I fight not to fidget under his stare. It doesn’t help that I’m half naked at the moment. Why did I let the girls dress me up? It’s hard to say no when seven girls close in on you when you’re sitting in their dressing room. They said I needed to be dolled up if I even thought I might get a job here.
It felt weird to get all prettied up to meet with my own cousin. I just wanted to see if I could get a job serving some drinks or something. But I’m desperate, so I let the girls do whatever they wanted with my makeup and clothes. It didn’t take me long to realize that I’ll never make it in this place. I was only on the club floor for all of five minutes and I made a scene.
“What happened?” Grant asks as the door falls closed behind him. The room feels smaller now that he’s in it.
“A misunderstanding. She tripped,” Logan slurs. He tries to stand, but one of the bodyguards’ hands comes down on his shoulder, keeping him planted in his seat.
“Shut the fuck up,” Grant snaps at him. Logan actually listens. The air in the room starts to change. “Did he do that to her?”
Grant is suddenly in front of me. I swear it feels as though his eyes are assessing every inch of me. Not in a bad way, either. It’s as though he’s trying to make sure that no other part of me is hurt.
“Damaged one of my girls,” Chicago says from behind his oversized desk. Did he really just call me one of his girls?
Chicago looks a bit ridiculous now. Before Grant got here, he was the big shot in the room. It was clear the second Grant crossed the threshold of the room who really held the power. Hell, you could even tell by the quality of suits they're wearing that he can’t hold a candle to Grant. Chicago looks like a kid playing behind his father's desk now.
“Are you one of his girls?” Grant presses two fingers under my chin. His touch is gentle as he lifts my head to look up at him. His eyes search my face. I see his anger grow when he assesses my lip. It doesn’t hurt anymore. Not with him touching me. All I can feel is him at this moment. “You his?” he asks again. His voice is low enough that only I can hear him.
“No.”
“She doesn't work here. Yet. First day is tomorrow,” Chicago says. “But she is my cousin,” he adds. Why is that more embarrassing than working here?
“I brought the money you asked for.” Grant drops his hand, taking a step back. I suddenly feel colder. I wrap my arms around myself, wanting that warmth back.
Grant reaches into his suit jacket and pulls out an envelope, tossing it onto Chicago’s desk. It’s almost midnight. Did he just happen to have stacks of cash laying around? Is he a drug dealer or something? Do drug dealers wear suits that cost as much as some people's cars?
“This was for what he owed. It doesn't cover the damage he did to Remi.”
“That’s between her and me,” Grant responds.
“No, it’s not,” Chicago snaps from behind his desk. He’s actually the only man in the room that isn’t built like a linebacker. It’s why he’s staying seated behind his desk.
“You know who I am. Do you really think you’ll play games with me?” Any softness that Grant's words might have held when he spoke to me are now gone when speaking to Chicago. Nothing but coldness remains. “I’ll turn this place into a fucking parking lot before dawn.”
“I could press charges against your friend,” Chicago scurries to say.
“Press away.” Grant shrugs. “In fact, do you want me to call the authorities and press the charges?” Grant looks at me.
“No,” I rush to say. I just want to get out of here. This was all a mistake. I never should have come. What was I thinking? A strip club? I knew to stay away from my cousin, but I was desperate. I'm a day away from living on the streets. Desperate times call for desperate measures. And I knew this was the only place that I could make a lump sum of cash fast.
“You want her,” Chicago says, getting his footing back. His gaze flicks to me, giving me a once over as if he’s confused. That makes two of us.
“There are lots of other girls here.” Anna draws in closer to Grant, licking her shiny lips. An unexpected pang of jealousy hits me out of nowhere.
“Don’t touch me.” He puts up his hand when Anna is almost right up against him. Her eyes widen in surprise. An odd sense of relief fills me that Grant rejected her advance.