Chapter 9 - It's Time To Focus On Me.
1836 Words
'The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams'
~ Eleanor Roosevelt
Damian's P.O.V.
"I need you to go to Vipers and Vixens and keep an eye on the new hire for me"
He said and I smirked.
God, I love my brother-in-law.
"Why do you want me to go, Viper?"
I ask whilst trying to play it cool because I didn't wanna come across as some lovesick puppy or worse, a simp to any of these guys, especially not Tanner or my brother because they'll make you live to regret it.
Trust me, I've seen them do it with some of the other brothers when they've fallen head over heels for a girl...or a guy and it's not a pretty sight.
"Well because you're the only one that I trust to keep an eye on her...I know you've had a long day at work and I wouldn't ask if I wasn't desperate but the truth is that I haven't got many options right now"
He says with an exhausted sigh.
"Why? where's Brand?"
"He's out on a date night with Catherine...I'd go but I don't wanna leave Elena alone right now while she's so fragile, so that only leaves you and Tig but I don't really wanna choose him after what happened at the bar today"
He says and I chuckle before letting out a fake sigh of annoyance.
"Well, if you insist, brother, I mean, it's a boring job but someone's gotta do it, right?"
I ask with a smirk and Tanner rolls his eyes.
"Yeah, I can tell you're really annoyed that you've got go back out again, Dame"
"So annoyed, I'm just so...URGH!!"
I said acting dramatic and Tanner laughed.
"Well, maybe this will annoy you for real, brother because I've got a rule for you if you agree to do this"
"Really? and what rule is that?"
I ask curiously.
"Oh, it's just a simple rule, Damian"
"Which is?"
"You're not allowed to f**k her"
Tanner says with a smile and my smirk immediately drops.
"Now, that's just f*****g cruel, Tanner"
I growl at him and he smugly shrugs his shoulders.
"It's my one and only rule, brother, now are you gonna take the job or do I have to call Tig?"
Tanner asks me and I sigh for real this time.
"Fine, I'll do it"
"Good...now, her shift starts in an hour, so you'd better get going, I want you there before she arrives, do you hear me?"
He asks me and I fake salute him.
"Yes, prez"
I say as I stand up and bid goodbye to Tanner before leaving his office and heading up to my room to have a quick shower and to change my clothes.
I may not be able to have s*x with Nicole just yet but it doesn't mean that I have to show up looking like a hot ass mess to see her, especially if I wanna impress the panties off her.
Nicole's P.O.V.
"You do know that you don't have to do this, right?"
Zoey asks me and I let out a sigh as I put down my make-up brush.
"Yes, I know I don't have to, Zoey but I want to"
"But why?"
She whines at me and I smile.
"Why would you wanna go out to work night shifts at some sleazy bar when you're a literal millionaire, Nic? don't you know there are millions of people in this world who would kill to be in your position and to have the bank balance that you've got so that they don't have to work and yet here you are willingly wanting to work?"
Zoey asks whilst looking at me like I was crazy.
"First of all, Zoey, the bar I'm working at isn't sleazy..."
"It's a strip joint, Nicole"
She says in a matter-of-fact tone.
"Yeah and like you've just pointed out, people need to work and for some people, their only option is to strip at bars like this"
I say which instantly shuts her up.
"And secondly, I won't be stripping, I'll just be serving drinks to some drunk as f**k bikers, that's..."
"Bikers?"
Zoey cuts me off whilst straightening herself up like a meerkat.
"You never told me it was a biker bar, Nicki?"
"That's because you never asked, Zoey, you were too busy judging my decision to go back to work to care about any other details regarding my job"
"Well, can you blame me?...you've already got one hell of a job as the famous Amethyst Knights and you wanna go from that to working in a bar, for Christ's sake, it just doesn't make any sense to me, Nic"
Zoey says dramatically making me roll my eyes whilst chuckling.
"Well, I'll still be doing that job, Zoe, I just need something different to break up my day a little bit and also to keep those assholes off my back, that's all"
Because if anyone from the Parkers or Wrights were to find out that I'm unemployed but I'm still able to live in this beautiful house and pay my bills, then they'll start to ask questions about where the money's coming from or they'll make assumptions and I haven't got time for that s**t.
The truth is that ever since I was fifteen, I've been writing romance and fantasy novels under the pseudonym Amethyst Knights.
It started out as a hobby writing fanfics for my favourite boyband members and characters from my favourite movies or TV shows but then it turned into a full-blown career when I realised just how much I enjoyed creating characters and the fictional world that they all lived in.
It rapidly went from being a hobby to a job that I absolutely love and now I'm a multi-millionaire after my stories blew up online and became a huge success but only a select few people know about my career and online personality and I'd like to keep it that way for as long as possible.
So, if working in a high-end strip club helps me to keep this secret hidden, then I'm gonna do it regardless of what anyone else thinks.
"Well, I hope your new job doesn't interfere with your real job, Nicole because you know better than I do how much your readers and I are dying to read the climax to your epic throuple story"
Zoey said and I chuckled at her.
"Don't worry, Zoe, I've got everything worked out, I was even thinking of killing Styles off in a really dramatic..."
"Don't you dare even think about killing my baby Styles off, Nicole because I won't forgive you if you do"
Zoey says whilst looking like I've just killed her dog.
"Then leave me alone and I won't"
I say and she stomps her foot like a child.
"You're no fun, Nicole Parker"
"It's Wright"
I shout as Zoe leaves my room muttering yeah, yeah, yeah, whatever Nicole under her breath which made me smile.
I then let out a breath and finished getting ready for work.
For my first shift at the club, I decided to wear one of the black crop tops Tanner gave me which has got the club's logo that consists of a double V with a crown in blood red on it, a pair of dark denim jeans and black ruffle boots.
I've also straightened my long, dark hair and for my make-up, I did a classy smoky eye look with red lips to match my outfit.
When I was finished getting ready, I packed up my bag and was about to put my phone in it as well when it suddenly started ringing and I groaned in annoyance when I saw it was Cameron calling me.
Fuck.
I really need to change my number.
"What do you want?"
"Hello to you too, Nicole"
Cameron said sounding happy which I thought was odd.
Why the f**k is he so happy all of a sudden?.
"Hi dickhead, what do you want?"
I ask feeling annoyed and he lets out a sigh.
"Can't we be civil for our daughter's sake, Nicole?"
"Been there, tried that and it was a massive waste of my time, now tell me what you want before I hang up on you"
I say and I could tell by his breathing that he was starting to at the least get frustrated with me but I knew he was getting angry as well.
"I want to see Lola, Nicole, I want visitation with her"
"That's great...why are you calling me for that? just go through our lawyers and work out visitation through them like the judge told you to do"
"Can't we do this without getting our lawyers involved, Nicole?"
He asks me and I shake my head.
"Unfortunately no, Cameron because I don't trust you and I want to make sure there are some rules put in place that we both agree on if we really wanna make this work between us because I refuse to allow you to dip in and out of our daughter's life whenever you want or because your flaky first love has decided to throw a tantrum and give you another ultimatum again"
"This has got nothing to do with Lily, Nicole"
Cameron growled through gritted teeth pissing me off because he clearly wasn't understanding what I'm saying or where I'm coming from.
"Oh, it's got everything to do with that b***h, Cameron because she's the reason why your daughter doesn't know who the hell you are and it's because of this that I've gotta do what I've gotta do to protect Lola, not just from you and my sister but also from Lily's influence over you as well because whether you believe it or not, that little b***h has got complete control over you and the way that you think and feel and that's not good for our daughter, so if you're really serious about having a relationship with Lola, then have your people call my people and we'll work something out but until then, please leave me the hell alone because I want nothing more to do with you"
"Nico..."
Cameron said but I hung up on him before he could finish saying my name.
God, that man is so frustrating.
I thought to myself as I closed my eyes and took several deep inhales before slowly and calmly releasing them as I attempted to get my mind back on track, so that I could go to work with a free and clear mind.
Today is supposed to be the first day of the rest of my life where I'm free from the uncomfortable chains that had bound me to the toxic and narcissistic people in my life who I was unfortunate enough to call my family and I refuse to allow any more of my precious time to be wasted on those who aren't worthy of it, especially not those who never saw me worthy of theirs.
- Writer
