Madison could combust; she was so hot. It was like she had walked into a fire. She had been ignited from the inside out and the outside in. She didn’t even feel the weight of her dance duffle as it swung across her body and her feet ate up the ground between her and the bus stop. How could he do this to her? Who was he? And where was Enzo? She had been so pissed she hadn’t bothered to look for Enzo.
Or to tell Zoe she was leaving. Her shoulders slumped. At least she had those tips. Enzo always came around when she was there, so she figured he might have been out for him not to come to her sets. She needed that money.
How was she to pay her landlady that night when she got home? She had hoped with what she had made from her sets, she could slip it under her door and cross her fingers that she wouldn’t need to pay the extra two hundred dollars.
Madison also needed to work at il Signore as a sub. They had the best splits of the places she worked, and the customers were always generous with their tips. They even let her bartend before and after her sets.
She wouldn’t build her nest egg back up anytime soon at this rate.
She knew Enzo from high school. He had always been nice to her and she trusted him, and he hadn’t given her a reason not to.
Until now.
He had been dependable and trustworthy with payments, and he made sure the patrons followed the special rules they had for her. And this other guy had come and screwed her over. She looked up and noticed she had passed the bus stop.
As heated as she was, she could have walked the five miles to her place no problem, but she wasn’t headed to her place. She wanted to go to the hospital. Madison turned around and headed back to the bus stop.
She took a deep breath and willed herself to look happy. She didn’t want to cause her brother any distress. He was already asking where the money was coming from and how she got so much from just bartending tips.
She also viewed it as bad for not staying to help Zoe out. She hadn’t even told her she was leaving.
“Madison, wait.”
She looked up to find Enzo sprinting towards her. “Did you bring my money?”
“No—Wait, listen.” He held his hands out in a pleading fashion. “Dante is majority owner in the club, and I was in charge of it while he was out on other business. He has the final say on what goes on, and he says he doesn’t want the deal.”
“You know I’m never coming back, right?” She was screwed. She wanted to throw her hands up in the air and scream. She should be celebrating not in this mess.
“Listen, I know it looks bad, but Dante says he’s willing to make a deal with you if you come back.”
“I know what kind of deal he wants, and you know I’m not going to take it, so there is no point.”
“No. I told him that, and he said it wasn’t that.”
Madison’s gut told her something was wrong, and she should just go see her brother, but if she could get her money. It would be the last time she stepped into that bar, but it would be worth it to go back and miss visiting hours.
“Ok.”
“Let me take your bag for you.”
“No need. I won’t be staying long.”
****
Dante waited for Enzo to bring her back. That was where the profit spikes had come from. It had been Madison moonlighting at their club. Even with the normal club split, they made five thousand more on nights she was there. He was a businessman first, and he couldn’t let that money slip through his fingers. Not with the information he had learned from the call he received. He would need that money and more if he was to beat the clock. Now he just had to figure out what type of deal he could offer where they would both get what they wanted.
The door opened and Madison came in behind Enzo.
“Enzo says you have an offer for me?”
Right to the point he liked it. “Yeah. Enzo, you can leave.”
“I’m not fucking you if that’s why you want him to leave.”
“Enzo told me. It’s just this deal is between the two of us. Take a seat.” Enzo stood rooted to the spot before Dante gave him a look, and he left and closed the door. Would she tell him off again? She stared him down before she lifted the strap from between her breasts and set her duffel down before she sat in the chair.
He showed her his palms. “See, we can work together.”
