Chapter 31
JOJO:
Bentley was inside the backstage in no time. Her keen eyes searched for me until she found me rooted on a spot. Zita Lowe spotted me, she eyed me, malice etched in the corners of her gaze, before she looked away from me.
“What are you still doing here? It’s your turn!” Bentley whispered, pulling me from my safe spot. Sweat formed in my palms and I found myself wiping them against my thighs.
It’s just like ballet right? I mean, I had always wanted to dance ballet in front of a crowd.
Only, I knew this was not ballet. I was not in the fancy hose and pointed shoes. Bentley tugged at my arm until I was standing in front of the curtain, she drew it open and pushed me out there, into the crowd, with a proud smile on her face.
Lights. My eyes scanned the dimly lit room, illuminated with nothing but numerous disco lights.
Camera. The flashlights from phones were all over the room. People made videos and captured moments.
I swallowed hard.
Action.
“Ladies and gentlemen, Red!”
The man on the stage climbed down for me to take over. I looked around the room once more. I didn’t just think, this time, I turned my back and dashed back into the curtain.
“What are you doing?!” She barked. I tried to move past her, but she wouldn’t let me.
“I’m sorry, I can’t do it.” I pleaded. A deadly scowl crawled onto her face.
“JoJo Wyatt, you’re going to go out on that stage right now and you’re going to dance. You’re going to give back to this club what we’ve given to you ever so generously and you will put in your best while at it!”
Bentley was serious. I knew she was. I also knew she was right.
They had done more than enough for me by helping my mother. I had promised I would pay back; this was my chance to do so.
I turned my back to her and pushed myself forward to the stage. This was for my mother, Ley, and Mel. I would do anything for them.
The crowd stayed quiet even when I summoned the courage to walk the stage. The eerie silence continued until I reached the pole. I offered a smile but was only met with rigid faces.
I inhaled and exhaled, gripped the pole, and began to sway my body to the music. I allowed the adrenaline rush, and the music to warm my body like the heat of a thousand fires. My fingers shook against the pole and I gripped it firmly. Tonight, Jojo Wyatt was going to pay her debt and change her life.
I had thought I had everything under control until I saw him. He settled into the empty seat at the first table. He was here, in his ever-shiny signature Armani tuxedo. I tore my eyes away from him immediately. I was not here for him; I was here to change my life. It would have been very easy if his eyes were not buried into my skin.
Still, this was my fight, and my night, nothing was taking it away from me. I continued to twirl my body around the pole with all the confidence I could muster. The crowd was still pin-drop silent; I had not been able to capture them yet.
That was when I found him. A different man stared at me, watching every move and taking keen note of every bend. I suddenly remembered what Bentley once said;
“Find your target audience and steal him from the crowd.”Content (C) Nôv/elDra/ma.Org.
A wry smile crept up to my lips. I did just that; I found him, and then I stole him until all he could see was me.
It worked like magic.
Soon, dollar bills began to rain all over my body, even in stacks. Bentley said the money was all mine, and my confidence took a rocket for the sky. I charmed my first victim, the second, and then the third. Avoiding the ones who tried to touch me as much as I could.
Cold sweat kissed my skin, proceeding to trail down to the valley between my breasts as I danced. I took a daring step away from the pole, twirled my body in my heels, and dropped my hands to the ground by just lowering my back before I rose in grand style. I did one split and allowed their eyes to rest on my butt before rising immediately.
In all this, I kept my eyes away from the Alpha. I did not intend to walk out of this room with wet panties. Not with the way he sought to carefully eye-fuck me.
Every muscle in my body was sore after my performance. As I hurried backstage to find a place to sit, away from the loud music, my eyes drifted to where Alpha Lake sat. Our eyes met and I tore mine away from him immediately.
When I walked backstage, Bentley had a huge smile on her face and it did little to calm my nerves.
“You were good, Red!”
I allowed myself to wallow in her praises, before sending her a weak smile.
Soon, Zita Lowe, whose stage name was “Barbie” was called on stage.
As she passed by me, she did not forget to make a show of brushing my shoulder causing a sharp pain to shoot through my right hand. I ignored. Bentley, of course, did not suspect a thing. She opened her mouth to continue speaking when a guard walked up to her. He leaned into her and whispered something into her ear and her face lit up immediately.
“Wait here, Red! I’ll be back!” She screamed in excitement and dashed off the back stage. My green eyes followed her while I twirled strands of my red hair around my fingers in fatigue. I wondered what had tickled her so much. I took a seat and pulled out the wads of cash stuck in both sides of my bra.
The club had just closed for the night. He was entering the backstage when he saw Bentley run towards him with the hugest smile on her face.
“What’s going on?” He asked, before drawing her attention toward me. She paused and looked up at him. Her smile not diminishing even by a fraction.
“A lot. A lot is going on right now, Neil. We just got our very first VVIP customer for the year! Xavier Monterrey! This man has never asked for a dancer before and you know how loaded he is. A stakeholder and business associate of the company! And do you know what tops off everything?” She asked.
Neil shook his head as a sign of no. He has a smile plastered on his face too. This meant money, lots of money.
“The customer requested no one else but the newbie!” She squealed and he raised a brow at her.
Neil found it hard to believe his ears.
“Who? Red? JoJo Wyatt?” He mentioned both names, just to be sure.
“The one and only, Neil. I mean, that’s the only newbie that performed tonight, it’s her! Oh man, I can’t wait to break the news to her, deliver her into his arms and count the crisp dollar bills later on. I can’t wait, excuse me!” She yelled and pushed him aside. She rushed backstage while he stood there. That girl had copped her first customer, and it wasn’t just any man.
He was Xavier Monterrey, one of the highest-ranking wolves in the country.
Neil knew it was the innocence that drew the predators towards her. He almost pitied her but remembered it was the life she chose.
Bentley ran out of the backstage again, complaining about something along the lines of ‘she had told her to stay put’ but he could not figure out exactly what she meant even as he watched her go. It was why he did not notice that the Alpha had crept up behind him until he spoke,
“Did something happen? Why is Bentley all over the place?”
Neil turned in the direction of the alpha’s voice and bowed.
“A dancer was requested for by a VVIP, Alpha,” I responded.
The alpha looked down at him with keen eyes. He was excited about the money too, Neil knew.
“Who is she?”