Chapter 18

Azalea’s POV.

Lucas was never supposed to be here. I went away as far as possible, and yet there he was. I could not deal with him right now. Seeing him brought up all the conversations we had—not the good ones. Thinking of the good memories hurt more than thinking of the bad ones because I had no idea why he had changed so much towards me. It hadn’t been fair. Or perhaps I was too busy crushing on him to ever realize how he truly was.

I turned around instantly and walked to the other end of the bar, sending one of the other bartenders to the other side. He looked at me with a frown at first. I had studied this place for years and realized the most perverted men sat on the right corner, and ever since, I had placed the scariest-looking bartender on that side and the conflict had gotten less.

“Okay,” he shrugged and walked to swap places with me.

“Whiskey please, and I wouldn’t mind if you kissed that glass for me to leave those pretty lips on it,” one of the men asked with a disgusting smile on his lips. “I can tip extra. I can tip even more if you take me to one of those private rooms,” he winked.

I rolled my eyes and began to pour the cheap whiskey he wanted and handed him his drink. He tried to touch my hand, but I pulled away in time and glared at him. Now was not the time to test me. I had been friendly to everyone, customer service truly matters in this place, but I was at my wit's end and already trying not to be seen by Lucas.

What the hell was he even doing here? He was never supposed to be here. It didn’t make sense. Lucas coming to a strip club? It was odd and seemed a little out of character. I heard his loud laughter; he was in the right corner, and from what I had gathered, there were more men he came with. He wasn’t here alone.

I knew it was silly, but for a moment I thought he came to find me. I was relieved to know that wasn’t the case.

The perverted man in front of me tried yet again to make a move, and I finally turned to him and laughed, shaking my head.

“Is something funny?” he asked with confusion.

“You come here, buy the cheapest whiskey that you drink for far longer than you should, then you think you can afford anything from me?” I pointed out, reading him like a book. We were a high-end strip club, I knew exactly which client had the money and which didn’t. We got all sorts of clients, and it was easy to comb through after years of working here.

“You bi–” He began to curse, but then Dante appeared.

“Talk to my staff like that again, and I will have you removed from the premises. In fact, finish up your drink, and this man will put you outside afterward,” he warned, keeping his voice low. Dante was a tall and muscular man with the most intimidating job. “That counts for all of you; you are to respect my people,” he narrowed his eyes on the pervert.

Dante walked around to the bar and looked over at me.

“Dante, I’m so–” I began to apologize, feeling terrible because he took his customer service quite seriously.

“It’s ok, I’ve seen the way he treated you, and you’re not the only one who has had issues with him,” he explained, and I felt at ease. “Pandora has been waiting for him to be kicked out for a while now,” he then said. I looked over at the stage, Pandora was dancing right now. Pandora was one of the best strippers we had, but damn did she have a fiery mouth. I’ve seen her make a man run away with tears and not even ask for a refund. The very next day, he was back and asking for Pandora again.

“Thank you for understanding, Dante,” I smiled and turned to the other guys.

“Of course,” he hummed and walked off to check on everything and everyone else.

I thought I’d spend all my time behind the counter. I was staying out of sight. I noticed Callie walking my way, she had been covering Lucas’ side, and I stopped her immediately.

“That group you’re serving, what have you gathered on them?” I asked as I began to fix an order for one of the men behind me.

“They’re not rich-rich, but they do tip nice enough,” Callie explained with a slight shrug and added some garnish to one of the drinks. I peeked through the pillars and spotted Lucas with some other men, I thought they’d be from the Belt, but I only recognized one of them. The men were talking and laughing about something. One of them pointed to one of the ladies who passed them, and they all looked at her.

“They’re respectful too, thankfully,” Callie sighed. She was only twenty and had truly had enough of all of this, but the money helped her out substantially. “I think it’s a bachelor party too, so I hope the bride doesn’t mind her husband-to-be being in this club right now,” she mentioned, and I began to wonder if it was Lucas who’d get married.

It couldn’t be, right? Why would he want to come here for his bachelor party? The big city he always wanted to visit wasn’t Philadelphia, it was always New York, so this spot wasn’t even a dream of his.

“Well, damn,” I muttered. I was convinced it wasn’t Lucas’ bachelor party.

“I know, right? I wouldn’t have a fiancé anymore if he thought it was ok to go to a strip club at his bachelor’s party,” Callie muttered slid the lid on the shaker, and began to shake the hell out of that drink.

I finished my drink and served it to the man. He simply nodded and slid me a ten-dollar tip.

“They’re super sexy though, some have this accent like they’re from the countryside,” she said with a slight giggle.

“Callie, go do your job and don’t harass the men,” I laughed and shook my head.

“No, that’s Trixie’s job,” she whispered, and I gasped, then pushed her away. Trixie was one of the strippers who was a bit pushy, but she always managed to convince the men to pay for her time, so truly she was just a saleswoman.

I was going on with my time, Lucas still hadn’t left. I sighed and decided to sit back, but right at that time, one of the tables called for me. Shit, I promised Heidi I’d cover her tables for tonight. She had finals, and I wanted her to focus on those.

I grabbed my notepad and went to the private booth to take the order of the men. I had been very particular with how I walked. My back was turned to where Lucas sat, there was no way he’d be able to know it was me.

I spent the entire night being utterly careful not to be spotted by Lucas. I couldn’t afford to have him in my life anymore. It wasn’t just the things he had said; it was also the things that had happened between us and the things he had said. It was the fact that I now had a daughter… With Damon.

Lucas never knew I was pregnant, and according to Laura and Damon, I’d abort the baby. There wasn’t a clause that demanded an abortion in our NDA, obviously, but I refused to let it be known that I had a baby. They didn’t want anything to do with Lynn, and frankly, I didn’t want them in Lynn’s life and corrupting her. I was sure they didn’t want her in their life either. I still had to figure out what I'd be telling her the day she'd ask about her father.

I was happy when I clocked out without having to deal with Lucas once. I could feel at ease again.

The next day had gone by just as yesterday. Lynn was super cute today, and she seemed to enjoy the new arrangements at the daycare. She did miss her ‘grandmother,’ but it was ok. Ada called last night and showed Lynn the ‘cousins’ she had. They promised to come over this summer, and they’d all have fun playdates.

I dropped my daughter off at daycare, then drove straight to work. Bachelor’s parties only last a night, right? I don’t think anyone would visit the same strip club twice when there were many others as well. I walked into the building with ease, greeting everyone I came across. Forming close bonds with the personnel was what got me to climb up the ranks, and pretty soon I’d be applying for a much higher function.

I swapped my leggings for a pair of short skirts. The dress code for the personnel wasn’t too bizarre; it was only the colors that mattered and having perfectly manicured nails. I abided by those rules. All the years spent on the Belt, I only ever wore jeans, and dresses were for special occasions.

Now that I was out of the Belt, I could wear what I wanted, and I had come to love the nice short skirts and such. I fixed my hair and walked over to the bar area.

I checked out my nails for a second, and right at that moment, I looked up and gasped. Lucas.

“Hello, Azalea,” he said with his arms crossed. Warm brown eyes narrowed down on me.