Chapter 8

"What were you doing outside?? Never mind that. Hurry! Hurry! We need your ass to shake to make those dollars, Ginger! There's a customer in the lap dance booth!" Clover was yelling with some envelopes in his hands. He told Ingrid that he didn't know who the person was but they only paid for a 5minute dance and they were getting impatient. Ingrid put on some more make-up and straightened herself.

When she walked into the booth, she was shocked to find a woman with deep black hair sitting on the couch, she was a figure eight. She crossed her legs. She wore a black dress and she was holding black shades in her hands. "Surprised to find a lady in here? Don't worry Honey, I'm not here for your body, I'm here to warn you."

"So, how does it feel to be sleeping with a billionaire?" The woman got up from the sofa and started to move around Ingrid, "This is, what? the second time that he's demanded for you? Ginger? What a pathetic name, " she continued. Ingrid clearly didn't understand what was going on, she put her hands out to show that she had no clue what she was talking about. "Woman, whoever you are, I do not want to know you, so how do you like the booty served to you? On the table or on the sofa?" Ingrid asked sarcastically.

"Do not play coy with me, Giovanni Soares; what do you intend to do with his money? I know that a whore like you is only after his wealth!" the mysterious lady said. Ingrid moved back, as if she was a little offended. "Wow, okay, so this is about him, Uhm....well, sweetie, I was only doing my job. I'm not after anything, and if he comes back for more, I will do my job again," Ingrid said boldly.

The mysterious woman pointed her finger at her and told her to stay away from Giovanni, "If you do so as much, lay a finger on my Giovanni...." "Your Giovanni??" Ingrid burst into laughter, "he never told me he had a girlfriend, well, miss, I guess your man is addicted to me," Ingrid said and started to walk away.

The woman stared as she left the booth, she knew that Ingrid probably left because the time was up. "Alright, have the threat, your way," the woman whispered as she placed her phone on her ear.

It was finally time to go home, Ingrid went over to the manager's office but once again, she didn't find Clover, "That idiot! he left me again." She pulled her coat close to her and started heading out of the door. Another long walk she had to take, quite exhausting after that "adventurous night."

She reached for her pocket to grab her phone and try to call Clover, she wasn't going to risk walking all the way home, if he was getting it on with another girl, he just had to stop. She dialed his number, but no answer, it kept saying that his phone was off. Ingrid was more pissed than before, this meant that she really had to walk. She put her phone in her pocket and felt a piece of paper; it was Giovanni's number, "Oh, I should probably throw this away, I'm not trying to end relationships," she said to herself.

As she walked to the closest dumpster, she heard some running footsteps behind her, she turned around to check if anyone was there, it was just her, alone in the streets. She started to walk a little faster, she didn't care about trashing that paper anymore, instead, she tucked it back into her pocket. The environment got colder and she got nervous as took every step, her anxiety rising with every breath.

She heard some muffled sounds behind her, somebody was following her. She started to walk a little faster and stopped around a dark corner to catch her breath, she peeped to check if anyone was really following her. The fear that was building inside her was too much to bear.

She was stuck between wanting closure and hoping that the person she would see around the corner would be Giovanni, why him? Just as she stuck her head around the corner, a man put his hand around her mouth, "Shhh! I promise not to hurt you too badly if you don't scream." Ingrid could only produce muffled sounds. The man that held her started to trace his finger down her belly when suddenly, another guy emerged from the darkness.

"The madam wants us to be rough with her, she just called again to confirm it, let me have the first entry," he said. Ingrid's eyes widened, she didn't want that. Her biggest fear growing up was having a man force himself on her.

She knew that she was on the path of allowing a lot of men to be with her for money, but she wanted to be the one to allow them. In that tiny moment, Ingrid began to rethink all her decisions up to that point. "Was I really cut out for this? Is this really my place?" She thought to herself.

The two men started to fight for who would have her first, the other man gave up and turned his head after his surrender, "make it quick," he said. As soon as the man took his hand off Ingrid's mouth, she bit him, causing him to free her. She made a run for it. She didn't care where she was going, she just started to run.

She heard the men screaming and yelling at each other, "After her!" Ingrid ran to a gas station called Shellino Handy mart, she hid behind the mini mart because she knew that if she went in, then those men would easily spot her. She tried calling Clover one more time, no answer.

Tears dropped and blurred her sight, she held her mouth as she thought about what would happen if those men caught her. She thought about how she was so alone, non of this would have been happening if she had just died along with her parents, those negative thoughts filled her head.

She took a deep breath, "don't panic, don't panic, I could call 911 but it will take a while before they get here," then it hit her, it was her last option, she felt for the piece of paper in her pocket and pulled it out. "But I don't want anything to do with him, he is probably busy right now too," she thought. Panting heavily, she dialed the number on it as quickly as possible, giving it a chance anyway.

"Hello?"

"Giovanni, it's me....Ingrid, please, I need your help," she whispered, she shut her eyes to swallow the pain that had been building up in her escape to explain the situation to Giovanni, "I got off work and some men tried to rape me, it sounded like they had been sent to do it by someone and..."

"Hey, hey! take it easy, tell me where you are," Giovanni asked. Ingrid explained that she was hiding behind the Shelly mini mart and she just heard the men entering the mini mart to look for her. Giovanni told her to wait there, "Stay hidden, I'm on my way." When the call ended, Ingrid peeped around the corner and saw the men exiting the store.

"You freaking lost her! Madam is going to be angry, shit! we lost a $200 because of your slow ass!" they yelled between each other as they went the same direction that they came. Ingrid's heart could finally stop racing, she was still a little bit afraid. She put her back against the wall and slid down, pulling her coat closer again.

Tears of regret started to roll down her cheeks, the thought of those men forcefully penetrating her was disturbing. She tried to make herself feel better again, "I let random men sleep with me anyway, why is this a bother?" Still, it hurts.

Her sobs were the painful kinds, the ones that made her feel a lump in her throat, the kinds that made her tired and drift into a deep sleep, wishing for many things; wishing to be saved but at the same time wishing to be stronger to save herself.

Yes, Ingrid fell asleep behind the mini mart. She was facing upwards when she felt a hand on her mouth which caused her to jolt up in fear. "Shhh! Don't worry, it's me, it's just me," Ingrid felt a sense of relief, she burst into tears as Giovanni embraced her in a hug. It was around 3:30AM, Ingrid was flattered at the thought that he came.

He picked her up in his arms and took her to his car. He placed her in the front seat and put her seat belt on. She was Clingy, gripping onto his arm as if in fear that he would vanish in thin air.

Giovanni assured her that everything was going to be okay, "No, you don't understand, Giovanni. I don't deserve this, I just wanted a normal life and..." Giovanni placed her head on his shoulder before she could finish her sentence and as if in an instance, her crying slowly turned into tiny sobs.

When Giovanni started the engine, Ingrid fell asleep. Giovanni watched her, she looked very exhausted. Now, what to do next. He didn't want to wake her up just to find out where she lived. The best thing to do was to take her home with him. He drove all the way to his house, looking at his schedule for the day. He had to be at the office at 3PM. He could spare the rest of the morning for himself.