Niccolo Fierri [Book #2]

Chapter 7

I drop the wad of stacked bills held together by a single rubber band onto my landlord's desk. He looks up, clearly in the midst of a phone call I have interrupted.

He eyes the money through his thin sqaured glasses then looks up at me. He hangs up with whoever he's talking to and I give him an innocent smile.

"Where did you get this kind of money, and in such short notice?"

He's probably thinking I robbed a bank or ran a drug deal, but everything I did last night was legal.

Crazy?

Yes. But very legal.

"I'm a stripper now," I tell him honestly.

He looks me up and down, most likely visualizing me half naked and dancing for a bunch of men while money rains down on me. He's always been a pervert, so it doesn't surprise me one bit.

I pat the money as if it were a dog and shove it closer. "Rents all there. You should expect next month's rent and the month after that very soon."

I like where I live, and wasn't about to give that up to live in that hellhole mansion my parents call a home.

Besides, I'm doing what I love and hopefully going to make enough money to afford my own dance studio. Everything is slowly starting to fall into place. And it feels damn good.

I don't bother listening to what he has to say as I turn on my heel and walk out. Becoming a stripper was probably the best decision I ever made.

****

"Are you crazy?" Gabby shouted at me. "This has got to be the stupidest thing you have ever done."

So she wasn't too fond about me becoming a stripper. I expected that from her. In a lot of ways, she's just like our mother. "Aren't you going to ask how my night went?" I ask, ignoring the smoke fuming from her ears.

She frowns, shaking her head and sighing. Her facial expression softens. "How was your night?"

"Great!" I tell her, perking up with a smile. "Besides the fact that one of my bosses is an asshole, my new co-workers seemed to love me. After my performance I even took on a few clients."

"That's... good," she says with hesitation.

She'll come around eventually. At least I hope so. I need her to see why I'm doing this. My dreams are just around the corner. And with this job I'll be able to pay rent and achieve my goals.

I'm doing what she wanted me to do, which is follow my dreams. No matter the course, I know that I'll get there. I'm almost there. I can feel it.

"You said one of your bosses was an asshole? How many bosses do you have?"

I hold up four fingers. "Four. It's a family business. I guess they couldn't make a decision on who should run things."

"That's weird. Well, are they as hot as the one you spoke to at Davis Cafe and Diner yesterday?"

I nod. "All four men are devastatingly handsome. It's almost overwhelming, especially when all four tower over you like damn mountains."

Gabby sips her coffee, watching the way my cheeks have flushed pink at the thought of their intimidating presence.

I tell her about my encounter with Niccolo, and how scared Jess had been when she confronted me about flipping him off during my performance.