Chapter 2 – The Billionaire’s Obsession

Fifteen minutes before my shift was over Victor headed to the bar again, an awfully big grin spread across his face, making him look years younger. That look could only mean that the night went well. The owner must have enjoyed his stay here and we didn’t mess things up. Victor walked around the bar again, probably to inform us about what happened in the VIP section.

“Mr. Woods was very pleased with the service tonight. That’s a good sign.”

Brandon nodded, “Which means no one gets fired tonight.”

“That’s right,” Victor responded brightly.

Victor took his phone out of his pocket and focused on his screen instead, “Em, you can head home early. There isn’t much left to do anyway. Mr. Woods left a large tip for the employees, I’ll transfer it to your account later.”

Victor left the bar area and headed to his office. Taking my apron off I was about to head to the employees’ room to grab my stuff when Brandon grabbed my wrist, stopping me in my tracks. He leaned down and kissed my cheek.

“Drive safe, I’ll call you later to check in on you.”

Brandon always checked in on me to make sure I arrived home safely. Whenever I had a nightshift I always texted Brandon when I drove home after my shift. It would ease his mind and it made me feel safe knowing Brandon was always aware of my whereabouts.

“Talk to you in the morning.” I left his sight and went to the employees’ room to grab my stuff. After I shrugged into my jacket and placed the strap of my bag over my shoulder I left the club through the back entrance.

I felt like being watched as I opened the door and quickly looked over my shoulder. There was nothing there though. As a girl who watched too many horror movies, I recognized this situation. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath hoping nothing would stand in front of me as I opened my eyes again. I slowly opened my eyes and snorted. I was definitely tired and in serious need of some sleep. I stepped out and hastily made my way to the parking lot, heading straight for my car. A shaky breath left my lips when I heard loud voices coming from the dark narrow hallway. I quickly searched my bag and found my keys, my frantic movements made the keys slip through my fingers. I cursed and bend over to grab them. My eyes widened when I felt someone’s presence behind me and glanced up to see a shadow hovering over me. This was definitely not a good sign. Gulping I carefully reached for my keys and slowly picked it up, glancing at the window of my car to see the reflection of whoever was standing behind me.

“Turn around sweetheart.” That was a familiar voice.

Quickly turning around I met the gaze of the creepy customer I served earlier. His eyes were heavy and his smile sloppy. He was drunk and not alone. The two guys standing behind him only made the situation worse. I considered running back to the back entrance of the club but I doubted I could make it without these guys cornering me.

“I told you that I don’t date customers.” I titled my head, trying to look as confident as possible, “Now if you excuse me-“

I gasped when he suddenly grabbed my elbow and pulled me to him. I tried pushing him away but he wrapped his hand tightly around my arm, probably bruising it.

“Your shift is over, no more excuses, Emily.”

For a second I wondered how the guy knew my name but then I realized the employees all had a nametag so he had seen my name on my tag earlier. With everything I had, I pushed against his chest, trying to make him back off while I stepped back to have some distance between us.

“Let go of me!”

“Stop pretending you don’t want this sweetheart.” He chuckled, his friends stepping closer as well, “You’ve been showing off that hot body of yours all night!”

I tightened my grip on my car keys and smacked him across the face with it. He cursed and stumbled back, clutching his right cheek with his hands. I’m sure that hurt his face pretty bad but this wasn’t the time to be concerned about a jerk who attacked a girl in the parking lot. I took the opportunity to get into my car and locked the doors quickly. His friends started slamming their hands against my windows, trying to scare me and I hated to admit it but their tactic worked. I was scared out of my mind. I’ve never been more terrified in my life before.

Quickly starting the car I took deep breaths trying to calm myself down as I watched the guys jump in front of my car while calling me names. The guy who I hit with my keys was bleeding, and he didn’t look pleased with all. The murderous look in his eyes had me freaking out, but I refused to break down right in front of him. Putting my car in reverse I backed away from the guys. The exit was right behind them. They were daring me to drive toward them and at that moment I didn’t give a f**k about their safety. All I could think about was getting home without these jerks getting their way with me. I stepped on the gas and drove straight toward them, smiling when they jumped aside so they didn’t get run over. I managed to reach the exit safely and raced home, exceeding the speed limit.

When I reached my apartment building I parked my car safely in the regular spot and almost dashed inside the building, taking the stairs instead of the elevator. I just wanted my bed and lay down safely under the covers. Reaching my apartment I fumbled with the lock, partly because my hands were shaking and partly because of the adrenaline rushing through my body. I managed to open the door after a full minute and quickly closed it behind me, locking it firmly. I leaned against the door for a minute to catch my breath and slid down, wiping the tears away. My phone vibrated in my bag, making me forget the awful situation for a second.

Did you arrive home safely?

• Brandon

That was the moment I completely lost it and burst into tears. I wanted to call him and tell him what happened, but I’d ruin his shift and I knew he had a woman waiting for him. I couldn’t impose so I texted him back, telling him I was okay and arrived home safely.

I took another minute to calm myself down and got to my feet. My first class would start at 8 AM so I needed to head to bed. I threw my bag across the room, and headed down the hallway, going straight to my bedroom. Kicking my shoes off I shrugged out of my shirt and struggled to get out of my tights. When I was only in my tank top and skirt I got under the covers and pulled them up till my neck, finally letting the tears spill again. Everyone always assumed that I was so strong, that nothing could ever hurt me or scare me. This event though made me feel like a little girl again and all I wanted was for my brother to be here and hold me. If I did tell him what happened he would order me to stay with him and I didn’t feel like living with my brother and his girlfriend. I just had to suck it up and forget that it ever happened.

-Next Morning-

Glancing at my watch I nearly choked in my coffee, realizing I was running late for my first class. Deciding to start moving instead of freaking out I stopped when I heard the doorbell ring. On top of my early morning freak-out, someone also decided to pay me a visit. Cursing loudly as I walked down the hallway and opened the door, stepping back when I was greeted by a tall, dark-haired male who looked amazing in his black suit. I frowned when I saw him press his lips to a tight line. He didn’t seem too pleased with me if anything he looked furious. I didn’t understand his attitude though because I had never met his guy before, what did he have to be angry about? He must have noticed how confused I was because he averted his gaze while he pointed at my chest.

“Your neon pink bra is showing.”

Glancing down I felt like dying of embarrassment noticing my top was pushed down, revealing my push-up bra. Clearing my throat I quickly pulled my top back up, trying to cover up though the guy had pretty much seen it all now. At least he saved me from embarrassing myself in public because without him I probably would have left the apartment like that flashing everyone.

“I was in a rush this morning.” I stood firmly in my flats and titled my head, “Thanks for letting me know. Can I help you? I actually have somewhere to go-“

“You’re not making your first class.” He folded his arms across his chest, “We need to discuss what happened last night during your shift.”

There was no doubt about it, this guy knew what happened in the parking lot last night. His impassive face gave nothing away but I was smart enough to put one and one together. He didn’t look like the pathetic guys from last night, so it made me wonder what his ties were to the club. As I let my eyes wander from head to toe I felt more and more nervous. This guy’s probably cost a fortune, his shoes looked like they were brand new and the watch on his wrist, I hoped no one ever told me the price of that piece of accessory. Meeting his gaze again I couldn’t help but to sucked into the bright pools of blue. His eyes, they were the most gorgeous blue eyes I had ever seen.

“What do you want to talk about?” I asked after realizing I had been ogling this guy shamelessly.

“As the guy who owns the club, you’re working on I think the two of us have lots to discuss, Emily.”

I almost tripped over my own feet, but he quickly grabbed my arm to steady me. He closed the door behind him and finally released my arm. At that moment I realized that I was holding my breath. I exhaled and felt all the tension leave my body. He pretended not to notice and walked past me, entering the living room as if he owned the place. Turning on his heels he threw me an expectant look. I stepped closer to him, folding my arms across my chest.

“If you’re getting sued because of me you’re probably the owner.”

I walked around him and tried to look him in the eyes but failed because I just flashed my bra to my boss’s boss. That was the most amazing first meeting, ever. This guy looked like he stepped right out of a magazine and here I was standing before him in my skinny jeans and tank top. Not to mention he knew what was underneath it. I couldn’t keep staring at him, it would make him think I was a fool.

“You’re that guy.”

“Yes, I’m that guy.” He sounded bemused.

I sat down on the couch, afraid I might trip over my own feet again because of the shock that the owner was standing in my living room. Brandon was right about him though, the look he gave me was like he was looking down on me. Everything about him screamed arrogance to me.

“I did what I had to do to survive, Mr. Woods. They cornered me in the parking lot and weren’t backing off even though I asked. There is no way they can make a case out of this. No way a judge in his right mind would-“

He held up his hand, stopping my babbling, “I know, I’ve seen the tapes. It doesn’t matter if they can or cannot make a case. If the press finds out it will become a problem for me.”

“So what do you suggest we do, Mr. Woods?”

“My lawyer handled it. We’re settling to make sure this stays away from the press.”

“You’re settling?!” I stood up, stepping closer to him, “They were harassing me! They shouldn’t get away with this!”

Mr. Woods lifted an eyebrow at me, “So you do admit that they were wrong and should pay for what they have done?” He dropped his hands to his side, “With you keeping quiet about what happened last night I assumed you were going to let them get away with it.”

I was letting them get away with it because I had never been so scared in my life before. At that moment I was just lucky for the guys to be so drunk. If they had been sober I wouldn’t have escaped without a scratch I was sure of that.

“I was in shock.” I stepped back, feeling intimidated by him hovering over me with that mocking look in his eyes, “I just wanted to go home and forget that it ever happened.”

He stared at me, a full minute we were both quiet and just observed each other. My eyes wandered over his body and I actually started to wonder what he looked like under his expensive looking suit. The tightness around his shoulders indicated that he did have a good body. I met his eyes and blushed, the knowing look in his eyes told me that he caught me ogling him.

“We have proof of them attacking you in the parking lot. That was enough for them to keep quiet while they agreed they should compensate you.”

“They’re compensating me for their behavior? I’m not in trouble, am I? I mean I didn’t mean for that to happen. I knew it was going to be a problem yet I kept quiet, not wanting anyone to find out because I was scared and embarrassed and-“

He turned around, his look of disapproval shutting me up, “Do you always jump to conclusions, talk really loud and fast without taking a breath once?”

“Only when I’m stressed.”

An actual smirk spread across his face. I tilted my head and observed his face, he looked even more handsome than before. I wrapped my arms around myself and tried to look past his looks. He still didn’t tell me why the hell he showed up at my apartment if he wasn’t going to get sued because of me or fire me. He was the reason why I missed my first class and he didn’t seem to care either. This man was not the type of man I should be attracted to. It would never end well.

“You should stop doing that, it’s getting on my nerves.” He grabbed his phone and focused on his display instead, “I need you to sign some documents at the office. Since you’re already late I assume it’s not a problem if we leave now?”

“Wait…What?”

“My driver is waiting outside for us, he’ll take us to my office.”

My phone started vibrating in my bag, I remembered that Brandon told me he’d call me in the morning. I probably missed a lot of phone calls already. He must be worried sick. I held up my finger when Mr. Woods wanted to say something and quickly walked to the couch, grabbing my phone out of my bag and answering it.

“Hey, Brandon. Sorry, I answered so late. I know you must be worried, but I’m okay. I have to go, I can’t talk to you right now, I have an important meeting. I’ll call you back later, I promise. Bye.”

I ended the call and blinked when I saw the impatient look on Mr. Woods’s face. I started to think that he just couldn’t have any other emotion than anger. He was so good at expressing his anger too.

“If you’re quite finished we have an important meeting in fifteen minutes.”

He was mocking me again, and that smirk once again made its appearance. I grabbed my jacket, shrugged it on and reached for my bag. I followed Mr. Woods down the hallway and out of the house. I made sure to lock the door and turned on my heels only to have my breath taken away by the sleek black car awaiting us. Mr. Woods held the door open and gestured for me to get in. I didn’t want to make him wait any longer and quickly climbed in. He got in after me. The minute he got comfortable in his seat his phone started ringing and he started having long conversations with several people about his business. From that moment I realized that Mr. Woods was actually the owner of multiple nightclubs across town.

I started picking at the hem of my top and shot a glance at Mr. Woods, a blush spreading across my face when he met my gaze. He was looking right at me with that same look he had in the living room. I could be wrong but somehow I felt like Mr. Woods was checking me out, the same way I checked him out before. What was even stranger was the look of appreciation that flashed through his piercing blue eyes. Did he like what he saw? I averted my gaze, telling myself that I was imagining things right now. There was no way in hell a guy like Mr. Woods was attracted to a loud-mouthed college girl who worked at one of his nightclubs.

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