“Thanks, Chris. I’m fine.” Ria felt herself relaxing, knowing they were gone now.

Glancing up, she saw her reflection in the mirror behind the bar. She noticed her breasts were pushed up in the red bra and her recent weight loss had thinned her facial features, resulting in bigger than normal eyes and the appearance of fuller lips. She looked like an easy lay. No wonder the men were treating her like she was a whore. It didn’t help that the bar was in a hotel. The men inevitably began to assume she would be willing to keep them company in their rooms for a price. She couldn’t believe she had sunk to this level, all for a fucking tip.

She pulled the zipper up to cover her bra. She knew she had to find another job fast, but with her shitty references, it wouldn’t be easy in a city already overwhelmed with unemployment.

She walked back to wipe down the table and pick up the receipt. She looked down to make sure it was signed and to see what the dicks had left her and noticed the tip line was blank.

That fucking son of a bitch didn’t leave me a tip! The small group had spent over fifteen hundred dollars during the course of the evening and she had put up with all that shit for nothing!

As she stared in disbelief, she also noticed that he’d only signed his name; he didn’t write down a total, either. Before she could change her mind, she scribbled down three hundred dollars in the tip line and filled in the total. She deserved the twenty percent tip, dammit.

With the tip already spent in her mind, she glanced around quickly to see if anyone had seen her actions. Her heart was thumping, and she could feel herself sweating. It was dark enough to where she didn’t think anyone had seen her. She felt unbelievably guilty, but that money would help her with next month’s rent. The thought of just one month of not having to scrape together rent money kept her from changing her mind.

She finished cleaning the table then carried everything to the backroom to be washed.

It’s okay, she kept repeating to herself. He probably would have left the tip anyway if he hadn’t been drunk. Twenty percent was a standard tip; she hadn’t overdone it. She still felt guilty as hell, though.

She took yet another deep breath and walked back into the bar and got to work again. Thankfully, the rest of the night was uneventful, but the cloud of guilt stayed with her.

At the end of the night, everyone turned in the receipts and Chris counted the drawer down for the night. Ria held her breath when he looked through her receipts, but he didn’t give her any indication that he saw anything out of the ordinary. It was a normal tip. There was nothing unusual about it. There was no reason for him to think differently.

He turned to pay the waitresses their tips.

“Sexy Barbie, nice job tonight,” he said to Barbara as he handed her the money.

Ria kept herself from rolling her eyes when the tall blond blushed. These women were such suckers for Chris until he screwed them and told them he just wanted to be friends afterwards.

“Hot toddy, what a night!” While Tatiana stepped forward with a toss of her long, dark hair to take her tips, the other girls laughed.

Tatiana was a dark-skinned beauty with sexiness radiating out of her. Ria envied her boldness. Tatiana would have known how to handle the assholes from earlier tonight.

“Ria -baby, another good night for you,” Chris said as she reached for her money.

Chris continued until everyone had been paid for the night. Then they all helped clean up and left together.

She was the last one out. Her desperation almost let her make it; however, her conscious couldn’t stand the guilt.

“Chris, can I talk to you for a minute?”

“Sure. What’s up?”

She reached into her purse and counted out the three hundred dollars, handing it back to him.

“The high rollers left without giving me a tip; I fudged the credit card slip. Will you fix it before you put tonight’s receipts in the office; credit it back to his account?”

His face became furious. “Those fuck-wads stiffed you?”

“Yes. I was so mad I filled in the tip line. I’m sorry. Are you going to tell?” Ria bit her lip. She didn’t know what she would do if she lost this job.

Chris’s face softened. “Don’t worry; I’ll take care of it.”

Ria reached out, giving him a quick hug. “Thanks, Chris.”

Chris stood in the doorway, watching the waitresses get into their cars, before going back inside.

After locking her doors, Ria sat in her car for a few moments to gather herself. She needed that money so badly. She had come from a life of luxury to this. She hated herself for it, but she had also promised herself it was only temporary. She would get herself and her mother out of this situation if it was the last thing she did.

Chapter 2

“What are the cause and symptoms of a febrile seizure? Ria!”

Ria jumped and saw the exasperated expression on her friend Lacey’s face.

“Wake up! You’ve got to be ready for the exam.” Her pointy finger prodded her shoulder.

“Sorry, Lacey, I had a late night,” Ria explained.

Ria didn’t mention that she’d stayed up half the night, worried about the repercussions from giving herself that tip. It hadn’t mattered that she’d done the right thing in the end.

Lacey folded her arms across her chest. “Unless you were up all night studying, that’s no excuse!”

Ria rolled her eyes. Lacey knew damn well that Ria had spent the night working.

“Couldn’t sleep last night; work sucked,” Ria replied.

“If you don’t pass the exam, you’ll be stuck there even longer,” Lacey snapped.

Ria sighed. Lacey was right. Ria was studying for the paramedic cognitive exam. She had been an EMT before and had done so well she was often given the lead role when sent out for emergencies. That was, until she was fired for being disrespectful. She wasn’t able to get another EMT position because it was a small world, and no one wanted to hire someone with an attitude. It hadn’t even been her fault. If not for that Rocky-impersonator, she would still have her well-paying job, not showing the depth of her cleavage.

Lacey was the perfect study partner. She was currently in med school, and had fully dedicated herself to being one of the top students in her class. She didn’t take kindly to slackers, considering how hard she worked to obtain her own success, and didn’t want to hear Ria’s excuses. For Lacey, there were no good excuses for not accomplishing a goal. Ria respected her dedication; she just wished Lacey was a little more understanding of the responsibilities Ria held.

They had met each other their freshmen year of high school. Lacey’s family were all highly educated and expected the same from her. Ria wasn’t as studious, and her family couldn’t care less about her education. Unfortunately, Ria wasn’t one to sit in a classroom, but she was still a hard worker.

Becoming an EMT had required training in the classroom, yet it had also consisted of a lot of hands-on, keeping Ria interested. Now, it was time to move up to the next level and become a paramedic. She felt guilty knowing that Lacey was taking time out of her busy schedule to help her study. With that thought, she picked up her mug and took a gulp of the lukewarm coffee to try to give herself a caffeine boost.

“Okay, febrile seizure… young child, rapid elevation in body temperature, loss of consciousness, typical seizure actions. Emergency services called if seizure lasts longer than ten minutes with abnormal sleepiness and breathing problems.”