The Girl In Red

Anna’s Pov

It has been two weeks since I escaped but I still felt like I was playing pretend in someone else's life. The money was real though. I had already saved enough to rent a studio apartment that smelled like mold, had cockroaches crawling on the walls but it was mine. Nobody could lock me in or take it away from me.

"You're getting better," Crystal said, fixing her lipstick in the mirror next to me. She was one of the dancers. "I barely recognize that scared little girl who walked in here crying."

"I'm still scared," I said, adjusting the red dress that I wore every single night. Buying another one meant spending money I didn't have.

"Fake it till you make it," Crystal said before winking at me then walking out onto the floor.

I took a deep breath to follow her. The club was packed because Friday nights always were. I walked through the crowd, felt hands reaching out to touch me but I had learned how to move just out of reach. How to smile without meaning it. How to take money without making promises I couldn't keep.

The music changed. That was my cue. I walked onto the stage. The lights blinded me like they always did but this time I didn't freeze. I had done this enough times that my body knew what to do without my brain having to think about it.

I moved to the music, wrapped myself around the pole to spin, let my body do what it knew how to do. Money started landing on the stage. I smiled because it was working, I was surviving.

When my song ended I collected the bills to count them fast. Eighty three dollars for three minutes. It still felt unreal that people would pay money just to watch me dance.

I was walking offstage when Crystal grabbed my arm hard.

"Girl you need to see this," she said, pulling me toward the entrance.

"What?" I asked but she didn't answer, just pointed.

A group of men had just walked in. Everyone in the club was staring at them. They were wearing expensive suits. One of them had a bodyguard who was huge, looked like he could kill someone with his bare hands.

"Who are they?" I whispered.

"I don't know the others," Crystal said. Her voice was quiet like she was scared to speak too loud. "But that one in the middle. That's Kelvin Conner."

The name didn't mean anything to me. She must have seen the confusion on my face because she grabbed my shoulders.

"Kelvin Conner," she repeated. "The billionaire. He owns half the buildings in this city. He's on the news all the time. He's literally the richest man in New York."

I looked back at the group to try to see which one she meant. The man in the middle was tall with brown hair combed to the side, gray eyes that looked at the club like he owned it. I guess he probably could buy it if he wanted to.

"What's he doing here?" I asked.

Crystal shrugged. "He comes sometimes. Always gets the VIP lounge. Always asks for private dances. Tips crazy amounts of money."

Jo appeared next to us. He looked nervous. I had never seen Jo look nervous about anything.

"Girls," he said. "Back to work. Important guests."

Crystal walked away but I couldn't stop staring. Something about the way Kelvin Conner moved made everyone else in the room disappear. People were getting out of his way like he was royalty.

His bodyguard was clearing a path. Another man who looked like an assistant was following behind him. They headed toward the VIP lounge which was a sectioned off area with better furniture, darker lighting.

I spent the next hour dancing, serving drinks, trying not to think about the VIP lounge but I could feel it. Like there was something pulling me in that direction. Every time I walked past the door my skin felt hot.

Around midnight Jo found me at the bar. His face was serious.

"Anna," he said. "Need to talk to you."

My stomach dropped. "Did I do something wrong?"

"No," he said, looking around to make sure nobody was listening. "I need you to do something."

"Okay," I said slowly.

"The gentleman in the VIP lounge," Jo said. "He's asking for you."

My heart started pounding hard. "What?"

"He wants a private dance," Jo continued. "In one of the back rooms. For the night."

I stared at him. "For the night?"

"He's willing to pay very well," Jo said. "This is the kind of opportunity you don't say no to."

"I don't do overnight things," I said. My voice was shaking. "I dance on stage, I do private dances in the rooms with cameras but I don't stay with customers overnight."

Jo's face changed, got hard. "Anna. This man could buy this club with his pocket change. If he wants you for the night you go. That's how this works."

"No," I said, taking a step back. "I can't."

Jo grabbed my arm. His fingers dug in hard enough to bruise. "You can or you will. Unless you want to find another job."

Tears started burning in my eyes but I refused to let them fall. Crying would show weakness. Weakness got you hurt.

"How much?" I asked.

Jo let go of my arm. "That's between you, him."

He walked away. I stood there feeling like the ground had opened up, I was falling with nothing to grab onto. 

I walked toward the VIP lounge. My legs felt weak. The bodyguard opened the door. I stepped inside.

Kelvin Conner was sitting on a leather couch with a drink in his hand. His assistant was standing next to him but when I walked in the assistant left. It was just me, Kelvin, the bodyguard by the door.

"Close the door," Kelvin said to the bodyguard. "Give us privacy."

The bodyguard left to shut the door. Now it was just me, this man who could probably buy, sell lives without thinking twice.

"Sit," Kelvin said, pointing to the couch across from him.

I sat down to keep my hands in my lap. He wouldn't see them shaking.

"Jo tells me you're new," he said.

"Two weeks," I said.

"You're talented," he said. "I watched you dance earlier. You move differently than the other girls."

"Thank you," I said.

"I want to hire you for the night," he said. His gray eyes were looking right at me. "Name your price."

My mouth went dry. Numbers ran through my head. I thought about how much money I needed to survive.

"One thousand dollars," I said before waiting for him to laugh.

But he didn't laugh. He pulled out his phone to tap something. A few seconds later my phone buzzed. I pulled it out to stare at the screen.

One thousand dollars had just been deposited into my account.

"Done," Kelvin said. "Now come here."

When his eyes locked on mine I knew my life was about to change.