Page 6 of A Beast Captured My Heart

“Whatever. Let’s go heifer, and I’m not staying out long.”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah!”

She picked up her small Gucci purse and we headed for the door. My best friend looked good. She even had on a similar black mini dress like me. I was the happiest I had been in a long time. With the pay from my new job, I could save two thousand a month and pay for my momma's house in Cali. I was going to work it until I found a better job and start back writing. I wanted to gain a big fan base to become the next big author in the urban fiction world. I didn’t plan on working for Praise very long, although his daughter was a sweetheart. I just didn’t want to get caught up in any illegal activities like my brother did. Men like him felt like the world was at his feet and I was not going to be one of the people falling to his feet to meet all his family’s needs. His baby’s mother seemed like drama. I stayed away from women like her as well. I wanted a peaceful normal life and being involved with a job like that could bring on security with money but hell within my life. I pushed my thoughts out of my head for the night. I was always weighed down with worry and fear, doubts and calculating things to put myself at ease. Tonight, I told myself that I would let go and really just try to enjoy myself.

We arrived at the club and I was amazed upon entrance. It reminded me of the show I loved to watch called Power Club. It had huge chandeliers with a big open dance floor. You could tell the VIP sections screamed rich folks only. Especially the attire people wore, I was thankful that Meshalay bought me this outfit to make me look like I belonged. We made our way to the bar and I was thankful for that. I needed a couple of shots to loosen me up. Looking over at my best friend, I smiled at her. She was effortlessly beautiful. Her skin was glowing, she was light skin with a nice tan, standing about five foot seven inches tall and was built slim thick. Her high cheekbones gave her a hell of sex appeal. After my third shot, I started feeling it. I was snapping my fingers to the music. I felt bold enough to stand up and rock my hips to the beat. Meshalay danced with me up until her man Stone met us on the dance floor. He danced with us to a couple of songs then asked us to come to his VIP section. Following them, I silently wished I had gone and got one more shot just for more liquor courage.

I silently prayed that my new boss was not with them. When we made it there I relaxed and got comfortable. Praise didn’t take me as the type anyway to be out and exposed to the club scene. He seemed so lowkey and private. Picking up the bottle of Ace of Spades, I poured myself a small cup and hit my vape. The same men that were at my interview were in the section except for Praise. Another handsome gentleman was there as well and he eyed me lustfully.

“Damn Ms. Lady. You did a three-sixty from earlier this week! You look sexy as fuck! What happened to the scars?” Teflon asked. I didn’t give him attitude since he was my boss's brother. I laughed off his rude comment and smiled as I took a small sip of my drink. He got the picture and left me the hell alone. Guys like Teflon were shallow as hell and ignorant. I refused to give him any of my good energy so I continued to vibe up until I heard the DJ make an announcement.

“Awww shit! We got the boss man Beast up in this bitch! It’s time to bring out the strippers and more bottles!”

He spun another song as everyone got hype. Praise strolled through the club casually with five bodyguards on each side of him, front and back. He looked good as hell. He rocked a collared Polo white shirt and some blue-washed jeans that sagged a little showing the top print of his Polo boxers. He had a nice tapered fade with his goatee giving his facial structure sex appeal. Each time he smiled, those sexy dimples sunk in deeper. His gray eyes glowed under the club lighting causing my lady parts to clench. Taking my eyes off of him, I had to think of a way out of this section and away from him so I stood to my feet and told Lay I had to run to the restroom. I avoided eye contact with everyone including Praise who was almost four feet away. Ic made my way back to the bar to have another shot to calm my nerves. I didn’t want to be partying in the same section as my boss and I needed to get my thoughts in control while being in the same place as him. I would never mess with him even though I knew even if I wanted to, I wouldn’t be his type. I felt too exposed and uncomfortable with what I had on anyway. He was my boss and mixing business with pleasure was an unprofessional thing to do.

“I didn’t get your name beautiful,” a deep baritone from behind me startled me a bit. The music was loud so to communicate you had to come close to the person you were talking to. Turning around to give the stranger my attention, I noticed it was the same guy from the VIP section. He was very thuggishly handsome. If I was into thugs, I would have taken him more seriously. He had neat straight-back braids. His skin was black and flawless. Dark chocolate is what he was. When he talked, I noticed his diamond grill. He smelled good and I thought it wouldn’t hurt to give him my time since I would be here for another hour or so. I refused to go back into the section with Praise so I made small convo with him.

“My name is Kayori and you?”

“Don baby.”

He licked his lips and picked my hand up and kissed it.

“I’m gon’ cut to the chase though. You fine as fuck and I want to get to know you outside of this club.”

Taking his phone out, he unlocked it and handed it to me. Were all the men in Vegas so cocky? Smiling, I punched my number in for the hell of it. I knew we wouldn’t get far. We had a good conversation and he was a gentleman. He bought me more drinks, we hit the dance floor, and made it back to the bar. That’s when I realized I was tired and ready to go.

“Well Don, I’m going to head outside and get some air and wait for my best friend in the car. My feet hurt and I want to rest before I start my new job with your friend Praise.”

Standing to my feet, I fake yawned and grabbed my clutch purse as he stood as well.

“Praise? Oh, you talking bout that nigga Beast? We not friends shorty. I’m just a private investor in some of his business ventures. I handle real estate and accounting.”

I was surprised that he sounded legit, which was an extra plus for me. A businessman with no street activities was good enough for me.

“Okay Don, well call me.”

I flirted with him as I walked out. When I made it outside, I felt good to feel the fresh night air. The club felt stuffy as the hours passed by.

“You look nice Kayori.”

When I turned to my left, Praise was posted up on the wall hitting his cigar. His bodyguards stood around him looking in every direction except for us.

“Thank you Praise. Nice to see you here.”

He nodded his head and stared at me intently.

“Why you cover your scars?” He asked as if he was curious. I took offense to it a little as I gave him a look that said please mind your business. “You look better with them, see you Monday.”

The cocky bastard walked away before I could respond. I stood there blushing and feeling foolish at the same time. My phone vibrated and it was a text from Don that made me smile. It was a simple text, stating to let him know when I made it home safe but I appreciated it nevertheless. Vegas was already starting off interesting to me and I couldn’t wait to see what all it had in store. Walking to the car, I replayed Praise’s words. As much as I despised the cockiness about him, I found myself ashamed to admit to myself that I was attracted to him. It was a struggle for me to make eye contact with men because a part of me felt ugly sometimes. With Praise, he demanded my attention, forcing me without telling me to look him in the eyes. There was something deep about him, a story to tell or something he was battling. Besides those cold gray eyes, something bothersome was in them. When I looked back at him, his eyes were already on me. We stared for a couple of seconds at each other. It made me uncomfortable because he refused to break eye contact forcing me to turn my eyes away from him.

I didn’t want to make things weird. I simply wanted to do my job, get paid, save up, and get far away from him. I slipped inside of Lay’s car happy to be away from him and his intense stare. I warmed up her car and waited patiently for her to bring her ass on. Fifteen minutes passed and I looked around only to find her up against her man car with him between her legs making out like high school sweethearts. I couldn’t do nothing but smile. My girl deserved to be happy. She had been through some tough shit and she still managed to smile through it all. I scanned the area with my eyes and admired Vegas. It was a busy place and also beautiful on the eyes. Everywhere you went close by or on the strip, had bright lights. I loved lights especially when they were multicolored. Me and Meshalay lived in a high-rise condo overlooking all these beautiful lights. I had my own room, yet I still liked sitting in the living room with my laptop at night writing the new book I was currently working on. Writing was my scapegoat for my actual reality. Not that I lived in a fantasy world but in some of my characters, I somehow lived through them. They made my pain go away. I put the confidence that I wish I had in them.

My eyes scanned back to the front of the club as I rolled the windows down to get some fresh air in. I noticed Praise standing back in the same place from when he mentioned my scars. My stomach grew tight. I watched him talk to his guards and smile at what one of them had said to him. That was the first time I took note of his beautiful smile. It reached his eyes and his pink full lips did something to me as he tugged at the bottom of his beard. I watched a beautiful redbone woman walk right into his arms as he kissed her neck and grabbed a handful of her ass. She blushed hard and so did I, wishing it was my ass that was grabbed. It’s been so long since affection found its way to me, I sometimes yearned for it no matter how hard I tried to run from it. Screeching tires pulled everyone’s attention as a drop-top Benz pulled up all on the sidewalk. When I saw who it was, I leaned my seat back and stared on the low. I didn’t want my boss’s baby momma to think I came to the club to see her man outside of business hours. I needed my job and also no drama in my life. I continued to watch the scene in front of me once I was positive, I could not be spotted.

“Why the fuck you ain’t at home with my daughter, Quanna?” Praise’s voice boomed so loud I heard him clear I was a good distance away from him.

“Fuck all that! Who the fuck is this bitch while you got a whole family at home Beast!”