3. CHAPTER 3

CHAPTER 3

Chyler

“Chyler,” the barista called my name, and I approached the counter to pick up my caramel macchiato. I usually order an iced chai latte, but I was craving caramel today, so I went with my second favorite drink on their ever-changing menu.

While I’ve always enjoyed a good coffee, I found I gravitated more towards energy drinks for my caffeine needs. The higher the caffeine level, the better. But Madison is more of the coffee type, and I wasn’t going to say no to her request for it today.

“Madison.” Madison picked up her drink and followed me as we left the crowd of patrons waiting for their orders to be made. She loved her black coffee, which always made me wonder why she even bothered coming here instead of just making it at home. However, she said she preferred Caribou to any other, so here we are.

With our drinks in hand, we walked onto the front patio that ran along the sidewalk. We found an available table in the corner, away from the doors. It was more of a makeshift patio than a proper one, but I wasn't going to complain. It was better than being stuck inside on such a beautiful day.

We both sat down, placed our bags on the ground next to our chairs, and gazed across the street to the sculpture park. The grass was lush and green, and this park, in particular, was used for art displays sponsored by the local art gallery. There were multiple large sculptures spread throughout; they were beautiful and attracted a lot of tourists to the area.

“So.” Madison sipped her coffee and clicked her tongue. Here she goes, poking and prodding into my life again. She was my best friend, but goddamn, did she get on my nerves from time to time.

“So?” I echoed.

“Are you going to tell me more about the delicious piece of man candy that I saw leaving your apartment this morning, or will I have to make up my own story?” She would too, and then tell Alexis all about it. She licked her upper lip of the foam from her drink and raised a blonde brow. With the level of imagination she had when it came to sex, I swear she could write a book.

I chuckled, shaking my head at her and then letting out a long sigh. “There isn’t much to tell. We went out last night, got drunk, and I decided—after you and Alexis abandoned me for those twins—that I was going to take my dessert to-go.”

If I remember correctly, Alexis wanted to take both of them home herself, but Madison challenged her, and they both disappeared onto the dance floor with them. The bar we were at had a DJ playing and free drinks for ladies from ten to midnight, so we were pretty lit up by the end of it.

“First of all, we didn’t abandon you, and secondly, those twins were not as entertaining as they should’ve been. We found out after you had left that they were in the bar with fake IDs.” She cringed.

“Is that so? Was that before or after you took them home?” I couldn't help but cover my mouth to suppress a laugh. The twins looked young, but I didn't think they were that young. They wanted to play a game of "pick me" and I'm glad I didn't participate. I dodged a bullet there.

“Yep, they were practically babies. And no, we didn’t take them home because they got busted and escorted out by the bouncer. It was actually quite embarrassing. We left shortly after once we noticed you had already left.” She blew out a breath and took another sip of her coffee.

“So what you are really saying is that I made out like a bandit last night with Jake, and you are jealous of me.” I gave her a saccharine smile. She wasn’t jealous; she couldn’t care less, but I always liked to rile her up when I could. It was always fun to mess with her.

“Oh, hold on,” she leaned forward and held her hand up, “you remembered his name this time? Well done, girl. Now that’s a step in the right direction. I’m so proud of you.” She placed her hand on her chest, and I rolled my eyes. Touché . “At this rate, you will have your first serious boyfriend in—” she checked her phone, “another two years.” Again, she wasn’t wrong; I never remembered their names after the fact. I was surprised that I still remembered Jake's name; it must be because it is such a common name.

“Keep pushing me, Mads, and I will never claim a man just to spite you.” I gestured toward her with my cup as I reclined in my seat, took another sip of my coffee, and then shifted my gaze back to the sculpture garden across the street.

Madison sighed and leaned back in her chair. Her long, white-blonde hair was pulled back in a ponytail, and she wore black aviator sunglasses today.

We have been best friends since high school. Her family took me in as adoptive parents when I was only fifteen. My parents died in a tragic accident one night, leaving me with no known extended family to take care of me.

Fortunately, Madison's parents were looking to adopt as they had struggled to conceive her, and she had always wanted a sibling. Even at fifteen, she didn't care about the age gap; she was just tired of being an only child. We became instant friends when I was placed in her home. She had always wanted a sister, and when I showed up, she got exactly what she wanted, even more so because I was her age.

Their original plan was to have a baby, but her parents felt the age gap would be too wide. I owe everything to her and her parents. They loved me as if I were their own. I never spoke about the accident with any of them, even Madison. For the most part, I just switched myself off. I still remember how numb I felt that night. It's just another reason why it’s been so hard for me even to consider loving anyone the way my parents loved each other. I have been switched off for half of my life.

I still think about my parents and their love for each other. I had once dreamed of having a passionate and never-ending love like theirs. They would have died for each other if given the choice. But after having them ripped away from me so quickly, that dream quickly burned to ash. And while I loved Madison like a sister and her parents as my own, it is not the same as the love I felt for my parents.

I would have burned the world to the ground to save them.

Now, I feel absolutely nothing. I still remember the shell of a child that was dropped off at their doorstep. Her parents were always concerned that I never truly grieved the loss and that one day, I would snap. But I never did and still haven’t.

After high school, Madison and I went our separate ways for college. She moved to Minnesota while I headed west to Nevada. We stayed in touch through texts and video calls. Her parents living in Wisconsin made it an easy choice for her, but I needed to leave the Midwest. I was born and raised there, and I didn’t feel the need to stay any longer.

After graduating, I chose to return to Minnesota to be near her. Although living on my own in Nevada was enjoyable at first, the excitement eventually faded, and I longed to be closer to her. Even though we're not related by blood, we are sisters at heart.

When I relocated to Minneapolis, I contacted Madison, and she promptly helped me secure a job at her workplace. She mentioned that there had been a vacant position for quite some time. That was three years ago, and here we are now, drinking coffee at our favorite spot before work.

I initially hesitated to work with her, thinking we would spend too much time together, but that wasn’t the case. She never really talked about her job or specifically what she did; it was always vague. I was going in blind when she brought me in for an interview, but now we make the best team, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Madison keeps me grounded.

“Well, look at these two gorgeous bitches, basking in the late morning sun. I see my invitation for coffee was lost.” A smooth voice emanated from the woman standing before our table, blocking my sunlight. She dropped her oversized handbag with a thud on the ground beside me. Her shoulder-length, dirty blonde hair was half up and held back with a small clear clip. She dragged a chair from the table next to us, not caring if anyone was using it, and plopped down beside me.

“Hello, Lex, to what do we owe the pleasure?” I tilted my head at her.

Alexis and her sassy personality. I met her when I started working with Madison. It took us a while to get along, but eventually, we did, and now we are just as close as I am to Madison. I still remember when we first met, and we got into the biggest catfight over nothing—well, it wasn’t nothing, but it wasn’t anything worth fighting over either.

It was over a guy.

I won.

“What? I can’t participate in your morning coffee ritual anymore?” She huffed and crossed her arms over her chest.

“With how I had to practically carry you into your apartment last night, I assumed you would be completely hung over and sleeping the entire day away. Besides, didn’t you have to prepare things for our meeting today?” Madison sat a little straighter in her chair, setting her cup on the table and pulling out her phone.

“Oh please, you know me. I don’t get hangovers, and I already have our job assignments covered for tonight at The Landing. We will get the rest of the details in—” she checked her watch for the time, “about twenty minutes. So get up and off your asses before we are late.” She patted her hand on my leg and stood up, grabbing her oversized handbag. Considering how large it was, it was more of a backpack than a handbag.

Madison and I cursed, jumping out of our chairs and picking up our bags. The three of us then made our way down the block and across the street to the hotel, where our work meetings were held.

Upon entering the hotel’s main doors, we were met with a gust of cool, crisp air, sending a shiver down my spine. The lobby of this hotel was massive, a large open space with a round fountain in the center, overflowing with various species of white flowers that perfumed the air and battled the chlorine smell of the fountain water. This hotel screamed luxury but was sorely out of place in this city.

Alexis pressed the call button for the elevators and stepped back as we waited for one to descend to the lobby floor. One of the doors behind us opened with a chime, and we stepped inside. As soon as we did, Madison blocked another couple who tried to enter and gave them a stern glare. We didn't want to waste time stopping at other floors, so we often asked people to leave the elevator.

“Sorry, this one is full; you’ll need to grab the next one,” Alexis said over Madison’s shoulder.

As they retreated, the couple mumbled something under their breath, and the doors closed before us. Alexis took out a sleek black card from her bag, held it against the card reader, and pressed the penthouse button.

Once we reached the top floor of the extravagant hotel, the doors opened, and we stepped out into the main foyer of the penthouse suite, where Simon, the caretaker, greeted us.

“Miss Tate, Miss Scott, and Miss Lochlan,” He quickly bowed as he approached us, gesturing down the hallway leading to the open living room with floor-to-ceiling windows. “It's lovely to see you ladies again. Please follow me.”

Simon was an older gentleman. If I could have guessed—by his salt and pepper hair—I would say he was at least in his seventies.

We followed his direction and stepped down into the sunken living room. I strode over to the large, white leather sectional and made myself comfortable, grabbing a fluffy pillow from behind me and placing it in my lap to hold. Madison followed suit, sitting next to me and crisscrossing her legs on the couch; she sunk back into the pillows as Alexis sat on the other side of her.

“Can I get you ladies anything before your meeting?” Simon asked.

“Just a water, please,” I answered, the girls chiming in after me.

“Same here. ”

“And here.”

“I shall return momentarily with your drinks.” He bowed his head and left the room. He returned shortly with three tall, slim glasses and passed one to each of us. I licked my lips and took a sip, then set my drink on a coaster in front of me when I finished. After that, I leaned back into my seat as Simon took his leave with a final bow and exited the room.

In the center of the large, dark wood coffee table was a sleek black phone with no dial pad and just one single button on the bottom right corner. Shortly after Simon had left, the phone rang, and the white button lit up.

We often joked about how ridiculous our meetings were. They were like something out of a movie, and every now and then, we would mess with our employer to get a rise out of them—kind of like today. I looked at Alexis and Madison briefly before leaning forward and pressing the flashing button on the console.

The three of us answered the call in unison, “Good morning, Charlie.”

I couldn't help but smirk. She always loathed it when we teased her. There was a moment of silence, and then an aggravated sigh came from the speaker.

“Once again, it’s Charlotte, not Charlie. I swear to god, if the three of you call me Charlie again, you are all being suspended without pay. It’s not fucking funny anymore.”

“That would require you to actually pay us , Charlotte ,” Alexis replied amusedly .

“You don’t get paid until the job is done, and Roman Atwater is still alive and breathing at this time. Exactly what our Client doesn’t want.” She clipped.

“Remind me again why he is so important to our Client. There are plenty of corrupt monsters in the pharmaceutical industry; what makes him so special?” I asked as I shifted my sitting position, extending one leg to the floor and propping the other up, resting my chin on my knee.

“The drug he stole from the private lab in Europe is designed to rewire the mesolimbic dopamine pathway of the brain, targeting addiction. As far as I’ve been told, the Client wants this drug back and Roman dead for the theft.”

“Excuse me? To rewire the what?” I furrowed my brow in confusion. I hated it when they used unfamiliar words. Just provide me with simple and clear information so that I can understand it the first time without needing it to be repeated.

“She’s saying that he stole a drug that rewires the reward circuit of the brain, essentially eliminating a person’s addiction and physical cravings,” Madison spoke in awe. “It’s quite impressive, actually; the thought of a world free from addiction is revolutionary.”

Madison, a nurse, always had a strong interest in anything medical-related. Given her competence, I was surprised that she never pursued a career in the pharmaceutical industry.

“Thank you, Madison. As I was saying, our client needs him eliminated before the end of the year. That is when his clinical trials are said to be completed, and he plans to release this product to the US market for consumer access. I’ve already briefed Alexis on your roles for tonight, and she has gone ahead and taken care of everything you will need to be successful.”

Alexis passed us our briefing sheets as Charlotte continued to speak.

“You three will be working undercover at The Landing as members of the staff. A rumor is circulating that another one of Roman’s lab employees will be there tonight, attempting to make a product drop-off and close an existing business deal on his behalf. You are to go in there and detain him for questioning as to Roman’s current whereabouts, as well as securing the product they intend to hand off. Roman has been off the grid for the past three months, and we are losing momentum in finding him.”

That was the most stressful part of our current assignment. The Client wants Roman Atwater, but we haven’t been able to find him. Every employee we’ve questioned—tortured—has been a dead end. They either don’t know where he is, and we kill them, or they are so loyal that they refuse to give us the information we need—and we kill them.

“It seems simple enough of a job for tonight.” I skimmed through my briefing document. It seemed straightforward; the only problem was obtaining the information we had been working on. I was becoming really tired of all these dead ends. To me, they had been a total waste of our time.

“Get us the information we need to nail Roman’s balls to the wall. If not that, at least get that product in our hands. Either of those will be a win for us tonight.”

“We will update you once we have completed our assignment,” Madison said.

“Do not disappoint me, girls. If Roman succeeds with releasing this product into the US market, there is a lot more at stake than just your paychecks. You will have hell to pay. This Client isn’t fucking around, and neither am I.”

With that, the phone went dead, and the tension in the room dissolved into nothing. We had our next job, and tonight could easily lead to a good mix of business—and — pleasure. The Landing is an upscale and exclusive nightclub in the heart of the city, and we were gaining easy access to it for the night—sure, as employees, but still, we had a way inside for once.

I've been living here with Madison for three years, but we still haven't had the chance to enjoy this club. No matter how attractive you looked, they were extremely strict about who they allowed inside. You could wait in line outside for hours and still not get in.

We attempted once, and after waiting for four hours, we just said, “fuck it,” and went to a nearby bar instead. We never attempted to get in there again.

“Would you quit fidgeting already?” Alexis growled and roughly jerked me toward her as we started getting dressed for our assignment.

“Ow! You’re pinching me!” I yelled at her. If she were a maid, I would fire her ass immediately. She was the worst at helping me get dressed for anything. I would have asked Madison for help, but she had already left the room.

“Oh, quit being a baby and hold still; I’m almost done.” She laughed and then finally released me. “There, finished.” She playfully smacked my ass and then rested her hands on her hips.

I stared at myself in the full-length mirror and gawked at my appearance. The outfit for tonight was not at all what I had anticipated - if you could even call it an outfit. I ran my hands down the form-fitting, strapless cocktail dress that left very little to the imagination.

It was a black spandex type of material that hugged every single curve of my body like a glove and stopped just under the curve of my ass. It wasn’t a sleek and straight dress; it was cinched on the sides, folding over on itself where it stretched across my body. Despite it being skimpy as shit, it did leave a flattering figure.

“I look like a cheap whore.” I deadpanned as I stood there staring at my reflection.

“Oh, don’t be silly, Chyler; you need these boots to complete that look.” She chuckled, dropping the thigh-high, matte black, high-heeled leather boots on the floor next to me. Fuck that.

“You’ve got to be kidding me.” I picked them up from where she dropped them and rolled my eyes. “This is ridiculous. I’m not wearing these with this .” I gestured to the nonexistent dress and the boots together.

“The club owner is a creep. What more did you expect from his uniform choices?” She shrugged .

“I don’t know what part of ‘ upscale nightclub ’ this outfit signifies, but it’s a fucking joke.” I threw my hands in the air and turned around, collapsing into the chair next to the mirror.

Over the years, I've had to wear some pretty ridiculous things for our assignments. Still, I really wasn't looking forward to being in an exclusive nightclub surrounded by billionaire-type assholes, wearing something that screamed "buy me." I really hope that I didn't get mistaken for a prostitute.

Alexis grabbed her uniform and walked out of the room just as Madison strode in wearing hers and took a seat on the couch opposite me. She faced the mirror next to me and began fluffing her hair, making sure it was to her liking. I've always loved her hair. It was a bright white blonde with just the right amount of light brown shadow root. Her preferred style was to leave it down with styled beach waves.

“Oh, relax; the men are going to be drooling all over us tonight.” She chuckled and winked.

“You make it sound like it’s hard to get a man’s attention on a normal day.” I grinned, convinced that she could attract a man even in sweatpants and a baggy t-shirt. She was naturally beautiful.

“No, it’s not, but having a sexy outfit like this makes it that much easier. Less work trying to be—” She waved her hand, trying to think of the right word, “approachable.” She snapped her fingers when she found the word she was looking for. Approachable was the right word for it. There were times when men were too intimidated to come and flirt with us, but I don’t think it had anything to do with what we were wearing .

“Touché. Way to make light of a shitty situation, Mads.” I sighed and leaned forward, picking up my boots and sliding them on.

“Catch!” Alexis called from the doorway as she tossed us two small badges. I caught mine in one hand and turned it around to see what was written on it.

“ Stella ?!” I exclaimed, “Fuck sake Lex, now I know you really are screwing with me.” I'm gawking at the bold letters on my name tag. I officially no longer wanted to work on our assignment tonight. I’d be more than happy to stay home and shove my face into a pint of ice cream instead.

“Just put it on, Chyler. It is one night, and we can’t use our real names. You know that.”

“Yeah, but could you have at least picked one that was a little more classy? Where did this name even come from?” I huffed and crossed my arms. Yes, I was going to throw a hissy fit, and I wasn’t ashamed of it. What I was ashamed of, was going by the name “ Stella” all night.

“This was a last-minute arrangement. I didn’t have time to cater to your every whim and wish, Chy. Next time, you take care of securing our cover if you are going to be so ungrateful.” She threw her hands in the air and stopped down the hallway.

“Ooo, now you’ve done it, you’ve gone and poked the bear.” Madison snickered at me, covering her mouth. I didn’t care if I pissed her off; she pissed me off all the time. Without further argument, I removed the back of the pin, securing it to my dress. I’ll play nice for now, but I was going to get her back for this .

Even though we were assigned different roles to play tonight, we had the same uniform. Alexis was working as the VIP host and assigned the waitresses to their respective suites for the evening, making it easier for her to plant Madison—who will be a bottle service waitress—in the right suite. I, on the other hand, was designated as the main floor bartender. Playing the role of a bartender was going to be easy, seeing as I had prior experience during my college years.

While I was living in Nevada and attending school, I needed a job that would fit my class schedule. I ended up getting a waitressing job at a local bar. After a few months, one of the bartenders quit unexpectedly during my shift, so I stepped in to help out during the busy late-night rush. The manager was impressed and decided to move me to the bar permanently. Eventually, I started practicing flair bartending as a hobby to make my shifts more enjoyable. The customers loved the show, and as a result, my tips increased on the nights when I was bartending.

The advantage of having me as a bartender and not waitressing in the VIP Suites with the others is that I would be able to keep an eye on the floor and spike the drinks they needed without anyone knowing where the drinks were coming from and going to.

If anything were to go wrong, the last thing we needed was for any of us to be easy suspects, and by spreading out and having little contact with a single suite of guests, we wouldn’t be the first ones to point fingers at .

While Madison will provide the bottle service needs to our target’s suite, she will come to me for ordered drinks and have one of the other waitresses deliver them on her behalf.

This kind of job has become second nature to us, and we have perfected the art. The hardest part of this evening will be pulling our target out of the club discretely and without alarming the other guests in their suite.

“Alright, ladies. Are we ready?” Alexis called from down the hall. I could hear her pulling out her keys from her handbag.

“What are we doing with our hair?” I asked. I hated styling my hair; I wasn’t particularly good at it, and I always needed help from either Madison or Alexis.

Madison stood up and shrugged. “I’m just going with it like this,” She flipped her lush beach waves over her shoulder. “but knowing you, I’d suggest putting it up; it’s going to get hot behind the bar.” She smiled and exited the room.

That was true. I always got overheated when working behind the bar, and even if I started with my hair down, it always ended up in a messy bun after an hour.

I stood up from my chair and let out a sigh. I turned to the mirror and put my long, dark hair up into my usual messy bun, leaving a few wavy strands loose in the front to add some elegance and style. For my makeup, I opted for a smokey eye and applied clear lip gloss, then took a full look at myself in the mirror.

“Chyler!” Alexis screamed loudly from down the hall. I'm pretty sure I just shattered the last of her patience tonight.

“I’m coming! Chill out, woman.” I dramatically threw up my arms and rolled my eyes as I left the room and followed them both to the elevators of the penthouse.