Anna was your typical hardworker,but luck was never on her side. She was a plus size black woman just trying to get through all the obstacles life threw at her but that night her Landlord had called her declaring that she'd be kicked out if he didn't get his rent that night, which left her desperate and broken. She tried to hold it in but ended up crying during her break time.
Anna hated crying at work, but the night had wrung her dry. Her wrists ached from carrying trays, her head pounded, and her landlord's text sat on her phone like a bomb.
The neon lights of Blue Ember Bar hummed above her as she wiped her cheeks fast.
Then he walked in.
Tall. Broad. Confident in a way you can't fake.
He slipped onto a stool like the room shifted for him automatically.
Anna swallowed. "Can I get you something?"
He didn't answer. He just watched her.
Then—softly, too softly—
"You crying?"
"No."
"Shame," he murmured. "You look beautiful when you cry."
She froze. He didn't say it like he was teasing her. He said it like he meant it.
"Don't say weird things," she muttered.
He smirked. "Sorry, darling."
Her heart skipped. "It's… Anna."
"Lucas," he said. "Nice to meet you."
And everything changed.
He tipped more than the drink cost. Then tipped again. Then again.
"That's three payments," she said.
"One for the drink. One for the service."
He slid his phone gently across the counter.
"And one if you ever need something."
She stared at him, confused, embarrassed, hopeful. All at once.
"I'm not trying to buy you," he said softly. "Just offering support. If you want it."
She didn't know why she put his number in her phone.
But she did.
Under: Lucas 💸
And something dangerous began.