Chapter 4 The Offer
He reminded himself that he could do it.
That it was still work. That he could go into that club night after night, serve the liquor, accept the money, and leave unscathed.
But as he thrust through those black and gold doors once more, that fragile deception began to give way.
The club pulsed with an energy that always left him feeling restless. Warm light danced across the marble floors, while the chandeliers cast a soft golden glow on the velvet couches and mirrored walls. The music throbbed steadily, like a heartbeat filling the air. Everywhere, there was a sense of wealth and secrets lurking just out of sight, and every laugh seemed forced, as if people were careful not to be overheard.
Kai tied his apron on autopilot, his hands moving from habit. Pour, serve, smile, repeat it was a routine he'd mastered. He tried not to think or feel, but tonight felt different, The air was thick with tension, the lights too bright. Even before he saw Adrian he knew he was there.
That creepy pull the one that could always find Kai even in a crowd thrummed like static under his skin.
And then he appeared.
Adrian Veyra.
The shift was immediate. Conversations dimmed; heads turned without meaning to. The crowd parted slightly as if instinctively making space, He moved through the room with that same impossible calm tailored suit, precise posture, a man who didn't need to demand attention because it always came to him.
Kai's breath caught, his pulse stumbling.
He told himself not to glance. He'd already known by now, that even a look was dangerous. But his eyes betrayed him anyway, stuck like metal to a magnet.
Adrian wasn't staring at him yet. He was standing beside one of the exclusive booths, chatting with two women and another man. Their laughter was muffled, polite, suppressed. The kind from individuals who bargained behind smiles.
Kai focused on buffing glasses that were already spotless, reorganizing bottles that didn't need to. Anything to prevent seeing Adrian.
But the awareness did not fade. It was as if feeling a storm approach, slow and deliberate.
Some minutes passed by. The music was no longer discernible. Then, in the sea of faces in the room, Adrian's gaze rose and met his.
It wasn't flashy no nod, no smile. It was merely a quiet moment. But Kai felt it like a slap. His grip on the glass tightened until it was in danger of slipping.
Adrian addressed his other friends, too low for Kai to hear. Then he began to walk toward the bar.
Every step seemed deliberate.
"Kai," Adrian called him when he got there.
Only his name in a low tone, but the way it came out was not like anyone else pronouncing it exact measured. It was not a query, it was not relaxed, It was like Adrian had carefully selected the word, qas though trying the word's balance.
Kai blinked. "Yes, sir?" His tone emerged coarse, more than he intended.
Adrian's eyes rested, "Come here" he said.
Confusion crossed his face. He looked at the other bartender for a tip, but the man shook his head and smiled halfheartedly in that good luck kind of manner.
Kai hesitated a beat too long before he emerged from behind the bar. Adrian escorted him over to the other side, a quieter alcove in between two pillars. The club noise was muffled, and laughter was softened by distance.
Adrian didn't touch him, but the nearness was enough to make Kai's pulse race. The air around him felt charged, too thin.
"You're working too hard for too little," Adrian said.
Kai frowned, unsure if it was a compliment or a criticism. "I don't understand."
Adrian looked at him, chin cocked, eyes sharp but not ungenerous. How much do they pay you here? Enough to cover your rent? Enough to buy those paint tubes you're out of?
Kai's heart skipped a beat. His fists curled into his hands. "How do you…"
Adrian held up a hand, silencing him with the slightest gesture. "You wear your life on your face, Kai. You're not like the others in here. You don't know how to hide the things that hurt you."
The words sound too true. Kai turned his back. It's only work. I need it.
Adrian's tone softened in small measure, though control never left his voice. I could give you better.
Kai remained tense.
It took him a moment to catch the words. When he did, his heart pounded faster. Better?
Adrian's eyes never blinked. Private work. Fewer hours. Higher pay. No late nights waiting on people who don't even know your name.
Kai's breath hitched. The proposition sounded almost too good. Too kind. Too tidy. Why me? he asked.
Something flickered in Adrian's face, a small, unreadable shift. "Because you caught my eye."
Kai's throat tightened. He wished he could say something to him, but his words tangled.
Adrian produced from his coat a black card with silvery lettering, placed it between two fingers, and held it up. The action was fluid, unmarred. "Think about it," he said, "If you want it call the number, If you don't, keep trying until you exhaust yourself."
Kai looked at the card. His torso was motionless, but his thoughts raged. The edges of the world seemed to blur away leaving only that card between them.
He did not grab it yet. His hand flinched, then dropped back to his side.
Adrian's eyes softened just a little, "No rush, he said. "But don't wait forever."
And then, just as suddenly as he had appeared, Adrian turned and vanished into the crowd once more.
Kai stood still.
The card glowed on the counter under the golden lighting, reflecting catches off the chandeliers. A plain piece of paper, yet denser than steel.
He hesitated, feeling his way out with his fingers brushing against the cold surface before he could grasp it at all. It was smooth, slippery almost, the lettering raised in pale silver. He thrust it into his pocket in a hurry, as if someone would catch him and ask him why he couldn't.
Even when it was concealed, it burned against him like a secret.
The rest of the night passed in fragments. Drinks, laughter, music. His body moved on autopilot while his mind looped around a single thought, Private work. More money. Why me?
By the time his shift ended, Kai's nerves were stretched thin, the moment he stepped outside, the night air hit him like water. Cold, clean, sobering, He inhaled deeply as though he'd been holding his breath for hours.
The streets glittered dimly with the traces of rain earlier, puddles of water reflecting the city lights. He stuffed his hands into his pockets, his fingers brushing against the card.
He couldn't get over the tone Adrian had when speaking his name. How certain he'd sounded as if the invitation was not a question but a fact.
He arrived at his apartment complex, and Mara stood before his door, her arms crossed tightly.
"Kai," she said sharply. You scared me. I was going to call you.
He blinked, startled. Mara? What are you doing here?
I came over to check on you, she said, shaking out her braid. You've been… different. And that building… She shivered. I don't like it. You shouldn't be working there.
He sighed, fending off his keys. "It's just a job. I can do it."
Her eyes narrowed. You can? You look ill. Like you haven't slept in days.
Kai tried a weak grin. "That's because I haven't."
She didn't grin. I'm telling you the truth. Whatever is going on, it's changing you.
He didn't respond. In the apartment, she followed him to the tiny table in front of the window, his makeshift work space scattered with dropped brushes and spent paint tubes.
Mara curled up, watching him silently. "Something did happen tonight, didn't it?"
Kai faltered. The card burned in his pocket. He almost said it. Almost reached into the soft suede of his pocket and produced the smooth black rectangle that felt like promise and snare.
But he didn't.
He couldn't.
If he said anything, she'd lose it. She'd get him out of that scene, period and for some reason he didn't want to yet.
"Nothing happened," he muttered "Just a long shift."
Mara's jaw tightened. She didn't believe him, but she didn't push either "Fine," she said after a moment. "But promise me you'll be careful, Kai Please."
He nodded, though the word *promise* felt heavy on his tongue.
When she finally left, the apartment fell silent. The faint hum of the city seeped through the window, distant but constant.
Kai sat at the table, staring blankly at the paintbrushes scattered everywhere and the cold coffee from breakfast. His hand seemed to move independently, pulling out the card from his pocket. He placed it in front of him on the table. The card was black, glossy, and sleek, Adrian's name was subtly printed on it catching the light. Beneath his name, a single phone number stood out, plain and simple.
His thumb trailed over the letters.
All he had to do was call.
He imagined Adrian's voice on the phone cool, calm, that reserved power which did not have to raise itself in order to be obeyed. He imagined what that *private work* was. Assistant? Model? Something else? Not knowing scared him and drew him in.
The card quivered in the quiet.
He lifted his phone, thumb resting over the numbers.
His heart pounded.
Then he banged the receiver down, the ringing resounding in the quiet. "No," he breathed.
Not yet.
He forced the card into the drawer, tucking it under loose drawings and bills. But even while he did, he could feel it like it pulsed softly beneath the paper, waiting.
That night he didn't sleep much. whenever he came awake, Adrian's face flashed behind his eyes the calm confidence, the gravity of his words.
When morning came, Kai was alert.
The next night, Kai tried to act normal. He exchanged polite smiles, firm handshakes, and kept his gaze moving avoiding the door. But his routine didn't shield him from the sense of Adrian's arrival. He could feel the subtle change in the air, the ripple of awareness that spread through the room like ripples on water.
Kai looked up before he realized he did.
Adrian stood on the opposite side of the bar, talking to someone with that same easy peace. But his eyes landed on Kai right away.
It wasn't a stern look. It didn't have to be.
Adrian's lips curled not even a smile, but almost. A small incline of the head, as in a soft question.
*Did you call?*
Kai's heart caught up. He shook his head barely, but enough.
Something flickered in the back of Adrian's eyes, not disappointment exactly. More amusement. Interest. Like a man observing a puzzle fail to solve itself.
Then he glanced away, his attention wandering easily to someone else.
But Kai was aware.
He'd been selected again. Seen again. And this time, he wasn't sure if he wanted to escape it.
All evening, the recollection lingered: the offer, the threat, the promise.
When he returned home hours later, the card still hidden inside his drawer burned in his mind like a secret he was not yet ready to plant or to put into action.
For at his very core, Kai already knew something that he could not say.
Adrian Veyra did not make frivolous propositions.
And whatever this was, whatever the future held he was already a part of it, whether he liked it or not.
To Be Continued