My Alpha Boss Gave Me Triplets – Episode 06
Evie tightened her grip on the tray as Leopold approached. Of all the clubs in the city, she had somehow taken a second job in the one he owned. The exclusive room belonged to wealthy wolves whose evening wagers could exceed her annual salary, and her presence already drew curious looks. It seemed impossible to cross a room without finding her Alpha boss waiting on the other side. She wondered whether fate was mocking his command that they never speak again.
“I’m guessing the job I gave you wasn’t enough,” Leopold said. His gaze moved over the uniform, the crowded tables, and the bandages covering the hands Francesca had burned. The question sounded accusatory, although the concern behind it was harder to conceal.
Evie refused to defend her finances to a man who had already decided she cared only about money. “I have work to do.” She turned away, but Leopold pointed to an empty chair at his private card table.
“Sit down.”
“No, thank you.” She tried to pass him. “I’m working.”
Leopold’s patience thinned. “I own this club, which means I’m your boss here too. Sit down when I tell you to.” He disliked the way patrons looked at her and disliked even more that burned hands had not stopped her from working. Around them, guests began to watch. Their curiosity sharpened when the famously distant Alpha insisted on speaking to a human waitress, while Evie heard only another powerful wolf issuing orders she could not safely refuse.
Evie sat because refusing him in front of customers might cost her the shift. For one dangerous moment, she wondered whether Leopold had called her over because he wanted her company. Then his phone rang, and he rose from the table without explanation.
“I need to take this.” He pushed his cards and chips toward her. “Play this hand for me.”
“What?” Evie stared at the unfamiliar game. She had no idea what his wagers represented or why anyone would entrust them to her. Leopold was already signaling for Max to bring the car around, apparently assuming his command was enough.
The brief hope that he might have wanted her beside him disappeared. She had been foolish enough to interpret his attention as personal after he had repeatedly warned her it was not. He had not called her over because of the pull she could not forget. He had simply needed someone to occupy his chair, another task assigned to an employee who was expected to obey without explanation.
The men across the table encouraged her to continue. They explained just enough of the rules to keep the game moving while withholding enough to ensure she could not recognize a trap. Their smiles seemed friendly until the first hand ended and a large stack of Leopold’s chips vanished. Evie tried to stop, but they reminded her that she occupied Leopold’s seat and insisted an unfinished wager would insult the table. By the second loss, their amusement was impossible to miss.
One of them leaned back and surveyed the table. “That’s two Stonehearth buildings you just lost, human.”
Evie went cold. “Two buildings?” She had expected the chips to represent money, not actual properties. The value was so far outside her experience that she could not even imagine repaying it through a lifetime of work. Leopold had placed a fortune in front of her with no instructions, and she had lost it in minutes. After accusing her of caring only about money, he would now have proof that trusting her had cost him dearly.
“Don’t worry, baby,” another man said. “We’ll give the real estate back if you do something for us.” His gaze dragged over her body. “Strip.”
The laughter around the table made the trap clear. These men had never intended to offer her a fair game. They had encouraged every bad decision and waited until Leopold left before revealing the true stakes. They had seen an inexperienced human sitting in an Alpha’s place and decided she was theirs to exploit. Her debt was not the point; it was merely the weapon they planned to use against her.
“No.” Evie pushed back from the table. The single word erased the false friendliness from every face around her. She might be frightened and hopelessly outmatched, but debt did not give them ownership of her body.
“Then you can pay Leopold for everything you lost.” A man blocked her path while another reached for the strap of her uniform. “What will it be? The bra or the panties first?”
Panic tightened Evie’s throat. She could never repay the value of two buildings, but she would not buy them back with her humiliation. The surrounding guests treated the confrontation as entertainment, and none seemed willing to anger the wolves at the table for a human waitress. She slapped away the hand reaching for her and searched the room for help. Her bandaged fingers throbbed, reminding her how little protection protest had offered at her other workplace.
“What the fuck are you doing?” Leopold’s voice cut through the laughter. He stood behind the men, fury rolling from him with enough force to silence the entire table. The sight of a hand reaching for Evie had awakened something more primal than concern for an employee or anger over a broken rule. Evie had never been so relieved to see him—or so afraid of what the Alpha would do next.