow her eyes at him.

"Go ahead," he said, as he started jotting notes down on a piece of paper.

"Well, I was thinking I could work in your restaurant or club, to work off the money. I mean, I could work morning, noon and night. Around the clock until I get the money paid off. I'll be a waitress, busboy, whatever you need."

Nic stopped writing and looked up at her. A small crooked smile spread across his face. With Amber gone, he knew exactly how he was going to entertain himself. He leaned back in his chair and stared at her for a few seconds before speaking.

"You want to work with my kitchen staff so you can work off money you owe me? Do you know how long that would take?" he asked.

Victoria shook her head.

"I don't read fucking sign language. Yes or no?" he bit out, frustrated.

"No," Victoria said, wishing so badly she could punch him. She wasn't even a violent person, but she guessed being in the company of violent men was starting to rub off on her.

Nic turned to his friend. "Jimmy, how long would that take, to earn seventy grand as a waitress?"

"Long fucking time, sir."

"Yeah, that's what I thought," Nic said, turning his attention back to her. He stared her down, taking in her disappointed face. He was used to these club girls throwing themselves at him. Drunk, loud, slutty girls, who all wanted to bag a guy like him, so they could be taken care of the rest of their lives. But he figured a girl like Victoria was different. She was nothing like those girls, and that's what would make this whole thing amusing to him.

"No, I have another idea. Raymond, could you leave us for a moment? We'll be done with this meeting soon."

"Yes sir," Raymond said, as he turned to exit the office.

Once the door was closed, Nic stood up and walked around the table to stand by Jimmy. Victoria was nervous. She didn't know what they were planning to do. They were both just staring at her. Jimmy laughed when Nic whispered something into his ear. She felt so uncomfortable. When they were done whispering, Nic turned to look at her.

"So, you want to work off your father's money, huh?" Nic asked her, narrowing his eyes, and then slowly letting them roam over her body.

Shit. Victoria could see where this was going. She was so stupid. Her mother had told her. She would never hear the end of this 'I told you so' from Olivia Davis.

"I believe in being blunt, Victoria. I'll erase your father's debt, if you stay with me for a week in my house."

Victoria swallowed. She prayed it would be as his cook or masseuse or something along those jobs. But in her heart, she knew better.

"What would you want me to do for the week?" she asked, dreading the answer.

Jimmy chuckled. "Anything I want," Nic said, without cracking a smile.

Victoria quickly stood. She had heard enough. At least she had tried. "Well, thank you for your time, Mr. Andretti. But I'm not a whore, so I'll be on my way. And I'll try to get your money to you." She was about to walk out, when Nic grabbed her hand. The way he gazed into her eyes started making her feel...feel...something.

"Your father owes me more money than your family has seen in a lifetime, and I'm growing impatient. I live by a strict set of codes and rules. If a man owes me money, he either pays me back, or I make an example out of him. I'd hate to do that to your father. And now that he's sick, it looks like I'll never see that money, so my men may be coming to call on him very soon," Nic spat at her, still tightly gripping her hand. "So, is your pride worth your father and mother being hurt?"

Victoria's mouth dropped open. She couldn't believe that he would threaten her parent's right in front of her. Fucking bastard! God, she needed some help. She didn't know which was worse, being his whore for a week or knowing her family would be hurt. She could never in a million years do something like that. She wasn't like those types of women.

But...just seven days, and she could easily erase this black cloud over her family's heads. They could go back to their normal lives before her father got tied in with this horrible Andretti family. Just seven days, and she could burn this horrific experience out of her mind. Seven quick days, and she would have a new start for herself and her family. Just seven days.

Victoria closed her eyes and exhaled. She knew she'd have to make the decision quickly or else she'd back out. "Okay," she whispered to him. She felt like she was going to throw up. That one simple word burned leaving her tongue.

"Good girl," Nic said.

She watched as he turned to the other man in the room, Jimmy. "I always wanted my own personal slut," he taunted, and smiled back at her. She felt the tears coming to the surface. She refused to cry in front of this evil bastard. Why the hell would he want to make such a despicable deal with her, when she was sure he could get any girl to do this for free?

"Now that that's settled, take your clothes off," Nic commanded. He knew he was being a jerk, but she was getting some payback for threatening to cause a scene at his restaurant. He absolutely would not tolerate behavior like that. Plus, she needed to know how their relationship for the next seven days would work. What he wanted and expected. And he would ALWAYS get what he wanted.

Victoria couldn't have heard him right. It would be a cold day in hell before she stripped her clothing in front of both of them. In his office, where anyone could come in at any given moment? No way in hell. She stood there staring at him, like he had lost his damn mind.

"I guess you aren't serious about our arrangement. If not, then you can get the fuck out," Nic stated, as he made his way to the door.

Victoria knew she was between a rock and a hard place. Shit!

"No, wait! I, um, okay," she sighed.

Nic stopped and turned back around. Victoria slowly and clumsily started removing her dress. It slid down to the floor, and she stood there in a lacy strapless bra, lacy panties and her black heels. She was praying that her undergarments didn't have any holes in them. It's not like she went shopping for new ones every day, and she hadn't worn this lacy set in forever.

"Leave the heels on, take everything else off," Nic demanded, leaning against the wall. She turned to face him. At least he was on the opposite side of the room, and she wouldn't have to look at the other guy, while she did the most embarrassing, degrading thing she had ever done in her life. She couldn't even remember undressing this much in gym class.

She slid her panties off first. She was neatly trimmed, but not like that many people had seen her down there, so she probably wasn't as neat as he was used to. She knew she had reached a new low. She felt like shit. She slowly reached around and unhooked her bra, and it dropped to the floor.

Nic stood there gazing over her perfect body. His dick was growing down the side of his leg, dying to break free from his pants. Her tits were the perfect size for him. She was definitely busty, but they weren't too oversized. Her tiny waist was toned, and she had a small butterfly tattoo on her left pelvic bone. Her hips were wider than many of the skinny girls he had been with, and that made her even more exotic to him. She had a shape that reminded him of the old pin ups in the fifties that his father used to have hanging in his office. But he had to get his mind straight. He was a business man, first and foremost.

"Victoria, here are the rules. When I ask you to do something, I am only going to ask once. If you don't comply, then you add another week to your stay. If you disobey or disrespect me in anyway, you add another week. Stay out of my business, and only speak when spoken too. Got it?"

Yes, she was in hell. How could she ever face her mother and father again? And she was even more mortified when he opened the door and let Raymond back inside. She started to shiver from the embarrassment. The utter humiliation this cocksucker was subjecting her to.

"Raymond, can you escort Victoria to my downtown loft and make sure she gets a change of clothes? If she needs to stop by her place, that's fine. Thank you," she heard him say, then he left.

She was standing in the middle of his office, completely naked, with two other men staring at her. She wanted to die.

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