Harley's POV

The Next Day

"Why was I just told to bring bras and underwear to you?" Brooke said, walking into the room with a discrete black bag. She placed a hand on her hip and raised her eyebrow at my confusion. I didn't expect the boss to pick one of the maids in my room. My mind drifted back to yesterday for a brief moment.

"I said, Take. Your. Clothes. Off." he commanded

"You really don't know how to listen, do you, Harley."

" Someone needed to pay me the money I'm owed from your mother's expensive tendencies. Luckily, I found out she had a daughter that could pay off her debts in her favor."

Chills ran through my body as I recalled all the things sir told me. After he left, I must've sat on his office floor for an hour trying to process everything that's happened. I was so angry at him for being so cold towards me and what he told me about my mom. However, I couldn't say anything or act on it. I had no other choice but to submit myself to him and work my ass off to pay for my late mother's debts. Yesterday seemed to be my breaking point. Everything from the past 2 weeks was catching up to me. I felt like I exploded like an old rusty bomb.

" Earth to Harley," Brooke said while waving her hand in front of my face, interrupting my rapid thoughts.

"Sorry." I chuckled awkwardly. "I nodded it off for a second."

"It's cool. I have the attention span of a one-year-old." She smiled and shrugged, making me chuckle as well. "So about the underwear and bras?" She asked again.

"I guess because I mentioned something about my undergarments not fitting to one of the maids," I said, biting my lip slightly and watching Brooke's face as it morphed from confusion to a smile.

"Oh, okay. Well, here you go." Brooke replied, handing me the bag. I breathed out in relief that she believed my lie, and I didn't have to say anything else. I peeked in the bag as Brooke jogged over to her bed and plopped down dramatically. There were four bras and over a dozen pairs of panties. They varied in size and texture. Avery had drawers and drawers full of fancy underwear and bras like these. Some of her bras even had pretty rhinestones on them, and she would even have lacey sets that have pretty flowers all over them. I'm glad I have something nice like that too.

"Whatcha thinking about, Little bit?" Brooke asked.

"Little bit?" I chuckled towards her.

"Yeah, I've decided that's your nickname from now on." She smiled

"but why Little bit out of all names." I smiled while walking towards her.

"Because you're so small and compact, but I can tell you're feisty." She pulled out a lollipop from her front apron pocket and popped the bright red colored candy in her mouth. I thought for a second at her words before responding with a smile. I've never had a nickname that stuck before either. Occasionally Avery called me corny things like "Babycakes" or "Har-Har," and my dad would call me the usual "Sweetie pie" or "Munchkin." I always laughed at those cheesy names.

"I like it," I said

"I'm glad, Little bit. Everyone here has a nickname." Brooke said

"Yeah, mine is Rocky Balboa, and I fucking hate it." Rachel said, suddenly walking into the room.

"Why Rocky Balboa?" I couldn't help laughing at her disgusted face.

"Brooke picked it out," she stated. "It's because I used to be a professional boxer."

"What? Really?" I asked in disbelief. Rachel was such a lean fragile-looking woman. I never would've guessed it.

"Yes, when I was your age, Harley. I was a lot more muscular back then," she said as if she had read my mind.

"Not to mention how tan you were. You looked like a crispy hotdog in high school." Brooke doubled over in laughter at her own words. I giggled just hearing Brooke's contagious laugh. "Look at this picture, Little bit," Brooke said, reaching beside her bed to pull out a small beat-up photo album. She flipped the pages frantically till she landed on a page filled with pictures of a girl that looked just like Rachel. She had on a thick wool headband in every picture and large sweatbands on both her wrist.

"Shut up." Rachel said to Brooke, who was holding her stomach while she had a fit of laughter. "While you're laughing at me, how about you tell Harley what your nickname is." Rachel said with a sinister look on her face.

"I don't care about mine. I think it's cute and creative." Brooke said matter-factly

"No, it's not." Rachel laughed. "It's upsetting."

"Well, what is it?" I asked as the anticipation grew inside of me.

"Cherrypuss." Brooke smiled while still sucking on the half-finished lollipop she had.

"Cherrypuss?" I looked at her in confusion. "What does it mean?" I asked

"It's short for Cherry flavored pussy." Brooke smiled widely. My eyes widened at her explicit words.

"Why?!" I asked

"Oh, I'm telling this story," Rachel said, walking up to Brooke and grabbing the photo album from her lap, and flipping through the pages. "Before Brooke came here, she was a stripper. Her stage name was Cherrypuss." Rachel said before turning the photo album towards me to show a picture of very young Brooke dressed in all red lingerie and heels. Even her hair was bright red. She truly did look like a cherry. "She ate cherry lollipops every day and only wore red lingerie to work. You wouldn't catch her in anything else besides red." she began. "She's so crazy that she told everyone that her pussy tasted like cherries at one point." Although I tried to be respectful and not cackle at their hilarious stories, I couldn't help but laugh at this one.

"Men believed it too. It earned me a shit ton of tips." She shrugged and smiled at Rachel before turning her attention to me. "Hey, what are you laughing at, little bit," Brooke said, pointing at me. "I'm sure you have some embarrassing high school stories." Like everyone else, of course, I had embarrassing high school stories, but they weren't entertaining like Brooke and Rachels.

"Well, technically, I'm still in high school." I said, "I was supposed to graduate next month, but that's not seemingly possible, is it?" I chuckled humorlessly, completely killing the playful mood. I cursed myself for saying anything.

"Well, what about pictures? Do you have any funny pictures?" Brooke smiled, trying to lighten the mood again.

" Actually, Yes." I smiled brightly. The night I got taken, Avery and I attended that rich jock's party. At the party, a friend of Avery's had a polaroid camera that she was passing around. Of course, Avery jumped at the opportunity to take a picture of anything, so she forced me to take a picture with her. I remember once they had printed, Avery stuffed one in her pocket, and I stuffed the other in the back of my jeans pocket. I forgot I even had it still. I found the crumbled picture still in the tiny pocket of my jeans when I first got here. I kept it under my pillow the entire night I've been here. I look at it every day and sometimes hours at night. I never thought I would wish I was a party, but I do. Every night I wish I could turn back time and be back at that party with Avery. "Here is the only one I got. I wish I had more." I said, handing the picture to Brooke, and Rachel moved closer to see it.

In the picture, Avery was kissing my cheek while holding up the most aggressive middle finger I'd ever seen. It was already funny because she was half-drunk, but what made it funnier was the ridiculous look on my face as she unexpectedly planted the kiss on my cheek.

"Oh my god, Little bit." Brooke laughed. "You look so lost. Like Bambi." She cackled

"You look like a lost kid in a grocery store." Rachel laughed while holding her stomach.

"I was just surprised." I laughed

"I can tell." Brooke laughed.

"But who is that?" Rachel asked after sobering up and wiping her teary eyes.

"That's my best friend, Avery," I said softly, looking down at the picture.

"She's beautiful." Rachel said, looking at the picture.

"She is," I said

"She looks decked out." Brooke said, "She has a Cartier ring on."

"Yeah, she has a few," I chuckled. I knew what they were because Avery told me, or else I wouldn't know the difference. She gave me one for my birthday one year, and I wore it nonchalantly every day without knowing it. After telling me what it was, I decided to stop wearing it and lock it up for safekeeping.

"Well, you guys look really cute together." Rachel said, " I'm sure she misses you a lot."

"I'm sure she does." I smiled. "Sorry, I wish I had better pictures to show," I said once the mood had died down.

"This a great picture, little bit, and it going right into the community dorm album book." Brooke said, "You are officially part of the family." She smiled widely.

" and don't worry too much about the pictures. We are going to fill this album with pictures of us from now on." Rachel smiled.

"They'll be plenty of time for that." A voice said from the door. It was Tessa. She was leaning against the doorway with a deep scowl on her face.

"Oh hey, Tessa! We were just telling Harley about our nicknames. Why don't you tell her yours." Brooke clapped happily. She clearly didn't see the disdain on her face.

"No thanks, Brooke." Tessa fakely smiled. "I'm just here to talk to Harley."

"Why? Did something happen?" Rachel asked. I looked up at her in utter confusion at her words. What could she possibly have to talk to me about?

"Rumor has it you'll be here for a while." Tessa said, "A long while. Probably even after we all leave." She said. My heart dropped at her words. How did she even know that? It was a private conversation between the boss and me. No one was around, not even Henry.

"Is that true, Harley?" Rachel asked, "Did the boss tell you how long you'll be here?"

"N-no, not exactly." I said, "He wasn't specific, but it's true." I was only going to tell them if they asked, but Tessa beat me to it. I obviously wasn't going to say anything about my mom or even how I ended up here, so I hope Tessa doesn't know anything about that. I wanted to forget about it all and just silently work until my debt is paid off, but that was proving that it might be a challenge.

"I bet you like that, don't you?" she spat. Like? Tessa must believe that I want to work for the boss like her, but that is far from the truth. I would switch places with her in a heartbeat. Laying low was my main mission right now.

"Tessa, that couldn't be farther from the truth," I spoke up finally. "I honestly don't want any issues. I'm just going to do my job the best way I can so I can leave just like you guys."

"Yeah, Tessa. Stop stirring shit up. Leave her be." Rachel agreed. I turned to her and smiled lightly at her support.

"She started stirring shit up when she came here." Tessa scoffed and walked out of the room.

"Sorry about that," I said softly.

"Forget about it." Rachel said.

"Yeah, and since you're going to be here a while, I'll keep you entertained." Brooke smiled widely at me before leaning over and clasping her hands around me. I stiffened at first at the unexpected contact, but I felt more comfortable after a couple of seconds.

"By the ways, Harley, Don't ask questions; just do as your told and wait it out, Okay? One day, all your debt will be cleared out, and you'll be out of this hell hole". Rachel said with a concerned look sketched on her face.

"Thanks," I said, nodding my head, "to both of you." I smiled between Brooke and Rachel.

"Speaking of doing as I'm told. I better get to work." I said, slowly getting up from the bed. "I'll see you guys tonight." I waved before exiting the room to walk to the kitchen. I didn't rest much at all last night because of the long-lasting stomach ache I had. However, just thinking about seeing sir, made my stomach hurt a little more. I felt like I was on a permanent roller coaster, and I was waiting for the ride to end. Hopefully, the feeling will soon subside. The girls definitely made me feel more comfortable being here. Now I least I have something to look forward to while I'm here.

"Harley, forget breakfast. Just bring his coffee. The boss wants to see you ASAP." Henry stopped me before I could enter the kitchen. There goes that stomach pain intensifying. I nodded curtly and followed him towards the stairs.

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"Your coffee, sir," I said, placing the cup down in front of him. He didn't look up at me at all. His dark black hair was slick back neatly, and he had on a black button-up with a pair of black dress pants. Both stuck to his body amazingly. Even over his clothes, I could tell his body was a work of art. All his attention was focused on his phone; even when I walked in he didn't lift his head. I guess that it was a good thing he couldn't see me staring at him.

The funny feeling in my stomach had yet to subside, and this awkward silence wasn't helping it. Not sure of what to do or say, I decided that perhaps he wanted me to leave, so I turned around slowly to walk out, but I guess that was not the correct answer.

"Did I say you could leave?" He said, finally looking up at me. His voice made me shudder, not only in fear. I got chills every time he opened his mouth.

"N-no." I stuttered out at the sudden increase of noise in the room.

"Until I say you can leave, stay put." He said, returning his eyes to his phone. Minutes passed, and I was still standing there waiting for any instruction or command. I didn't dare move an inch no matter how much my heels burned from standing in such a manner. "Pack me a bag. I'll be flying out for some business. I'll be back tomorrow evening," he finally spoke.

"Yes, sir," I said, nodding my head quickly at his command. So he will be gone the rest of the day and half of tomorrow. I felt a spurge of relief knowing that he would be gone, so I would have time to figure out how to be calmer and less frightened from now on since I would have to grow used to be around this man all the time.

"Try not to sound so content." He said while never moving his eyes from the screen. Did I sound overly relieved? Just like yesterday, this man has proved he can read me too well. We've only been around each other for a couple of days, yet there was so much intensity in the air. I know that what happened yesterday made it worse, but I could feel the intensity even when I first saw him. "I have to be gone within the hour, so don't take too long," he said, turning his attention to the boujee watch on his wrist.

"Yes, sir. I'll get it done immediately." I nodded softly

"Good. You may go." He said after a couple of seconds of silence. I nodded lightly then proceeded to leave the room with a slight quickness. After leaving the office, I realized I didn't remember which room belonged to the boss. I tried to recall exactly what Henry had told me when he gave me the tour, but my mind was running around in fear during that entire time. Not only that, but every door besides sir's office looked exactly the same.

"It's the door on the right." I jumped at the sudden voice. "Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you." a voice emerged from the top of the stairs. He was tall with long black curly hair, quite handsome. He looked close to my age. Then it's when I realized that I had seen him before. When I was in that cell for what felt like a million years, he was the pervy guy that bought me food and water every day. Every time he came into my cell, he would eye me for a second before leaving. I didn't think much of it, but it's not like I could say anything about his creepy tendencies. He stayed outside my cell for the majority of the time, along with some other men I didn't recognize.

"Thank you. Evan?" I said, eyeing him suspiciously. Although I remember him, Henry has told me not many people were allowed up here because the boss is private. I only ever heard of Henry and Felipe living up here, nothing about Evan. I highly doubt that the boss would allow anyone up here randomly. I've only known him a short time, but I already knew he didn't operate like that.

"You remember. " he smiled.

"Yeah, I do." I smiled fakely. His entire vibe was eerie and alarming. He didn't even need to do anything.

"Well, it's nice to see you again, Harley." He said, " and like I said, it's the door to the right."

"T-Thanks for the help," I said, smiling back. Although the conversation only lasted all of two minutes, it left an icky feeling in me. I quickly turned my heels towards the door he had instructed me to go in to and jogged to it. He didn't walk away until I disappeared behind the door and into the room.

I could automatically tell that this was the boss's room indeed. It smelt like him, and everything in the room was so lavish and elegant. His bed was considerably large, but that didn't take away from how enormous the room was. The comforter, linens, and pillows were all black with gold trimmings. Pillows covered the majority of the bed, which made it looks even more desirable. There were black side tables with long curved legs and elaborate gold patterns around them, on each side of the bed. There were velvet black couches off to the side of the room, along with a huge tv hanging from the wall. I walked further into the room and examined it carefully. He must've been a very clean person because there wasn't even a speck of dust anywhere. Even the trash cans were empty of any trash and completely clean. I roamed the room a little more before happening in his closet. It was filled to the brim with suits and shoes of all colors but mostly black. He had an entire wall full of ties and lapel pins, mostly black, gold, and white. I've picked up that sir must really like the color black.

As I was looking around the closet, my eyes landed on a stack of various bags and suitcases. Without hesitation, I reached up to grab the cutest bag that I could find -- which happened to be on the very top of the stack. I pulled out one of the trunks that were buried underneath the racks of clothes and positioned myself on top to be able to reach far enough. I'm taking far longer than necessary to pack this bag with all the roaming around I was doing. I didn't want to piss sir off right now. With some extra haste, I reached up towards the bag as far as I could. My fingers grazed the side of it, but I felt myself falling backward off the trunk before I could fully grasp it. I tried to halt myself before falling, but It was far too late. I instinctively yelped out and shut my eyes as I waited for the impact of the floor, but it never came. Instead, two hands wrapped around my waist and pulled me towards them before I could hit the floor. The heat of this person's body was suffocating, and I could feel his muscles through whatever he was wearing. His hands kept a strong grip on my waist, making my skin tingle.

"You can open your eyes, Harley." The familiar voice said. My stomach almost dropped as I realized it was sir. —————-

Very long chapter!! Harley has bonded with the roommates a little. Tessa is still not feeling her. Harley gets a little clumsy, but she isn't alone.

How do we feel about this playful chapter?

How do we feel about Tessa and the other roomies?

How do we feel about Evan?