LaraI walk into the private room, way ahead of Dexter, and he closes the door.Tingles spread all the way to the tips of my fingers at the thought of us being alone in the same room. To think that we'll be alone in this room for two hours is...I just have to find a way to see this through and not lose my cool. I have to remind myself that I'm doing this to survive. Nothing more, nothing less. I take a deep breath and try to remember to stick to my professionalism. Although I hate him, I have to treat him the same way I treat all my other clients. On top of that, he has his additional requests. He wants me to be more verbal."So, are you ready to have a mind-blowing evening?" I ask him, trying not to cringe. I hear him let out a short, humorless chuckle. "Vanessa, come on."I close my eyes and force myself to calm down. He's not looking at my face so it's easy for me to make these little facial expressions of annoyance. I tell him, "I'd appreciate it if you would let me do my job,
LaraI take a sip of water and try not to think about how heavy my cheek feels. The woman was gone by the time we went outside to look for her. Goddess, I have no idea who she was or why she did that to me. Who would just walk into a strip club to attack someone?Is she crazy, perhaps?Jensen’s eyes are on my face as he says, “We’ll talk to Ambrose about this. I think we need to really keep an eye on who comes in here. This is dangerous.”“Yeah,” Angela agrees. She’s seated right beside me. She saw the whole thing and is as equally horrified by what happened as I am. “If she had a gun, she would have shot you dead.”I shudder and take another sip of water. The whole thing was so random and honestly, I don’t know what to think about it. My cheek really hurts from that punch. I’m pretty sure it’ll be bruised tomorrow. “You’re sure you don’t know who she is?”“No,” I insist. “No, I have no idea who she was. I’ve never seen her before in all my life!”“Hm,” Angela says, deep in thought.
Dexter Leaving the strip club never fails to make me feel a certain way. I don't want to say that it's sadness because that would be me grossly exaggerating it. But if I had to be honest, then I'd say that I really don't want to leave even when I'm supposed to. I want to be around Vanessa all the time. It's kind of hilarious, really. I've never been in love, not once. I suppose this is what love must feel like. She's on my mind all the time and as I'm leaving, I'm thinking about the next time when I'll be able to see her again. I start the car and drive out of the parking lot. I don't see the kid anywhere near the staircase, so that's a good thing. At least he listened to me. I'm on my way to the hotel because what else is there to do? I'm finalizing the paperwork for the new apartment I bought and things seem to be coming along smoothly. After that, I'll have it furnished and I'll throw my very first dinner, one in which I'm planning on inviting the people who will help me acco
Lara I stare at Dexter’s body, feeling frozen and rooted to the spot. I don’t know if he’s dead and that’s the part that scares me the most. When I slid out from under him a minute ago, I didn’t think he was dead. Looking at him now, I’m not so sure anymore. He’s immobile and doesn’t look like he’s breathing. This is insane. I cover my face with my hands and then quickly think about what I’m going to do. I can’t leave him here, that’s for sure, and I have to find out whether he’s dead or not. There’s only one way I can do that.I push him further into my apartment so I can close the door behind him and then hurry downstairs. Ambrose is the only person I can think about right now. He’ll help me resolve this matter because I’m genuinely lost and don’t know what to do. I push the door open and hurry inside. It’s one of those days when everything is silent and nobody is around during the morning period. The other girls are only here when there’s a new dance routine that needs to be
Dexter I peel my eyes open slowly. My vision is pretty blurry, so I have to blink a few times to clear it. Afterward, I look around with a crinkled brow, trying to make sense of where I am. I try to move. My back is sore. I try to figure out why and then it hits me as quickly as a bullet would. The attack. The fucking knife. I try to reach behind me to feel my back and I realize there’s nothing there. Rather, I can’t feel it. I sit up quickly and look around. I’m in a room that I don’t recognize, and for some reason, the knife isn’t in me anymore and I feel better. The door of the bedroom is closed. I look around and spot women’s clothes. Where am I?I stand up and walk toward the door. I press my ear close to it and don’t hear a thing. There’s only silence. I then turn the handle and open the door. This floor…l recognize it. I hear footsteps heading toward me and then I see Vanessa staring at me. Her eyes are wide, and I instantly notice that she’s wearing a red top and jeans t
Lara I hand the list of names along with their phone numbers to Ambrose. “This is everything I got from his phone. I also took pictures of some of his messages. He doesn’t seem to talk to anyone by text, though, but you never know. You might find something useful.”Going through Dexter’s phone gave me a thrill that’s hard to describe. My fingers were shaking as I scrolled through his phone, trying to get as much information as I could while being cautious not to get distracted so he wouldn’t catch me red-handed. “You’ve done a great job, Lara,” Ambrose says to me as he takes the list from me along with some of the pictures I printed out. He skims over them briefly before asking, “Where is he now?”“He left but he said he’d come back,” I explain. “What about Ander? How is he?”“He’s with my associate. I’ll give you her number. Call any time you want to talk to him.” He grabs one of his business cards, flips it, and notes the number down. “Here.”I take it from him. “Thanks.”“Let me
Lara“I think it’s a good idea, Lara,” Ambrose says to me. “It would be a way for you to get close to him.”I sigh. The worst part is that deep down, I know he’s right. I know that he means well when he says that I have to get closer to Dexter and make the most of the opportunities presented to me. My only concern is Ander and I was thinking about him even when Dexter made me the offer. I had to ask him for some time to think the offer through because I didn’t feel ready to give him an answer then just as I don’t feel ready now. Ambrose must be sensing my confusion because he stands up and moves to stand in front of me. His eyes soften as he says, “It’s your decision to make. I can’t force or convince you into doing something you don’t want. I won’t either. But as an outsider and as a friend, I’ll have to tell you that I think you’re making a mistake in not seriously considering this. It could change your life. While this man is alive and powerful, you’ll never have the guarantee t
Lara At the end of the day, I have to leave without having said a proper word to my son because he refuses to see me. It’s very depressing and I fear that these changes will alter the relationship I have with him. I don’t want that to happen. My son is all I have and if I end up losing his affection, I won’t know what to do. I drive back, my heart slamming against the base of my throat. My hands are trembling a little as I hold onto the steering wheel. I’m making it back to the strip club, where I’ll most likely have to call Dexter and tell him I’m taking him up on his offer. Maybe I should call now. I reach for my phone while still driving. I stop at a red light and dial his number. I press the phone to my ear and try not to feel too nervous. Whenever I’m talking to him, I have to be as calm as possible. Dexter answers almost right away. “Have you made your decision?”“Yes,” I answer before taking a silent shaky breath. “I have. I’m going with you.”There’s a pause, and when he