Chapter 4
Meeting Nora for lunch is usually the highlight of my week—my best friend’s chaotic energy and zero-filter commentary serving as the perfect antidote to whatever corporate bullshit I’ve been drowning in.
We were sitting in our usual spot at the little café across from Cadence Records, taking advantage of our lunch break to catch up.
Today, though, I’m carrying Leo’s debt like a lead weight in my chest, and even Nora’s trademark snark isn’t quite hitting the same.
She’s already two mimosas deep, her dark hair perfectly tousled in that effortless way that takes her forty-five minutes to achieve. Legal department pays better than the administrative, apparently.
“You look like death,” she announces, not bothering with pleasantries. “What fresh hell has life delivered to your doorstep this time?”
“Good to see you too,” I mutter, flagging down the server. “And I’m fine.”
“Girl, you’ve literally got that haunted Victorian orphan thing going on.” She leans forward, studying my face with the intensity of someone who’s made a career out of reading people. “Spill.”
I order a drink, something strong enough to numb the edges of my panic, and deflect.
“Tell me about your weekend first. I need to live vicariously through someone who actually has a sex life.”
Nora’s eyes light up like Christmas morning. “Oh, honey. Buckle up.”
What follows is a graphic, enthusiastic play-by-play of her latest conquest—some investment banker she met at a rooftop bar who apparently had both stamina and creativity.
She describes positions I’m not sure are anatomically possible and techniques that would make a porn star blush.
“And then he did this thing with his tongue that literally made me see God,” she finishes, taking another sip of her mimosa. “I’m talking about a full-body religious experience. I might convert to whatever religion he practices.”
I can’t help but laugh despite the weight crushing my chest. “You’re insane.”
I envied her confidence. Nora moved through the world like she owned it, taking what she wanted and leaving the rest behind.
She’d been trying to set me up with someone for years, but I always found excuses.
“Speaking of men,” she said, leaning forward with that mischievous glint in her eye, “how are things with the holy trinity of hotness and masculine perfection upstairs?”
My drink pauses halfway to my lips. “The what now?”
“Don’t play dumb. The Blackwood brothers. Please tell me you’ve at least noticed that you work for three of the most fuckable men in the music industry.”
Heat crept up my neck. “Nora, they’re my bosses.”
“So? That makes it hotter, not illegal.” She leans in, voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper. “Liam’s got that whole golden retriever energy, right? All sweet eyes and gentle smiles until you realize he’s probably the type who’d absolutely wreck you in bed and then bring you breakfast after.”
“Jesus Christ, Nora!”
“What? I’m just being honest. And don’t even get me started on Asher. That man got that whole controlled dominance thing going on. Like he’d fuck you on his desk and still expect you to take notes afterward.”
I tried to focus on my food, but images flashed through my mind. My face is on fire now. “Can we not—”
“And Finn,” Nora continued, completely ignoring my discomfort, “is basically a walking sex. All that lazy confidence and that smile which could talk a nun out of her vows. I bet he’s the type who’d make you laugh right before he made you come.”
“Oh my God, stop.” I buried my face in my hands, but I could feel myself blushing furiously.
“You’re thinking about it now, aren’t you?” Nora’s voice was pure delight. “Finally! I was beginning to think you were made of stone.”
“I am not thinking about anything,” I lied.
“Bullshit. You’re thinking about what it would be like to have one of them pin you against a wall and—”
“Nora, please stop.” But even as I protested, my mind was already there.
I especially think about yesterday, about Finn’s voice in my ear, about the way my body responded to something as simple as proximity. About fantasies I can’t seem to turn off.
“Why? You’re practically squirming in your seat right now.” Nora’s grin is wicked. “When’s the last time you felt this turned on just from talking about someone?”
Never. The honest answer is never, but I’m not giving her that ammunition.
“They’re completely out of my league,” I say instead. “I’m just a regular assistant in their label. They probably don’t even see me as female.”
“Cut the shit.” Nora’s voice turns serious. “Jas, you’re gorgeous and you have no fucking clue. You walk around in those conservative little outfits, thinking you’re invisible, but trust me—they notice. I’ve seen how they look at you.”
“How would you even know?”
“Because I have functioning eyeballs and I pay attention. Last company mixer? Finn couldn’t stop staring at you. And don’t get me started on the way Liam watches you during meetings like you’re the most interesting thing in the room.”
My stomach does this weird fluttery thing that I absolutely hate. “You’re imagining things.”
“I’m observant. There’s a difference.” She points her fork at me accusingly. “Your problem is you’re so busy taking care of everyone else that you’ve forgotten you’re allowed to want things.”
The words hit like a slap. “It’s not that simple.”
“It could be. You’re already working with them every day. You’re smart, beautiful, and you’re the only woman in that office who doesn’t throw herself at them like they’re some kind of k-pop boysband.”
“Because I have professionalism.”
“Because you’re scared.” Her voice gentles slightly. “Look, I’m not saying you have to sleep with all three of them—though honestly, that would be the power move of the century. I’m just saying maybe it’s time you stopped acting like wanting someone is a crime.”
“Even if you were right, which you’re not, I wouldn’t know what to do. I don’t have your… extensive field experience.”
“Experience is overrated. Enthusiasm counts for way more.” That wicked grin returns. “Besides, with men like that? They’d probably enjoy being your teacher.”
“I can’t just walk up to one of them and say, ‘Hey, want to take my virginity?’” I protested.
“Why not? I bet they’d fight over the privilege.”
“You’re insane.”
“I’m practical. Look, I’ve seen the way they look at you. All three of them. It’s not a professional interest, honey. It’s hunger.”
“That’s not… they don’t…” But even as I tried to deny it, I remembered moments.
Lingering glances, casual touches that lasted a beat longer than necessary, the way conversations seemed to carry undercurrents I didn’t understand.
The conversation shifts after that, but her words stick with me like thorns under my skin. As we part ways, she grabs my arm.
“Seriously, Jas. Life’s too short to spend it wondering ‘what if.’ And virginity isn’t some precious gift you have to save for marriage. It’s just another experience to have.”
Nora’s words stayed with me long after I’d returned to work and home after that.
That night, I lay in bed staring at the ceiling, my mind racing.
I pulled out my laptop, telling myself I’d look for legitimate opportunities one more time. But every job board led to the same dead ends.
That’s when I found myself typing those words again: virginity auction.
The Virtue Exchange website loaded just as pristine and professional as before. The whole thing looked more like a luxury concierge service than anything sordid.
“What the hell am I even doing?”
Shame coiled in my stomach, but so did something else. Hope? Desperation? I couldn’t tell anymore.
I closed the laptop without making any decisions, but I didn’t clear my browser history either.
The next morning, I was in the kitchen making coffee when Leo stumbled through the door, still wearing his work clothes from the club. His face was pale, his hands shaking as he pulled a crumpled envelope from his jacket pocket.
“They left this for me,” he said, his voice barely above a whisper. “On my car windshield when I got off work.”
I took the envelope with trembling fingers, tearing it open to find a single piece of paper with a message scrawled in red ink: ‘Eight days. No more delays.’
My blood turned to ice. “Eight days? I thought we had longer than that.”
“So did I.” Leo’s voice cracked. “Jas, what are we going to do? I’m scared.”
I looked at my baby brother and felt something harden inside me. He was depending on me. He’d always depended on me, and I’d never let him down before.
“I’ll figure it out,” I said, forcing a calm I didn’t feel. “I promise, Leo. I won’t let anything happen to you.”
But even as I said the words, I could see in his eyes that he wasn’t convinced. Hell, I wasn’t convinced either.
30
