She Accepted $10,000 to Kiss a Stranger—Then Discovered He Was the City's Most Feared Mafia Boss

The guard's warning was still ringing in Diane's ears when he pushed open the ballroom's side door.

Ravi Greedy.

The most feared mafia boss in the city.

She had just kissed him in front of hundreds of people. Then she had tried to run, and he had caught her wrist as though the room belonged to him and she had broken one of its rules.

Now the guard was steering her down a service corridor.

"Keep moving," he said.

"I'm moving. Please stop pushing me."

He let go of her elbow, but his contempt remained. Behind them, the ballroom doors swung shut, muffling the orchestra. Diane looked at the five thousand dollars folded inside her apron pocket. She had counted the bills when Catherine handed them over. They were real. So was the memory of Ravi's hand closing around her wrist.

A second guard escorted Catherine through another doorway. The blonde's sparkling red gown looked absurd beneath the fluorescent service lights. When she saw Diane, her expression changed from embarrassment to anger.

"You ruined it," Catherine hissed.

Diane stopped. "You said he'd enjoy the surprise."

"You were supposed to do what I paid you to do. Not tell him about me."

"He grabbed me. I was frightened."

Catherine glanced toward the guards. "Give me back my money."

Diane stared at her. "You promised ten thousand. You only gave me half."

"I don't remember paying you anything."

The words came so easily that Diane felt cold all over.

"You handed it to me beside the champagne station."

"Prove it."

Before Diane could answer, the service door opened again. Ravi stood in the doorway, still wearing his black tuxedo. His expression gave away nothing.

Catherine straightened immediately. "Ravi, darling, this has been an unfortunate misunderstanding."

"Don't call me that."

His voice was quiet. Both guards moved aside.

Ravi looked at Diane's reddened wrist. For a moment he seemed about to say something. Instead, he addressed the guards.

"Take your hands off her. And neither of you speaks to her again unless she asks a question."

The guard who had laughed at her lowered his eyes.

"She can leave?" Diane managed.

"Yes."

"And Catherine?"

"She is leaving the event. That is not your problem."

It did not sound like an apology. Diane didn't mistake it for one.

She backed away, walked to the staff changing room, and locked herself inside a cubicle. Only then did her legs begin to shake.

Her phone showed three missed calls from Sadi. Diane called back immediately.

"Are you coming home?" her sister asked.

"Soon. Have you eaten the pasta I left?"

"Yes. It was good. I saved you some."

Diane pressed a hand over her eyes. Her little sister had spent two years learning how to sound cheerful when the refrigerator was nearly empty.

"I'll be there," Diane said. "And Sadi? Don't worry about the dentist tonight."

"Did something happen?"

"Something complicated. I'll explain what I can when I get home."

When Diane stepped out, Nora Kim was waiting by the lockers. Nora had worked beside her at dozens of banquets. She noticed the stiff way Diane held her wrist.

"I saw Catherine give you the money," Nora said before Diane could speak. "I was clearing glasses. I couldn't hear every word, but I saw the bills."

Diane almost cried again, this time from relief.

"She says she never paid me."

"Then she's lying."

"Can you tell someone?"

"I'll tell the truth," Nora said. "But you should know Mr. Hale wants to see you."

Simon Hale, the banquet manager, stood in his office with a printed incident form. He had watched Diane work double shifts for months without once asking how she managed.

"There was an incident with a guest," he said.

"I know. I made a mistake."

"A prominent guest. And another guest has complained about missing cash."

Diane felt her pulse race. "Catherine Voss gave me five thousand dollars."

"That's a serious allegation."

"Nora saw it."

He lowered his gaze to the form. "Until we review this, you're suspended from the event roster. You'll be contacted."

"Suspended? I need my shifts."

"I can't discuss it tonight."

Diane wanted to tell him about the three months of overdue rent. About Sadi's crooked teeth and the classmates who laughed when she smiled. About studying after midnight because there was never enough time or money to become anything but exhausted.

Instead, she removed her name badge and placed it on his desk.

Outside, rain had begun to darken the pavement. Diane took the bus home, keeping the money deep inside her bag. She did not want a stranger to see it. She did not want to look at it herself.

Their apartment was small enough that Sadi heard the key turn from her bed. She appeared in the doorway wearing oversized pajamas and holding a school notebook.

"You're late," she said.

"I know."

"Did you work the big party?"

Diane nodded. "I did."

Sadi smiled carefully, hiding her teeth behind her lips.

The sight hurt more than anything Catherine had said.

After Sadi fell asleep, Diane spread the bills on the kitchen table and counted them twice. Five thousand dollars. It was more money than she'd ever held at once. Yet it was not the promised ten thousand. Their total need was ten thousand four hundred dollars, and the landlord had already warned her that the three months of unpaid rent couldn't wait indefinitely.

She found the rent notice beneath a school permission slip. Three thousand six hundred dollars overdue. Paying it would leave fourteen hundred for food, utilities, school expenses, and a dental treatment plan that cost far more.

Diane put the money away again.

Then her phone lit up.

It was a link from Nora. Someone at the ball had posted a photograph of the kiss. Beneath it, an anonymous account claimed a waitress had forced herself on a wealthy guest and demanded money afterward.

Diane enlarged the picture. Her frightened face was visible. Ravi's hand was around her wrist. In the background, Catherine stood smiling.

But the words underneath made Diane look like a thief.

Sadi's bedroom door was only a few feet away. Tomorrow, the story could reach her school. The hotel might never call Diane back. And Catherine, who had already lied once, could say almost anything she wanted.

Diane stared at the photograph until her screen dimmed.

She had thought the worst part was discovering who Ravi Greedy was.