XV
Hazel Winters
I t’s been a few weeks since that night at my bosses’ house. When I woke up, I was too embarrassed by my mental breakdown in his arms to show my face, so I snuck out the door before any of them could catch me.
Which I think only made matters worse.
Every time I’ve worked since then, I’ve barely encountered any of them. When I do get the absolute pleasure of seeing their far too handsome faces, I’m reminded of their true arrogance as they ignore me. They’ve been cold and distant, a far cry from the possessive bullshit they used to pull until after that night.
Getting ready for work today, I start to think about looking for another job where there is no tension between the bosses and I. It would definitely be easier finding a job whilst I already have one.
After dressing in my new black silk shirt, which is buttoned down enough to show the white lacy bra I have on underneath, I pull on some black, leather high waisted trousers that make my ass look insatiable. I add my trusty black converse and call it a day, ruffling my curly hair in the mirror. Grabbing my bag, I open my flat door and jump in shock at the person on the other side.
"Andros?"
He kicks himself from the wall he was leaning on and walks towards the door.
"What are you doing here?" I ask, my breath baited in surprise.
"I'm here to walk you to work," he says quietly, his face so close to mine that I can feel his warm breath against my skin. My heartbeat increases at the proximity and the sound of his deep voice travels directly to my core, lighting a fire.
But then the fire is distinguished as anger bubbles inside me. They’ve all been acting like absolute dickheads for the past few weeks and now he’s here, trying to act like an angel.
No, I don't think so.
"I can walk myself," I sidestep away from him and walk past, locking my door with shaky hands. I ignore his inquisitive stare that makes my skin feel tingly and begin to walk away from him, but he grabs my hand before I can do so.
"Let me walk you," he stares into my eyes, a hint of a plea in his voice. I furrow my eyebrows slightly but give into him.
"Fine. Let's go," I roll my eyes, and he lets go.
We walk in pretty much silence, and I struggle to keep up with his long strides that triple mine. He storms ahead, as if he's angry with me for some reason.
"Well, this is fun," I mutter and roll my eyes. "You know what, fuck this," I say and put my earphones in my ear to keep me entertained seeing as he is making no efforts to. I open my phone and press play on my ‘Give No Shits’ playlist. I feel my hips start to move in hips to the song as I focus on it and block out Andros's attitude.
By the time we reach the club, I am on the sixth song of my playlist, all uninterrupted by Andros. He holds the large door open for me through the staff entrance and I walk through without acknowledging him. Not wanting to put up with his, or anyone else’s bullshit today, I just leave him to go put my stuff away in the locker room.
When I walk in, I see Denise standing there, adding even more foundation to her face. She has unashamedly chosen to wear a low-cut top that shows off her boobs, and I am almost about to ask her where it’s from.
Until I remember we don’t like each other.
I take off my coat to reveal my femme fatale outfit and smirk at myself in the mirror.
I look good.
Denise must think so, as we both send a mutual nod of acknowledgement to each other before heading to the busy bar, which has already been open for a few hours. I am working from eleven pm until five am today, which is one of the most tiring shifts I could have. The one benefit is that the more drunk people get, the more they tip.
I take a breath before immersing myself in the busy scene of people hollering for drinks under the bright colourful lights. I start taking their orders and making drinks like muscle memory. A few men flirt with me whilst I serve them, and I lightly flirt back to get more money from them but never say anything that would give them the wrong impression.
Soon enough, I feel a pair of eyes and look to the balcony to see all four of my bosses staring at me. I glare at them as if to tell them to leave me alone and turn my head back to the pretty boy I'm serving. To wind them up, I flutter my eyelashes at him and push my hair behind my shoulders to reveal my cleavage to him, and indirectly, them.
The pretty boy practically salivates at my tits whilst I shake his drink, causing them to bounce. I send him a wink as I pour out his drink.
"Can I get your number, babe?" He slurs loudly over the bar. I smirk at his attempt to be sultry when he actually looks like a drunken mess.
"Sure, babe ," I flirt with him and write a fake number on his napkin. He looks down, wobbling on his feet, before smirking at it and walking away.
He didn't even tip, what the fuck?
I look up to the balcony and see that Andros has disappeared but the other three still have their eyes on me. Dawson is looking down on me in surprise, Theo is completely unreadable, and Atlas looks downright murderous. I can't help to smirk at their reactions which only furthers Atlas' anger.
"Hazel, can you go get more vodka?" I hear Denise shout at me, and I take the opportunity to get away from their stares. I walk from the side of the bar and heading past the toilets towards the stockroom, but strong hands grip my waist, pushing me into the wall.
I close my eyes instinctively but when I smell liquor on the person's breath, my blood runs cold.
"Babe, that wasn't your real number, was it?" The guy from the bar slurs whilst dangerously close to my face. I open my eyes and see his pupils wide as if he has taken something other than alcohol.
Just my luck, huh?
"Get out of my way," I say to him, trying to keep myself calm.
"Come home with me," he presses sloppy kisses to my neck as panic rises in my body. I need to get him off me. Now.
"Let go of me before I do something both of us regret," I warn him.
"God your tits are insane!" He makes a move to shove his face in them, but I bring my knee up to his balls. He instantly lets go of my waist and stumbles back, clutching onto them with his face scrunched up in pain. I step away from the wall so he can't trap me again and prepare to kick him again when I feel a new arm slide around my waist.
"Careful now, Spitfire. Let us handle it," the person behind me says in my ear and I realise it to be Dawson. I can't help but relax slightly at his low voice whispering to me.
I let myself lean against his chest as I watch Atlas and Theo grab the guy by his arms. Dawson rests his chin on my shoulder as he wraps both arms round my waist, using his thumb to stroke it slightly in comfort.
I flinch as I see Atlas punch the guy in the face as Theo holds him before saying something to Theo that has him dragging the guy off out of sight.
I almost take a step back in fright when Atlas walks towards us, but Dawson holds me steady. I look at Atlas’ eyes for comfort, but they are cold and intimidating.
"Are you okay, Principessa?" He asks me whilst scanning my body for injuries. Not being able to speak from the shock, I simply nod my head slowly at him. He takes a breath, and his eyes become soft again.
I gasp in surprise as he takes both of his big hands and cups my face before pressing a kiss to my forehead. Goosebumps spread across my body in shock, and I melted into Dawson's body further. I feel a smile spread across his face as my eyes stay focussed on Atlas'.
"Come home with us tonight, Principessa. I don't want you going home on your own after that guy," his hands still cupping my face. I nod obediently and a smile spreads across his face.
Fuck, his smile is gorgeous.
"Come on, Spitfire. Let's go home," Dawson whispers in my ear and they both let go of me before guiding me away.
It takes all of my free will to stop myself from being led away by the mountain of a man. I practically have to dig my heels into the floor to stop walking, but I manage. He turns around with his eyebrows raised in surprise, but I yank my hand away and cross my arms across my chest.
“I have a house I can go back to, actually,” I narrow my eyes at him as Atlas and Andros come to stand next to him.
“A flat,” Andros scoffs, making me glare at him.
Snob.
“You’re not safe on your own,” Atlas sneers behind me at the spot where I was harassed by the drunk man.
“And I’m safe with you?”
“No,” he deadpans, meeting me glower for glower.
“Perfect. I’ll see you on my next shift then,” I turn around, my hair spinning in the air around me to add a perfect dramatic flair. A hand reaches out to grab my arm but I’m too fast to dodge it, and I quickly run off down the hallway.
Once I’m back at the bar, I let out a breath I didn’t even know I was holding in. For the rest of the shift, I feel their eyes burning into me. If someone were to touch my skin, the heat from it being scolded by my bosses’ scowls would likely burn that person’s hand, too.
I carry on like nothing has happened, smiling and flirting my way through to the end of the shift until it’s finally time for me to clock out. Once I’ve grabbed my belongings from the locker room, it’s not long until the cold air hits my aching skin.
My arms ache from shaking cocktails, and my cheeks have likely grown in muscle from all the fake smiling I’ve done.
If I had a bath, it would be calling my name.
The sun won’t rise for at least another two hours, so I use the warm glow of the streetlamps to illuminate my way home. Not many cars line the streets at this time in the morning, so when I hear a car rumbling behind me, it piques my interest.
Turning around, I instantly scowl at the people I see in the car’s window. The window rolls down as the car pulls up, leveling with my stationary position.
“Are you stalking me now or something?” I seethe.
“Just keeping you safe,” Andros shrugs as Dawson drives. I peek into the backseat to see Theo and Atlas sitting there, mesmerised by their phones.
“Do women in this day and age have to actually tell men to fuck off, or have they learnt to infer from context, yet?” I reply, my tone cutting.
“Oh, we can infer. We just aren’t listening, this particular time,” Dawson chuckles, looking over to wink at me. I roll my eyes and start walking. They trail next to me, keeping the car at my walking speed.
“Ah, lovely. Ignoring consent. I know it well,” I mutter under my breath before raising my voice so they can hear, “Well, what’s the phrase. ‘Out of sight, out of mind?’ Yeah. Do that, please.”
I quicken my pace but Dawson meets it, keeping them right next to me.
“I said please, for fuck’s sake,” I roll my eyes and pull my earphones out, choosing to actively ignore them for the rest of my walk home.