I drop the wad of stacked bills held together by a single rubber band onto my landlord's desk. He looks up, clearly in the midst of a phone call I have interrupted.

He eyes the money through his thin sqaured glasses then looks up at me. He hangs up with whoever he's talking to and I give him an innocent smile.

"Where did you get this kind of money, and in such short notice?"

He's probably thinking I robbed a bank or ran a drug deal, but everything I did last night was legal.

Crazy?

Yes. But very legal.

"I'm a stripper now," I tell him honestly.

He looks me up and down, most likely visualizing me half naked and dancing for a bunch of men while money rains down on me. He's always been a pervert, so it doesn't surprise me one bit.

I pat the money as if it were a dog and shove it closer. "Rents all there. You should expect next month's rent and the month after that very soon."

I like where I live, and wasn't about to give that up to live in that hellhole mansion my parents call a home.

Besides, I'm doing what I love and hopefully going to make enough money to afford my own dance studio. Everything is slowly starting to fall into place. And it feels damn good.

I don't bother listening to what he has to say as I turn on my heel and walk out. Becoming a stripper was probably the best decision I ever made.

****

"Are you crazy?" Gabby shouted at me. "This has got to be the stupidest thing you have ever done."

So she wasn't too fond about me becoming a stripper. I expected that from her. In a lot of ways, she's just like our mother. "Aren't you going to ask how my night went?" I ask, ignoring the smoke fuming from her ears.

She frowns, shaking her head and sighing. Her facial expression softens. "How was your night?"

"Great!" I tell her, perking up with a smile. "Besides the fact that one of my bosses is an asshole, my new co-workers seemed to love me. After my performance I even took on a few clients."

"That's... good," she says with hesitation.

She'll come around eventually. At least I hope so. I need her to see why I'm doing this. My dreams are just around the corner. And with this job I'll be able to pay rent and achieve my goals.

I'm doing what she wanted me to do, which is follow my dreams. No matter the course, I know that I'll get there. I'm almost there. I can feel it.

"You said one of your bosses was an asshole? How many bosses do you have?"

I hold up four fingers. "Four. It's a family business. I guess they couldn't make a decision on who should run things."

"That's weird. Well, are they as hot as the one you spoke to at Davis Cafe and Diner yesterday?"

I nod. "All four men are devastatingly handsome. It's almost overwhelming, especially when all four tower over you like damn mountains."

Gabby sips her coffee, watching the way my cheeks have flushed pink at the thought of their intimidating presence.

I tell her about my encounter with Niccolo, and how scared Jess had been when she confronted me about flipping him off during my performance.

She couldn't even look at the man. And she kept giving me this look that made me feel like that day could've been my last day of living. It was so strange.

"Maybe she knows something that you don't know," Gabby suggests.

"Maybe." Resting my chin on bent knee, I release a sigh. I'm going to ask her tonight.

****

I fight back a yawn from boredom. Rolling my hips in a circular motion, I languidly let my hands roam over my body.

Tonight has been absolutely boring. All my clients have just been a bunch of old men with missing teeth who want to show me pictures of their grandchildren.

Some of the children were cute, and some of them... not so much.

Turning around to sit down on the frail man's lap, I begin to grind on him. I'm utterly disgusted by how quick the bulge in his slacks harden. Good for him though. He's almost eighty and can still get it up. Unlike some men, who begin struggling by the time they're almost thirty.

"You have a nice ass," he compliments smiling up at me.

I smile back, trying not to gag from the sudden wave of cigarette smoke permeating my nostrils.

Checking the time on my watch, I sigh with relief when I see that his time is up. Pushing myself off his lap, he hands me a crumpled hundred dollar bill and thanks me.

Giving him a nod and a smile, I start towards the bar. It was finally my break and I was in need of a drink. My eyes land on a familiar set of blue eyes when I take a seat on the bar stool. Ethan.

He immediately starts blushing, his eyes raking over my burgundy colored one piece lingerie. His eyes stop at my breasts before looking back up at me.

"You're spilling," I say, pointing to the the mess he's made on the counter. And it was good Vodka too.

"Oh!" He says, rushing to grab a rag and cleaning up the puddle.

Smiling at him, I reach over to take the bottle of Vodka. Taking a sip, I sigh with satisfaction.

"H-hey," he stutters. "Employees aren't allowed to drink on duty."

He's still just as adorable and annoying as he was the day before. I might need to consider giving him and that pretty cock of his another chance.

"Don't tell our bosses and I'll suck your cock," I say nonchalantly as I down another swig.

My face twists at the burning taste in my throat. I make note of the way his face lights up and his cheeks turn bright red. "R-really?"

"I wouldn't do that if I were you, po' rossa(little red)," someone says, sitting down beside me.

Ethan gulps, slipping away to attend to another customer, and I look over to see who it is. Cesare.

I frantically set the bottle down, but Cesare shakes his head. "Don't stop on my account po' rossa(little red)."

"I'm sorry," I say, chewing at my lip from embarrassment. I didn't think any of them were coming in tonight.

My eyes dart around the room, hoping another one of my bosses don't appear, especially Marcellius. I don't want to get fired on my second night of working here.

"Don't worry, Niccolo's not here."

My eyes land back on Cesare. "Who said I'm looking for that asshole?" I snap without thinking.

Cesare stares back at me with wide eyes, clearly not expecting me to snap on him like that. I ready myself to apologize, but then he starts laughing.

"Ah, now I see why Nic's so drawn to you." What? Cesare reaches over to grab the Vodka bottle and force down a couple sips. He's still laughing, unfazed by the alcohol I'm sure is burning his throat.

Damn.

I don't know whether to be impressed or worried. He tilts his head to the right, eyeing me closely with those penetrating blue eyes of his.

"I would've taken you for myself had Nic not already claimed you." He sighs as if disappointed by that. "Maybe Nic will share," he mumbles to himself.

"Excuse me?" He quirks a brow, noticing the way my tone has changed. "For your information, I'm not claimed by anyone, nor will I ever be." I abruptly stand to my feet, causing a few heads to turn in my direction. "And fuck that asshole."

Cesare chases after me, gently grabbing my arm. I stop and glance back at him, an angry look etched on my face.

He releases my arm. "Apologies, po' rossa(little red). I didn't mean to offend you."

"I'm sure you didn't, but you did." I was especially annoyed by what he said, because my parents have tried to control every aspect of my life. And I'm tired of people trying to claim me and own me.

"I-" He starts to say something, but I simply walk away not wanting to hear anymore. Besides, my break is over anyway so back to work I go.