1 A private section
Masked Charlotte, stepped onto the dark stage at the crowded club, and immediately the lights came on, her breathing became heavy as an invisible weight settled in her chest.
Anxiety ran through her veins, and it tightened by the minute as the murmur from the crowd echoed in her ears.
Just like the very first day, she started her job as a stripper, anxiety has always been her companion anytime she is met with the stage. For her, the stage which was for stripping has transformed into a battlefield.
Charlotte could barely breathe as she looked through the sea of faces in the crowd, these faces were of thirsty men slowly stripping her naked with their piercing gaze and disgusting laughter.
Disgust crept through her skin as the hatred she felt for these men was far worse than how much she hated her job but she had no choice, she had to pay for her father's surgery.
Ever since her father was diagnosed with a blockage in his heart Charlotte had overworked herself to make sure her father got treated, even if it meant she had to lose her dignity.
Coupled with the huge debt she had to pay after her dad stopped working, the burden has been on her and she was slowly becoming a shadow of herself.
It was her last day working at the club, her aunt got her a cleaning job at a famous company in the city, and she was to resume the next morning, even if it wouldn't pay as much, she just needed an escape from her daunting reality of striping for these men who look at her like a mere sex object.
With goosebumps slowly creeping into her skin she said to herself, "Just this one, just one last time" She breathed heavily.
The music came on, and she proceeded to the pole moving her body seductively to the rhythm of the song, with her glass skin shining through her thong, she climbed on the pole and seductively swirled her body.
The only way she had survived this long was the state of numbness she entered after taking a drink whenever she was about to hit the stage.
"Fuck!!! I want you!!", men echoed in the background, cheering for her as she danced.
"You are so sexy, what manner of beauty is this??", another man echoed in the background throwing money at her.
A man moved close to the pole in an attempt to touch her as he was already salivating, too desperate to have a piece of her, "take all of my money, bitch! I just want to have you all to myself ", the man begged.
Her performance sent the audience into ecstasies, all the men were lustful in the rhythm of her body movement, and they all wanted a piece of her and were willing to do anything to have her.
At the VIP section of the club, Lucas and his friends were having fun and partying, girls were trying to get Lucas's attention, but he wasn't interested in any of them as he considers them 'cheap' because women have always been a plaything for him.
While he was having fun, a girl walked up to him angrily,
"Lucas! You are here partying, I've been trying to reach you for days, did you block me?" the lady asked, her eyes shining with anger.
Lucas ignored her as if no one was talking, he continued to drink like no one was talking to him. Seeing the scene, his friends burst into loud laughter making the girl's face turn red in embarrassment.
Simon, a friend of Lucas said, "Bro, where do you even find all these bitches from?" he laughed looking at Lucas.
"You know that girls always want me. I can't help it" Lucas shrugged like it was not a big deal and it was.
He was used to women flocking after him because of his wealth and handsome face but he was not interested in any of them.
He uses them to satisfy his sexual desires, pay them off, and ask them to never return but like this woman, most of them thought they would be the ones to change him, the ones to make him fall in love with them. They were nothing but big dreamers and gold diggers.
Even though she was embarrassed, the girl refused to give up, "I'm talking to you Lucas. I thought you cared about me, were those nice acts lies?" she asked, nearly crying in frustration.
Her words began to irritate Lucas and he could no longer keep quiet because she would only continue to hound him.
He responded, "Are you dumb? I'm done with you bitch! And how dare you stand there and question me, get out of here before I show you how evil I can be".
The girl jumped In fear at his raised voice and the tears that were already brewing at the back of her eyes sprang forward,
"You'll regret this, you are an asshole, I hate you!" she screamed in frustration and ran out.
As she left, Lucas and his friends could not stop laughing as they had witnessed many of these situations from girls coming for Lucas. Lucas found it funny that girls still behave like this with him. Their tears meant nothing to him. He never forced them to cry for him anyway.
"Bro! That was sick!" Ryan, his friend said to him shaking his hands. "Lucas the Casanova! Do these girls even know who you are?" Simon said.
"I can get whoever I want, these stupid girls think I'll stoop so low to be with any of them, they are just gold diggers, lowlife bitches!", Lucas spat as he grabbed his drink.
The noise from the men cheering in the crowd and throwing money in the air caught the attention of Lucas, he wondered what the fuss was all about, then he noticed the masked stripper dancing on the pole.
After a few minutes of observing her, Lucas was intrigued by how beautiful her skin was and her lithe curves. He felt himself going hard in his slacks as he continued to observe her from the bra and thong she had on. He was intrigued by who was behind the mask, her body movement on the pole ignited a fire within him and he wanted to explore every depth of his desires.
"Fuck! I want her", Lucas voiced out when he could no longer bear the wild thoughts from his imagination, he wanted her all for himself.
Lucas signaled one of his bodyguards that was behind him and whispered something in his ears. The guard left and came back with the club's manager. The manager came running as he knew Lucas George to be an influential person.
"I want that girl," Lucas said, straight to the point as he tipped his chin in Charlotte's direction.
The Manager's eyes widened as he followed Lucas's eyes and he stammered, "Wa..wait, what?"
"I want her" Lucas coldly repeated.
"Sir, I understand, but this stripper does not do private stripping sections", Manager Tee said as politely as possible, trying not to provoke Lucas.
"What do you mean? I said I want her, and you are refusing me?" Lucas asked as his eyes left Charlotte and darted to the manager who had begun to sweat under the AC in the private room.
"N…no sir, that's not what I'm saying, there are other beautiful strippers here, I can get any other one for you right away" Manager Tee quickly explained, virtually collapsing in fear.
"I said it's her I want, here..", Lucas signaled at the same guard to bring a bag containing a wad of cash. He had the guard hand the bag to the manager.
The manager unzipped the bag, and his eyes widened at the sight of so much cash and a greedy light appeared in his eyes. His words changed could not resist such an offer,
"I'll get her for her right away", Manager Tee said as he rushed out of the VIP room with the bag.
"Lucas…" his friends who have been quietly observing everything called with smirks on their faces.
A few minutes later, after entertaining the men Charlotte made her way to the back room to calm her nerves and wash her sweaty hands when the manager's assistant, Leah approached her to tell her their boss requested her attention.
Charlotte was relieved because she was sure her boss wanted to hand her, her last paycheck. She couldn't wait to leave this hell hole and never return.
She immediately made her way to the Manager's office in haste, only for her boss to make it known to her that before he gave her, her paycheck she had to do a stripping section for an important client.
The statement released a thousand shockwaves to her body, as her trauma flashed before her very eyes, her past was about to repeat itself.
In shock, Charlotte replied, "What..t? What did you just say to me? A private section? "
