I found it hard to believe what was staring back at me.
It was an email notification, from Torres International Holdings.
Now, don't get me wrong, I really wanted this job. Needed, in fact. Between my shifts at the bar and babysitting for my neighbors, there was no way I was going to get enough money to get out of this shitty apartment and into some place nicer.
It was a long shot, handing in my resume to Torres International, a company that was globally recognized for its credibility and generational wealth. Torres wasn't just any corporation. It was one of the most powerful private equity firms in the East Coast, with stakes in everything from luxury fashion to real estate, from tech startups to legacy financial institutions. Rumor had it the Torres family controlled more than just business—they controlled the very air Manhattan breathed.
But I did have a college degree and similar work experience, so I decided not to sell myself short when I went in for the interview for a personal secretary position last week.
But my optimism died as quickly as it came when the interviewer, who seemed almost unimpressed during the entire job interview, told me they'd get back to me.
Most times, people are advised to simply forget about it after hearing that.
Which was why I was surprised to see that I got an email from them at all.
I clicked on the email the same time my neighbor, Quincy, walked into my apartment.
"Maddy, do you mind helping me with my zipper?" She asked as she walked towards where I sat on the dining table, facing my laptop.
I couldn't even pay attention to her or glorify her question with a response, I was too busy staring at the words written on my screen in disbelief.
"Um, Maddy?" I heard Quincy speak again. "Can you hear me?"
"I got the job." I said so softly that it almost sounded like a whisper.
"What?!" Quincy beamed in excitement. "The job at TIH?"
"Y-Yeah." I said, my voice coming out more audible this time. "They sent me an email. They want me to start Monday."
I didn't know what I was expecting next, but I surely didn't expect Quincy to lift me up my seat and twirl me around, "Congratulations, girl! You should be super fucking excited right now! You can finally quit your job at that God-awful bar!"
I giggled in excitement as she finally placed my feet back on the ground, "Thank you, Quin! And I know, I am so excited. I just wasn't expecting it, is all."
"I told you to stay positive!" Her smile still hadn't faded.
"You did."
I found it really heartwarming how someone could be so genuinely happy for another person. Quincy reacted to my good news as though it was hers.
Quincy was one of the very few friends I had made since I moved to New York. We met the first day I moved into this apartment and she was so friendly and welcoming and she helped me get settled in just fine.
At first, I wasn't sure whether or not to keep her at arm's length because I came from a place where people weren't just nice to you without expecting something in return. It was a character trait that Quincy so effortlessly possessed, and it surprised me till this day. She was a great help when I started job hunting and she helped me stay positive even when things weren't looking so good.
She had also been saving up to get a nicer place, she worked extra shifts and was very focused on her target. I knew that deep down, she would also like to have a stable job that pays well, which was why I felt so touched that she was genuinely glad that I got one.
"Oh my God, we should totally go out tonight and celebrate." She suggested with a sly smirk.
A night out? You don't gotta tell me twice.
"You know that guy from the country club that I told you about?" She asked me.
I quirked an eyebrow, "The one that seems like he has a wife but you haven't found any evidence to prove it?"
'Yup, that one." She confirmed. "You know who keeps trying to get me to fuck him?"
I nodded.
"Well, he's still trying." She said. "He invited me to this rich ass club tonight and I was thinking of saying no but you know, it's a Friday night, you just got a new job, I don't have a night shift at the hospital tonight, it seems like the perfect night to go out and dance our fucking stress away."
"Girl, you know I'd never say no to a night out." I said with an excited smile. "Count me fucking in."
"Yay!" She squealed. "You might have to order an Uber back because if by the end of the night, I have no proof that that man is married, I'm gonna let him take me home and fold me like a pretzel because that man is fine."
"Oh, is he?" I chuckled.
"Fine, Maddy." She said, bringing her mouth close to my ear and biting her lips playfully. "Fine."
"Okay, I hear you." I laughed. "Get off me."
***
The club was different from most I've been in, I'd give it that.
There was something about it that wasn't…regular.
From the ambience, to the vibe, to the people in it.
Everything about it just seemed so rich.
Carlos, the man who had invited Quincy, offered to pick us up from our apartment. To emphasize more on how it wasn't just some regular club, we had to have VIP access to get inside.
I fell in love with the place the moment we stepped in. It felt nice to be in a setting like this where I could simply enjoy myself without serving out drinks and entertaining weird behavior from men. I had a feeling I was going to have the time of my life tonight.
I could feel stares directed our way almost immediately. They were the kind that made you feel confident, the kind that made you feel good.
Quincy made sure to wear the tiniest dress in her wardrobe, which exposed most of her body parts. Her makeup was flawless and her dirty blonde curls fell all the way to her shoulders.
I, on the other hand, was also dressed in a dress that was made up of minimum fabric. It was of silk rose gold and the neckline dipped so far down that it exposed my cleavage. The sides of my breasts were also visible seeing how the dress had no coverage for my back. The rest of the dress hung loosely around my hips until it stopped just a little below my ass. My wavy brown hair was up in a neat ponytail and my makeup was flawless as well.
Carlos placed a hand on Quincy's waist and led us further into the club.
We got to a section where men, about four to five of them, who cleaned up just as nice as him were seated on a sofa, most with ladies on their arms. I could feel most of their eyes undress Quincy and I as Carlos did a quick introduction
The men seated on the couch were all good looking and you could smell the mix of their expensive colognes amidst the atmosphere of the club.
But there was one man in particular.
While the rest of his associates admired us and went about their evening, his eyes remained burning through me.
And God, were those eyes something else.
The piercing blue color of his eyes glistened in the dimly lit environment as they shamelessly roamed round my body through full long lashes. His full brown head of hair was styled back but there was an unruly lock that fell loosely to his eyebrow. He had what one could describe as a perfect face, with a sharply chiseled jaw and beautiful bone structure. And his lips? A perfect tint of pink.
He was dressed in a plain white tee and loose brown pants. He was quite muscular, but in a lean kind of way. His biceps were toned to match his frame and he had tattoos on his right arm all the way to his wrist where there was a gold watch which looked expensive clasped around it.
He sat in that sofa, like he owned the place.
It was crazy, he wasn't the only attractive man seated there but there was just something about him that commanded the room.
And I think he was aware of that.
When it was clear that he wouldn't stop staring at me, I held his gaze – daring him to look away.
There was something about the way he was looking at me, something so… sexual.
"How about you ladies have a shot and we head into the dance floor?" Carlos suggested, pulling me out of my trance and handing us shots from the table full of drinks, the table which the sofa surrounded.
Quincy and I shared a smile before throwing our heads back and taking the shots.
And as if on cue, we all moved to the dance floor.
All except Darting Blue Eyes, of course, who stayed glued to his seat.
I decided to ignore him and let my body move freely to the beat of the song playing through the club. The energy of Carlos' friends and the ladies they were with was just right. We all moved and danced with one another in ways that felt exhilarating.
I loved to party.
I'd like to believe I needed it sometimes.
I was a party monster back in Georgia.
The company I kept didn't help matters either. We used to go from party to party and as much as I had experienced enough sagas to last a lifetime, it was something I would always agree to when the opportunity came.
It was my idea of a good time.
Carlos couldn't keep his hands off Quincy as both of them kept grinding against each other. I stayed dancing with the ladies, moving by body against theirs seductively, letting my hands moved from my hair to my body to my hips as they swayed in every direction.
Quincy moved towards us for a moment, making sure she was close enough to me to say, "Maddy, that hot gorgeous man has not stopped looking at you since you started dancing."
Instinctively, I looked towards the sofa to see that it was still the same man that had his eyes burning through me.
"Odd." I said, although I was enjoying how the way he was looking at me was making me feel.
"What do you mean odd?" Quincy said, giving my back a light smack as we continued to dance. "He's fucking handsome."
He was, wasn't he?
"You know what? I think I need another drink." I said, giving Quincy one last knowing look before walking back in confident strides to the sofa where he sat.
His eyes followed me as I took a bottle from the table and poured myself a glass. After that, I settled down on the couch, only a few spaces away from him.
I let my lips tease the edge of the glass for few seconds before taking the drink in and immediately I swallowed, I looked at him and said, "You're staring."
For a moment, it appeared like he was shocked that I spoke to him but his features quickly went back to expressionless.
"Excuse me?"
His voice…
It sounded deep and assertive.
It sounded… good.
So good.
"I said you're staring." I repeated myself, this time firmer. "You've been staring actually. Shamelessly."
"No one talks to me like that." He said, his voice sounding more attractive than the last time.
"Well, I guess I just did." I said, holding his gaze.
He cocked his head to the side.
"I didn't say anything that wasn't true." I used that as an opportunity to keep speaking, my voice low and sultry. "I could feel your eyes practically undress me the moment I stood in front on you. I could feel them burning through me in the most unholy way as I danced against those ladies, wishing it was you but you stayed in your seat enjoying the show because you've probably never had to chase a woman a day in your life, even if your intentions with her are completely sinful. And now you look like that because you're shocked that I'm speaking to you so carelessly while holding your gaze because you're probably used to women squirming underneath them and not saying all these things to you because, of course, no one talks to you like that."
Somehow, we had closed the space between us and my thighs were now slightly grazing his.
"And you know what?" I continued. "I like it."
He held my chin in his fingers and lifted them up and I had to clasp my thighs further together because of how that single action made me feel.
"Well, don't you have a foul, foul mouth." He said in the most seductive voice, his eyes still searching mine.
"You'd be surprised just how foul this mouth can be." I challenged him.
I didn't know what it was about this stranger that was making my body go haywire. All I knew was that I liked the feeling.
I liked it a lot.
"And what makes you so sure that I have such sinful intentions towards you simply by the way I stared at you?" He asked, his hands moving from my chin to my neck.
I refused to let him see how much that affected me, "Because I'm used to men like you staring at me. Only difference is with you, I don't feel so appalled."
"What do you feel then?" He asked as he wrapped his hand around my neck and gave it a gentle squeeze.
I bit on my bottom lip, "What do you think?"
I watched as his Adam's apple moved up and down at that single action.
I held the wrist of his hand that had a firm hold of my neck, "Why don't you drop the mysterious guy in the corner act and come dance like the rest of us?"
With my hand still around his, I stood slowly to my feet and gently led him up and to my surprise, he let me lead him to the dance floor without question.
It seemed almost planned, the way the most seductive song immediately started playing.
He pulled my body closer to his and in one swift motion, spun me around so that my back was facing him. I mean, I could tell he was tall from the way his long legs were spread while he sat, but I didn't expect him to be this tall. The height difference was crazy.
I made sure to sway my hips and grind my body dangerously against his the same time he started letting his arms explore round my body. His hands moved from my waist to my hips, to my thighs. I could feel his hardness press against me the more I danced against him, teasing him, provoking him, daring him.
He let his right hand dance around my right breast before squeezing it in his hand. I closed my eyes at the feeling. Due to the nature of my dress, it was easy for him to lead his hand into the fabric so that this time, he was touching, teasing and squeezing my bare breast.
I continued to move seductively against him, only hoping I was frustrating him as much as he was frustrating me.
His other hand moved down my body until they were between my thighs and there was no hesitation from him when he led them up to my heat, like he was certain I wasn't wearing any underwear underneath my dangerously short dress.
I let out a soft moan as I arched my neck back to rest on his chest, grabbing the back of his neck in the process.
It felt electric.
The strobing red lights, the music, the moment.
I felt like I could whimper when he pulled his hands away from my breast and my pussy and spun me around by my hips so I was facing him.
We both shared a crazed hungry look before he crashed his lips on mine.
His lips felt dominant and possessive. They moved against mine like he wanted to consume me and what was scary was that I was ready to let him.
I kissed him back with the same fierceness, my arms shooting up around his neck, looking for ways my skin could feel closer to his. His hands moved to my ass, groping them so aggressively as he pulled my body closer to his.
At that point, his tongue had found its way into my mouth and I felt absolutely drunk off the feeling. In that moment, I wouldn't have objected to him ripping my clothes off and fucking me right in the middle of the club for everyone to see.
By the time we both pulled away for air, we were letting out ragged uncontrollable breaths.
His forehead rested against mine as he asked lowly, "Wanna go back to my place?"
Still finding my breath, I said, "I thought you'd never ask."