Chapter 29
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
Ezekiel
By the time I make my way to the VIP booth reserved for me and my brothers, the club is already packed.
There are drunk guys cheering on the dancers at every table, most of them throwing hundred-dollar bills like it’s snow.
They’re rich and they’re not shy about it.
I wonder what their families would think if they saw them like this.
“Cain just called,” Malachi sits beside me, leaning back in the leather seat. “It’s all taken care of.”
“Good,” I nod.
“You know it’s not your fault, right?” He asks as if he’s able to read my mind. “You could not have possibly known that Michael was going to do that.”
“I know,” I crack my knuckles, one of the guys drawing my attention. While everyone else is observing the show from their seats, this guy keeps getting up to his feet and approaching the stage.
That’s when I spot Riley approaching the stage. She’s the next to perform after Chloe, who’s already gotten off stage and run to the dressing room to prepare the costume for her next performance.
At first my heart flutters, her words from earlier echoing in my head, but then the drunk guy spots her and he crosses her path, not letting her get on stage.
He’s telling her something that seems to make her uncomfortable and then he reaches for her wrist. Riley’s eyes go wide and she immediately tries to pull herself away from him, but he’s too strong even for her and I can tell that she doesn’t want to make a scene.
I don’t wait to see what will happen next. One of the security guards is already heading in their direction, but he doesn’t get there first. By the time I reach his table, I’ve already wrapped my hand around the man’s wrist, forcing his fingers to let go of Riley.
“You’ve had enough for tonight,” I say through my teeth.
“What the fuck is your problem?” The smile disappears from his face as he snaps his hand from my grip. “Are you the fun police?”
“It’s better for you if you leave.”
“You crazy, or what?” He raises his eyebrows, furious. “She works here! It’s her job to entertain me and everyone in this place.”
“Wrong,” I try to calm myself by counting slowly to ten in my head but I lose it somewhere around three. “She works for me.”
“So? How does that change anything?”
“So,” my voice is sharp enough to make several nearby conversations die out. The music stopped playing long ago. “That means you don’t touch her unless she allows it. If you don’t want me to break your face.”
“I’ve spent fifty grand in this place,” He laughs, causing my blood to boil.
“And?”
“You’re seriously going to throw me out over a whore?”
The room goes quiet and suddenly I stop caring that people are watching.
I swing my fist at the guy, landing it on his face in a way that makes his bone make a loud cracking sound.
I proceed to grab him by the collar, but by the time I get to take another swing, I feel a pair of hands pulling me away.
“Stop, Zeke,” Malachi’s voice breaks through to me. “That’s enough, security will take him out.”
“Let go of me,” I say to my brother in a calm tone. “Get that piece of shit out of here and make sure he never sets foot in this club again.”
Security proceeds to escort him toward the exit, while the man continues shouting threats over his shoulder. The music resumes a few seconds later, conversations picking back up as though nothing has happened.
“Zeke…” Riley approaches me, probably to tell me that I shouldn’t have done that and that she had it covered, but I don’t give either of us the chance to have that conversation.
“I’m busy,” I say quietly, already turning away and heading to my office.
If I stay another second, I’ll say something I shouldn’t.
Malachi follows me to my office, shutting the door behind us loudly. He’s furious, I saw it when he pulled me off that guy, and I can see it now. But I don’t care. I’ve stopped caring about anyone’s approval when I entered puberty.
“I’m not saying he’s not a piece of shit…” Malachi speaks.
“But what?” I challenge him.
“That was reckless, man!”
“He put his hands on one of our dancers,” I pour myself a drink without offering Malachi one.
“And you’ve removed dozens of clients for doing less,” he continues. “But you have never made a scene like that.”
“And?” I ignore him, opening the laptop and look up the security footage from earlier.
“What’s this really about, Zeke?” Malachi sighs, looking as tired from this conversation as I feel. “You’re acting irresponsible and that’s not like you.”
I find the exact moment when the guy grabbed Riley’s wrist on the security footage and pause to zoom in on her face. She looks mortified and seeing that look on her face makes my whole being ache.
“Zeke?” Malachi speaks again, snapping me from my thoughts. “You know you can talk to me.”
“Fine,” I close the laptop unable to spend another second looking at that security footage. “I care about her.”
“I know you do,” he rolls his eyes. “You care about everyone who works here, but that isn’t it.”
“Well, shut up and let me talk. I have feelings for her. Real feelings. She’s not just a booty call for me.”
“Why do you have to be so old fashioned?” Malachi makes a disgusted face. “No one calls it booty call anymore.”
“Okay, get off your high horse, you’re only two years younger than me.
Malachi winks.
I take a sip of my whiskey, leaning back in the chair. “So you’re not going to tell me that I’m crazy? Or to get over myself?”
“Why would I say that?” Malachi smiles, this time the smile genuine. “I know you well enough to know that you’re not someone who plays around with these things.”
“Really?”
“Yeah,” he responds. “In fact, if you allow me…”
“I don’t,” I’m not sure I want to hear what he’s about to say.
“I’m going to say it anyway,” Malachi continues. “You should go out there and talk to her after what just happened. I saw how you reacted when she approached you and it wasn’t cool.”
“I think you might be right,” I hate to admit it, but I can see exactly where I might have messed it up. It wasn’t a nice experience for her to have that guy touch her, and then I acted like a dick when she tried to talk to me.
“Wow, is the world ending? Are the pigs flying?” Malachi grabs my glass of whiskey from the table without asking for permission. “My big bro admitting I’m right without arguing with me first. This is even more rare than a total solar eclipse.”
“Shut up,” I roll my eyes, getting back up on my feet. “And make sure not to leave the glass on the desk when you finish the drink.”
With that, I leave my office and head straight for the dressing room, hoping Riley hasn’t left yet. I knock on the door and wait before entering, to make sure I don’t walk in on the girls while they’re changing.
“Come on in,” one of the girls responds from the other side of the door. When I open the door and she sees me, her face goes blank. She rushes out without giving me a chance to say anything.
“What do you want?” Riley proceeds to take her makeup off without even looking at me. The other girls aren’t here so I pull one of the empty chairs and sit down next to her.
“We should talk, Riley,” I begin but she remains quiet. “I was wrong earlier for not letting you speak when you tried to.”
“Oh, so you were wrong just for not letting me speak?” She’s not looking at me, she looks furious.
“Yes,” I admit. “And before you say anything, I know you can take care of yourself, but this is not about that.”
“Then what is it about?” She crosses her arms, leaning back in the chair. “Because you embarrassed me in front of everyone and made it seem like I got some special treatment.”
“No one thinks that,” I shake my head.
“You sure? Because it felt like they do,” She’s getting more upset by the minute.
“Riley, I’ve kicked guys out of Eden for crossing the line many times before.”
“Oh, that’s even better!” She throws her hands in the air, shooting me a furious look. “I’m nothing special. I’m just another girl for you. It’s good to know what my place is.”
I reach out, taking her hand in mine. “Riley, you know you’re so much more than just a girl who works for me. What’s this about?”
She looks down at our joined hands before pulling hers away. “Then stop treating me like I’m some fragile porcelain doll that’s going to break the moment the wind blows a little stronger.”
“That’s not what I’m doing.”
“Isn’t it?” She shakes her head. “Because I’m the one who chose this job, Zeke. No one forced me into it.”
“I know,” I respond.
“I can take care of myself,” she continues. “And I can handle drunk assholes.”
“Tonight says otherwise,” I’m slowly starting to lose my patience.
“Tonight I didn’t want to make a scene,” Riley explains.
My jaw tightens at the memory of his hands on her. Even now, thinking about it makes something dark twist inside of me. If Malachi hadn’t dragged me away, that man would have left the Eden in a body bag.
I take a slow breath before speaking again. “And that’s why I wanted to ask you if you would consider retiring as a stripper.”
“What?” She raises an eyebrow, genuinely confused.
“If Malachi hadn’t pulled me off that guy tonight, I don’t know what I would have done,” I continue. “And if this happens again, I will not stop, Riley. I will kill the next guy that touches you.”
The look in her eyes softens and she leans forward, her free hand gently caressing mine. “No one ever cared about me like this…”
“I care.”
“It’s so fucking unbelievable that we’re here,” she chuckles. “Like this. It’s surreal.”
“So, what do you say?”
“I…” Her smile slowly fades. “Can’t just quit.”
“Why not?” I frown.
“Because, unlike you, I actually need my paycheck,” she lets out a quiet laugh, but there’s no humor behind it.
“Riley…”
“I mean it,” she looks me straight in the eyes. “My independence means everything to me.”
“Who said anything about taking away your independence?”
She blinks. “What?”
“I was actually going to offer you a different position,” I give her a small smile. “And a job where you’d have a higher pay.”
“Are you serious?” She raises her eyebrows, confused.
“Yes,” I nod, leaning in closer to her. “Would you accept the position of the bar manager at the Eden?”
Her face lights up briefly before settling back into confusion. She’s staring at me as if she’s trying to figure out whether I’m serious. “But why me?”
“Why not? You’re smart as fuck and more than capable.”
“And you’d really trust me with that job?”
“Riley,” I grin, my voice dropping to a whisper as I continue. “Right now, you’re one of the few people I actually trust not to screw me over.”
A slow smile spreads across her face.
“I would love working as a bar manager, Zeke,” She finally leans in, pulling me toward her for a kiss. “When do I start?”
“Is tomorrow good for you?”