Chapter 1

My best friend was hunting me down like a maniac, totally desperate. On my phone, a string of missed calls and an unmistakable text from her:

“Hey, you crazy bitch! Pick up! I found a way to get you out of this shit!”

And damn… what a shit I was in! Unemployed, scraping by on odd jobs tutoring kids and praying my students paid on time. The problem? It never even covered the basics. My apartment was always dim and gloomy — not by choice, but because the power company loved reminding me every other month that the bills were overdue.

At college, I was a regular at the admin office every three months, begging for extensions so I wouldn’t get kicked out. The idea of graduating felt farther away than ever, since I could barely afford supplies, let alone the required internships.

I texted back as soon as I saw the message. She wanted to come over and spill about some scheme that had made her good money. I’d heard all about those miracle scams promising easy cash, and honestly, I felt bad for my friend. May was never the sharpest when it came to this stuff. What surprised me was that she’d actually made something off it.

Even without much interest, I said she’d be welcome. At least I’d have some company.

And then, she showed up.

She burst in like a hurricane, hugging me and tossing her bags on the couch. May was like that: a bundle of energy, especially when it came to screwing things up. She had a special talent for getting into trouble, and the worst part? She always told the story afterward like it was the funniest thing ever.

“Girl, check out this guy!”

She said it, her fingers flying over her phone as she shoved a profile in my face on Instagram.

The guy was a classic “rich boy flexing.” Loaded, full of pics skiing with hot people, surrounded by stunning women, always posing next to supercars. And holy shit… he was gorgeous! Just looking at those photos sent a warm tingle through my body.

“Okay, friend! Marrying a millionaire is still on my list, but I doubt this one’s gonna want me. Is this The Arrangement?”

“Don’t freak out, alright? Sit down…”

She was even more wired than usual, and that worried me.

I sat. From the buildup, I knew something big was coming.

And she kept going:

“You know that guy? Believe it or not… I hooked up with him!”

“No… way… in… hellllll!”

I yelled so loud I scared myself.

“Tell me how that happened! Where’d you find this Greek god?”

“So… here’s the thing, I know you’re gonna call me crazy.”

“Yeah, you are crazy. Now spill it!”

She laughed before going on:

“I was working an event at his place. He walked by, was super nice, asked for my number and said he had a job for me.”

“Fair enough so far. But what kind of job?”

“Escort, girl!”

“Escort what? Like a hooker?”

I was shocked.

“No, nothing like that! He just wanted me to go with him to the opening of one of his businesses. I’d stand by his side, just for show, you know? Like playing arm candy for a playboy. There were me and three other girls. The pay was good and, hey, no sex involved. So I said yes.”

“Got it… but skip to the good part! Did you sleep with him or not? Give me the details!”

“I didn’t, girl! Not that I didn’t want to…”

She laughed, fanning herself like she needed to cool off just from the memory.

“What do you mean? Why’d he want four women as company? Just to show off?”

“Who knows, probably! But what I wanna tell you comes next. When the event wrapped, he sent the other girls home and asked me to come back to his place. I wasn’t even the hottest of the four, but he picked me! I thought I’d hit the jackpot, but then shit got weird.”

“Weird how? Did he do something to you?”

“No, shut up and listen, damn it!”

“Okay, spill!”

“He invited me to his place, like I said. I showed up ready to get grabbed. I was already high-fiving myself in my head ‘cause I was gonna fuck that hunk! But then he poured some wine, we sat in the living room and, get this: we just talked!”

“What do you mean just talked? He invited you over just to chat?”

“Yeah. And you won’t believe the stuff he confided in me!”

“Spill it, girl!”

I was getting antsy with all the buildup.

“So… we started talking about sex. It came up super naturally, just flowed into it. Between some steamy chit-chat, he told me he had this fetish… wanted to hire someone for certain services, like roleplay. A bit BDSM vibe, but no slapping, no vinyl outfits, nothing over-the-top like that.”

“Oh my God… and how did my name come into this?”

As soon as she said it, I knew exactly where this was headed. And I started getting a little pissed at her.

“So… he said he didn’t want to hire a hooker, ‘cause that’s not his thing. His fetish is corrupting someone.”

“Of course, hot, rich, and sexy… easy for him.”

“Right! So I told him I knew someone who’d corrupt real easy for him.”

“Girl, are you nuts? You know that’s a crime, right? And you gave him my name?”

May paused in a way that worried me, took a deep breath, and said:

“Look, I’ll show you something. Grab your phone.”

She was typing on her phone while she talked. A few seconds later, my phone pinged.

“You sent me money?”

I checked the bank notification and my heart skipped a beat. It was a full month’s rent. With change.

“Crazy, what’s this money?”

“So… he said it’s just so you’ll hear his proposal. If you don’t want it, no big deal. The money’s yours, no need to give it back.”

“Girl, this sounds all kinds of wrong…”

Apprehension hit me hard.

I’d heard stories about rich guys with weird fetishes bankrolling women for favors. But from what I knew, those favors were always sexual. And even though he was drop-dead gorgeous, prostitution wasn’t on my agenda.

“Honestly, I don’t know what to tell you. You must be crazy. And now? I’m sending this money back and you can return it to him.”

That was my pride talking. But deep down, I was hoping she’d push back on returning it. I was totally screwed this month.

“Friend, if you send it back, it’ll just sit with me. And I know you need it bad. Doesn’t make sense! And real talk, you’d give it up to him for free anyway!”

She laughed, like selling my body was actually on the table.

“Girl, I’m not a pro hooker.”

“And if you were, he’d say no anyway. Friend, go for it! Take his number, text him that I put you in touch. He already knows your name and he’s waiting.”

The talk went on with her trying to convince me to at least hear the pitch. I knew the obvious reaction was to be pissed, but for real? I was so fucked I was considering it like a light at the end of the tunnel.

The issue wasn’t just saying yes or no. I was scared. Scared of where it might lead, scared for my safety. He could rape me. Could take a kidney and no one would ever know. It was a risk.

She noticed the vibe got weird and left early. Neither of us knew exactly what was going through my head. I tried to think rationally about it, but couldn’t. Until I decided to take it slow. Sending a text and talking on the phone wouldn’t kill me.

And so, I sent it.

“Hi, this is Luana, everything good? May, who worked for you, said there might be a job for me. Could you give me more details?”

The reply came quick.

“Luana, come to the address below tomorrow to sign a nondisclosure agreement. Your friend mentioned you’re a law student, so I assume you won’t have issues with that kind of document. Once signed, we’ll meet for more details. Tell the lawyer your travel expenses so they can be reimbursed. Good night.”

“A nondisclosure agreement?”

Now I was intrigued.

The address was a commercial building in the fanciest part of town. Only people with serious money had offices there. My dream was landing an internship in one of those spots.

Could he hook me up with an internship if I asked?

I was liking this story way too much, and that scared me.

Nervous and buzzing, I spent the whole night wide awake. And that’s how I ended up doing something I’d never imagined: stalking all his social media.

I wanted to figure out who this man was.

And deep down, I was already craving him.