Heartbreak Me (Heartbreak Duet 1)

I should be searching for a job, but my mind won’t allow me to do anything. So, I do just that into the afternoon. Nothing. My cell rings, breaking the monotony, and I answer.

“Thea… I don’t know how to do this. Please come back.”

“She fired me, Marissa, you know I can’t. You can do it. And if you’re having any troubles, ring Chloe, I’m sure she can guide you through it,” I tell her, which is hard, but this isn’t my problem anymore.

“I have repeatedly called her, and when she bothered to answer she was either too busy or didn’t care about anything I had to say. How does she not care that her business is failing without you here?”

“Marissa, I would love to help you, but I just can’t. I can’t give that company any more energy that it doesn’t deserve of me. You get it, right?”

She pauses with a sigh. “Yeah, I do.” She says no more, simply hangs up.

I feel bad, but I am no longer their pawn to use and abuse.

Jumping on my computer, I finally decide it’s time to get my résumé up to scratch and spend the afternoon emailing it out to every job availability I can possibly find, and even to contacts who might have something for me.

When a knock comes on my door, I ignore it. The only person who could be knocking is him, and I don’t want to talk to him. He is the last person I want to communicate with.

“Theadora…”

Okay, that’s a girl’s voice.

I get up from my couch and open the door. Atlas’s girl with the glasses is standing there, her eyes downcast as she reads something on her cell. When she looks up, she looks relieved at first, then angry. “Were you planning to ignore me?”

“Yes,” I answer with a fake smile.

“Okay, well, thank you for your honesty, I guess. But I didn’t come here to be sassed.” She hands me a piece of paper and smiles before she turns to leave.

“What is this?”

“Your instructions are on the card.” She walks off, and I tear open the card.

When I open it, I see it is an invitation, and it says it’s a requirement.

Fuck!

Dress is fancy, and he asks me to wear heels. A car will be here to pick me up in a few hours.

I’ve never gotten an invitation before. Closing the front door, I contemplate how I should try and get out of it, but I know better.

I need my sister back.

And once I have her, Atlas Hyde will no longer be in my life.

Atlas doesn’t come to collect me. Some man does, and he asks for my cell before I climb in the car. I clutch it, unsure if I should give it to him or not. I sure as shit don’t want to.

“No cell phones are allowed, miss. This is not negotiable.”

The rebellious part of me wants to scream ‘no’ at him, and that he can get fucked. Instead, I place my cell in his hand, which he then places in the car, before he comes back and opens my door for me. “If you would, miss.”

I do as I am told, and find no one in the car. We drive for what feels like hours before we come to a stop at an airstrip. When the driver opens my door, I see a few other girls dressed similarly to me.

“Please go and wait with the girls.” He gestures to them, and I do as he says, walking over to them. They all chatter, and when I reach them, they stop.

One girl, another blonde, walks over to me. “Hey, I’m Ruby.” She offers me a shy smile with a wave of her hand.

I have no idea if I should give her my real name or what. So decide to err on the side of caution and only give her my partial name. “Thea,” I tell her.

“So, you are new. I have never seen you at one of these before.”

“One of what?” I ask.

The plane’s door opens, and a few girls start walking the stairs.

“You know… Mr. Hyde’s functions. They are legendary, and the tips are worth every dirty thing you do. Trust me.” She winks as I follow her up the stairs.

“What is it that you do?” I ask, confused.

She laughs, and she fobs me off. “You’re funny… I like you.”

I nod, unable to say or do anything else until we enter the plane, and when we do, a few guys are already seated in their seats. It’s a private plane, and one of the biggest I have ever seen. Each chair is like a private recliner, and the few men who are sitting on here stare at us with hungry eyes.

“Ruby,” I say, leaning in.

She smiles and turns to face me. “Yeah?”

“Where are we going?”