Clients

He looked around the room before settling his eyes back on me.

"You work as a slut, never guessed someone so innocent looking would", he said walking past me.

I finally broke out of shock, my thoughts rushing back to me like a wave. Why is he here? I'm supposed to meet with that other man.

"I'm not a slut and what are you doing here, you're not the person I'm supposed to meet", I asked, turning to face him. He had settled himself on a recliner facing the strip pole.

"I heard you can dance on that", he said instead, avoiding my question," why not show me."

"Are you still after my life? Do you want to kill me?” I found myself asking. I don't think I'm ready to face the terrors that comes with my past. The dark memories were already rushing in.

I knew for a fact that if he wanted to kill me, he would have done so by now.

"I paid heavily to get access here you know, it's only fair I get my money's worth", his deep voice was very calm and almost hypnotising as he eluded my questions once again.

"You're not the man I'm supposed to meet", I said and crossed my arms defiantly. I knew I was being stupid, but I couldn't bring myself down to dance for this man in particular. Not after what he did.

"I heard your family is in the hospital", he began saying lazily, a small smirk on his face, " would be a shame to hear any bad news from them after sacrificing your dignity, wouldn't it", he said and my heart sank to my feet.

I tried opening my mouth to say something, but couldn't bring myself to say anything at all. Instead, I slowly slipped out of my robe and walked to the pole to do as he said.

My eyes didn't leave him throughout the whole performance, I observed him quietly. Some parts of his face wore a red hue, definitely from the fight he had earlier but other than that, he looked good.

I tried comparing my memories of him to him now and I could only note very few differences in him. He still had that dangerous, yet appealing appearance about him. His body looks even more built and he now carried a very domineering aura.

Back then, he looked to me to be in his twenties, so now, I presume he'd be in his mid or late thirties.

As I performed, I noticed he looked at me with a bored expression, unlike the other men from earlier today who seemed to want to pounce on me.

There was no lust, no desire, no admiration in his eyes. His eyes remained as tranquil as a calm ocean, and this greatly affected my pride so I just came to a stop.

"I never told you to stop", he said, his gaze hanging lazily on me.

"You don't seem interested in this, why don't we just stop wasting our time", I said, crossing my hands and looked away.

" Why do you say so?” he queried, his left brow arched elegantly.

"You're not paying attention", I turned to face him, burrowing my brows.

"I've been looking at you all through your little display", he said with a small wave of hand.

Little display? Did he just call what I did little display?

He chuckled lightly then stood up and began moving closer to me, his stoic face taking on a dangerous shade. It seems like I've gotten a new skill in ticking men off.

Like I did earlier this evening, I backed away as he approached me until my back came in contact with the wall and once again I was held captive between his two muscular arms.

Something was different about him however, unlike that other man, the lust wasn't evident in Stephan’s eyes. An unrecognizable gleam hovered in his steel blue orbs making me catch my breath. Despite how much I hated him right now, my body betrayed me and allowed some awkward feeling to course through me.

I remember the first time I ever saw him several years ago as clear as day, he was hovering over me, just as he is now. A wave of nostalgia washed over me.

"What did you expect of me principessa, hmm...you wanted me to drool over you like a dog to increase your poor self esteem", he asked, a ghost of a smile on his face as he mocked me.

I so badly wanted to place a slap on his handsome face, but I knew doing that would be writing a death sentence, not just for myself, but for my family as well. I wouldn't have cared much if I only had to think about myself alone.

"Stephan, I have no time for this, I'm expecting someone", I stated and attempted to push him away but he caught my wrists.

"You know, I'm surprised you kept my name in your memory after so long, and who exactly are you expecting that's more important than me right now", he said, his face way too close for comfort.

"I'm that someone, now get your hands off what's mine", a familiar voice said in a loud yet deceptively calm tone.

Stephan had a small smile as he looked at me and I wondered why until he turned and faced my client, I understood a little better. They knew each other.

Mr Ruslan’s face contorted angrily while that of Stephan held amusement. Stephan finally let go of me, and I took the opportunity to put a good distance between us.

Neither of them spoke a word; they just stared at each other for a few fleeting seconds until I decided to speak up.

"I'm sorry, Mr Ruslan. I—”

"Hold it," he said with his index finger raised, then he pointed the finger at Riev, " what are you doing here."

Riev smirked, then walked a little closer to me.

"I am here for the same reason you are, Russy, to f**k the w***e",” he mused.

I wanted to say that I wasn't a w***e but couldn't bring myself to cause he was right; this is what I am now.

"She is mine, all mine," Mr Ruslan retorted and grabbed my arm, pulling me to his side forcefully.

Stephan didn't fight about it, he looked at me and then at Mr Ruslan with a smirk, then proceeded to walk out of the room.

Mr Ruslan remained quiet long after he had left; he looked deep in thought, and I didn't do anything to interrupt his thinking process.

Then he let go of my arm after a while and walked out of the room without a word, leaving me all alone.

That left me confused yet relieved; I didn't have to sleep with anyone. Not yet, at least.

I rushed back to the dressing room to change my clothes so I could head home. Something told me Riev didn't want me dead as I had thought, but then again, can I be too sure?

A sigh parted my lips as I opened my closet door, but something fell right out just as I did. It was a suitcase, someone must have placed it in my closet, but who, and why?

Curiosity took the reins as I wondered what could be inside, and when I finally opened it up, my mouth fell open.

Someone had placed lots of wads of hundred dollar bills in the suitcase, and the person left a note as well.

'TAKE THIS, HELP YOURSELF IN WHICHEVER WAY AND RESIGN FROM THIS JOB AS SOON AS YOU CAN, 'the note read.