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Section 1
### Chapter 1: Chapter-0001
I took a turn and stared at the little clothing I was wearing. How did it even get this far and why was I even doing this?
I could've taken a job at the convience store or as a choreographer which was actually suppose to be my goal in the first place. I didn't mind stripping, or the outfits. I never did. Everyone had a different way of paying their bills and this was one of them, so no, I wasn't embarrassed and it was an easy way to make money, but still it wasn't what I had planned.
"Are you coming squirrel or are you just going to keep staring at your ass?" Faith laughed and walked past me. Squirrel..., the name I got ever since I had been here. It was the nickname which haunted me throughout kindergarten until now, the nickname I got because of my fluffly cheeks.
Faith had been my best friend for years. After going from foster home to foster home I ended up back at the orphanage. Unfortunately I had never known my parents or had any opportunities in life, so during my teens I made a promise with myself to succeed. My goal was to finish high school, college and get a good job as a choreographer but it obviously didn't really work out like that. Not even I could have predicted I would've been working at a stripclub at the age of twenty-one.
"I heard the Lamberti brothers will be at the private vip lounge today, even Christian will be here." Faith sang while putting on her lipgloss. I looked over at the girl with a suspicious look on my face. Her beautiful long braids fell perfectly over her shoulders. Faith was gorgeous and everyone knew it, including the Lamberti brothers.
By the mentioning of Christian I felt my face heat up and quickly looked the other way. Christian, the same man who had me screaming out his name just two months ago. I was never the one for one night stands, but that night we both got drunk and he lead me to his office where we had eventually slept together.
Our boss Lucio Lamberti had many businesses and the strip club was one of them. Time from time he and his three sons would have business meetings with some of their business partners and today would be one of those days. We were absolutely not stupid and knew exactly what kind of business they were in but no one had the guts to say it out loud and just let it be. Lucio Lamberti was a kind and warm man who had gave me the job the second he saw me. He was like a father figure to all the girls and a respected business man by many.
His sons were surprsingly the complete opposite. Gio was the oldest and a complete cold stone. He never made eye contact with any of us and made it very clear what he thought about us. The second oldest, Enzo, was someone everyone knew. Enzo was nice and cheerful but in a way still extremely childish. He was a ladies' man and knew his way around women. He saw everyone and everything as a challenge and he did not like to lose.
The youngest son Christian was even more cold than Gio, which I did not know was even possible before I met him. After he was done with me he lead me back downstairs without even giving me as much as a glare. Even though Christian was the youngest he was the heir to all the Lamberti businesses and it was no doubt it was probably due to his cold and serious personality. The difference between Gio and Christian was that Gio tented to keep to himself while Christian was just scary to be around, and the fact that he was barely here despite being the heir made him even more intimidating. While all the girls embarrassed themselves to even get a second of his attention I tried my best to avoid him and felt a bit ashamed after he tossed me to the side like I was nothing, but that was who he was and I knew it beforehand.
"We are waiting for you guys!" Luna yelled while sticking her head out the door. Besides Faith, Luna was the only person in here who I actually got along with. All of the other girls were either rude or just didn't care at all. They were here for themselves and saw everyone on their path as competition. Luckily Lucio wasn't as strict so we barely got scolded, even when we showed up a bit late which would happen quite often.
"We're coming!" I yelled back and pulled Faith's arm. With all my strength I tried my hardest to pull her out the door as she applied her lipgloss until the very last second.
After Faith and I left the dressing room we joined the other girls who were perfectly lined up in Lucio's office, only it wasn't Lucio standing there. It was one of the guys who I had always tried to avoid at all costs and the son of Lucio Lamberti, Enzo. He walked past Faith and took a few steps towards me until he was right in front of my face, but too scared to even meet his eyes I immediately looked down at my feet and heard him chuckle.
"Do you always show up late?" I heard him ask me and felt chills throughout my body. Today must've really been my unlucky day. Faith and I were both late but he only decided to call out one of us.
"I'm s-sorry, w-we a-a-and, uhmm we- " I tried to explain myself but no words were able to leave my mouth.
"Look at me when you talk to me." He demanded, and within a second I looked up and met his eyes. For some reason I had expected him to yell at me, but he didn't. Enzo had a bright smile on his face and tilted his head while inspecting me. He brought his hand towards my cheek and gave it a squeeze before a chuckle left his mouth. It wasn't exactly cheerful but more so a chuckle of disbelief. All the girls started laughing while I gave him a confused look.
"I was just kidding squirrel, but I think I might make it my new hobby to bully you." He commented before he let go of my cheek and took a few steps back.
"You're so lucky." Faith whispered as I held my cheek in disbelief. Lucky? I didn't really know why. To many of the girls this might've been an achievement but I liked to stay in the background so I considered myself anything but lucky, and him saying he would make it his new hobby to bully me made it even worse.
"As you all know we have a very important business meeting today with one of our potential business partners. The main goal for today is to make sure him and his entourage have a good night and that we get his signature by the end of the evening. The meeting will be held in the private lounge and I'll be needing a few of you. If I don't call your name please make your way downstairs and continue work as usual with our other guests." Enzo explained while pacing back and forth.
As always I remained calm. Meetings like this happened often and I wouldn't get picked anyway. Unlike the other girls I also didn't want to get picked, all I wanted was to make my money downstairs and leave. I had no desire to serve anyone at one of those private meetings and Lucio knew it, that was the reason why he never picked me.
Dancing and serving drinks to strangers was not an issue but whenever I got put into uncomfortable or awkward situations I got confrontated with the lack of social skills I actually had and Lucio was aware of it. We had a close bond and he could read through me, so I had no reason to be worried.
"The girls I want to join me are, Luna, Aubrey, Dawn, Faith- " Enzo spoke and took a small pause. As expected he would probably mention Lorena as last and go to the meeting with the standard girls who were usually chosen.
Surprised I looked up and saw all the girls including Enzo staring at me. What did I even do to deserve this?
"M-me?" I stuttered. Enzo nodded his head and excused all the other girls who had left the office. I was still in disbelief and stood frozen in the exact same spot....me? He could've chosen anyone but he decided to ruin my day like that. I was not interested in playing waitress and especially not for men who where most likely in the mafia but I would never dare to speak against Enzo. As easy-going as he was he was still my boss.
"The men who will be here tonight are tough and hard to handle but I trust each and every single one of you to not mess this up." Enzo instructed us with his million dollar smile. Even when he was serious he still had the same smile on his face.
"Are you nervous Squirrel?" Enzo asked me. I looked at him with big eyes and gave him a questioning look. Was I? Luna and Faith leaned their heads against mine to calm me down.
"Will you be there?" I immediately asked him. Out of all the people I felt uncomfortable with he was surprisingly at the bottom and I already had an issue forming a sentence with him, so just imagine. Enzo laughed and playfully pushed my shoulder.
"No, but don't worry, Christian will be there."
The moment those words left his mouth their was only one thought going through my head.
Hey everyone,This is the end of Christian and Serena’s story. Thanks for following me on this journey, and please know I’m grateful for all of you.I remember freaking out over reaching 10K views, and somehow we ended up here. (!?) (Hopefully, more to come.)As I’m still new to this publishing styl
“Oh, right.” Stella clapped her hands when the girl finally released a loud cough. “I would like to introduce you to Oscar Morales’ daughter, Aria.” The Morales’ They were new in the city and led by Oscar Morales with the help of his mysterious only daughter, who I had never seen before. Today was
“Out and about.” I sighed, exhausted. “Drunk.” “Where’s your ex-fiancee?” Vince chortled, nudging Beau’s shoulder, and a sigh escaped from my brother’s lips. Not surprisingly, the relationship and engagement between my brother and Isobel didn’t last. All it took for him to break her heart was one
The children ran to their grandma and grabbed her hand. Besides Christian, the kids also listened to their grandma. Who wouldn’t? Cesca could be really scary if she wanted to. “The two of you should hurry as well. We’re all waiting!” “We’ll be there soon. Don’t worry.” Christian nagged his mom, kin
Three Years Later I squeezed the ball gown dress around my body, desperate to see my little bump. Promising to get married within three years while not being pregnant was a stupid thing to do. Especially when I had a husband who was a bit too obsessed with expanding our family as if a three-year-o
“What do you have to say?” I leaned against the railing. Christian reached for something behind his back and showed me a small red box while I was still confused about what was happening. Was he going to propose to me…again? He opened the box, revealing a rose gold diamond ring that suited my tast
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### Chapter 2: Chapter-0002
We were at the bar in the private room, waiting for further instructions. This wasn’t supposed to be like this, I shouldn’t be here. I should’ve been downstairs dancing with the other girls.
I looked around me and took in my new surroundings. I had been working here for six months but had never been upstairs other than the time when Christian took me. It was strictly forbidden and well guarded for a reason. The second floor was where all the business meetings were held and while walking to the private room I saw many different faces, including men heavily protected with guns.
There were different private rooms and different staff. It seemed like a completely different club.
“Calm down, you’re shaking.” Faith laughed and caressed her fingers through my curls.
Only when she had mentioned it I noticed my legs were shaking and took a deep breath to control myself. I didn’t know whether I was freaking out because I was about to see the same man I tried my hardest to avoid or because I would be with a lot of powerful and dangerous men in one room.
“Just hand them their drinks and snacks and that’s it. We don’t have to dance or do anything, it’s just as easy as that.” Luna tried to reassure me, but it only freaked me out even more.
“Everything you hear in that room stays inside of that room, when someone says or does something inappropriate you let security handle it,” Luna instructed.
Everything you hear in that room stays inside of that room. Those were not words I was unfamiliar with it as Christian showed me how it worked.
These men weren’t normal businessmen but worked for the mafia. Deep down I knew that if I made one wrong move, dropped a drink, or did anything remotely stupid— which was pretty much my daily routine, it would be he same as asking for a death wish.
“It’s easy money and we don’t even have to do much. Just breath and relax squirrel.” Luna told me.
Right, easy work. What could possibly go wrong, all I had to do was make sure not to drop anything.
“Come on girls, let’s go.” A man suddenly spoke. He had on a quality suit and was tall and toned. Instead of meeting his eyes, my stare went to the gun in his pockets and I froze for a second.
Of course, he had a gun, I knew what I got myself into.
“Hey, squirrel aren’t you usually downstairs?” He asked and took a step in front of me. I had never met this man before but he knew who I was. Of course, he knew, that was their job, to keep an eye on all of the girls. Or maybe he knew who I was because he was always next to Christian and the two of them seemed close, but then again, why would Christian even talk about me?
“Y-yes.” I barely whispered. He gave me a warm smile and placed his hand on my bare shoulder.
“I’m Marc, don’t be scared. I’m here to protect you.” He said and looked down at his gun. He might’ve thought he was calming me down but he only made things worse. “It’s Serena right?”
Out of the corner of my eyes, I saw different men in suits, including two of the Lamberti brothers, Enzo and Gio enter the room and make their way over to the large table. Luckily we were still behind the bar and there was glass separating the space so they couldn’t see us.
“Yes...” I answered and looked at him with pleading eyes, almost begging him to get me out of here.
“Lucio told us to not touch or even breath near you but he’s the one who brought you up here...I don’t get it especially with it being such an important meeting.” Marc spoke confused. At the moment I was just as confused as he had been, because I wondered why Lucio gave them those instructions but before I could ask anything Luna had already taken over the conversation.
“Lucio had to leave last minute, Enzo took over.” She explained.
“Makes sense.” Marc chuckled while eyeing me up and down one last time.
“Okay then, time to get to work ladies!” A man yelled and handed us trays, unfortunately handing me the one with champagne. Confused I walked after the other girls and followed their lead. I got no instructions, nothing, just like that they had expected me to be knowing what I was doing.
“Just follow my lead.” Faith whispered in my ear and pulled my shorts to stop me from walking. We were all standing in a line and I followed their stance while trying to balance the tray of drinks in my hand.
I didn’t know where to look and awkwardly looked around until my eyes caught Christian walk in as last. Next to him was the other guy he was always with, his right-hand man how we like to call him, and cousin Johnny.
Unlike Christian, Johnny was known to be a warm person and always smiled at everyone who would walk past him. He and Marc being here definitely calmed my nerves.
Christian had a strong presence and the moment he sat down the room went silent. Even if I didn’t know who he was I would’ve guessed what kind of status he had. I would’ve been lying if I said that he wasn’t attractive when the man was a walking god.
His beautiful almond-shaped hazel eyes matched his soft olive skin. His full dark brown hair matched his thick and perfectly shaped eyebrows, and even with the suit, he was wearing I could still see how toned he was.
“Don’t stare at the boss, are you crazy!” Faith whispered in my ear, making me look down in an instant. What was I even thinking, did he see me?
“Shouldn’t your brothers lead this meeting? I’m sure Lucio is not crazy enough to let a twenty-three-year-old lead this business meeting.” One of the men laughed and playfully nudged the other men, but they all gulped in fear and looked over at Christian to see his reaction.
Christian doesn’t like to be embarrassed. That was one thing I had figured out the day he dominated me on his office desk. Christian liked to be in control and wouldn’t dare losing it.
Those were the same words the girls never missed when they were gushing over him. Everyone looked at Christian awaiting his reaction, but to everyone’s surprise, all he did was chuckle as he raised his head.
“I’m the heir so I lead this business meeting, not my older brothers.” Was all he said and proceeded to talk. All the terms they used were extremely confusing to me so I ignored it while wondering for how much longer they had expected me to hold the tray as if I was some kind of porcelain doll.
The only thing I focused on was to not pay any attention to Christian but it was hard to do so when he was the one leading the meeting.
I felt my legs close to giving out and tried my hardest to balance the tray while drifting my attention elsewhere. For the last minutes, I had done everything from counting tiles to counting the seconds on the clock.
“It’ll be over soon.” Faith giggled in my ear to calm my nerves. If anything she knew how much I sucked at standing still, it was something I wasn’t made for.
“Give the men something to drink.” Gio suddenly spoke and guided his hands to the men at the table.
Luna who was on the other side of me gave me a small nudge so I wouldn’t lose my balance. “That’s your cue, you’re the one with the drinks.”
I looked from Luna, to the tray, to the men who were watching me and carefully walked forward making sure I wouldn’t drop anything. If I was allowed to sweat I probably would’ve. Determined to not make any eye-contact I went around the table and gave everyone a glass of champagne, so far so good.
Just when I had two more glasses to go I felt sudden dizziness through my head and accidentally spilled a bit of the champagne. A passable scenario would’ve been for it to just have fallen on to the table but instead, it reached the suit of the man I was supposed to give it to. “What are you doing? Apologize.” Gio demanded, making me feel chills throughout my body. Gio was someone you did not want to anger and a perfectionist.
“I-I’m s-so sorry.” I stuttered and took a napkin to clean the man’s suit but before the napkin could even reach his suit he grabbed my hand and squeezed it.
“Don’t worry about it, it’s just a suit.” He smiled. Surprised at his laid-back comment I looked at him for the first time and figured he wasn’t much older than I was, so probably not that old schooled. He had a warm smile on his face and frowned his eyebrows when he caught me staring. I looked down with a blush on my face but quickly recovered myself when I heard a cough out of Christian’s mouth.
With a pit in my stomach, I turned around and faced the same man I had been trying to avoid the same way how he had been avoiding me. The last time he looked me in the eye was when I accidentally blocked his path last week and he told me to move.
The moment I put down his champagne in front of him his hand quickly wrapped around my wrist and he pulled me in closer so he could whisper in my ear. “Are you okay?”
I felt a hint of worry in his voice, but his sudden action startled me because beforehand I had already prepared to get yelled at so I quickly pulled away and took my distance while nodding my head. For a few seconds, I stood frozen in my spot until I made eye contact with Faith whose eyes were telling me to come back.
“Are you okay?” Faith asked this time. The fact that I had almost fainted because of nerves was already embarrassing enough as it was, so the only thing I did was nod my head and kept my mouth shut.
Even though Faith said it would be over soon it wasn’t and once again I started counting sheep in my head. I looked from Christian to the guy who had told me to not worry about me messing up my suit and by the looks of their interactions they seemed extremely close to one another. Who would've thought Christian was capable of smiling?
When the guy caught me staring he gave me a smile and a wink while I immediately looked the other way and pretended like I wasn’t looking at him. It was clear that it was too late seeming I slept with my boss, but I did not want to get involved with these people in any way to the point I didn’t want them to know my name. The only thing I wanted was to make enough money to pay my bills.
After what felt like hours but were just minutes the meeting was finally over and all of the men prepared to exit the room again. I held my head down and tried to keep it that way until all the men had left the room but when I saw a figure walking towards me and my eyes met with a pair of oxfords I didn’t know how fast to raise my head and looked at warm brown eyes ahead of me.
“I’m sorry for tiring you, but are you sure you’re not sick?” Johnny apologized with a pitiful expression on his face and held his large hand against my forehead. I tried my hardest to hide the blush which was working hard to appear on my cheeks and gave him a small forced smile.
“It’s okay, I also fell asleep.” Marc joked and wrapped his arm around his friend’s shoulder. While the two went back and forth joking around with each other and the other girls joined in, I was just grateful that Johnny had removed his hand from my forehead but freaked out a bit when I saw Christian leaning against the door with his arms crossed.
In annoyance, he closed his eyes and cleared his throat making everyone turn around to look at him.
“Marc, you bring the girls back downstairs and Johnny, come to my office.” Was the only thing he said and left. Johnny gave us one last smile and obeyed his cousin by following him while Marc did the same and brought us back downstairs.
“You’re eating well, right?” Faith asked me, possibly talking about me barely succeeding to stay on two legs. The truth was that I felt like shit, but if you did not feel well you could not work and I wasn’t in any state to miss out on the money so I did what was best and nodded my head. “I’m fine, I just got a bit nervous, that’s all.”
Faith eyed me suspiciously but shrugged her shoulders and wrapped her arm around my shoulder. “Good, because I need my best friend at work.”
I was thinking about the reasons as to why I felt unwell but there were none.
Hey everyone,This is the end of Christian and Serena’s story. Thanks for following me on this journey, and please know I’m grateful for all of you.I remember freaking out over reaching 10K views, and somehow we ended up here. (!?) (Hopefully, more to come.)As I’m still new to this publishing styl
“Oh, right.” Stella clapped her hands when the girl finally released a loud cough. “I would like to introduce you to Oscar Morales’ daughter, Aria.” The Morales’ They were new in the city and led by Oscar Morales with the help of his mysterious only daughter, who I had never seen before. Today was
“Out and about.” I sighed, exhausted. “Drunk.” “Where’s your ex-fiancee?” Vince chortled, nudging Beau’s shoulder, and a sigh escaped from my brother’s lips. Not surprisingly, the relationship and engagement between my brother and Isobel didn’t last. All it took for him to break her heart was one
The children ran to their grandma and grabbed her hand. Besides Christian, the kids also listened to their grandma. Who wouldn’t? Cesca could be really scary if she wanted to. “The two of you should hurry as well. We’re all waiting!” “We’ll be there soon. Don’t worry.” Christian nagged his mom, kin
Three Years Later I squeezed the ball gown dress around my body, desperate to see my little bump. Promising to get married within three years while not being pregnant was a stupid thing to do. Especially when I had a husband who was a bit too obsessed with expanding our family as if a three-year-o
“What do you have to say?” I leaned against the railing. Christian reached for something behind his back and showed me a small red box while I was still confused about what was happening. Was he going to propose to me…again? He opened the box, revealing a rose gold diamond ring that suited my tast
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