Virtue [H.S]

TWO

♔

"This is a joke, right?" I say slowly, my words slipping harshly through gritted teeth.

Vince sits back in his chair, face stoic and stern. "Does it look like I'm laughing?"

"Forgive me, but I just really can't seem to understand why I've been dragged away from a Saturday shift, just so you can yell at me for no reason."

"No one is yelling, Ella." Reign sighs, folding her arms over her chest, trying to diffuse the tension brewing inside Vince's small office.

"I'm about to be."

"Enough." Vince snaps. "This isn't an argument, this is a warning. No more pulling stunts like yesterday-"

"Stunts?" I interrupt angrily, my heart rate increasing. "What stunts are you even talking about? All I did in that VIP lounge last night is deny a private dance, which I'm allowed to do."

"You were disrespectful to a customer, and not just any customer. You really have no idea what you've done wrong, do you?"

"Nothing! I've done nothing wrong."

"Oh, grow up Ella."

His words make my insides twist in rage, and I feel my cheeks burn hot. "Stop speaking to me like I'm a child!"

Suddenly, Vince gets to his feet, smacking his hands down onto the surface of the wooden desk in front of him loudly. The sound of it makes me dig my nails into the palms of my hands.

"Then stop acting like a child!" He shouts. "For fucks sake, for once in your life would you just shut your goddamn mouth and listen-"

"Enough!" Reign yells, the harsh authority in her tone causing Vince's words to die in his throat as we both turn to look at her, seeing that her features are twisted into a look of pure impatience. "Vince, you do not speak to any of my dancers like that, understand?" 

I give my short, infuriated manager a condescending look, but Reign continues speaking, causing my head to snap back towards her. "And Ella, for the love of God, you need to get that temper of yours under control."

Her words make me suddenly hyperaware of the tension that I was holding in my shoulders, and the tight clench of my jaw, and the familiar feeling of fury burning hot through my veins. I take a deep breath, willing my body to relax and calm down. 

My short fuse has always been my biggest weakness, even when I was young. My mother always used to say that it would get me into trouble one day.