Chapter Eight
Olivia
M r. Ricci was in his office for what felt like hours, but I know it was only thirty minutes at the most. The bastard left me crying in the dining room alone and afraid.
The worst part was my mind; it wouldn’t shut off. How could my father do this to me. How could he do this to these women?
My mind tries to wrap around the fact that he was wanting to sell me but also would sell my children as well. How could anyone do that?
The tears just continue to flow as I think of how much my life has turned upside down since yesterday.
In a matter of twenty-four hours, I went from feeling like the luckiest girl in the whole world who had a father who loved her only to find out he was grooming me to be some sort of sex slave and breed me while padding his back pocket.
The tears slowly stop flowing and anger heats my core.
I need to survive.
The last thing I should do is tell Hayes who I am. I’m still not convinced he won’t do the same to me given the chance.
All these men, they all want power. Knowing I am the daughter of his enemy, he will have leverage no one else has had. He could do awful things to me.
“Here is what we are going to do, little doe...” Mr. Ricci, I mean Hayes, says coming out of his office, startling me.
“You are going to have a job starting tonight working at my club. I will have one of the girls train you. It will be a good hideout for you. I’ll have one of my beauticians on my payroll come over and change your hair and have Alan go grab you some new outfits.”
I nod. “What kind of job will I be doing?”
He doesn’t look up from his phone, obviously texting someone, maybe this Alan guy? But he replies, “Bartending.”
“Where will I live?” I ask and his eyes shoot up, meeting mine. “Well, you cannot stay here. I will get one of the girls to let you stay with them.”
“Girls?” I question.
“The girls who work at the club. You’ll like them.” he assures me.
His eyes linger on me for a moment too long in my opinion, making me a little uncomfortable, so I smile and say, “Mr. Ricci, thank you for being kind to me.”
He stares at me a little bit longer and his Adam’s apple rises and falls slowly before he replies, “I told you, call me Hayes, Olivia. And don’t thank me just yet. I may be gentler than those men you met last night, but I’m still a ruthless King who is destined for Hell because of the sinful things I have done.”
***
“S HORT, YES?” THE MALE hairdresser, Marcus, ask me while holding the scissors up to his lips as he puckers them.
He is a beautiful man, dark hair, emerald eyes, and eye lashes I would literally kill for.
He arrived thirty minutes after Hayes called him earlier.
I was told to go into the bedroom I woke up in this morning, that I have now gathered is his, and let Marcus make me unrecognizable.
Honestly, I am just thankful there is someone else in this house other than just Hayes and me.
I even think it melted some anxiety off him too, as he has retreated to his office since Marcus has arrived.
“Um, whatever you need to do, I guess.” I tell him softly.
“Well, Mr. Ricci has told me to make you unrecognizable,” he states.
“Then why ask me if I wanted to go short if you were told to do it anyway.” I shoot a clipped response back to him.
He smiles, “That’s the kind of attitude you need to show.”
Moving the scissors, he starts chopping off my hair and a little bit of me dies with it.
My hair has always been long. The only times I would cut it is a trim every few months to keep it healthy.
This feels like a part of me is shedding with the locks falling to the ground.
A tear swells in my eye, and I blink it back as quickly as it came. If I want to survive, I need to play their game and remove all emotion from my mind.
“Do you know about the place I am about to go work?” I ask him. “He told me I would be bartending at his club.”
Marcus is quiet for a moment, still chopping away on my hair focused on an even chop.
Once the last hair drops to the floor he says, “Club Rose is one of my favorite places. I fix all the women’s hair who work there. Perks of having Mr. Ricci as a boss; he provides all the women free hair and makeup for their job if they want it.”
“For bartending?” I start to ask. “What kind of beauty contest is this place?”
He snickers, “Honey, this is not just some waitressing club. This is a gentleman’s club.”
My eyes widen as he turns me around to face the mirror. My hair is cut a little above shoulder length. I look more edgy than I ever thought I’d look. My father would be so pissed to see this.
I shake my head, no. He has no power over me anymore. Fuck him. Fuck him and his men.
“A gentleman’s club?” I question, my cheeks a little flushed at embarrassment for not knowing what that is.
He chuckles, “Honey, you need to get out more. Experiment, travel, eat all the best food. Really, you are what? Twenty? Way too old to be this na?ve.”
Now I really feel embarrassed. “I am twenty-one.”
“My point exactly. Live a little.” He winks at me.
“What exactly do I experiment with?” I ask, my eyes curious.
Marcus grins, bringing his scissors to even up some of my ends, “Anything and everything. Go fuck some men and women. Do drugs, go sky diving. I don’t know, whatever tickles your fancy.”
He sits the scissors down. “Just go get some life experience before you die a lonely old woman with a vagina that has dust all in it.” He makes a gross face that makes me giggle.
“Now, lets talk about color,” he says eyeing my hair. “I’m thinking a dark chocolate with some money pieces in the front will make your blue eyes pop.”
It takes me a moment to reply after looking at my short hair in the mirror; I sit up straighter letting a big rush of air in my lungs and letting it out slowly through my nose.
Yes, I can do this.
“Yes, let’s do it but first I need you to go tell Mr. Ricci to come in here please.”
He hitches an eyebrow, obviously intrigued and nods, walking off to get Hayes.
A few moments later, footsteps are getting closer to the doorway and Marcus is back next to me while Hayes stands in the doorway eyeing me. “I was told you needed me?”
“I would like something else to change the way I look.” I tell him.
And something my father would never think I would get for myself.
His eyes never leave mine, waiting on me to continue so I go on, “Is there any way you could bring a piercer in before tonight to pierce my nostril? I would like a nose ring.”
Marcus almost drops his brush when he gasps, then chuckles. “Now that’s what I’m talking about, girlfriend.”
Hayes tried to hide it, but I saw the small lift of his lips that almost turned into a grin. He turns to walk out, and replies, “I’ll go make a phone call.”