Dirty Laundry

Walking into the New York club was one of the easiest things I had ever done. I fit in well with the other 20-somthings in tight dresses and tops that were cut way too low, and if I hadn't been there on business, I probably would've tried harder to mingle with a few of them. Making new friends was always fun and exciting, which was probably why I loved my job so much.

It was those first few moments when I was meeting a potential cheater for the first time that were the most exhilarating, and I had been looking forward to it all day.

Luckily for me, it wasn't hard to "run into" Zayn Malik, because his file had come complete with a list of clubs he frequented, and Dante's was at the top of that list. I had only been there a few times before so I wasn't too familiar about the layout, but I knew enough to know that the place I'd most likely find Zayn was in the VIP rooms in the back.

A large velvet rope separated me from the dark, private rooms, and I still didn't have a plan for how I'd get to the other side, but I was born with a few assets that made tasks like this one a whole lot easier. Before I started working with Elle, I wasn't the type to use my body to get what I wanted, but in our line of work, it was next to impossible not to.

I had felt bad about it the first few times I had flashed my smile to make life a little easier, but now it was so normal that I didn't even bat an eyelash as I approached the large bouncer who guarded the private rooms.

"Name?" he asked, looking down at me with a completely blank expression. I wasn't positive if he hated his job or if he was just trying to put up a tough front, but I was betting on the latter.

"I'm not on the list," I said, being sure to flip my hair in such a way that it made it impossible for him to ignore me. Elle had taught me that one. "But, if you let me back there, you won't be disappointed."

The bouncer didn't seem pleased with my answer, but he didn't have a chance to say anything about it before I voice spoke up behind him.

"And who is this?"

I didn't recognize the voice, but the face I knew like the back of my hand. I had studied his pictures so I would know exactly who to look for when I walked into that club, but Zayn Malik had walked straight to me instead.

I looked at him, smiling perfectly, as I held out my hand over the velvet rope. "Mia."

"Zayn Malik." He took my hand in his, his face twisting up in a mischievous smirk. "It's a pleasure to meet you." He looked to the bouncer and just like that, I was in. "Let her through."

The rope lifted easily and I stepped through it with a smile, Zayn's hand falling to my hip the second I stepped through. This was going to be an easy one, I thought, because he certainly wasn't being shy. His hand was placed in such a way that could be deemed just friendly to anyone passing by, but I knew guys like Zayn well enough to know that it meant so much more than that.

With that one touch of his hand on my waist, he'd claimed me as his to the few other guys in that VIP section, and it was a pretty good bet that anyone but Zayn would be ignoring me for the rest of the night.

"Can I get you something to drink?" he asked. The second I had walked past that rope he had been guiding me to a table in the center of the room, where there were a few bottles on ice, so of course I knew he had planned on pouring me a glass ever since we had walked in.

I smiled at him and nodded my head. "That would be great."

Elle had always told me to be careful how much I drank because you always had to make sure the situation was in control, but I also knew that passing up that drink would be a step in the wrong direction with Zayn.

He smiled back at me as he reached out for the bottle, popping the top to let it breathe. I knew from the label that it was expensive - it had a dancing monkey on it, for crying out loud - but that didn't mean much to Zayn. To him, expensive just came standard.

He filled the cup up to a couple inches from the top, and it was a bit more than I would have asked for, but I accepted with a smile.

"Thank you."

He just winked at me while his hand dropped back to my hip, and he was using that hand to guide me to one of the small sofas in the back. I knew sofas like that were the places where deals were made, so it was most likely a good sign.

Well, good for me, but bad for the client.

"So, Mia, where are you from?"

Times like these were where it was best for me to lie my ass off. Really, Elle didn't even want me to use my first name, as she always went with pseudo ones, but I always had a hard time keeping track of them so I stuck to Mia.

"Out west," I said, smiling at him as he threw his arm over the back of the sofa, strategically placed behind my head. "A town about an hour north of Salt Lake City."

"Ah, Salt Lake City," Zayn said, nodding his head as he folded his foot onto his lap. "I've been there a few times. Skiing's some of the best in the world."

I nodded back, though I had never been to Utah or any of its neighboring states in my life time. Chances were we'd never get deep enough into conversation to learn that, though.

Zayn's mouth opened up to speak, but shut when his phone began vibrating in his pocket. He looked at it briefly before letting out a deep sigh and shoving it away. I was willing to bet it was a phone call from his girlfriend, because guys like him often ignored calls like that, and decided that information would be useful enough for me to ask about it.

"Is everything alright?" I asked, batting my eyelashes and attempting to sound as concerned as possible. I was never quite as good as acting as Elle was, but I thought I was getting quite a bit better.

"Oh, yeah, of course," he said. He gave me a smile that was only half sincere, and if it was fake, he was a much better actor than I was. "It's nothing."

Really, with that look, there was no way that phone call was simply nothing, because he had this far off look in his eyes that took him a minute to snap out of. It wasn't necessarily my job to learn all about his personal life, since I was just supposed to be proving he was a cheater, but if it was information about my client, I figured it could be useful enough for her.

I scooted a bit closer to him, though it was hardly possible with how close he sat to me, and looked up at him. "It doesn't look like nothing."

I knew that I may be pushing too far into his personal life and that could push him away, so this was going to be one of those make or break moments that Elle always told me to try to keep myself out of. I was never good at that, though.

"It's just my girlfriend," he said, letting out a sigh as he ran his hand through his hair. "We've been having a lot of problems recently."

It wasn't often that the guys actually admitted to having a significant other, so it was a bit surprising that he owned up to it. Usually they pretended they were single and that worked for them. Zayn could've just been using his girl troubles as a ploy to make me feel bad for him, but I couldn't be certain.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"There isn't much to talk about." He shook his head, letting out a small laugh. "I'd rather just forget about it completely."

I gave him a small smile, nodding my head. "I get that."

Zayn looked back at me, and that hurt look was completely washed away and replaced with that same mischievous grin he had when I first met him.

"You got boy troubles, Mia?"

I chuckled, shrugging my shoulders. "I guess you could say that."

Zayn gave me a smile before his phone began ringing once again. He let out another deep sigh as he pulled it from his pants, and when he looked at it he gave an annoyed shake of his head.

"I'm sorry, Mia," he said, one hand placed on top of my knee. "I've got to take this." His phone began ringing again and he looked at it before shutting his eyes. He looked back at me and there was a small smile on his face. "If you give me your number, I promise I'll call."

I knew the chances of Zayn actually calling me were slim, because guys with girlfriend rarely ever used their phones to get a piece of ass, but I gave it to him anyway. It was only one of the very few things I could use to get closer to him considering I could bump into him at any of the clubs he frequented, so even if he didn't call, it wasn't a hopeless case.

"It was a pleasure to meet you," Zayn said, smiling as he rubbed a thumb over my knee. He stood up at that, heading toward the back exit of the club with an annoyed look on his face.

I didn't have any clue what he was going to say on the phone with his girlfriend, but I just hoped that he wouldn't do anything to end their relationship, because if he did that before I slept with him, I'd only be getting half of my pay.