dirty money (l.t.)

Chapter 5

Chapter 5: Queen of Saigon

☼Louis W. Tomlinson☼

To say that I was pissed was an euphemism. I was angry. Furious. And the night kept getting worse and worse.

For starters, the bank was giving me a month to pay the debts for the club. Even with Ivy's presence, it was practically impossible to get out of the hole my arrogance threw us in. Our sales would have to go 45% to get us out, and that is if I decrease the salary of my employees and if
I increase the tickets to come in.

Secondly, Justin told me that there has been an incident with the gang of New York, which was really annoying. The New York gang was really powerful, and I knew that they wanted to expand to the west, to Chicago, where Justin's gang was situated. Being an ally to him, if the New York gang attacked, I would have to join in to, which was very inconvenient because a war is not what the club needs right now.

Third, Harry came in my office this morning bearing the news that he couldn't find shit on Ivy, which was pretty irritating. I didn't know how else I would find out who she is except if I kept digging the files. But this, she doesn't fücking exist, even in the bloody federal files. I even asked Harry to start looking into other countries, mainly Canada, Mexico, England, France and Italy, calling into many favors other gangs owed me. But for now, I didn't know who she was, and it was bothering the fück out of me.

Fourth, talking about Ivy, I couldn't get her out of my head. She had become a sort of addiction. I wanted to know who she was, yes, but also, I wanted to fück her again. I don't like doing a girl twice but Christ did she feel good around me. Last night, I couldn't get her out of my head, I couldn't sleep until I wanked off, thoughts of her running through me.

Which also lead to the fifth thing bothering me, making me realize how much she took the space on the list of displeasure. I came out of my office this morning on the balcony overshadowing the club, and guess what I see? A very flirty Ivy all over Liam. She was literally sitting on his lap, giggling softly at something he said, her nails running up and down his biceps as she batted her eyelashes at him.

I know that I shouldn't be this bothered, I mean, she is not the first side hö I have, and won't be the last, but she literally just fücked. Me. His boss. On my desk. Yesterday. Maybe it was just the fact that her dress was extremely sexy. It was red and fiery, with cuts around the body. It showed off perfectly her long soft legs and her red lipstick was making her lips look even more luscious and tempting. Basically, she was teasing me.

I left my office and went downstairs, carefully replacing my blazer. I walked up to the entrance of the club, where Rob and Jack were waiting with Zayn and Niall. They were already ready to welcome the clients that were going to come in an hour, at the opening.

"Is everything alright, here?" I asked.
Niall smiled. "Always is, boss."
"You recon more people will come because of Ivy?" Jack asked me.
Rob snorted, crossing his huge arms together. "You're kidding? If the big mouths that came last night talked about her, the club will be packed tonight."
"She is quite a delicious creature." Zayn chuckled. "I'd totally do her."
"Who wouldn't?" Jack laughed loudly. "But I thought you had a fiancee, Zaynie boy."
Zayn's smile disappeared. "Yeah, no. We broke up." The smirk came back a few seconds later. "If Ivy is up to comfort me, I might not say no."

I was quite smug that I got her first, but the feeling of annoyance overtook it. I waved them off.

"Yeah, well nobody's doing her, clear?"

Even though they all seemed surprised by my harsh tone, they all nodded. Zayn's daunting smirk advised me that he was not taking this seriously.

"Why not, Tomlinson? Calling dibs on the new blood?"
You can't call dibs on someone you already took. "No, we just don't have any bloody idea about who she is. As long as we don't know anything more about her, we all distance ourselves from her, clear?"
"Crystal." Zayn replied. "Do I need to pass the message?"
"Yeah. And make sure Liam gets it." I snapped. "He is getting way too cozy with her, she could put the club and the business in danger."

After that, I left them, my irritation only growing and growing. I went to the main room, only to find Robyn dancing on Nick and Ivy grinding on Liam on some dirty music, while my other dancers were hollering. It normally wouldn't bother me, but now I was just too pissed to not give a fück. When Josh stood up to grind against Ivy's front, taking her in a sandwich between him and Liam, I fisted my hands together.

That's when Ivy's eyes met mine through the glass of the door. If I thought I would see a spark of regret in them, I was wrong. If anything, she started grinding onto Liam and Josh even more, her teasing eyes never leaving mine. I've had enough of it when I saw her bite her lip.

I entered loudly, clacking the door close. My dancers jumped, and Serena stopped the music.

"Shouldn't you all be getting ready?" I snarled, my eyes shooting glares.

They flinched a bit, except for Ivy, who still bore her infuriating smirk and just smiled even more when I tried to intimidate her.

"Just relaxing a bit before the show, Louis."

Even though I was furious, I still loved the way my name rolled off her tongue, especially when she was shouting it while I pounded into her trembling body.

"Well, enough of this, go get dressed, the doors open soon and the show starts in two hours. You better be ready."
"Calm down, Louis." Ivy chuckled, walking down the stairs of the stage. "I am the opening act tonight anyways, so they'll have a bit more time."
"Then what about you, aren't you getting ready?"
"Of course I am." Ivy giggled. "Liam, would you come with me, I've had some wardrobe problems last time while putting on the dress, if you could help me zip it up, it'd be extremely nice."
Liam sent her a flirty wink. "Of course, babe."

He started walking but I raised my hand, stopping him.

"Actually, I need to have a word with you, Payne. Leah, go help her."

Leah gave me a look of annoyance but still complied without replying. Leah was my booty call, she was gorgeous and gave amazing head. And she also hated new comers. Usually would bïtch them until they were too embarrassed to look at themselves in a mirror. Maybe she would put Ivy at her place.

I grabbed Liam's arm and pulled him to a corner of the room. He followed without a word, even though I was harsh, and just waited for what I had to say.

"I see you're getting closer to Ivy." I commented.
Liam shrugged. "Well, maybe."
"Don't. Stay away from her."
Liam frowned. "What? Why?"
"We know she's lying, but we don't know what the Hell she could be hiding. Imagine the threat she could be to the us if she was with the New York gang?"
"Well, I thought that if I got closer to her, I could..."
"You could what?" I cut him off, scoffing. "Get her to tell you everything? That's..." I stopped myself, thinking about it. "That's actually not stupid at all. But I don't want you to do it."
Liam chuckled darkly, clearly not liking where I was going. "Why not, Louis? And anyways, who would get closer to her?"
"Because you would get feelings for her." I snapped. "You always fall for the wrong girls, remember that?" Liam fell silent at my words, biting his lips. "As for who could do it, I guess Zayn or me could do it. We're the less likely to fall for her charms."
Liam rolled his eyes. "Ivy is not like that, she told me that she was done with asshöles like you, that she had enough of them in her life." That's not what she said when I was fücking her in my office.
"She told you that?" I asked, groaning. She is playing her game really well. Liam was the one that always thought people are fundamentally good, and that blinding him when it came to doubting someone.
"Yeah, we went out for a coffee this morning." Liam sighed. "Look, Louis, I know I don't have the best history with woman, but let me take care of this. I'm pretty sure she is not hiding anything that relates to gangs. And I'm more easy to talk to then you."
I groaned, I didn't want this, I didn't want her and him. But when did I have a choice. "Fine, but report to me anything you find, and Liam, for God's sake, if you catch any feelings for her, tell me and get away from her. She's poison, she is toxic."
Liam looked away and swallowed. "Fine by me boss." He grabbed my hand the way we used to do it when we were stupid kids back in England, when our worst trouble was to find the next girl to shag, when we were true brothers.

☼ ☼ ☼ ☼ ☼ ☼ ☼ ☼ ☼

Ivy came on stage under the applauses of the audience. There was a lot more female than last night, probably wanting to see the new starlet in town.

The musicians started the violins and I saw her smile at the crowd, winking at a man, before she looked at me and smirked.

"Money is the anthem of success
So before we go out, what's your address?"

"I'm your National Anthem
God, you're so handsome
Take me to the Hamptons
Bugatti Veyron"

"He loves to romance them
Reckless abandon
Holdin' me for ransom
Upper echelon"

The lace of the blue dress looked amazing on her tall and thin body. Her copper hair fell in light waves on her right shoulder, looking like waterfalls of bronze. Her ivory skin reflected the light of the stage magnificently.

"He says to 'be cool' but
I don't know how yet
Wind in my hair,
Hands on the back of my neck
I said 'Can we party later on?'
He said 'Yes.'"

She never broke the eyes contact with me, but she started moving on stage, looking heavenly in her light blue lacy dress that I bought her.

"Tell me I'm your National Anthem
Booyah, baby, bow down
Making me so wild now
Tell me I'm your National Anthem
Sugar, sugar, how now
Take that body down town."

"Red, white, blue is in the sky
Summer's in the air
Baby, Heaven's in your eyes
Tell me I'm your National Anthem."

Her smile revealed her pearly white teeth, stretching her plump lips in a beautiful and sassy grin.

"Money is the reason we exist
Everybody know that it's a fact, kiss kiss."

"I sing the National Anthem
While I'm standing over your body
Hold you like a python
And you can't keep your hands off me
Or your pants on
See what you've done to me
King of cheveron"

She winked at me, biting her lips at one point, clearly teasing me.

"He says 'to be cool' but
I'm already coolest
I said 'to get real'
'Don't you know who you're dealing with?
Um, do you think of buying me lots of diamonds?'"

She started charming the males in the crowd, sometimes with a delicate brush of a hand over an arm. Sometimes it was by swaying her hips when she passed in front of another one. It was clear to me that she knew what she was doing, and somehow it made me suspicious of her past once again. It was impossible for her to just appear out of nowhere, she must have done it before.

"Tell me I'm your National Anthem
Booyah, baby, bow down
Making me so wild now
Tell me I'm your National Anthem
Sugar, sugar, how now
Take that body down town."

"Red, white, blue is in the sky
Summer's in the air
Baby, Heaven's in your eyes
Tell me I'm your National Anthem."

It was clear by her patriotic lyrics that she was American, English or French. There are many other flags that had these colors, but it was harder to hide an Aussie accent than a British of French one, and she didn't look Latina or Russian.

"It's a love story for the new age
For the sixth grand page
We're on a quick rampage
Wining and dining
Drinking and driving
Excessive buying
Overdose and dying
And all the drugs and our love
And our dreams and our rage
Blurring the lines between real and the fake
Dark and lonely
I need somebody to hold me
He will do very well
I can tell, I can tell
Keeps me safe in his bell tower hotel."

I was trying to put the pieces of her song together, trying to figure out who she was. But the problem was, every lyric was cryptic, and to assemble one song, you had to understand it. After that, you needed to put the pieces of multiple songs together, which could take forever. Ivy was a puzzle, and each piece was another puzzle.

"Money is the anthem of success
So put on mascara, and your party dress."

"I'm your National Anthem
Boy, put your hands up
Give me a standing ovation
Boy, you have landed
Babe, in the land of
Sweetness and Danger
Queen of Saigon."

"Tell me I'm your National Anthem
Booyah, baby, bow down
Making me so wild now
Tell me I'm your National Anthem
Sugar, sugar, how now
Take that body down town."

"Red, white, blue is in the sky
Summer's in the air
Baby, Heaven's in your eyes
Tell me I'm your National Anthem."

"Money is the anthem
God you're so handsome
Money is the anthem of success."

The audience applauded her greatly, she took a small bow, smiling lightly. She was gracious and light, beautiful and royal. She still had the microphone in her hands, and started talking.

"And I remember when I met him. It was so clear that he was the only one for me. We both knew right away. And as the years went, things got more difficult, we were faced with more challenges." As she spoke, her voice was soft and delicate, her American accent soft of her tongue. "I begged him to stay, tried to remember what we had in the beginning. He was magnetic, charismatic, and everybody knew him. When he walked in, every women's head turned. Everyone stood up to talk to him."

I was listening attentively as Ivy walked through the table, smiling and thanking people who complimented her. She continued her speech, and I began to see that her songs weren't just songs. She wrote them, and they were a piece of her past.

"He was like this hybrid, this mix of a man who couldn't contain himself. I always got the sense that he became torn between being a good person and missing out on all the opportunities that life could offer a man as magnificent as him. And in a way, I understood him. And I loved him, I loved him, I loved him, I loved him. And I still love him. I love him."

As she whispered the last words, she was standing right in front of me, gazing at me with her honey colored eyes. She took the step separating us and kissing my cheek, just like she did yesterday night after Born to Die. She then walked away under the ovation.

I was puzzled, more intrigued than ever on who she was. She walked back to the backstage, letting the scene to Robyn and Cara, who were next to perform.

"Louis?"

Stunned, I turned around.

"Christina? What the fück are you doing here?"
She shrugged. "Is it so bad for me to want to see how the club is going?" She smiled.

Christina was pretty, but she had nothing on Ivy's beauty and charisma. She had an awkward stance, her teeth we're slightly crooked, and she was just... dull, compared to Ivy's fiery presence. While I would compare Ivy to an elegant swan, Christina was the little ugly ducky. Definitely not my type of woman. Doesn't explain why she's here, though...

"Now the truth, Christina, I don't have time for your shït."
She sighed. "You're never home these days, and I heard the club had a new singer, I thought I'd pass by and see what this is about. She is pretty good, I guess. Seems to be the type of girl that you would invite for a sleepover and wake up in the middle of the night just to find her shagging your dad."
I bit my lip. "You shouldn't be here, Christina."
She frowned, clearly offended. "And why not? This is the club you bought with my father's money. It is as mine as it is yours."
I snorted. "It is not. Your name is nowhere on the papers, I'm the sole owner."
"That's why you're not wearing your ring?" She snapped.
"Part of."

Christina scoffed and grabbed her coat. She turned back to me and took a deep breath, clearly trying to calm down.

"So you're not coming home to me?"
I shrugged. "When do I ever?"
"I'm your wife, Louis." She growled. "I deserve respect."
I snorted. "You don't deserve anything. Just leave, before I say something I'm not going to regret, but you will."

She left without another word to me and I sighed, running a hand through my hair. Another annoying thing to add to the list I guess.

A/N: Ivy's life is truly based off of Lana's songs. If you can read between the lines, you can try and decipher her before I explain who she is and what she's done. You can test you're theories with me ;) Oh and yeah, Louis is married.

Kristen Stewart as Christina