by Layla Arts
“What did you manage to fuck up this time?” I spat at him.
“I may or not may have promised someone that you would send them a couple of videos,” William said, and I could see him flinch and close his eyes from the outburst that was sure to come.
He knew that I'd be furious, and go completely insane. That was precisely what happened a few seconds after the words were spoken.
“What the fuck did you do?!” I bellowed.
I got up from my chair and leaned over the desk to grab William strongly by his collar. My heart was beating loudly, and my veins were thick with the adrenaline that consumed my body. “Who the hell did you promise videos to? Fucking tell me William or your brains will be splattering my wall in three seconds flat.” I hissed dementedly.
“I'm sorry.” He pleaded. “It was an impulse when I was drunk.”
“You don't get to use that as an excuse you twat,” I made it clear instantly. “You've definitely crossed boundaries. I have told you, many times, that this is over. Yet still you pull me into your pathetic excuse for a business, and you want me to clean everything up for you – like I always do,” I growled. “I don't want to keep on wiping your ass, William Purdy. It's time for you to grow up.”
I released his collar, and I heard him coughing slightly. It could have been worse, but I kept myself grounded for once. I couldn't make a scene inside the Empire. I settled down into my chair, and I pinched the bridge of my nose in exasperation.
“Who wants the video?” I asked him annoyingly.
“Ethan.”
“Why Ethan? Couldn't you pick someone else when you were shitfaced.” I groaned irritatingly. I rubbed my temples as I rested my elbows on the desk. “Which video does he want?” I asked with a deep sigh.
“Red's.”
My fist slammed the desk harshly. I felt the pain resonate through my whole body. I could kill William for his behavior. I knew that there weren't many options. Ethan was a powerful man, he could destroy my life and my business if he had half a mind to.
“I am not okay with giving someone Red's video,” I said.
“But he wants it,” William protested. “Or…”
“Or what, William?”
“You could give, you know, Vicky's video?” William scratched the back of his neck while he tried to avoid my gaze.
“Fuck you!” I shouted. “Not going to happen.”
I got out of my chair, and I walked to the bookcase. I had closed this chapter of my life, and I had no interest in going back. I shove some books away, and I pressed in the code I had used for years. I heard the soft click of the vault, and the bookcase moved.
I was met with the familiar collection of videos from the past years. I had numbered them, named them and made sure everything was perfectly organized.
My fingers touched the spines of the videos, and I searched for the name. I needed to give Ethan something, and I could get in fucking trouble for this, but I needed to keep this quiet. I just felt sick whenever I thought about what was stored in this vault. The number of innocent people I've filmed was massive.
I took a video, hesitant at first, but it was the best thing I could give. With a deep sigh, I left the small room, and I safely closed the door. With the video in my hand, I walked to William. I knew he was curious about which dancer I had chosen, and I thought that this was the best decision I could have made. It was a short film with different snaps of her performance, so it was acceptable to give.
“I am willing to give you Keeton's,” I announced, and I handed him the video.
William frowned at me, not understanding why I gave him Keeton's video. “Why aren't you giving me Red’s? He clearly told me he wants her,” he stated powerfully.
“Because Ethan isn't going to get Red's video. First of all, she's Vicky's best friend. How would I ever explain that I sold out her friend to save your ass? And secondly, I'm not here to please you. I'm here to make things up to you. You made a deal with Ethan, so it isn't my fault that he won't be pleased. You promised him something you knew I couldn't give you.” I walked away from William back to my chair to take a comfortable seat. “Don't forget to mention that Keeton has been dismissed from the club, so I don't have another video I can give you.”
“You do have the videos from the past,” William countered.
“I will not give them to you. We can be seen in those videos, William. I will not give Ethan videos in which I can be seen, especially not the ones that contain my sexual activities.”
“What if he doesn't accept her video?” he blurted out in a state I could only describe as sheer panic.
“Then you make sure he does. I've made it clear that I'm not giving away anyone's video except for Keeton's.” I waved him off instantly. William needed to understand that he wasn't going to get exactly what he wanted, we were doing this my way or not at all. “I've promised someone that I'd stop with this nonsense.”
“You fucking told her?” He scoffed at me loudly.
“Yes, I fucking told her. Don't look at me like that, you pathetic little shit,” I fired back hoarsely. “If I want to tell her things, I'm going to tell her things. I want to be honest with her. I knew it was only a matter of time before you'd sell me out, you fucking coward, and I wanted to tell her myself.” I announced seriously. I leaned back in the chair, and I rested with my feet on the desk.
“You've kept this a secret since the last time we saw each other? You didn't even freaking tell me.” William panicked.
I rolled my eyes at his sudden reaction. What I told Vicky didn't concern him; he needed to learn his place.
“That is your problem, William. I don't need to take care of you, not anymore.” I cleared up. My fingers were tapping on the wood. “I've told you a thousand times that I'm not up for it anymore; I don't want to do it anymore. So we've reached a conclusion then? You stay the fuck away from me and Vicky. Keep me out of your fucking shady business, and I won't beat you to a pulp. Got it?” I took my phone out of my pocket, and just showed how I wasn't even a bit interested in him at all.
William stayed silent, and I knew he was picturing things in his head which shouldn't be there.
“I won't go back to my old lifestyle. I'm cleaning up after someone pulled me into his mess. Don't make different conclusions, William,” I informed him strictly.
“And what if I did?” he asked while staring at me.
“Then you're just utterly stupid. Seriously, don't try to think of me returning back,” I told him once again.
“But when you open-”
“When I opened that fucking vault I saw my past. It's gone now – locked away. I won't be that person again, I can't be that person again,” I explained, again.
William sighed heavily. “What does she know?”
“That you're a prick.”
“Oh, thanks. You've really managed to give me an ego boost,” William spoke ironically.
“Couldn't think of anything nice to say about you.”
He dragged his hand through his hair. William wanted to have things that I couldn't give him – I actually could, but it just wasn't going to happen. “What did I do?” he questioned me out of confusion. Like he couldn't comprehend why I was through with this bullshit.
“She practically hates you,” I answered.
“Is she mad at me calling her a lesbian when we first met?”
I shook my head while a soft chuckle left my mouth. “No, she was mad at me. Enough is enough, William. I'm done with it. You need to accept that and move the fuck on. Stop bringing these problems to me, stop talking about it. The reason for it, people get frustrated and annoyed. Frankly, I'm frustrated and annoyed. Are you done?”
He stayed mute.
“If you don't mind, I have work to do. You can send Ethan the video, and I will send him a little message about the dissolution of this business. This is the last time, William. You can show yourself out now.” I said before William had a chance to interrupt.
There were thi
ngs I wanted to make crystal clear, and this was one of them. The last thing I needed was Vicky finding out about this.
“Right,” he said, and he got up from the chair. The video was in his hand, but it disappeared inside of his suit. He closed it firmly, and he placed the chair back in its old position. My feet went from the desk, and I shoved myself closer to it. I already took my glasses, and I was ready to get back to working on the next shows. There were things to be organized, planned ahead before Vicky and I’d leave for three days.
“Just so you know, William, I will not hesitate to kill you the next time you pull a stunt like this,” I spoke when he held the doorknob firmly in his hand. A smirk grew on his face when he turned his head around to face me properly.
“I knew you still had it in you,” William said.
“You don't know anything.” I hissed.
“Don't lie to yourself, Smith. We both know the truth.”
22
Vicky West
It was time for my shift at V's Café. I had parked my car decently at the back of the parking lot, and I stepped out of my Mini-Cooper. It was ridiculously early in the morning, not a time I would usually come in, but I wanted to get extra money for the trip to New York.
For me, it wasn't small, but for Hadrian it was. I saw it as probably the biggest trip I would ever make; it didn't make much sense – I wasn't actually leaving the continental US, but I couldn't see myself ever earning enough to take some lavish trip to Europe, so I was going to enjoy my little trip.
I had peeked on the schedule at work to see if who I would be working with this morning. With much excitement, Clarity was going to be working at the same time as me. I could already see her cleaning the tables from a distance. She must have been the first one to arrive, since the first employee always needs to do the tables.
As I opened the door, I saw Clarity turning her head toward me. She cheered out of happiness instantly, and she ran toward me. It was quite a surprise when she didn't fall because the floor was still wet from her mopping.
“You're still alive!” she beamed, making it sound like it had been a long time since she last saw me. Had it?
“I am!” I cheered. “How are you, Clarity?”
I started to help her clean up as we continued to chat.
“I'm stupidly busy, but in some way everything is perfect, and I've just heard that my cousin is having a baby!”
“Really?! Does she know which gender?” I made the tables ready for the people who came for an early Christmas lunch.
“It is a girl,” she spoke full of happiness. “It means I need to be out of town for a while since she's going to celebrate her pregnancy. Are you free the week after Christmas?”
“I think so. Yeah, I should be back from New York by then,” I informed her.
“You're going to New York?! When?!” Clarity's interest piqued
It was clear we hadn't really talked for a long time, and I sure did miss talking to her. We had grown distant because of our alternate shifts, but since we both worked today, we would have time to catch up.
“Someone is taking me,” I said, my cheeks started to heat at the reminder of Hadrian asking me.
“Who?” She wiggled her eyebrows.
“I don't think you want to know,” I muttered quietly.
“It isn't the chef, is it?” Clarity asked.
“No!” I immediately exclaimed. “I hardly ever talk to Dan, why would I go to New York with him?”
“Great,” she said and looked away from my incomprehensive face. I knew she was hiding something. I continued to look at her, and she sighed heavily. “Why are you giving me that look?”
“Tell me why you're being evasive.”
“No, you'll think badly of us.”
“I hardly think so. I don't even know what is going on.”
“Well, we may or may not have had sex in the kitchen,” she spoke, and she squeezed her eyes shut, bracing herself for some kind of lashing.
“Clarity!” I yelled in panic. “You naughty girl, who would have thought that!”
“Sssh!”
“There is no one here except us. I can be loud if I want. I'm sure you and Dan were – Tell me everything, and I want the details.” I sat down in a booth, and Clarity joined me.
“We've been talking to each other non-stop. Just one day we needed to close the café, and I said it was awfully quiet so…”
“So what?”
“He said, ‘let's make some noise then’.”
“Ah!” I smiled brightly. “I like this, Clarity. I'm so happy for you, but please tell me you've cleaned the kitchen?” I pleaded. Just the thought of getting my lunch from someone out of the kitchen, and the image of them being busy on the kitchen counter, didn't really stir up my appetite.
“Obviously,” she said. “I like to keep everything tidy.” Clarity made it clear. She got out of her booth, and she started to bring the supplies back to the stockroom.
When she arrived back, she immediately took a seat again. “What about you and Mr. NYC, Vicks?” she asked me eagerly.
“Well, it's quite a funny story,” I announced. Actually, it was more weird than funny.
“We have time. The next employees won't arrive for another hour,” she told me.
“I think I've fallen pretty badly for someone,” I said honestly. “He has been on my mind for weeks, and not so long ago, he asked me to go to New York with him for Christmas.” My fingertips were making patterns on the table.
“Who is he?”
“Hadrian, my boss.” Silent filled the café. “Please, do not think I am fucking my way to the top because I'm not,” I admitted. Hadrian was a great company, not a toy.
“I'm just surprised,” she told me. “I thought you hated him?”
“I did – sort of. But that stopped weeks ago.”
Clarity cracked a little smile. It made me feel a bit more comfortable that wasn’t negative about all of this. I shifted my position in the booth, and I knew Clarity wanted to know more about him, for once I didn't mind talking about Hadrian.
My parents didn't know about Hadrian. Barely anyone did. We weren't official. There has never been the question. I wasn't going to tell people I was dating someone when I wasn't sure if it was true.
It would come, one day, eventually.
At least, I thought so.
“How old is he?”
“Twenty–six,” I told her.
“How old are you again? I suck at remembering birthdays.”
“I'm twenty-three.”
“A youngster then.” She joked around, I rolled my eyes. “It gives something seductive to the relationship.”
“The last time I checked, we weren't in a relationship.” I made it clear to Clarity. She frowned – confused about my words – and she cocked her head to the left side.
“So he takes you to NYC to spend Christmas, but you two aren't in a relationship?
”Exactly,” I said.
Clarity chuckled softly. “This is complicated.”
“For everyone around me, yes. For us, it's just how it is. We don't seem to be bothered by the fact that we aren't official. I think people assume too quickly that people are in a relationship – I mean, we have our moments when you consider we're in a relationship. But we don't really label ourselves as boyfriend and girlfriend.”
“It actually sounds so relaxed – how you're living your life with him. Friends of mine already assume we are getting married,” she informed me with a laugh, but it was obvious she didn't want to hear that.
“I just – no. We want to avoid that.” I shrugged. It was the only answer that made sense.
“Has he ever talked about being in a relationship with you?” she questioned me politely.
“No, actually, but – I don't know – it doesn't really take over my mind,” I answered.
Clarity nodded before she spoke, “It's actually quite fucked up how people can be so invasive.” She sighed deeply, frustration coming out of
her body. “When we are alone, people ask us if we're dating someone or why not. If we are dating someone, they immediately ask how serious it is and when we will move in together. When we start to live with someone, they come with questions if we want to have children or get married. If we have passed the stage of getting married – or maybe having children – they question you again: when is the next child coming? They just don't stop. So many people immediately assume that when you've passed one stage, you should already be busy with the next one. It's sad, really.”
“I've never really looked at it like that.”
“We're curious human beings. We want to know everything about someone's relationship. Now that I've told you this, you're going to think about my words whenever you ask someone one of these questions. I'm not saying that every time it is annoying because sometimes we all want to share our love life with the world,” Clarity stated the obvious.
Then the door went open, and three other employees walked in. They were younger than us – much younger – and I assumed Veronica needed them because they were cheaper to employ.
So I started doing my job. It was getting a bit packed after two hours of steady traffic. So many people had made a reservation because it was always so cozy here when Christmas was coming. I cleaned the counter, and Clarity placed used glasses on the tray in front of me.
“Veronica needs to fucking hurry up. This woman needs to see how hard I work.” I laughed at her words. “It looks like God heard my prayers,” Clarity told me when Veronica walked in. She was wearing a t-shirt with a reindeer printed on it. I snickered softly when she walked in. It didn't even bother to tell her how awful that shirt was.
“Ladies,” she greeted us excitedly.
“Veronica,” I said.
“Where did you buy that t-shirt?” Clarity asked – I tried not to laugh.
“I made it myself. I'm getting more into the style of this century.”
“Creative, very creative. You should make more of them.” She complimented Veronica.
“My husband said the same thing. Definitely going to do that.”
