I knocked on the door, waiting a few seconds for Alec to pull the door open. He looked down at me before opening the door and letting me in. “Here.” He held his fist out to me, after pulling something out of his pocket. I put my hand under his, allowing him to drop a set of keys into my palm. “If you're going to be opening, you're going to have to be able to let yourself in.”

“Yeah.” I tucked the keys into my pocket.

“I'm going to go out to get some breakfast. What sounds good to you?”

I looked at him in slight surprise, quickly hiding it. “Any--anything's is fine. I'll eat whatever. Thank you.” I smiled slightly, not wanting to be a bother and admit my pickiness.

“I want you to start cleaning when I'm gone. Start with cleaning off the couch. Wipe it down. And then do everything else after that. You'll start filing when I get back, so I can direct you.”

I nodded. “Aye, aye.” I looked over at the couch.

“I'll be back in less than half an hour. I hope to see good progress before that.” Alec walked over to grab a trash can, pulling it out.

“I'll be sure to put the pedal to the metal.”

Alec placed the bag of food on the table before sitting down on the couch, motioning for me to do the same. He pushed a box towards me, grabbing one for himself.

“Thank you.” I picked the box up, pulling the plastic utensils out.

“You got a good start. It's already starting to look better.” Alec spoke as he began to eat.

“I enjoy cleaning up, so I'm kind of enjoying this. And I don't have to pick up dog shit.” I shifted uncomfortably as my stomach growled loudly. I placed my hand on my stomach, cringing slightly at the pain.

"Are you alright?" Alec raised an eyebrow at me.

"I'm fine." I smiled slightly. "I just get sick when I don't get enough sleep. I'm not exactly an early riser." I shrugged. "I'm sort of a night owl."

He made a noise of agreement, growing quiet as he continued to eat.

I tucked my hair behind my ears. “Would you like me to make a pot of coffee once we've eaten?”

Alec nodded. “That would be nice. I'll show you where things are.”

“Thanks.” I bowed my head, before looking up at him. The sickness knotting up in my stomach was more than just from lack of sleep. Part of me wanted him to say something. To just mention what had happened.

“Did you like it?” His voice snapped me out of my thoughts. I looked up at him, blinking in confusion a few times. “The food.” He motioned towards my mostly eaten box.

“Oh. Yeah. It was really good.” I nodded.

“After we’re finished, I’ll go get your money.”

“Thank you, Alec.”

“Did you plan to pay the men off soon?”

“As soon as I get off work.” I shrugged. “The sooner the better.”

“And you plan to go alone? You said yourself, they’re dangerous men.” He leaned back on the couch slightly.

I shrugged. “I planned to just give it to my dad and let him figure it out.”

“How about we go out to dinner then?” He smiled at me charmingly.

“Uh. Maybe I’ll have to tell you, alright?”

“You should be more confident in your decisions.” Alec noted, obviously sensing my uncertainty.

“I will be. And you’ll see me tomorrow at least. I’ve got work tomorrow, after all. Can’t miss the second day of my new job. My new boss would probably fire me.” I smiled slightly.

“He would.” Alec crossed his arms, the smallest smile growing on his face. “If you didn’t owe him your livelihood.”

“Then I suppose I can slack off.” I laughed, enjoying the banter with him. And honestly being around him in general. He is a very attractive guy after all. Who I fucked. And lost my virginity to.

He chuckled softly, shaking his head. “You could. Or you could try your hardest and get a promotion.”

“Oh. A promotion does sound nice. But putting effort into things…” I tapped on my chin, “not as much.”

“Then I suppose you’ll always be my assistant.”

I shrugged with a half-smile. “Doesn’t sound so bad to me.”

I stood up as the doorbell rang and walked over to the door, pulling it open. My dad stood in the doorway, looking unkempt. As if he maybe had been sleeping in his car. “Nice to see you, Mae.” He smiled at me.

“Hey, dad.” I took a deep breath. “I have your money.” I motioned behind me.

He pushed past me into the house, before hugging me tightly. “Thank you, Mae. You really saved me.”

“Yeah.” I patted his back, not wanting to tell him what exactly I had brought upon myself to do so. “It’s over there.” I pointed towards my purse sitting on the living room table. I had honestly expected something of a briefcase full of bills, but it ended up being two petite stacks of hundreds, each worth ten grand.

I walked with him over to the purse, pulling the money out. “Here.”

His eyes seemed to shine at the sight of the money, which he quickly took out of my hand. “Mae.” He turned back towards the door as he spoke. “I need to go. Go take this to pay off my debts. Right now.”

“Okay, but…what about dinner or something? Or I’ll go with you.”

“No, no.” He shook his head. “We can go to dinner. I’ll call you. Just give me an hour, okay?”

I nodded slowly. “Okay, dad. I’ll talk to you soon then. Be safe.” He shot me one last smile before heading out the door.

I bounced my knee as I called him for the fifth time. Still nothing. No response. I took a deep breath, making my mind up. The phone rang a few times before Alec picked up. “Hey, Mae.”

“Hey. I wanted to take you up on that offer for dinner if you’re still free.”

“Sure. I know the perfect little bistro.”

Alec sat down at the table across from me, after setting my coffee down in front of me. The bistro was mostly empty, except for the few people on their laptops. Late-night workers, I suppose. I placed my hands around the warm cup, looking around the shop and out the window at the stoplight.

“I didn’t know.” Alec spoke quietly.

I looked over at him. “Didn’t know…?”

“That you were a virgin.”

My heart stopped in my chest as I was taken aback. I cleared my throat, trying to act as casually as I could. “It’s fine.”

“I wouldn’t have done it if I had known. I had no place to take that from you.” He sighed. “I had just assumed that you already had done it, by your look.”

I rubbed my arm. “Seriously. No harm, no foul.”

“Why didn’t you say something?”

“I needed the money.” I shrugged weakly. “Regardless of anything. And you were the only one who agreed to it.”

“I’m amazed you’d go so far for the money.”

“Me too.” I looked down at the coffee cup. “But I wanted to help my dad.”

“Family was never that important to me.”

“Well, then I supposed you would’ve never fucked someone for it.” I leaned back in my seat slightly. “But I didn’t see much of another choice.”

“That’s too bad. But, of course, I will continue to give you your pay.”

“You did already tell me that. You said minimum wage and the rest goes to paying you back.”

“I just wanted to assure you.” He shrugged.

“Well, you couldn’t legally employ me if you didn’t pay me minimum wage.”

He nodded as he looked away. “Too bad you had no other choice.”

I crossed my arms, trying to keep the sickness in my stomach from showing. “Why? You got to have sex out of it and a new employ. Aren’t you happy?”

“I just wish I had known.” He sighed. “And I feel bad for you.”

I bit my lip. “Why? What is there to feel bad for? I’m fine. I told you that. And now I don’t have my dad riding my ass, so I’m content.”

“Then I won’t give you any more pity.” He shook his head.

“Pity doesn’t help anyone. The only time someone can get stronger is when they’re beaten down.”

“Then I hope you get what you...need.”

I took a deep breath. “I don’t know you, Alec and you don’t know me, nor do I expect you to. But don’t worry. What happened, happened. I don’t hold it against you, I did it willingly, regardless of if I was in a dire situation or not. It won’t affect my job performance.”

“Good to know. Then I expect good work from you.”

“I never said my job performance was good.” I cracked a smile.

“Then it better become well enough to my standards.”

“Doubt you have that high of standards if you fucked me.” I smiled slightly. “You said it yourself; I have the look of a whore to me.”

“Maybe my standards aren’t high in that category. But I will expect great work from you nonetheless.”

“I’m not a bad worker.” I shook my head. “I was just joking. I’ll put my all into it.”

“Good. I’ll be sure to let you know when I’m disappointed.”

I chewed my lip, shaking my thoughts away. “What time am I coming in tomorrow?”

“Eight. No later. But I won’t be mad if you’re early.”

I nodded. “Then I’ll see you before eight.”

The rest of the conversation was dry and painful after he admitted he had wished we hadn’t done it, leaving me with the same conclusion. Especially after my dad seems to have run off with the money.