Gloria looked at Harry in disbelief for a while. After that, she lowered her head expressionlessly and said, "Mr. Carter, then I won't make things difficult for you."
"Gloria, don't be like this. I have no choice. Don't blame me." Harry took out his wallet and handed a stack of bills to Gloria. "Take this to buy yourself some food and clothes."
Gloria stood there and didn't take the money at all.
Harry grabbed Gloria's hand and stuffed the money into her hand. He said, "Gloria, stop acting like this and learn to accept others' kindness. Don't be as willful as before."
Gloria looked at the money in her hand, and her heart ached.
"I am a call girl, but I don't want money from your family!" Gloria said in a gruff voice. She threw the money in the air and the notes scattered everywhere in the elevator.
"Also, you are no longer my brother."
The elevator returned to the original floor it was on. When the elevator doors opened, Gloria ignored Harry and walked out. Then he grabbed her arm again.
Harry said, "No. Gloria, you can't go down now. Find a place to hide for now."
"Mr. Carter, please let go. I'm busy," said Gloria.
"No. Gloria, they'll see you if you go out now. Warren and the others are coming here today," Harry pulled Gloria into the elevator and said. "Gloria, you don't want to be seen like this by your old friends, right?"
Gloria's breath paused, and her eyes were filled with fear. Harry's words lingered in her ears, which was also a part of her nightmare.
She did not want to see her old friends while she was looking like this, not in such a humble shape.
She beat Harry to it and reached out to press the elevator button.
"Well, well. Mr. Carter, it seems that you have already found yourself a beauty, and you're having fun in the elevator," a man said in a teasing voice. When the elevator doors were about to close, someone reached out a hand and stopped them. And the doors opened.
Harry immediately pushed Gloria's head into his arms. "Warren, that's not funny."
Harry used the other hand to stop Warren from reaching out to Gloria and said, "She is shy. Warren, the room upstairs is ready. You may go up now."
As he spoke, he pressed Gloria's face into his arms and took her out.
"Mr. Carter, where are you going? Let's go up together," someone said.
"I have something to do. You go first. I will be there soon. Today's tab is on me. Have fun, guys," said Harry quickly.
By the time the elevator doors closed, Gloria could still hear them laughing.
Harry brought Gloria to a corner and said, "Gloria, maybe you should take a day off."
Gloria's heart ached. She didn't dare to face her old friends. However, when the man in front of her whom she had called "brother" for more than twenty years uttered these words, she unconsciously dug her hand into her thigh to resist the urge to shout at him.
She thought, 'Gloria, you have no family. The entire Silver Spring Pack gave up on you three years ago.'
She kept convincing herself silently, repeating the same sentences almost twenty times. Finally, she slowly raised her head.
Gloria pushed Harry's hand away and said, "If I take today off, what about tomorrow? What about the day after tomorrow? They will come here anyway, as long as Fittro Club is open. We may bump into each other any day."
She looked at Harry, the man she had addressed as her brother for more than twenty years. She wanted to know how he would answer her questions.
"Gloria, don't stay here anymore. Find another job."
"Find another job? Mr. Carter, do you have a job to offer me?" Gloria asked with a strange smile. She was waiting for Harry to completely crush her last bit of hope.
She was waiting for Harry to surprise her.
Gloria said to herself, "Gloria, if Harry can surprise you, you will forgive him, no matter how disappointed you were in werewolf prison, or how much you resented the Silver Spring Pack, you will let go of that resentment from now on."
Harry was silent. After a while, he said, "Gloria, I am sorry. Patrick is too merciless. I can't risk it."
Gloria's eyes dimmed. Harry failed her eventually. His decision didn't surprise Gloria.
"Then I'm sorry, too, Mr. Carter. I won't change my job," Gloria refused him.
Harry was annoyed and said angrily, "Gloria, you are being willful. Why can't you change your job? Do you have to work here?"
"Mr. Carter, let me remind you of something. I'm an ex-con, and I've served my time in the werewolf prison. I don't have a degree like humans do. Where do you think I can find a proper job?" she asked.
"Gloria, you're not the only one in the world who's been in prison. How come others can find a job and make a living, whereas you insist on staying in a place like this to please men? Gloria, you're rotten," said Harry, disappointed.
Gloria's shoulders trembled. She had to clutch her thigh to hold back the urge to slap Harry.
She suddenly looked up at Harry. It turned out that she wasn't the only one who had changed in the past three years. So had Harry.
Harry did not get it. Since when did Gloria, his well-behaved sister, become a woman like this? Gloria used to be so independent, confident, and proud. And now, she became a woman who only wanted to curry favor with men and earn tips.
"Gloria, you've changed."
Harry looked at Gloria in front of him with disappointment. "Gloria, you weren't like this before. Mom and dad would be so disappointed if they saw you now. I've said what I needed to say. From now on, choose your own path. You can either rot like a maggot or work hard and live a life."
As he spoke, he shook his head.
He turned and walked out the door of Fittro Club. He picked up his phone and called Warren, saying, "Warren, I have something to do, so I'll get going now. You guys have fun. Put the tabs on me. Talk to you later."
In a remote corner of the lobby, Gloria stood alone, motionless like a statue.