(Tara's POV)
Ring! Ring! My phone was in my hand bag so it rang a little longer than it normally would. I fumbled through the bag and finally found it, quickly glancing at the screen to see who was calling. “Oh Mia”, I said delightedly, and answered the call. “Hi Mia.” I called, pressing the phone against my ear “You just interrupted my thoughts young lady”, I said playfully. “Tara! Tara!” She called hastily and immediately I became nervous. Was something wrong? Mia rarely called me by my real name. “What is going on?” I wondered, overhearing her soft sniffles on the other end of the line. Worried, I asked, “What’s wrong Mia? Are you crying?” “Tara, I've been kicked out of the house. The landlord said if we could not pay the rent this month we should move out. I tried to plead with him to give me more time to raise the rent, but he didn't listen to me”. She answered, her voice breaking as she spoke. “Oh my dear, you must be really sad right now. Please stop crying. There has to be a way to raise your rent. Don't worry Mia I'm working tonight I'm sure I can raise the money. Please stop crying my friend”, I tried to comfort her. Before Mia’s call, I was getting ready to go on stage, but my mind was racing with thoughts about quitting. “I'm really tired of this stripping job. I want to do something better with my life. But what? Getting a good job is not working for me now, not with all the requirements needed to get these jobs. But I can't keep stripping. I need something honorable”, my mind raced, desperate for a better alternative. Now with Mia calling and crying I was confused, I had to do something. I couldn't just let her go into the street. I felt guilty, having promised to raise the money for her rent and here I was contemplating leaving the stripping business. How else would I be able to raise enough money if I quitted my job? “I have to do something about this situation. If I don't we'll be homeless. It's a good thing I still have my job. At least I'll be able to pay some of the rent”, I thought. Determined, I got dressed and joined the rest of the girls on stage. The music was as loud as you can imagine. On stage the girls and I danced. We strippers didn't just dance, we danced to seduce. Every movement was intentional and sensual. One of the poles was unoccupied so I went to it, held it, and danced around it. I was very good at pole dancing. When I started pole dancing, the men screamed with desire. “Beautiful! Beautiful! Sexy! It's so hot! So fucking hot!”. Some men whistled, some tried to spank my butts or grab it when they could. Others wanted me to give them a lap dance. But in all these cases, these men paid for what they got. Nothing comes free. I first noticed him while dancing. There was something about the man that seemed to speak before he even spoke to you. At first I looked away then our eyes met the next time I looked towards the VIP section. His blue eyes were almost identical with the blue sky. His calm but intense gaze gave off the impression of danger, but with a trace of good. I held his gaze for some seconds, dancing even more seductively. Swinging my hips slowly to the rhythm of the music. Unlike other patrons, this strange man’s expression was very nonchalant. While other patrons seemed to be drowning in their own sexual desires, this man seemed completely unaffected and indifferent. “Who is he?”, I wondered. “I don't think I've seen him here before. I should look out for him next time. Why am I seeing him for the first time? I've probably not been paying so much attention that's why I'm seeing him for the first time”, my mind filled with many possibilities as I tried to unravel the mystery of the strange man. “Hey Tara! Wait up!” Mr Harvey called after me after my performance. He grabbed my hand and continued. “We are not done yet. You're spending the night with me!” he declared. “Let go of my hand!”, I said, creasing my brows in anger. This was the part of the job I hated most – customers who didn’t have any decorum and just thought we were prostitutes for hire. I wriggled my hand and freed myself from his grip, staring daggers at him. “Why would I spend the night with you?” I riposted, my heart beating out of my chest, trying hard to maintain my composure. As much as I wanted to let him have a piece of my mind there, he was still a customer and I couldn’t do anything that could lead to me losing my job, not now. “You bitch!” He sneered angrily, “You promised to spend the night with me. Now you're acting like you don't know what I'm talking about”, he replied, inching closer to me with a sinister gaze. “Why would I agree to such a proposition Mr. Harvey? Go back to your family and stop making a fool out of yourself”, I said, this time with more conviction, staring at him in disgust. “You must go home with me like we agreed earlier. I've made payment for the whole night so you must come with me”, he said, meeting my stern gaze with a cold and desperate look. He tried to grab my hand again, but this time I didn't let him. Instead, I kicked his balls really hard to assert my dignity in front of the crowd. He fell to the ground instantly, wincing in pain. Filled with a strange satisfaction, I walked away from him, back to the dressing room where the other strippers were. “What was the argument about Tara?” one of the girls asked. “It was nothing serious. It was Mr Harvey again. He wanted me to come spend the night at his apartment”, I replied. “Oh I know men like him. They want more than they can get. Does not matter how many times you tell them off, they just keep coming back”, she said and chuckled mockingly, shaking her head. “Yes, he keeps coming back. But it's okay though. I think I can handle him. He just gets really excited that's all”, I said trying to downplay my frustration with this situation. It didn’t matter if I said it to Tara or anyone. I was stuck here. This was my life now and I couldn’t see a way out. “Maybe you turn him on so much he just wants to put his tiny little cock in you”, Another girl said and everyone laughed. We went on talking and laughing about random stuff while waiting for the other girls to complete their performance. “Tara! Tara! I have exciting news for you. Today is your lucky day!” Julie, the manager of the club, hurried towards me. She was not always that excited so hearing and seeing her excitement, I knew it was good news. I threw on my t-shirt and turned to face her. “What news do you have for me?” I asked eagerly. “Logan Carter is here. He said he watched your performance. He wants to meet you”, she replied.TaraAre you for real? Logan Carter? Like you mean the real Logan Carter wants to see me?” I was genuinely surprised that a man like that would be looking for me.“Yes girl. Logan Carter, son of Authur Carter is looking for you. Hurry girl, you don't want to keep a man like that waiting”, she warned sharply.“Oh, I've already changed into my regular clothes. I just need to pack a few things. This has got to be good. I wonder what he wants though”, my mind raced with hopeful thoughts. However, I could not easily discard the fear in the back of my mind about meeting a man as powerful as Logan.“You will find out when you meet him. But my guess is you have caught the attention of a big fish”, she screamed the “bigfish” with so much excitement.“Logan Carter comes from a long line of billionaires. His family was one very powerful family. There's no one in this city who has not heard about the Carter family. Logan Carter himself is not only the son of a billionaire, he is a billionaire him
TaraBy the time I got home, it was almost six o'clock in the morning.“I’m sorry Mia. You know the drive from the club back to the house usually takes almost thirty five minutes if you were driving a normal car. But with a car like mine, it takes me another ten minutes. Today it felt like it was even longer. Probably ten more minutes longer than my regular time”, I said to Mia when I finally got home.“It's fine my friend I knew you would not be home early because of the nature of your job. And anyways how else would you have been able to raise the rent if you came home early?” Mia yawned tiredly as she spoke“True. I'm happy you understand”, I sighed, relieved that she wasn't upset.“Were you able to get enough money for our rent? Because if you didn't get enough, we will be completely homeless by tomorrow the landlord said I could wait for you here till you come back from work and if we don't have it by tomorrow morning he will have us removed from the premises completely”,Mia said
TaraI took a cab the next morning to the address Logan sent to me.“The hospital is in the central area of the city and Logan insisted I go early. He has already made all the arrangements. I just need to show up and introduce myself”, I told Mia before leaving for the hospital.“Good morning miss. I'm here for my appointment”, I said to the receptionist.“Good morning ma’am. I'll need you to fill this form quickly so I can confirm your appointment status”, she replied and gave me a small piece of paper.I stood in a corner and filled out the form. I just had to write my first and last name as well as time of appointment. Then I returned the paper to her. She typed something on her computer and picked up the office telephone.“Hello doctor, Miss Tara is here for her appointment”, she paused, probably listening to him say something.“Okay Doctor I will tell her”, the call ended after that.“The doctor will see you now. His office is the last room on the third floor. You can use the ele
Logan's POVWorking for dad has never been part of my plan. He may be the almighty Arthur Carter, founder of the multinational company Carter enterprise but that's none of my business. He is living his own life and I'm living mine.From childhood, I've wanted to do something different, you know. Start something and create a name for myself. If I'm being honest, I can't take away the fact that I got all these ideas from him. Dad is my biggest inspiration.Over the years, I have worked very hard. At the age of twenty five, I started a small business. Today, when I think of what my small business has become in twelve years, it gives me this sense of satisfaction. It's not where I want it to be yet. And by this I mean it's not yet as big as the Carter enterprise.“But I have time. We will get there. The Carter enterprise didn't get to where it is today in one day. At the very least, I know the Carter enterprise is older than I am. So we will get there. But before then, I need to get ready