Just A Job (Lauren/You)

Chapter 6

The LIV Nightclub was as lively and crowded as I remembered.

It was midnight and the people were really starting to get going. I squeezed my way through the crowd and caught a few women winking at me now and then. And while I would've been more than happy to oblige to the flirtation a few months ago, now, they just didn't interest me anymore.

I reached the stairs to the skybox and was met by a burly bouncer. I told him my name and he led me up the stairs. The music was deafening and everyone was dancing on the dance floor. I remembered when this used to be my scene. The drunken nights, grinding with women, and their taste lingering on my lips 'til the morning.

But I wasn't that guy anymore. I didn't want to be.

A bouncer opened the door of the skybox for me and motioned for me to get in. He closed the door behind me as I walked toward the man drinking on the mini bar.

"Leo," I called out.

He turned around and smiled at me. "Y/N! Come here." He pulled me into a hug once I got close. Leo was the general manager at the LIV and we had a special kind of friendship. "What do you want to drink?"

I shook my head and turned down his offer. "Sorry, I can't stay long. I just went here because you texted me. What is it?"

He looked at me curiously then downed his drink in one gulp. "You disappeared on me, man. My people told me you went to Los Angeles?"

I nodded. "I got a job there."

"Yeah, I heard. Does it pay more than I do?"

"No."

He smirked and nodded. "How's that Camaro I got you? Still good?"

"Yeah, it's fine."

"You know, I can replace that with a Bugatti if you work a few more jobs for me."

"Oh, believe me, I know." I looked out at the dance floor. "But I'm not doing jobs for you anymore, Leo."

He walked forward and stood beside me. Leo wasn't that big of a man but his influences ran deep. The LIV couldn't thrive on mere customer revenue. Sometimes you had to force people to bow down and he knew just how to do that. He had a group of "thugs" to intimidate the local population into making the LIV prosper. Those "thugs" even stoop so low as to scare the nightclub owners who were in the LIV's way. And of course, the various "under the table" dealings happening inside the club gave it an edge to the competition.

I was one of those "thugs". Heck, I once led those "thugs".

But I didn't want any part of that anymore.

"So you're going straight on me, Y/N?"

I looked him straight in the eyes. "As straight as I can be."

He studied me for a few minutes then smiled. He looked back at the dance floor. "So do you have some money saved up?"

"More than I need."

"It's a shame I have to lose you. You were the best in the business."

I sighed and turned away from the view of the dance floor. "It's not a business, Leo. It's a damn con."

I left the skybox and headed straight for the exit. The outside air felt so good in my lungs as I knew I was finally free.

I could finally move forward.

-//-//-//-//-//-

When I left the LIV, I immediately drove back towards my house. I was going back to L.A. in two days and I had to tie some loose ends in Miami before then. I turned on the radio and Sam Smith's "Stay With Me" played from the speakers. I quickly turned it off but it was too late. I was already starting to remember. Shit. And I was doing a good job of making sure I kept my mind preoccupied with other things.