Bruised Ego

Taleela's POV

Tonight, the strip club is filled with people, owing to the fact that it is a weekend.

Susan won't be coming today and that's because she's having a late night date with her new love interest. I am alone with no one to talk to while I wait for my regular patrons to walk up to me or go to the table to dance.

The whole arena is booming with loud music and at different tables, strippers are performing for interested customers.

As I sit alone at one of the lounges, I am taken back to yesterday's evening.

Our date was going quite fine till Kal began to speak ill of BSL and I kind of regret my reaction now. If Kal was smart enough, my reaction yesterday would increase his curiosity. He was definitely going to notice that something fishy was up.

As I walked out of the restaurant, I called Susan and asked her to pick me up from the restaurant. When she arrived, she was staring at me with a strange look and seeing that I was visibly angry, she did not ask me any questions.

Immediately I got home, I went straight to my room, pulled off my dress and jumped into bed. The whole time, all he said about my company kept replaying in my head. I screamed into my pillow countless times at night till I fell asleep.

"Hey, Bells!"

I turn my head to see who just called my name. Smiling, I stand to my feet and hug Jenkins. He's a good friend of mine and one of the few exotic dancers working with us all. I hardly see him because he's always busy. Seeing him today is surprising and when he takes a seat beside him, I quickly pour out a full cup of brandy from the decanter seated before me.

I hand it over to him.

"Thanks, B." He says and takes a sip before dropping the mug back on the table. "It's been a while, girl!"

"Of course."  I smile. "We don't see you around anymore. You're always busy with the big ladies and guns." I tease.

He slaps my arm, laughing and at the back of my head, I just have this idea that he's exhibiting gay tendencies. "That's true."

"So, what have you been up to since the past month?" I ask, leaning back against the lounge.

Jenkins shrugs and sits in the same position as me. "Dancing, attending classes and working towards this project. Remember I'm leaving soon to join the free dance community?"

"Oh," My eyes widen slightly. "You said that to me. I remember. So, when will you be leaving?"

"Next month. Really soon."

My face drops. I am going to miss him greatly. He has been nothing but a nice person to me. I wish him the best. Stripping has been quite hard for him and he really needs to follow his dreams. "I'll miss your presence here, Jenkins."

"I will too, B." He says and wraps his arms around me.

When we release each other, Jenkins is not looking at me. His eyes are trained on someone standing at the other side of the room. I do not follow his eyes, though. I concentrate on pouring myself another drink.

"Damn, that's a hottie right there," Jenkins mutters. "But, why is he staring at me like he wants to have me dead in no instant?"

I drop the decanter back on the table and sit up, following Jenkins' eyes and when I see who is standing at the other side of the room, I groan.

"You know him?" Jenkins asks.

I nod and lift up the mug to my lip. "Yeah, I do."

He's not making any movement towards me. He's seated at the bar area, having a drink alone. But, he is watching me openly, not caring if anyone is going to see him. I ignore him anyway. Turning to Jenkins who is wiggling his eyebrows at me, I raise a brow in askance.

"Where and how did you meet someone that hot? That's Karanos Nikolaou!"

"And if he is?" I ask, unimpressed and unmoved.

"He's the Vice President of Niko Corps and he appears almost everyday on fashion magazines and newspaper headlines." Jenkins squeals.

"You sound totally undone by his presence. Why don't you walk up to him? See if anything happens. Who knows, you might fall in love."

"He doesn't look that type, B. And you know that. He looks dominating. God's gift to women." Jenkins explains, staring hardly at Kal who is still looking in our direction and sipping at his drink.

"Well, I do not give a damn. Let's continue with our drink."

"Omg! He's coming this way!" Jenkins whispers, screams and grabs my bare arms. "Is he coming for you?"

"Relax, Kins." I roll my eyes.

I am more focused on my phone but I can already feel him standing before us. His presence is intimidating and so hard not to notice. But I don't look up anyways. I am busy playing games on my phone and ignoring Jenkins who is pinching my thighs softly.

"Bells." His deep baritone voice fills the whole area.

I sigh and drop my phone on the table before looking up at him. I have an uninterested look on. "Yes, what's it?"

Ignoring what I said, he looks at Jenkins who is having a hard time composing himself. "Excuse us, will you?"

I frown at how rudely he spoke to Jenkins and as my friend is about to get up and leave, I grip his wrists.

"I am with him. He's not leaving any time soon." I retort.

Shaking his head, Kal facepalms. "Don't be so difficult."

Jenkins gives me a tight smile and pats the back of my hand. "I have to go, B. I have a few things to sort out before I am done for tonight."

I know Jenkins is lying. He's only leaving because he wants Kal to spend time with me and it's getting me slightly annoyed. He sees my expression and gives me a look of apology.

"Alright. Goodnight, Jenkins." I say and give him a quick hug before he leaves me with Kal.

"Busy keeping company with gigolos and giving out hugs while you ignore me, huh?" Kal says, settling in the space beside me.

I ignore him again and pick up my mug to take a sip from my drink. Before I can place the rim of the mug on my lip, a hand comes around my wrist, stopping me mid air and making me extremely angry.

"Can you leave me the fuck alone?!" I yell, attracting the attention of a few customers around. Kal is not the least bothered by the attention I am bringing to the seat we are seated on.

"No, I will not." He replies, smirking. I can see that he is enjoying riling me up. "Tell me the reason why you walked out on me, ignored my text messages and my calls."

"The earth will unfurl into itself before I tell you anything." I snatch my purse from the table and stand to my feet.

As I am about to leave, Kal's booted feet stretches out and nearly trips me. Slowly, he stands to his feet and looks down on me.

"I have tolerated enough from you, Bells. And—"

I cut him short before he completes his statement,  not bothering to know what he has to say. "Leave me the fuck alone! If you cannot tolerate anymore, leave me the hell alone!"

"You will let me speak, woman! You will listen to me and that's it."

"No, I won't—"

His hands clamp over my mouth and before I know what's happening, I am sitting on the couch, staring up at Kal with wide eyes.

I have never seen him this angry. His eyes are wide, blazing with so much fire and this scares me.

"Do you know how rude and unethical it is to walk out on someone who took out time from their extremely busy schedule to have a date with you?" His voice is matching mine now and somehow, we are creating a scene. People are watching us both.

"You walked out on me and embarrassed me in front of a staff. I had to pay for an uneaten meal which is unimportant, by the way. Ever since we met here, I have been trying too hard to get your attention. Show you that there's more to stripping for me, for us both. But you have chosen to remain stubborn, rude and arrogant."

I will not let him define me so I stand to my feet. "You have no right to define me, get that? Because I have no interest in you doesn't mean I am rude, stubborn and arrogant. Know when you are not wanted and leave me the fuck alone. I know that you rarely get turned down by women which is why you have a bruised ego. Get that into your skull. I do not want you."

In anger, I pick up my purse that has fallen to the ground, brushing past Kal who looks speechless. I hand over my purse to one of the bouncers who collects it from me.

Going to the strip table, I begin to dance in sync with the music, watching Kal who has turned to look at me.

Soon, I am carried away by the music and the loud cheer around me. I can't see Kal anymore and in the distance, at the other side of the room, a camera flash goes off repeatedly.