Chapter 26
"Friend, now you know in the beginning I was with the whole date them both shit, but now you're playing a dangerous game."
"Not really." Harmony glanced over at Tiffany and replied.
"Girl, is you crazy? Your fiancé works for your side nigga."
"First of all, stop calling him my side nigga and secondly…"
Harmony didn’t even bother to finish because truthfully, she didn't have a second point. The entire situation sounded crazy when somebody else said it out loud.
And being referred to as a fiancée was still something she hadn't gotten used to either. Every now and then, she would catch herself looking down at the ring and remembering Nick had actually proposed, but even a week later, it still didn't feel real.
The conversation continued for the rest of the drive. Tiffany spent most of the time warning her about how bad everything could go, while Harmony spent most of the time pretending she wasn't worried.
Thankfully, the ride didn't last much longer. A few minutes later, Harmony turned into the parking lot and pulled into a spot.
As usual, Tiffany headed toward the bar while she made her way toward the dressing room. Along the way, she spoke to a few of the girls, greeted security, and waved at some of the regulars. Stepping into the room, Harmony went straight to her locker but froze the moment she opened it up.
"Who the fuck cleaned out my locker?" Harmony looked around and yelled.
"What you mean?" Kitty walked over and asked.
"All my shit gone...look."
Kitty looked inside the locker before turning toward the room.
"Which one of you bitches did this? Cause this time, I ain't gon’ stop her from beating y'all ass."
Several girls immediately started defending themselves.
"Don't look at me cause I ain't did shit."
"Me either."
"The fuck I look like touching her locker?"
"Shid, Legend probably got tired of her ass," Queen said from across the room.
Harmony was already turning toward her when her phone vibrated in her hand. Pulling it out, she saw a text message from Legend telling her to come to his office. Without bothering to say anything else, Harmony turned around and left the dressing room.
She stormed through the club, and by the time she reached the door, she was beyond irritated. She pushed it open without knocking and found Legend sitting at his desk.
"Who took all my shit out my locker?" Harmony asked.
"I did," he calmly replied.
"And why?"
"Because last weekend was your last weekend dancing."
"Wait, so you firing me?" Harmony frowned.
"Come on, baby. You know better than that."
"Then what are you talking about?"
"Let's just say I'm retiring you early." Legend leaned back in his chair and smiled.
"What?"
"Look, I ain't gone sugar coat it. You mine now, so all that dancing shit got to stop."
"Stop? This dancing shit feeds me and…"
"Now I'll feed you." He cut her off and went on.
"Haven't I been doing that this whole time?"
Harmony opened her mouth, but he kept going.
"And that ain't changing. Matter fact, since I know I'm cutting into your bread, I'll give you more to compensate for it."
Harmony stared at him while he talked. The crazy part was how serious he sounded. He genuinely believed he could decide whether she worked or not.
"You can't just make me quit my job." Harmony rolled her neck.
"Sure, I can."
"No, you can't."
"Why not?"
"Because I'm a grown ass woman."
"And I'm a grown man that's tired of watching other niggas throw money at my woman."
"Are you serious? What am I supposed to do? Just sit around and do nothing?" Harmony put her hands on her hips.
"I mean... You're a smart woman. I'm sure you'll figure something out," Legend shrugged.
Harmony stared at him for a second before shaking her head. Without responding, she turned around and walked out.
The second she stepped into the hallway, she let out a frustrated sigh.
By the time she reached the dressing room door, she had already changed her mind.
She wasn't in the mood to hear everybody's opinions, and she definitely wasn't in the mood to answer questions. So, instead, she headed to the bar.
"What's wrong with you?" Tiffany asked the moment she sat down.
"Girl, that nigga Legend tripping."
"What happened?"
"Tell me why he just fired me."
"Fired you?"
"Talking about he don't want his woman dancing and some other shit."
"Girl, that don't really surprise me. Men like Legend don't be going for that." Tiffany shook her head.
"That's crazy. How you the owner of a strip club, but…."
Her words were cut short when her phone vibrated against the bar. Thinking it was another text from Legend, Harmony glanced down and nearly choked when she saw a Zelle notification for three thousand dollars. The payment was from Legend, and attached to it was a note that read.
This should cover your night.
Harmony stared at the screen for a minute before shaking her head and locking her phone.
She was still salty about Legend making her quit, but three stacks for sitting at a bar was hard to complain about.
Hell, she had made less money doing a whole lot more.
As much as she didn't want to give him the satisfaction, Harmony had to admit the arrangement might not be as bad as she thought it was.