The Show Must Go On

For the first time since Jessica had asked her for this outrageous favor, Rose was actually excited about carrying out the request. She wanted to strip for this man. She wanted to feel his eyes on her body as he watched in admiration as she entertained him.

What the hell had been in that bottle of scotch? Perhaps it was more about the man sitting before her than the liquor in her system. She had spent less than an hour in his presence and all she could think about was the fact that she had never met anyone like him before.

Was it because it was her first time meeting a billionaire? Maybe that was the reason she was feeling this way; after all money carried around a certain aura. But all that didn’t matter because she was here for a job and she fully intended to carry out her mission. She felt a tiny pang of guilt as thoughts of Victor popped into her head and her excitement died down.

She wasn’t supposed to enjoy this. Hell! She wasn’t supposed to even be doing this.

How would he feel if he found out that she had done this? Would he feel betrayed or would he understand that it had been necessary? She did not have any other way to quickly come up with the amount of money this job promised; and she would just have to explain that when she confessed and apologized to Victor.

“If he didn’t want me to do things like this, then he shouldn’t have put me in this kind of situation.” Rose murmured feeling a little irritated.

Anyway, she was going to put on the best show of her life and maybe that would earn her a huge tip. Everything would be professional, in spite of those warm bubbles of excitement floating in her belly.

Rose realized that Wayne had been staring at her with his mouth slightly open for almost a minute now.

“Do you just want to sit there with your mouth open for the show?” Rose asked as she gave a teasing smile.

Wayne snapped his mouth shut and shook his head in an attempt to clear it. Everything had suddenly seemed foggy since Cinnamon’s declaration of her intent to work. He opened his mouth to speak and no sound came out.

Get a hold of yourself man! Since when have you ever been tongue tied when it comes to ladies?

He cleared his throat so he could give the talking thing a try once again.

“I was thinking that you should just go home Cinnamon. Let’s just call it a night and I’ll get someone to drive you home.” That was more like it, he was finally sounding like a man in charge of the situation.

“You don’t want me to strip anymore?” Rose asked in surprise.

Had she offended him in some sort of way? Her brain was practically swimming in alcohol at this point and she knew that a killer hangover was in store for her the next morning.

Had all the planning and arrangements been for nothing? Oddly enough, she felt kind of hurt at the rejection.

“Wayne. I’m sorry if I said or did something you didn’t like. Please, I came all this way for you.”

“You are drunk Cinnamon, I don’t think you can perform in this state. Don’t get me wrong, I will still pay the agreed upon fee.” He was essentially willing to pay her ten grand for drinking his scotch and asking him unexpected questions. It was amusing really, if he thought about it.

But what she said was true; the reason she had come all this way was for him. She had missed work at the club for this private visit, so the least he could do was pay her for the effort.

“Really? You are still willing to pay even if I don’t strip?”

How did she end up this lucky? He was basically going to pay her for doing nothing. Was he in some sort of charitable mood because it was his birthday or something? Rose felt kind of disappointed.

Why are you feeling disappointed you dummy? You won’t have to feel guilty when you see Victor, this is practically free money and he has more than enough to throw around. Why would you refuse such a kind offer, especially when you really need the money?

Wow, ten grand for doing practically nothing, I can’t wait to tell Jess all about this night. Wait! Jess!

She had forgotten all about her. Jessica needed this night to go well so Wayne would want to hire her a second time; or recommend her to some of his high profile friends. This was a great opportunity for her and Rose really wanted it to work out.

It was no secret that Wayne and his friends flew out their preferred dancers and strippers to whatever party location they wanted. Jessica had always wanted to tour different countries and this could be the pathway to that.

Rose seriously doubted that Wayne would be recommending a stripper who he thought was too drunk to even put on a show. If she left without actually stripping, Jessica would have a very slim chance of ever being called back. Rose couldn’t just let Jessica down like that.

“Yes, that’s what I’m saying. Where would you like my driver to take you? I will give him a call now and you can talk to him yourself.” Wayne replied as he slid his hand down to his right pocket to get out his phone.

“Wait!” Rose exclaimed as she quickly shot out her right hand and held on to his forearm before he could get the phone out.

Wow, he must really spend a lot of time at the gym; I can’t even wrap my palm halfway around his arm, Rose thought in amazement.

“What?” Wayne asked as he looked down at where she held him. He couldn’t help but notice how warm and firm her grip was, just thinking about those hands on other parts of his body made him groan softly.

Rose quickly let go of his arm because she thought her grip had been too tight and she was hurting him.

“Please believe me when I say that I can still perform. I am absolutely fine and not drunk at all. This is all part of my pre-stripping ritual, do you understand? Just like how some athletes never wash their socks or always wash their hair before a game.

It’s all part of their mojo. It also wouldn’t feel right if I did nothing and got paid because I haven’t earned it.” Rose said as she maintained eye contact with him.

She carefully counted her words as she spoke because she was desperately trying not to slur her speech; and hoped that he mistook it as her trying to lay emphasis.

Maybe Cinnamon was actually right. Why was he trying to send her away because he thought she was drunk? Perhaps getting drunk was all part of her act and that was how she made her show special.

Who was he to question the methods of a performer? Plus, today was his birthday and he had been really looking forward to this. Was he willing to deprive himself of something he wanted when she was willing to go on?

He couldn’t even understand why he was having this internal battle. He was someone who believed in getting his money’s worth and there was no reason he should be going easy on her. This was a business transaction and if she couldn’t carry out her end of the bargain; then she shouldn’t get paid.

“Alright Cinnamon, I’m all yours.” Wayne replied as he finally agreed.

“Yay!” Rose exclaimed with glee as she swung her left arm in excitement, totally forgetting that she was still holding the whip. The end of the whip curled towards Wayne’s head and was heading straight for his right eye.

But he quickly dodged as he leaned back sharply and it barely missed him.

“Oh my God! I am so sorry Wayne, are you alright?” Rose asked in concern as she covered her mouth in horror.

That was close, he was lucky that he had fast reflexes from all the training he did. Was he really sure about this? He wasn’t as trusting of her now as he eyed her like as if she was in possession of a dangerous firearm; and didn’t know how to use it.

“It’s fine, I’m alright.”

“Are you sure? That was so close; I really hope I didn’t hit you. Come closer so I can take a look at your face and make sure there aren’t any scratches.” Rose said as she drew closer and raised her hands, but he leaned back once again.

Once bitten, twice shy; that damn whip was still in her hand and he was wary of it now. He wasn’t too keen about her using it in her performance anymore.

“Please carefully handover the whip before you come any closer, Cinnamon.” Wayne said as he stretched out his hand.

“Why?”

“I find it necessary to disarm you first, for my own safety and yours as well.” He replied dryly, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

Rose couldn’t hold back the laughter that escaped out of her throat and Wayne smiled at her despite his best efforts to maintain a serious look. He noticed that she had a throaty laugh and it sounded like it came from deep within her soul. It was a sound he didn’t mind hearing every day.

“I completely understand your reservations, so here you go,” Rose said as she handed him the whip.

He carefully placed it on the floor behind him, like it was a loaded pistol. By the time he was satisfied it was well out of her reach, he let out a sigh.

“Could you please come closer now, so I can make sure you aren’t hurt?”

“I already told you that I wasn’t hurt.”

“Please just humor me, so I can have a clear conscience.”

“Fine,” Wayne said as he rolled his eyes, but leaned forward so Rose could properly look at his face.

She leaned closer as well until their faces were mere inches apart as she carefully examined his face. Her eyes roamed around his face as her fingers lightly followed after them. He fixed his gaze on her lips and thought about how soft they looked. It didn’t look like she had any lipstick on, but they were shiny which meant she had at least applied some lip gloss.

She finally drew back when she was satisfied that the whip hadn’t broken his skin anywhere. He almost protested because he had been enjoying observing her up close.

“Now that we are done with that, let’s get this show on the road,” Rose declared.

Before Wayne could reply she picked up the bottle of scotch which was less than a quarter empty and downed it all in one go.

She giggled as she let out a little burp, “Excuse me.”

Is this stripper just a raging alcoholic or is there a method to her madness?

Wayne barely had time to deliberate on that thought as Rose suddenly stood and made to walk towards the pole, which was a few feet towards her left. But she was obviously a lot tipsier than she thought because she started tilting backwards as Wayne quickly got up, and caught her before she landed on the floor.

“Whoops, thank you.” Rose giggled as he righted her up and cautiously let go of her.

What the hell was wrong with her?

He was feeling a little annoyed at the whole situation and wished he had just sent her home. Maybe his friends had exaggerated about Cinnamon’s expertise. Was he going to have to hold her up for the whole show?

She turned once again to continue her journey to the pole and tripped over her own feet. He quickly reached out and caught her again. As she scrambled to stay on her feet, one of her boots landed heavily on his right big toe because he was wearing a pair of sandals.