Tempted Trapped and Too Late to Run

Chapter 11

The room went quiet for a beat before a wave of laughter broke out, dripping with

sarcasm.

"Simon, you really called it this time."

Tonight, Simon hadn't brought Quinn along; instead, he had some new escort hanging on his arm.

The moment Simon spotted Clara, a flicker of surprise crossed his eyes, quickly replaced by a resigned look. He frowned, setting his drink down on the coffee table. "Clara, aren't you tired of this nonsense?"

She'd already made a scene at Moonlight a few times, and now she showed up dressed like the staff. Each appearance seemed to cheapen her more.

Clara bent slightly, picked up the priciest bottle of Château Margaux, and flashed a smile at the crowd. "Who ordered this? Need a hand opening it?"

She had caught their chatter while standing outside the door. A twinge of bitterness tugged at her heart, but as she entered and saw their flashy, nouveau riche airs, it felt like staring at a gold mine. Maybe she'd rake in that hundred grand sooner than expected.

Château Margaux was a cool million a bottle.

None of them were strapped for cash, but they were way more invested in seeing Clara embarrass herself.

Nate's eyes lingered on Clara's figure before he nudged Colton with his elbow. "You gotta admit, she's looking hot."

stepped in. Having a stunning girl

matter how stunning Clara was, she was

to jump in. They had money for sure, but he knew Clara's drinking habits and was a bit

really

uncorked the bottle and was smiling at everyone. "Alright, you

to see her drunkenly humiliated, so he leaned back, lounging in his seat. "I did say it. Go on, drink. And Clara, don't say I didn't warn you— Simon doesn't like you. Everyone here hates you. If you get wasted and make the front page tomorrow, no one's gonna pull your

Bradfords favored Quinn; Clara was just

picked up a wine glass, filled it to the brim, and drank until the bottle was empty. Then she started on the second, and

to discomfort, as if

she could tackle several more bottles. Three million had already

lively buzz turned to tense silence. Someone, anxious

fool of yourself." Clara finished

sparked immediate mockery from the room. "Who are you kidding? Tonight's all about Simon, right? Though you did make sure everyone will

bottle, and Colton's face

wrist. "That's enough, stop before you

eyes landing on Colton. "If this gentleman can't cover it, maybe the rest

wasn't used to this kind of humiliation, and his face was red with anger. "Clara, it's antics like

"Oh, so you have a thing for

causing him to panic

shifted, and he shoved

not making it up by looking at your