Chapter 3 Spend the Night with Me

"Oh, isn't this Miss Moore, President Carpenter's little wife? What's this? Coming for a drink? Wait... if you're here to drink, why are you wearing the staff uniform?"

As soon as the man finished speaking, the private room burst into laughter.

I gripped the handle of the cart tightly and took a deep breath.

Forget it. They had already seen me, and they were clearly intent on humiliating me. Running away wouldn't change anything, so I might as well face it head-on. Who knows, maybe I could even earn some tips from them.

Debt collectors were coming every day, my father kept saying he didn't want to live anymore, my mother cried herself to sleep each night, and my brother was working tirelessly as a delivery driver. At this point, what was the point of holding onto something as trivial as pride?

Pushing the cart forward, I forced a stiff but polite smile.

I smiled at them and said, "What a coincidence! Since you're here, why not support my business a little? If you have a good time drinking, maybe you could leave me a tip?"

"Tsk tsk tsk..." Bob shook his head and sneered.

Back then, he was always sucking up to me and my brother, calling us 'sis' and 'bro.' Now that my family had fallen, he looked absolutely delighted at my misfortune. I wanted nothing more than to slap him across the face.

But now wasn't the time to act on impulse-I needed money.

I maintained my smile and said nothing.

Bob suddenly leaned in close, gloating. "Look at this, look at this! Is this really the same arrogant Miss Moore from before? It's only been a short while, and you've already fallen this low? Tsk tsk tsk..."

Another wave of laughter erupted in the room.

Bill smirked wickedly. "You just asked us to support your business-what kind of business, exactly? You wouldn't mean that kind of business, would you? Haha! If that's the case, why don't you strip down first and let us inspect the goods? If the quality is too poor, we'd be losing out, wouldn't we? Hahaha!"

I clenched the bottle in my hand and glanced at Julian.

He sat there quietly, smoking his cigarette as if he hadn't heard their vulgar words. Or maybe he simply didn't care.

Lowering my gaze, I began setting the bottles on the bar counter one by one, keeping my forced smile. "You guys misunderstood. I meant the liquor business. Since we used to know each other, if you order drinks through me, I'll earn a little commission."

"Tsk, Miss Moore is this desperate for money now?" Bob suddenly threw a card onto the bar and sneered, "There's thirty grand on this card. Get down on all fours and bark like a dog for us, and it's yours. How about it?"

Laughter and whistling filled the room as everyone turned their eyes to me, eager for a show.

Even Julian was watching me. His expression was calm, but his gaze was so deep and unreadable that I dared not look into it for too long.

I didn't move right away. Bill suddenly tossed another card onto the bar. "Here's another hundred grand. If you bark and let us have you for the night, it's all yours."

I stared at him in shock.

Even if my family had fallen from grace, I was still Julian's wife. He was right here-how could Bill dare to suggest something like that?

Unless... Julian had already told them we were divorced.

Unless... he had made it clear to them how much he despised me.

"What's wrong? I thought you needed money?" Bill sneered. "You're still too proud for this? If you can't let go of your dignity, then what are you even doing here? We're offering you a good price. Do you know how many times you'd have to sell yourself outside to earn this much?"

He was right-I needed money.

But letting go of my pride didn't mean I had no limits.

I felt sick just looking at Bill's lecherous grin.

Picking up the hundred-thousand-dollar card, I threw it back at him and said mockingly, "A hundred grand? That's all you're offering for a night with me? If you really have the guts, put down a million."

I knew Bill well.

He barely had any money of his own, spent his days loafing around, and always pretended to be generous while actually being a cheapskate. Back when he had a girlfriend, he wouldn't even buy her a handbag.

Honestly, even getting him to cough up ten grand would be like pulling teeth.

For him to offer a hundred grand now, just to humiliate me, meant he must have truly hated me.

It made me wonder-was I really that awful of a person in the past?

"Hahaha, Bill, you are being stingy. She was Miss Moore, after all. How could you offer her just a hundred grand for a night?"

The room erupted with laughter again.

Bill's face turned red with rage. He glared at me and scoffed, "Honestly, even a hundred grand is too much for you."

I ignored his words and turned to Bob's card instead. "You were serious, right? If I bark like a dog, this thirty grand is mine?"

Bob hesitated, clearly not expecting me to take him seriously.

Like Bill, he was notoriously stingy.

Thirty grand must have been his entire savings.

He shifted uncomfortably and muttered, "You? The proud Miss Moore? No way you'd actually do it. Stop joking."

As he spoke, he reached for the card, clearly regretting his offer.

I dodged his hand and looked him straight in the eye. "I'm not joking. Barking a few times isn't hard, and thirty grand is a lot of money. Sounds like a good deal to me."

Bob's face twisted in regret. He stared at the card in my hand, clearly dying to snatch it back.

Bill grinned maliciously. "Well? Get down and do it, then! Let's see how the great Miss Moore begs like a dog."

My pride was long gone.

All I could think about was the debt collectors pounding on our door, my father talking about ending his life, my mother sobbing uncontrollably, and my brother breaking his back with deliveries.

I took a deep breath. "Alright."

Just as I was about to kneel, a firm hand suddenly caught my elbow.

Startled, I turned to look-

And met Julian's deep, unreadable gaze.

My heart skipped a beat.

"Leave," Julian said flatly, his words directed at the others.

The room instantly emptied as the others scrambled to obey.

Bob even snatched his thirty-grand card back on his way out. Pathetic.

Julian's dark eyes locked onto mine. "Are you really that desperate for money?"

I pulled my arm away from his grasp and took a step back. "Is President Carpenter asking just for the sake of it?"

My family's downfall was common knowledge in Chicago-I refused to believe he didn't already know.

"President Carpenter?" Julian repeated, amused by the title.

I had no idea what he was thinking, and I didn't have the energy to figure it out.

Pointing at the drinks on the bar, I said, "President Carpenter, here's the liquor you ordered. If you're happy with the service, feel free to leave me a tip."

Julian stared at me, his gaze unreadable.

The tip was just a passing comment-I didn't expect him to actually give me anything.

I smiled, ready to leave.

Then he said, "I'll give you a million."

I stopped in my tracks, stunned. "What?"

Julian stepped closer, his dark eyes boring into mine.

"I'll give you a million," he said, his voice calm and unwavering.

"One night with me."