Chapter 2

A few days passed with no word from Ethan.

But half a month later, I made an excuse to seek him out.

It started with that girl Mandy getting her head smashed with a bottle.

The man who hit her was called Harvey, a regular at Horizon. We usually called him Mr. He.

That's right, he was a rich second-generation heir. And he was infamous in the city for his arrogance.

When I rushed over after hearing the news, I pushed open the door to see Mandy crouched on the ground clutching her head, blood seeping through her fingers.

Tina and the others stood to the side, faces pale, not daring to make a sound.

Seeing me enter, the young heir narrowed his eyes and sneered:

"Ava, am I short on cash or stingy with tips? Why the hell are you sending me these prudes? Playing hard to get when I'm trying to drink with them. Who do they think they are, trying to act all chaste in a place like this?"

I didn't need to guess what happened. Keeping a smile on my face, I went over to help Mandy up. "I'm so sorry Mr. He, we've ruined your good time. Please don't be angry, we can talk this out. Let me call someone to take the girl to the hospital first. That bottle was no joke."

Chris and the others who had rushed over took Mandy away. I gestured for Tina and the rest to leave too, leaving only myself and the floor manager Ryan to smooth things over.

I've known Ryan for over a decade, back when Frank was just starting out in the city.

He was about the same age as Frank, a gruff man in his late 30s. For him, this kind of scene was nothing new.

Good-naturedly, Ryan chatted with Harvey for a bit, then said: "The girl was out of line, she definitely needs more training. But Mr. He, we're living in a society of law and order now. Hitting people is still not right, no matter what."

Harvey was young and arrogant. He retorted dismissively: "I was just trying to scare her. Who knew she'd be dumb enough not to dodge. Fine, I hit her - I'll pay the medical bills, that's that."

Rich people are always so fearless. I smiled and said: "Mr. He, that blow was no joke. It's a concussion at the very least. The bill won't be less than $70-80,000."

"What? How much did you say?" Harvey looked at me like he'd heard a joke, laughing coldly. "You think you can just name a price? Who do you think you are?"

"Who I am doesn't matter. What matters is that you'll be paying not just medical bills, but emotional damages too. If the poor girl is traumatized for life, that shadow will follow her forever."

I smiled calmly as I watched his face grow increasingly dark. Then I added: "If Mr. He thinks the price is too high, how about I call Frank and let him discuss it with you?"

I've said before, in this city, mentioning Frank's name always inspires a degree of fear.

Harvey stared at me, his expression flickering between anger and uncertainty. Finally he let out a laugh. "Fine, whatever price you name. I've got plenty of money. Next time if I accidentally hit you on the head, we'll use the same rate to settle up."

The threat in his words was clear. I just smiled silently as I looked at him.

Ryan frowned first. "Mr. He, you can't say things like that."

Harvey laughed heartily. "It's just a joke, why so serious? Ava's no ordinary woman, how could I dare touch her? Would Frank let me off if I did?"

He was right. He wouldn't dare touch me. Everyone knew that Ava, the sales manager at Horizon, was under Frank's protection.

In fact, many people booked rooms through me as a way to get on Frank's good side.

Ryan drove me to the hospital.

Tina was crying when she saw me: "I'm so sorry Ava, I didn't know Room 503 was Harvey's. He came late, and when he arrived he specifically asked for Mandy to drink with him. There was nothing I could do no matter what I said."

She felt very guilty. When Mandy first started, I had repeatedly instructed Tina to only let her into rooms with familiar, well-behaved clients until she got used to the work.

There were clear finger marks on Tina's face from being slapped, no doubt by Harvey as well.

I patted her shoulder reassuringly. "It's alright. Look on the bright side - now Mandy will have money to pay for her dad's medical bills."

Mandy wasn't seriously hurt. The diagnosis was a moderate concussion, requiring a few days in the hospital.

As I expected, she was quite willing to settle privately.

No one turns down money.

Especially such a large sum.

After leaving the hospital, I went straight home. Checking the time, it was almost midnight.

After some thought, I called Ethan at this hour.

I had found his number on the law firm's official website.

When he picked up, his voice was cool and low as usual, with a hint of annoyance at being woken up:

"Hello, who is this?"

"Mr. Yates, this is Ava from Horizon Nightclub."

"..."

Ethan didn't speak. He seemed to have woken up fully, falling into a brief silence.

I laughed lightly. "I'm sorry, one of our girls was just assaulted. I wanted to consult you on whether we can press criminal charges for intentional injury."

"Where are you right now?"

"Um, I just got home from the hospital."

I stood by the floor-to-ceiling windows, gazing out into the dark night. A smile slowly curved my lips. "I don't know if you could come over at this hour. I can tell you all the details of what happened."

About half an hour later, in the dead of night, Ethan arrived as requested.

When I opened the door wearing a lace camisole dress and holding a bottle of wine, he raised an eyebrow, as if expecting this.

I smiled too, my damp hair falling loosely around my ears. I raised the wine bottle. "Want a drink?"

"I don't drink."

"Oh? What happens if you do?"

He gazed at me intently, moving closer to grip my waist. Lowering his head to my ear, he let out a soft laugh. "I go crazy."