Page 40 of Two For One

“Why thank you, Senator,” I said, catching the oil tycoon studying me intently.

“Now, y’all let me know if you need anything else,” I said, putting the champagne in the bucket.

Just as I was leaving Senator Cox grabbed me by the wrist. “How much for a dance?”

I clenched my fist, stopping myself from hitting him.

“Oh, I'm only your lovely waitress for tonight,” I said, pulling my wrist out of his grasp. “I’m sure one of our lovely dancers would be a better fit anyway.”

“That’s not what I heard,” he said, studying me.

His gaze was unnerving. The hair on the back of my neck stood up as I got the urge to run.

“It seems you have a price and it’s twenty thousand,” he smiled, taking a sip of his champagne.

“Well, that was a one-time show because if you asked the man, he would probably tell you I’m not worth it,” I said smiling. “Now y’all wave me down if you need anything."

I walked away quickly before he could say anything else. My heart was beating too fast, I felt woozy and my neck itched. Something was wrong.

“Hey, are you ok?” Mistress Lux came to my side

“Yeah, I just…” I didn’t know what to say, afraid of speaking something into existence. “I think I need to eat.”

“There are some protein bars in the lounge. Take fifteen minutes. I think you need a break,” she said, watching Senator Cox's table.

I nodded, needing a moment, walking like Senator Cox hadn’t turned my world upside down. The lounge was quiet, thankfully, everyone was working which gave me some time to rest. I sat down, closing my eyes, putting my hand on my chest when I felt eyes on me.

“Madame Red?” I posed it as a question even though I knew it was her.

“Trouble on the floor?”

“No, I just needed a moment to sit down, maybe eat something,” I said, hating that Mistress Lux had said something to her.

I opened my eyes to see her walking to the table of snacks we had.

“Senator Cox is a tough man to handle,” she said, picking up a few things and a water bottle.

“He knew I danced for twenty grand,” I said, watching her walk to me.

“Did he? Interesting,” she said, handing over the items.

“How—”

“Well, the man you danced for has a big mouth,” she said, and I immediately wanted to rebut, but what could I say?

Having a relationship with our clients wasn’t forbidden, more like frowned upon. Telling her I knew Ezra seemed like a stupid thing to do. Madame Red studied me, waiting for me to say something that would never come out of my mouth freely.

She nodded when I kept silent.

“What are you protecting them from?” She took a deep breath, crossing her legs.

“Who?” I raised a brow.

“Alright, if this is how you are going to play it,” she sighed. “I can only protect you if you let me, but if you want to be stubborn then I guess that is a lesson you will need to learn. Just remember they are dangerous men and all they care about is themselves or what you can do for them.”

My heart dropped as she reiterated what I had been thinking from the beginning.

“I trust you haven’t told them anything about the club, the inner workings or secrets you’ve heard,” she asked, keeping a serene and calm expression while I was freaking out internally.