I’d spent so long waiting in this man’s office I’d lost track of time. Not that I had anything else to do, but how long did it take to find the owner? They’d probably forgot about me but going out to look for someone seemed like more work than staying put right here.

Finally, a burly, tan skinned man lumbered into the room.

I considered straightening my posture in the chair from my slouch, but then decided against it.

The man sat at the edge of his desk, giving my legs even less room. “Sorry to keep you waiting. We had a bit of a situation.”

“What? Unhappy customer?”

“It’s nothing,” the man replied. “Okay, your name is?”

“Milena,” I replied. “You?”

“Jamel.” His eyes moved up and down my body.

I rolled my eyes. “I'm not here to be one of your little whores.”

Jamel looked me in the eyes now. “You're already a whore, aren't you?”

Now I straightened up in my chair. “That's not very polite.”

Jamel’s eyes narrowed. “Who are you here for?”

“Farris and Chasey,” I replied.

“I don't know them.” Just from the flicker of his eyes, I knew he was lying.

“You do,” I said.

Jamel looked at me, then said, “They run that uppity brothel in Indeedra.”

“Uppity brothels are in capital cities,” I said. “Their brothel just gives women a choice.”

“You think these girls here don't have a choice?”

I raised an eyebrow. “If one of them wanted to walk out the door right now, they could?”

“Absolutely.”

“Good,” I said standing up out of the chair. “Then I’ll just go inform them and ask around who’s ready to leave.”

“Well look here,” Jamel said quickly, standing to his full height. “You can't do that. If you just went around here asking girls if they wanted to leave, there'd be no one left.”

I raised an eyebrow. “But not because they're here against their will?”

“No, no, of course not.” Jamel did his best not to let his eye contact waver.

A smug grin pushed at my lips, but I fought to keep it tame. Sitting back down, I nodded. “I understand. Yes, of course.”

Jamel clearly believed I wasn't about to run around emancipating his workers, and he slouched back on the side of the desk. Rubbing his jaw, he asked, “What do you want?”

I grinned. “Would you believe, absolutely nothing. Word travels and over in Indeedra, we've heard of your business.”

“And you're okay with our success?”

“You're a city away,” I replied. “We're dealing with a whole other clientele.” I stood up, dusting off my clothes. “But hey, if you ever want to step up your business, send Farris a letter.”

“Yeah, I’ll look into that,” Jamel muttered.

I laughed to myself. I hated Farris and Chasey with a fury, but even I had to applaud their competitiveness. The minute I told them how this brothel was run, Farris would come marching over here to have it shut down. Don’t get me wrong, he couldn’t care less about the rights of these poor girls. But by using the social injustice of the situation, he could eliminate his competitor. And the only person the brothel could blame would be Jamel. He owed his success to cheap labor and scared girls.

As I walked out of the brothel, taking another full glance around the establishment, I hadn’t decided if I would actually tell Farris and Chasey. In my opinion, like I’d said, the brothel was a city away. The real competition for Farris and Chasey were other brothels in Indeedra. They couldn’t imagine getting on the same level as the iniquitous city of Scultera. Any brothel that opened here was in its own league.

Either way, I was done doing inspections on the brothel for today. The rest of the day was mine—and there was absolutely nothing I wanted to do or touch in this godawful city. Still, I had to make the most of my day.

The best I could do for entertainment was to look around inside all the little shops and eateries. After about five, they were basically all the same. Scultera was known for its brothels and sex trade—not it's woodwork and woven baskets. And the further into the city I went, the grosser it became. For my sake, I had to stay closer to the outer limits, although really there was nowhere within the city limits to escape the grime.

I wasted the whole day wandering aimlessly in and out of shops. Maybe I should have stayed in Indeedra and just worked. Soon I would have to start the tedious task of looking for a place to stay for the night.

It would have to be somewhere outside of town. There wasn’t a chance I would risk being assaulted by one of the lowlifes here. Surely I’d contract something and die in a week. That being said, any inn was probably just as filthy.

I stood inside a candle shop as I contemplated over a few places I’d noticed along the way.

A tap on my shoulder pulled me out of my trance, and I realized I’d been staring at the candle display in front of me. I looked over my shoulder to see what kind of wretched creature had dared to touch me and how hard I’d have to scrub my shoulder tonight.

A boy my age stood behind me. He had a hopelessly childlike face topped with loose strands of sandy hair—plain and simple, he didn’t belong in this town. “Excuse me,” he spoke with intelligible words, not slurred like the other drunks that inhabited the place. “Were you going to get that candle?”

“Oh, no,” I said, stepping aside.

He reached across and picked up one of the taller candles, turning it around in his hands as he inspected it. “Yeah, I think this will fit in my lantern.”

“Probably should,” I said absentmindedly.

The boy looked at me—surprisingly, just at my face, not my entire figure—and tapped his chin. “Do I know you? You seem familiar.”

“Trust me, I’m not,” I said.

“Huh,” the boy said. “Ah, well that’s my bad. My apologies.”

“It’s fine.” I did my best not to let any other comments fly. This boy looked like I could break him with a few simple words. I did my best to deliver the most disinterested face I could—all I had to do was picture a few patrons.

Still, he was unphased by my expression. “My name is Will Yarberry.”

This kid was too persistent for his own good. I couldn't look at his face and honestly think he was trying to come onto me, which meant he was just that simple-minded. I turned to walk away, saying as I took a few steps away, “Well Will Yarberry, unless you’ve got a warm bed for me to sleep in tonight—without you—then you don’t really interest me.”

“I’ve got that.”

I turned to face him. “Oh?”

Will nodded. “Yeah, I’ve got an extra bed. You seemed like you were from out of town.”

My hand found its way to my hip in a disbelieving stance. “You'd let a stranger stay at your house?”

“Do you need a place to stay?” Will asked.

I didn't per se need it, but not having to spend the money on an actual inn only benefited me. I found my manners. “Yes please.”

“Great! I live a little up town, where you start to get out of the main city. My house is right across from an incense shop, with a yellow door.”

For the smallest of seconds, I’d thought he was trying to get me in his bed for the night. But his genuine enthusiasm in the end made me think he was actually just that dumb to loan his house out.

“So, I’ll see you tonight then?” Will asked.

“We’ll see,” I replied, doing my absolute best to keep my manners up. “As kind as your offer is, I also have other offers.”

“I understand. As long as you end up with a nice place to stay.” The bright-eyed naïve boy tucked the candle under his arm and headed toward the shopkeeper to buy his item.

I was still trying to figure out our interaction. Had he been coming on to me? Or at least looking for a girl to warm his bed for the night? I wouldn’t say I looked like a prostitute—but then again, this was Scultera. If you were a female and not a prostitute, you weren’t from there. He just didn’t seem like the type to entertain prostitutes—he didn’t even look like the type to simply sleep with women.

I figured I’d consider his offer but see what other opportunities found me during the rest of the day.