My Crime 3

“Oh, isn’t this Ms. Duffy, Mr. Humphrey’s wife? What? You came for drinks? Eh? If it’s drinks that you want, why are you in a uniform?”

The others laughed out loud when the man finished speaking.

I tightened my grip on the handles of the cart and took a deep breath.

Never mind. They’d seen me, anyway. And they meant to humiliate me. I couldn’t get away. I might as well bite the bullet and try to sell alcohol to them. Perhaps I could get a tip in the end.

The creditors were pressing us harder and harder. My dad was always saying he wanted to die. My mom cried every day. To make a living, Quentin had become a deliveryman. How could I care about the insignificant self-esteem and pride at this point?

I walked to them with the cart, maintaining a stiff yet courteous smile.

“Small world. Since you’re here, why not buy something from me? If you like it, a tip would be good.”

Zane smacked his tongue and shook his head, laughing.

This guy used to flatter Quentin and me whenever he had a chance. As a man, he had a honeyed tongue. Just because my family was broke, he thought he could strut before me now. If only I could whack his face!

But now wasn’t the time for being willful. The tip was important to me.

With a smiling face, I said nothing more.

Suddenly, Zane bent over, leaned in, and gloated, “Well, well, is this still the haughty Ms. Duffy I know? It’s only been a while since the last time I saw you. How did you end up like this? How sad…”

Everyone hooted again.

Reese leered at me. “You want us to buy something from you? Buy what? In a place like this, don’t tell me you were referring to your body. Haha. If you were, you’ll have to strip yourself first so we can examine the product. If it’s bad, we can’t pay. Hahaha.”

Grabbing a bottle of wine, I turned to Reynaldo.

He was smoking silently, as if not hearing his companions’ obscene remarks. Or rather, he just didn’t care.

I looked down and put the bottles of wine on the counter. Then, I smiled, “Guys, you misunderstood. I was referring to the wine. We were acquaintances, after all. For old times’ sake, if you want wine, please buy it from me. Then, I can get the commission.”

“Why, you’re so strapped for cash now?” Zane slammed a card onto the table. As if talking about charity, he said to me, “There’s 5,000 dollars in this card. Get down. Bark like a dog. Then, the money is yours. What do you say?”

His words invoked another fit of laughter. There went the mocking whistles again.

The onlookers all stared at me, intrigued.

Even Reynaldo looked at me. His face was calm, but the look in his eyes was too deep to explore.

Seeing that I didn’t move, Reese also flung a card onto the table. “Here. Take this 15,000 dollars, too. Bark like a dog, and spend the night with us. Then, you can take both bank cards.”

I looked at Reese, petrified.

My family might be poor now. But I was still Reynaldo’s wife. How dare Reese say that in Reynaldo’s presence?

Unless Reynaldo told them about our divorce and said he hated me. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have dared to humiliate me like this in his presence.

“What? Don’t you want money? If you can’t forsake your self-esteem, how can you make money?” Reese scoffed. “We’re offering a high price. On the street, you have to solicit many times to make so much.”

Yes. I needed money desperately. What was the point of holding onto impractical self-esteem?

But still, there was a bottom line.

Reese’s evil, frivolous smile nauseated me.

I took the card, threw it at him, and raised my voice. “You think 15,000 dollars is enough to spend one night with me? Try 1.5 million dollars!”

I knew Reese. Coming from an ordinary family, he idled around every day and liked to pretend to be generous. In fact, he was petty. When he lived off Quentin and me, he was even too miserly to buy a purse for his girlfriend.

Even making him pay 1,500 dollars would be equivalent to killing him.

To humiliate me, he was willing to spend 15,000 dollars. That proved how much he loathed me.

“Was I so unlikable?” I couldn’t help wondering inwardly.

“Hahaha. Reese, you’re too stingy. She’s the daughter of the formerly powerful Duffy family, after all. How can you only offer 15,000 dollars for one night with her?” someone ridiculed.

Reese’s face turned flushed. He glared at me and commented disdainfully, “I’m already offering too high a price.”

I ignored him. Instead, I picked up Zane’s card and asked, “You mean it? If I bark like a dog, the money is mine?”

Zane was surprised I’d take it seriously.

He was as cheap as Reese.

Most likely, the 5,000 dollars was all he had.

He said awkwardly, “You’re always arrogant and conceited. How can you possibly bark like a dog in front of us? You’re kidding me.”

He tried to take the card back.

I moved it away and said seriously, “I’m not kidding. It’s just barking. How hard can it be? A few barks and 5,000 dollars is mine. It’s easy money. Why would I refuse?”

Zane looked rueful. He stared at the card, wishing to snatch it away from me anytime.

Reese smirked, “Then, bark. Let us see how the formerly powerful Ms. Duffy waggles her tail like a dog.”

I put my pride aside. All I could think of was the hideous faces of the creditors, my devastated parents’ tears, and how hard Quentin worked.

I took a deep breath and said, “Alright.”

Before I dropped to my knees, a big hand elevated my elbow.

I turned my head in confusion. When I saw Reynaldo’s intense eyes, my heart pounded.

“You all go,” he said coolly to those men.

Too afraid to upset him, everybody moved toward the door.

When Zane left, he didn’t forget to take the card from me. It was funny.

Reynaldo fixed his eyes on me. “You want money so much?”

I withdrew my elbow from his hand and moved away from him. “Mr. Humphrey, question asked, and question answered.”

After the collapse, my family was deep in debt. Everybody in Freybourne knew it. Of course, he knew it, too.

“Mr. Humphrey?” Reynaldo repeated with a chuckle.

I didn’t know what he was thinking. Nor was I in the mood to chat with him.

Pointing to the bottles of wine on the counter, I said, “Mr. Humphrey, this is the wine you and your companions ordered. I delivered it. If you’re satisfied with my service, a tip would be fine.”

Reynaldo stared at me silently. I couldn’t figure him out.

When I mentioned the tip, I wasn’t hoping to get one from him.

Smiling, I turned to leave. Suddenly, Reynaldo said, “I’ll give you 1.5 million dollars.”

I stopped in my tracks and looked at him in disbelief. “What did you say?”

He walked up to me and looked me in the eye. “I’ll give you 1.5 million dollars. Spend the night with me.”