Victor's Girl: A Mafia Romance

by Sparsha Kadri

  Ira was a good dancer; has been one since she was very young. Though she had never thought that out of all her talents it would be her dancing skills that would be highlighted.

  Simon was impressed with her performance on her audition and had told her that she had a bright future in the club. But instead of being the star that Simon wanted to turn her into, she chose to blend into the shadows assuming the perfect camouflage she needed to hide her shame.

  Though he was not happy about what she was doing, he came forth as really understanding and respected her choice. He was like an older brother to her who always looked out for her and made sure she was alright. There had been times when he had gone way out of his way to help her. And seeing him demanding her to perform as a lead dancer came as a shock to her.

  He had eased up the conversation by explaining to her that tonight was an important night and he needed his best and not to mention prettiest dancers on the front line and as she was the first name he could think of she had no choice but to do as she was told.

  She stared at her reflection in the enormous dressing mirror of the green room and a single drop of tear rolled down her right cheek. Her big beautiful eyes were clouded with sadness that always crept through her every time she readied herself for her performance. Even after working here for months she still found it difficult to accept her fate.

  She was not meant for a life like this; she was brought up in a good decent family where girls stayed away from places like this. Yet here she was in a club run by the underworld mafia dressed in scanty lingerie all set to perform in front of a bunch of morons to whom she would mean nothing more than a hot piece of ass.

  Ira shook her head dragging herself out of her wayward thoughts. She was here by choice and it was pointless wasting time thinking other ways.

  She brought her attention back to her appearance and sighed, she was wearing black lace lingerie set paired with lace thigh high stockings, a set of garter strings were attached to her thigh highs and her feet were neatly tucked into expensive black high heels that she had now grown to love.

  Her makeup was done professionally and her long thick silky hair was left open in its natural waves. Her flawless skin glistened under the lights and she looked nothing like the girl her parents had raised her into. The girl standing before her looked like a wicked seductress all set for a night of hunting.

  Her big beautiful eyes were thickly lined and her plump pouty lips were tinted red. Jimmy had taken special care of highlighting her high cheekbones and adding a touch of bronze to her pale skin. “You have a face of a temptress.” he had often told her and as she stared at her reflection she knew he was right, she did look like a seductress.

  Ira hated the fact that she had to strip down to her underpants and dance before hundreds of strangers just to feed her family. This is not the kind of a life she wanted for herself but this was her fate. The thought of quitting and going back home had always been a welcome distraction to her but then again going back was not an option she could ever consider.

  A knock at her door brought her out of her thoughts. The doorknob clicked and Simon peered through the door with a tired look on his face. “Ira, it’s time,” he announced peering through the door and without another word he closed the door behind him, giving her a minute to gather herself. She closed her eyes and took a deep calming breath.

  “It’s Showtime,” She told herself as she picked up her robe and shrugged it on and fastened the knot. Giving herself one last look she walked out of the green room making sure she closed it on her way out. Simon waited for her outside the green room impatiently discussing something with Paul: one of the bouncers from the club. Their eyes turned to her and she did not miss the appreciation in their eyes.

  Simon frowned at her, “Darling, next is your turn on stage, why are you still wearing that robe,.” he demanded without bothering to hide his annoyance.

  Ira sighed knowing that he had every right to be annoyed; Victor was here after a long time which meant there were going to be more guests in the club, in short, they were having a busy night and he was under too much pressure. Ira untied her robe and shrugged it off and he took it from her hand.

  He took a step back and studied her from head to toe; an appreciative smile crossed his face and he lightly patted her hair. “You look stunning, Love. Be prepared for some huge tips tonight,” he told her with a wink and she shyly grinned at him.

  She did not know the routine for the night and simply hoped that she did not have to put up some complex choreography. Luckily they only had four routines and they would use the same routine for different songs and she knew all of them.

  “Tonight its routine 4 and the song is Heaven by Julia Michaels. Neha, Soni, Kiran and Monica will be performing with you but you will be the lead dancer.” Simon briefed her, putting her out of her misery. Ira let out a sigh of relief and nodded. Routine 4 was one of their easier routines compared to the others, though the choreography was way too sensual for her liking, the steps were pretty easy.

  Ira noticed a set of familiar eyes on her and she turned her gaze to Paul who was standing next to Simon. He grinned at her politely and she smiled back at him. “You look lovely,” he told her once Simon left them alone. Colour crept to her cheeks and she awkwardly tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

  “Thank you,” she told him quietly and excused herself.

  She followed Simon to the backstage and found the other members of her team waiting for her. Some even glared at her in annoyance but she ignored them like she always did. Ira did not mingle much with anybody here but Simon and she was perfectly fine with it. Honestly, she barely even knew the names of most of the girls here.

  The club had exactly five teams of dancers varying four to five members in a team. Usually, all the teams would take turns to perform; usually for thirty minutes or sometimes for a particular song and then the next team would take over the stage. The routine would go through all night and once all the teams have performed the A list girls would take over the stage for the rest of the night, and no Ira was not one of them neither did she want to be one.

  Simon clapped his hands, dragging everybody’s attention to him. “Okay ladies, tonight Victor is in the club so I want all of you to give your best. Ira will be the lead like discussed so I don’t want to see any catfights on stage. Do I make myself clear, Monica?” He gave a pointed look at her and she glared at him in response.

  Ira’s heart sank at the mention of his name and for a minute she started to consider the thought of making a run back to the green room. The vision of him putting the bullet into that man’s head flashed in front of her eyes and for a minute she could not think straight.

  The realization that she had been suppressing ever since she had stepped into the club washed over her. She was an eyewitness to a horrible crime and there was nothing she could do about it. Mob killings are surprisingly common here and Victor was known for such activities.

  The thought of going to the police and reporting the entire incident occurred to her but then what would happen to her? Victor and his men would destroy her and that’s something she could not afford. Her family needs her, her mother needs her and if her silence meant keeping everybody safe so be it.

  “Ira, come on, it's time.” Simon’s voice brought her out of her thoughts. She let out a frustrated sigh realizing that she was the last one to take the stage.

  “Sorry,” she mumbled to him, her face burning with colour. She quickly ran her fingers through her hair and straightened her back. Sucking in a deep calming breath she made a silent prayer to whoever was listening and stepped into the stage.

  The blinding purple lights of the stage welcomed her as she walked to the center of the stage with cat-like grace, taking her position in the center. The lights changed to a softer colour letting her eyes adjust to the lights. She had a good view of the audience, not that she cared. She never really cared about who was watching her, her sole focus would always stay on finishing
her routine and getting the hell out of there.

  But tonight it was really hard for her to ignore her audience as sitting in the very front booth was none other than the devil himself. He had claimed one of the leather couches close to the stage and had the front-row view of the stage. His one hand rested on the back of the long couch and the other holding a glass of what she guessed to be scotch that he kept sipping now and then.

  His eyes met hers for a brief moment and he raised his glass to her in cheers; like he was silently telling her that he was glad to see her there and she knew instantly that she was there by design, his design.

  He took a sip from his drink as his eyes shamelessly roamed over her semi-nude sculpted body and God, she was so much sexier then he had imagined.

  Gone was any trace of that shy innocent girl he had seen earlier in the alleyway. The girl before him was a vixen; a seductress with a body that could give sleepless nights to any man with a right mind. She was all long legs and small waist. Her ample breasts were full and perky and he could barely take his eyes off them. Though his gaze kept going down to her long legs every now and then.

  He wondered how those legs would feel wrapped around his waist as he pinned her against the wall his cock buried deep inside her. The thought alone was enough to make him hard. He gulped down his drink trying to calm down his nerves. Get a grip you old beast, he scolded himself but his eyes did not leave her sensual body.

  The music started to play and she raised her hands above her head getting into position. She seductively moved her body to the sensually slow music and the crowd started to cheer. She slowly brought her hand down and the music started to pick up beats and she closed her eyes enjoying the music, her body animatedly catching every single beat as she moved.

  She could feel his burning gaze on her but she made it a point not to look at him. His hot gaze made her feel weird things and she did not like it. She kept her eyes glued to the far wall as her body seductively moved to the beats. She walked a few steps forward and bent down and flipped her hair, flashing a tantalizing view of her cleavage to the crowd, her lips moving animatedly synching to the song.

  The crowd roared in response and she repeated the motion earning more cheers and hoots from the crowd. All eyes were on her but her body burned with the heat from the burning steel gaze that she had been so desperately avoiding. Her entire body was on fire and it could be seen in her sizzling performance.

  The song changed and the music changed to upbeat and she put in more energy and danced like she had no care in the world, earning more and more cheers and not to mention more tips. Her gaze would occasionally move to him and his steel gaze would hold her prisoner. The way he looked at her made her feel naked and vulnerable before him and she did not like it. His fiery gaze stirred a weird heat inside her, a heat that did not seem to have a cure. A heat that she had never felt before.

  The song came to an end and so did her performance. She blew kisses at the cheering crowd and quickly bent down and picked up her tips before the other girls could get their hands on her share. Usually, the main dancer received more tips and today was no different. She gave him one last look and he was still watching her with a hooded look in his eyes. She instantly broke the eye contact and rushed out of the stage and practically ran back to the green room.

  She sat down on her chair and started counting her tips and a happy smile crossed her face. Tonight she had earned 10,000 just by tips. Though she would have to give half of it to Simon as part of their deal she was still happy. It isn’t every day she earned so much money in one night. Maybe performing in the front line was not that bad after all.

  The other girls started to pour into the room and she tucked her cash inside her backpack, which was completely childish because most of the girls here also worked as escorts and earned far more than what she had just earned. But then again it’s not every day that she earned so much and she was not going to let any of these girls get their hands on it. She had seen enough fights around here to know how bad things could get around here with these girls and she didn’t want to get herself into any more trouble.

  Someone cleared their throat behind her dragging her out of her thoughts. Soni stood behind her with a soft grin on her face. “You were like a goddess tonight,” she complimented her in a sincere tone and to receive such a compliment from your colleague in a profession like this was a big thing around here. But it did not flatter her one bit; in fact, it made her feel even more miserable about her condition.

  “Thank you,” She managed to reply, holding back the tears that threatened to roll down her cheeks. Soni had worked in the club for years and she knew what she was going through. She put a hand on her shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze. “You see all the girls here, love? Everybody has their own story; everybody has their own demons to fight. But when they're on stage they are completely different people.”

  Ira met her gaze through the mirror and her lips curled into a frown. Soni smiled knowing that her philosophy had gone over the young girl’s head. “Sweetheart, what I’m telling you is the girl who performs there is not you. She’s just a persona or just a shadow of you. As long as you believe that nobody can take your peace of mind from you.” with that she turned around and walked away letting her words settle into her.

  “Ira, a word with you please,” Simon called after her and she let out a frustrated sigh. God, why can’t people leave her alone for a minute? “Just a minute please,” she told him and he nodded in response and walked out. She picked up her robe and shrugged it on and followed him out of the green room.

  “You were late today; I hope you have a very good explanation for it.” Ira was surprised that he took so long to react to it. She had expected him to yell at her the minute she steps in but he was way too occupied with getting things sorted that he had straightaway sent her to the green room even before she could give him an explanation.

  “I got caught with some unexpected work at the supermarket. Sorry it won’t happen again,” she told him apologetically and he studied her face for a long minute.

  “I know it will not happen again but I will have to cut your pay for half of the night to make sure of that.” her face dropped and he felt like shit. If it wouldn’t have been the club rules he wouldn't have even thought of doing this to her.

  “Is there something else you want to talk to me about?” she asked him sensing the tension around them.

  He closed his eyes and sighed, “Paul told me about what happened earlier.” He paused for a moment giving her time to understand where he wanted to take this conversation to. He didn’t want to bring up this conversation but he did not have a choice. She was like a little sister to him and he felt responsible for her.

  She closed her eyes and sighed, “If you are worried about me going to the cops then you don’t have to worry about it. I’m not an idiot to go against Victor or his men. Plus I need this job.” she replied. She was not an idiot, she knew that the only way she’s able to pay for her mother’s treatment was this job and she was not going to blow it away just like that.

  He frowned at her a little, that’s certainly not what he wanted to hear from her but neither was he surprised by her words. Not everybody dares to mess with Victor and the unfortunate ones who made the mistake of messing with him did not live to tell their story. She excused herself realizing that the conversation would just get more awkward if she stayed.

  “Victor is not the kind of a guy who would let witnesses walk away and yet he let you go. That’s not a good sign,”

  Ira paused on her tracks and hesitantly turned to look at him. Of course, the question had crossed in her mind too. Everybody knows that Victor never left any loose ends and here he had let an eye witness walk away without a scratch and that was certainly ominous.

  Simon let out a heavy sigh, “Look I saw the way he was staring at you when you were on stage and I’ve never seen him watch any girl like that before.” he wanted to add the fact that he had ordered him to pu
t her on the lead but he held that piece of information to himself. The girl was already pretty shaken and he didn’t want to scare her more.

  Ira sighed, “I’m an exotic dancer, Simon. People stare at me like that all the time. I can take care of myself.” She told him. Deep down she knew that he was right; She had sensed the heat in his gaze but unlike most of the other men, it hadn't made her feel disgusted like it did every time she performed, Instead, it had made her feel more… alive.

  The way her body had burned under his gaze nobody had ever made her feel that way. It was like her entire body had been rebooted and new software was being installed, one which only works on his command.

  “Don’t overthink this Simon, everything’s going to be fine,” she assured him though it sounded more like she was assuring herself. “Fine, but don’t say I didn’t warn you. Take the rest of the day off. You stayed up late last night so you deserve it. Go home and sleep it off.”

  Her face broke into a smile and she had this terrible urge to go hug him but she held herself back. This was her workplace and he was her boss. “Thank you, Simon,” she told him and turned around and started to walk back to the green room when Simon called after her, again.

  “I’m sorry Ira, but I just got a text from Paul and one of the customers has been asking for a private show with you.”

  She narrowed her eyes at him. “You know I don’t do private shows right?” she shot him a disapproving look and guilt washed over him. There were certain limits she was not ready to cross and this was one of them.

  Simon knew that there was no way in hell that he could convince her for this but he had to.

  “Yes I do, but the client is quite adamant and is willing to pay three times more than the usual price and he has also assured to be in his best behaviour and trust me guys like this pay huge tips. Just one dance Ira it may take barely half an hour. Please, my job depends on this.” She closed her eyes and nodded in response.