The Intern He Hates

The alley was dark and filthy. That sludge under him wasn’t dirt. It was the thick, rotten stuff that pools at the bottom of a dumpster. The dregs of everyone’s trash.

Luca found that out the hard way. He’d just hit the freezing, wet pavement, his hand sinking into something slimy. God only knew what it was. Right now, though, that was the least of his problems.

If his fans could see their idol now...

His jaw throbbed. His mouth had filled with blood, and it tasted foul — like he’d licked a rusted spatula. By tomorrow, the left side of his face would probably look like a balloon. If he lived that long.

“Pretty boy, you getting it now that we don’t joke around? This is business,” the man in the dark gray coat sneered.

Short as he was, his uppercut had split Luca’s lip open. Luca had been too drunk to block it, too drunk to dodge anything.

“Didn’t know business came with punches,” Luca muttered, trying to push himself up.

“Where I come from, we skip the small talk. So. What’s happening with your obligations?”

Here we go again. The same question, almost a year running.

“I told you... I’ll get the money,” he said.

“The question’s not if. It’s when. Because if you want to live long enough to see what your kids look like, you’d better find it fast,” he threatened. “You know, we’ve got a guy who digs into things. He tells us you don’t make half of what people think.”

“I will soon, though,” Luca insisted. Their new album dropped next month, and every projection had them locked into the top five.

The man burst out laughing. “You have any idea how much you owe us?”

“You’re the ones keeping the tab...”

“What a disappointment. Hey, you — even prettier one. Think you could help him remember?” he said, turning to Luca’s friend, who’d had the bad luck of being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Noah was always there. They watched out for each other. That was the plan, until they could actually get out. Except right now, the way out was getting further away by the second.

Noah’s lips trembled, and his eyes wouldn’t settle on anything, like he was scanning the ground for a hole he could disappear into. Two other men flanked him, bulkier and more menacing than the guy in the coat. Noah just dropped his head lower, saying nothing.

“No? Guess you’re on your own then, buddy...” the man concluded. “Let’s see if this jogs your memory,” he went on, pulling a set of brass knuckles from his pocket.

Shit.

If a bare fist had left him this dizzy, he didn’t want to know what that thing would do. “Not the face...” he mumbled.

“Fair point. If you’re gonna pay us back, you need to be able to work.” The man turned to his goons. “Break his ribs.”

Luca panicked. Still on the ground, he pressed his back against the wall, trying uselessly to put distance between himself and danger. The two men closed in slowly. Their leader walked over to Noah, who was shaking like a leaf, and grabbed him by the shoulder.

“Watch and learn, kid. This is what happens to people who don’t keep their word.”

The next thing Luca felt was a shoe driving into his right side. He barely got his arms up to shield his head. The rest of him, wide open, turned into a punching bag for someone’s footwork.

He rolled across the greasy pavement, and every kick landed harder than the last.

He couldn’t breathe. He couldn’t even see what was happening around him anymore. He just prayed it would be over soon.

Or that he’d pass out first.

“Stop! What are you doing?” A voice he knew reached his ears.

Chloe.

The kicks stopped as the men turned to see who was shouting.

“Well, sweetheart. You out of your mind? Can’t you see you’re about to get yourself in trouble?” the man in the coat said.

Luca opened his eyes and saw their assistant manager — their seven-months-pregnant assistant manager — running toward him.

“Can’t you see he’s just a kid? You can’t do this!” she screamed, dropping to her knees beside him.

“Chloe...” Luca doubled over, spitting blood. “Go...” was all he managed to say.

“You know her?” the man asked Noah.

Pale as paper, Noah gave a reluctant nod.

“Don’t touch him! Leave Noah alone!” Chloe shouted.

“He’s not in any danger. He’s the smart one. Came by plenty of times, never once played,” the man said.

“Came where?” Chloe asked.

“My club. We run a place for... players. Card players, to be exact.”

Chloe went still. She turned slowly and looked at Luca, horrified.

“Your boy here played a lot. And kept losing. I offered him money — a face like his is good for credit. His posters are on every corner. And he took it, again and again. Signed the papers, hasn’t paid back a cent. And the interest keeps climbing.”

Luca, numb with pain and half-conscious, felt a wave of shame close over his head. Chloe knew everything now.

“I’ve got a business to run, and this has cost me plenty. Either I get my money back, or he keeps the fish company at the bottom of the ocean.”

No further explanation needed.

Luca felt Chloe’s hand grip his arm, hard, for one second. Then she asked: “How much?”

“In your condition... the number might shock you.”

“I can handle it.”

The man let out a short laugh and stepped closer. He leaned in and whispered in her ear.

Chloe’s breath caught. She looked up at the sky and let out a long sigh.

She got to her feet, slow and unsteady, and stood facing him — sizing him up the way she usually sized up business partners and sponsors.

“That’s a lot of money,” she told him.

He agreed with a nod, pursing his lips like he wanted to say why are you telling me what I already know.

“When do you want it?” she asked.

“Yesterday,” he said flatly.

“Let’s be realistic. He’s not some tycoon’s son. He hasn’t made his own fortune yet, either. You’ll have to wait a little.”

Her voice was firm and clear, but Luca could hear the edge of panic underneath it. What she was trying to pull off was reckless.

“He’s burned through his credibility. And you know, sweetheart, what happens to kids who get hooked this young? I’ve seen it a hundred times. They just get in deeper.”

“Not him. He’s different. And he has me.”

Then she turned to Luca, eyes full of sorrow, and said out loud: “I’ll take care of his debt.”

“You rich, lady?” the man asked, mocking.

“No. But this one right here is a rough diamond. I’m going to make him the biggest star there is, and pay you every cent,” Chloe said, decisive.

Star. Sure. When did I ask for that?

“No offense, but I don’t know you, so I don’t trust you,” the man said.

“But you know the company, don’t you. Fisher Group. What if I convince them to guarantee the debt? Or better — what if I convince them to buy it out, principal and interest, up to today? You’d get a signed contract in your hands, with a formal payment schedule and a legal annual rate. All clean. No blood, no bodies,” Chloe proposed.

He studied her carefully. “And why would a company sign onto something like that?”

“He already belongs to the company. If they lose him now, the loss is bigger.”

“You’re serious.”

Chloe pulled out a pen and a business card. She wrote something on the back and set it on the hood of a car beside them.

“There’s my signature. Sign yours. That’s our deal.”

He smiled, sly. “Legal rate, you said?”

“Legal. By the time he turns thirty, you’ll have a steady, generous income.”

The mobster signed the card and tucked it into his pocket, giving it a fond little pat.

“Come by my office in a week. I’ll be ready to go over the details,” Chloe said.

“Must be my lucky day. Thanks, Ms. Brown,” he told her. “But now you’ve got a deal with me too. All I can promise is that I don’t touch children,” he added, eyes dropping to her belly.

“Bastard...” Luca growled. If he could just get up—

“Easy, you. You caught a break this time, pretty boy. Try to screw me over any way at all, and your fans will find out exactly what you get up to at night.”

His voice, cold and lethal, felt like an icy blade against Luca’s throat.

His men followed him to the car, and they drove off.

The alley looked even darker now. The silence was heavy — but nowhere near as heavy as the hearts of the three people left standing in it.

“Luca, seriously! What is wrong with you? Do you have a death wish? Because if they don’t kill you, I will!” Chloe exploded. “Illegal gambling? Borrowing from the mob?”

“And you? Mr. Smart One, he calls you? If you were, you’d have told me sooner! At least you called me this time.” She turned on Noah too. He was crying.

Luca lay motionless on the ground. He had no strength left to move, or to defend himself. His body was wrecked. So was his mind. His face was pressed against the filthy pavement — exactly where trash like him belonged.

Chloe was cursing, yelling, throwing out threats, but none of it registered. Eventually he heard her calling his name. He fought to focus. She was standing over him, one hand resting gently on her round belly, her eyes red with fury.

“Here and now, Luca. We’re making a deal. You do exactly what I say from this point on, and I will make you millions. If you’re not willing to cooperate, I call them back right now and let them finish the job.”

Chloe’s voice broke on those last words.

Luca squeezed his eyes shut. Every dream he had was about to end before it even started. And now he’d be more trapped than ever.

Eyes still shut, so no one would see the tears that had already slipped free, he gave the only answer he could. “Okay... Deal...”

He hadn’t even turned nineteen yet. He didn’t want to die.