Lila had truly never met anyone as full of himself as William.
He'd just turned her down so decisively a moment ago, and now he was tossing out lines like that?
"First to sign up," huh? Did he really think he was irresistible?
She shot him a sideways glare.
Even if he did have that magnetic charm, so what? He was still single, wasn't he?
"Emily, let's go." Lila hoisted Bella up and started heading for the exit.
William stood as well. "Want me to walk you out?"
It was late, after all. In William's old-school mindset, letting women walk alone at night was a no-go.
"No need," Lila said coolly, guiding Bella into the hallway.
But just as the words left her mouth, a young man stepped in front of them. He had a devil tattoo curling up his neck and a cocky smirk plastered across his face.
"Leaving already, gorgeous? How about a few more drinks with me?"
Before William could even move, Maria was already striding over.
She'd been keeping an eye on that table all night. No way was she letting anything happen to Bella and her group—not even a minor incident. Not in her bar.
"Move," Lila said coldly, giving the guy a sharp look.
The punk chuckled, voice greasy. "Feisty, huh? I li—"
Thud.
A muffled grunt cut him off mid-sentence.
Still holding Bella with one arm, Lila's free hand had already slammed a punch straight into the guy's gut. Fast, clean, and clearly trained.
The hit landed hard. The guy looked tough, all muscle and bravado, but the moment her fist connected, he doubled over, clutching his stomach, gasping for air.
"Scram," Lila snapped, not even slowing down as she kept walking with Bella.
The guy's buddies, who'd been watching from the side, suddenly stepped forward, eyes narrowing.
Maria didn't hesitate. She was already there, voice sharp. "Zachary, what the hell do you think you're doing? Sit your ass down!"
She might've been a woman, but she ran this bar—and that meant something. These punks knew exactly who owned the place. With Maria glaring them down, they froze, caught between backing off and saving face.
Just then, a man in a suit stepped in. Caleb—Maria's husband.
He walked straight up to the punk who'd blocked Lila, grabbed him by the hair, and yanked his head up.
"You drunk or just stupid?" Caleb asked, eyes cold.
"Caleb… Zachary… I-I'm sorry, I drank too much!" the guy stammered, not even daring to meet Caleb's gaze. "I'm sorry!"
"You must be real drunk," Caleb said, letting go of his hair. "Because you don't even know who you should be apologizing to."
The guy winced, still holding his stomach, and turned to Lila, bowing repeatedly. "I'm sorry, miss! I was wrong! I'm really sorry!"
Lila's expression finally eased a little. "Forget it," she said, then continued helping Bella toward the exit.
Caleb turned to William. "You're William, right? Come with me—let's walk the ladies out."
William nodded. He'd met Caleb during his interview yesterday, so they were at least acquainted.
Outside the bar, Caleb apologized again to Lila and Emily, asking if they needed a driver. Lila told him she hadn't been drinking and had Emily help Bella into the car while she went to get it.
But when Caleb saw what car Lila was driving, cold sweat broke out on his back.
He ran a bar—he'd heard plenty of rumors and gossip. It wasn't just the car itself, but that license plate… it had weight.
The Carter family's eldest daughter.
If anything had happened tonight, there was no way he could've handled the fallout.
If Lila had gotten hurt, his bar probably wouldn't even make it to tomorrow.
Thank god they'd stepped in fast enough.
Once Bella was loaded into the car, Caleb stood there bowing and apologizing over and over, not straightening up until the taillights disappeared down the street. Only then did he finally stand upright and wipe the sweat from his brow.
William had watched the whole thing with a blank face, silently observing Caleb's performance.
"You're William, right?" Caleb asked, turning to him. "You know those three girls?"
"Sort of," William replied. "We went to the same school."
Caleb's eyes narrowed. "That girl who threw the punch—her last name Carter?"
"Yeah, Lila," William said. "The other two are Bells."
Caleb swallowed hard. "You know who they are? Carter family's heiress, and the Bell sisters? Holy shit—it really was them."
William stayed quiet, playing dumb.
"You went to school with them and didn't know who they were?" Caleb lit a cigarette, still rattled. He needed to talk it out just to calm his nerves.
William shook his head. "I just knew they were rich. Didn't really know them."
"No kidding! If you were close with them, you wouldn't be working in a dump like this," Caleb said. "You know Whitestone Group? Biggest media and entertainment company in the world."
William shook his head again. "I just came down from the mountains. Today's the first I've heard of it."
"From the mountains?" Caleb gave him a look. "Then you probably don't know the Carter family either. Whatever, let's head back in."
At that moment, Caleb felt like he was talking to a brick wall. Damn kid probably didn't even realize he'd just spent the night drinking with three women who were every man's dream.
If even one of them took a liking to him, he could live the sugar baby life until he died of luxury.
Back inside, Caleb immediately went to Maria and started gossiping about what he'd just learned. When Maria heard, she couldn't help but suck in a sharp breath. Thank god nothing had gone wrong tonight.
"William, come take a break," Maria called out after finishing her chat with Caleb. She waved him over with a smile. "First day on the job—how's it feel?"
"Not bad," William said with a grin.
Maria nodded. "I told you I'd take care of you, and I meant it. Your probation's over. Starting tomorrow, base salary's six grand a month, plus commission. Sound good?"
"Sounds great." William was more than satisfied. They'd originally talked about a base of $1,800, so this was a huge jump.
"Let's sign a contract tomorrow," Maria said. "You're still in school, right? Just give me a year. If you do well, I'll bump your pay every month."
She'd seen William's potential. The way he handled tonight—bottomless tolerance, smooth with the games—he was a goldmine. If someone else poached him, she'd be kicking herself.
Normally, bar gigs didn't come with contracts, but William wasn't normal. She needed something binding, or she'd never sleep easy.
"Sure," William agreed casually. He was planning to stick around anyway. A year meant nothing to him.
As for the contract—if he ever wanted to leave, no one on this planet could stop him.
Maria nodded. "Add me on WhatsApp. Also, I'll need a bank account to transfer your salary."
"I don't have a bank account yet. Is there another way?" William said, a little helpless.
Maria blinked, surprised. Was this guy really from the mountains?
"I'll write you a check when it's time to pay," she said. "Just take it to the bank and cash it. While you're there, ask them to help you open an account."
"Got it. But… WhatsApp?" William looked puzzled. He pulled out his phone—he had the app installed, but he'd been using Google all day and hadn't touched WhatsApp once.