One Wild Night

She had grown to trust her instincts. Whenever she sensed danger, she always tried to pay attention to it. Since she needed the extra money and couldn't turn down the offer, she did the most logical thing that came to her. She briefly contemplated calling Candy but decided against it as she dialed Matt's line. There was no need to worry Candy unnecessarily.

"Hey! What's up? Is everything okay?" Matt greeted immediately he received her call, and she could hear the tension in his tone as though he was expecting her to be in danger.

"I'm fine. I'm getting ready to leave for a job, and I'm wearing the necklace and the earrings," she said, knowing that he would get the hint.

"The job is not at the club I suppose?" Matt asked just to be sure.

"Yes. It's at an undisclosed location. The client is sending a car to pick me up from the club by 8 PM," Brandy explained as she paced around the living room with her purse in hand.

"Okay. I'll let Jade know, and I'll be there just in case of anything," Matt promised.

"I don't mean to bother you. And you should know that it might not be anything. I just thought I..."

"I understand. I'll be there just to make sure that everything is okay. The undisclosed location thingy already set me off," Matt said, trying to reassure her.

"Thank you, Matt. Thank you," Brandy said before hanging up. Now that she knew that she was covered, she added a finishing touch to her make-up before walking out of the apartment and flagged down a cab to take her to the club.

The cab stopped her in front of the club at exactly two minutes to 8 PM, and as she got off the cab and paid her fare, her boss ran up to her, "For Christ's sake! What took you so long?" The manager asked irritably.

"I said I will be here by 8, and it's not 8 PM yet. Why are you upset?" Brandy asked with a roll of her eyes as she looked around, and then relaxed when she noticed Matt's car parked some distance away from there.

"I thought you changed your mind..."

"Well, I'm here now, so what is the big deal?" She asked, shutting him up as she walked past him to join her partner who was already standing in front of the club.

While Brandy was dressed in a black leather trench coat which covered the black see-through teddy with attached garters, the other girl was wearing a skimpy bodycon dress with a halter neck.

"Hi!!" Brandy greeted the girl who turned to look at her with a smile.

"I'm so glad that I'm doing this with you," the girl said, her eyes gleaming with excitement as a limousine rolled to a stop in front of them.

"Brandy and Cookie?" The chauffeur asked without getting out of the car. He didn't see any reason to hold out the door for the strippers.

"Yes! They're ready to leave," the manager said as he joined them, and then turned to look at Brandy, "Remember that the rich..."

"...rich customers are always right," Brandy finished with a roll of her eyes as she let the girl get into the car first before she did.

"With all due respect your Joey, this is not the first time I'm doing something like this, so let me do my thing," Brandy said as she got into the car and shut the door.

"You know it's my first time doing something like this?" Cookie asked as she looked around the car.

"I would never have guessed," Brandy said with a note of sarcasm, but her lips twitched with an amused smile as she found Cookie's enthusiasm to be cute.

Cookie giggled, "I've always admired you and your sister. And now I get to work with you in her place? Wow! You have no idea how happy I was when Joey chose me!"

"Well, you shouldn't be too excited. How long have you been a stripper?" Brandy asked curiously, wanting to pass time with the conversation.

"A year and about three months. What about you?" She asked curiously.

"Two years."

"Oh! That's not long. So when did you get your boobs done? Before you started or while you were on the job?" She asked, making Brandy raise a brow.

"I didn't realize my boobs are so popular."

Cookie shrugged, "Well, you know? People talk. I heard from one of the other girls," the girl said, and just continued talking while Brandy zoned out as she looked out of the window.

Soon the car stopped at a dockyard, and Cookie screeched excitedly when she caught sight of boats, "It's a boat party!"

All the alarms in Brandy's brain went off and she tensed the moment she realized that they were not going to be on land. This meant that if anything was going to happen to her, no one would be able to save her until long after the deed had been done.

"We are here," the chauffeur announced as he got out of the car, expecting them to do the same.

Cookie quickly opened the door and jumped out of the car, leaving Brandy with no choice but to do the same, "This is going to be fu..." The rest of her words died when the chauffeur brought out a gun and pointed it at her.

"You're cute, but you talk too much and you're not needed on the boat," the chauffeur said as he pulled the trigger.

Brandy's eyes widened in shock and a gasp escaped from her lips as Cookie crumpled on the floor. She took a step back, wanting to run away, but the chauffeur scoffed, "You think you can escape from here? Don't be silly. Two of you should take her to the boss, and the rest of you should clean up this mess," he ordered and Brandy turned around to see who he was talking to.

She was even more startled to see six men, two of which she recognized standing behind her. This wasn't Jero's handwork. It was the Legion.

***********

Alicia had a wide smile on her face as she looked at Tom who was now seated between Sonia and Lucy, "WOW! Who would have thought that I'd be the lucky one to reveal your identity to the world?"

"Who would have thought that I would reveal my identity to the world in this manner?" Tom asked in return as he took Lucy's hand.

"You brothers are so romantic. I think Bryan should be here too, what do you think?" She asked them, and Tom shook his head.

"He had his moment. He can come in after I leave. I'm not ready to compete with his celebrity aura," Tom said with a smile and glared at Bryan when he joined them in the set.

"I heard my name," Bryan said as he sat down beside Sonia, grateful that the seat was large enough to accommodate all four of them.

The ladies giggled when Tom glared at him, "Your name was mentioned but you were not invited," Tom insisted.

"My time wasn't up before I left. Right, Alicia?" Bryan asked, and Alicia looked from Bryan to Tom who was daring her with his eyes to support Bryan.

"Tom is right. Our time is up. The focus should be on Tom and Lucy now, let's excuse them," Sonia offered when she noticed that Alicia was having a hard time.

"But I'm addicted to the camera," Bryan complained as he looked at the camera with a grin, while Tom shook his head Sonia dragged him away.

"Well, I did say it was a reality show after all," Alicia said with an embarrassed giggle since there was nothing professional about the interview.

"So you are Mr. Thomas Hank," Alicia said as she looked at Tom.

"That's what my birth certificate says," Tom said with a shrug.

"Although I'm very curious about your relationship with Lucy who happens to be your personal assistant, I want to know about you. Why did you choose to stay hidden this whole time? I mean, you are very wealthy and extremely good-looking, so what made you decide to keep your identity away from the public?"

"I just wanted to live like every normal person. Go to normal places and have normal conversations. A normal life without having people judge everything I do, or people respecting me just because they know how much I have in my account," Tom said with a shrug.

"And you no longer want a normal life now? Why did you choose to reveal your identity?" Alicia asked curiously, and Tom smiled as he turned to look at Lucy.

"I need to protect the woman after my heart. I want to love and care for Lucy openly even if that means giving up my privacy," Tom said confidently.

"Awww, you're so sweet! Now I'm curious about your relationship! I'm dying to know how you both started dating. Did Bryan and Sonia match make you both? Or was it an office romance thingy?" Alicia asked even though she already knew the answers.

"Perhaps you should answer the question since I don't know how much you would want to share," Tom suggested as he looked at Lucy who was giggling in embarrassment when she recalled how they met.

"No. We actually met at the club the first night I arrived in Ludus, and I had no idea that he was my boss," Lucy said and her face flushed in embarrassment making Tom chuckle.

"Lucy, you're blushing! Something interesting happened at the club didn't it?" Alicia asked in amusement as Lucy hid her face behind Tom who was laughing.

"We would rather keep that secret," Tom said in her defense.

"C'mon! Okay, I will try and fill in the gap. So after meeting at the club you walked into the office the next week and realized that the guy at the club is your boss?" Alicia asked, dying to know their story, but they both shook their heads.

"I didn't know until a few days ago that my boyfriend was my boss," Lucy confessed, and Alicia pretended to look surprised.

"That must have been a really exciting discovery," Alicia reasoned.

"Not for me."

"Not at first you mean?" Tom asked, and Lucy giggled.

"Yeah, not at first. I was upset initially. And then after giving it some thought I was like, fuck it! Better for me I'm dating a rich CEO than a driver," Lucy said dramatically making Alicia laugh out loud, while Tom just grinned as he watched her.

"So he pretended to be a driver? Let's talk about that," Alicia said, and Tom raised his wristwatch to check the time, reminding Alicia that they were supposed to finish before 8 PM.

"I'm sorry there won't be enough time to get into that right now. We are having dinner with Lucy's family tonight and I don't want to keep them waiting," Tom said, making Alicia nod.

"Aww! Alright. We have come to the end of the show. Is there anything you'd like to say to the viewers before you leave?" Alicia asked, and Tom nodded.

"Messing with my woman, is synonymous to messing with me. I'm going to find the people behind this rumor and deal with them as I should," Tom promised.

"What about you, Lucy?" Alicia asked, and Lucy nodded.

"Thanks to everyone that gave me the benefit of doubt. And thank you for having us Alicia," Lucy said with a soft smile.

"Alright. Thanks for joining us. And please do not forget to subscribe to my YouTube channel. See you next time!" Alicia said, and Jasmine turned off the camera.

"The end!" Alicia announced happily as she rushed to Jasmine's side to check her YouTube page.

"You really had to tell the world that you're having dinner with my family?" Lucy asked incredulously.

"Yes! Anita should know about it," Tom said with a wink, and Sonia embraced him.

"I love you already, Tom. You're totally my type!" She said, making Bryan roll his eyes while Lucy giggled.

"Petty people," Bryan muttered under his breath, and Lucy nodded in agreement.

"We should leave now if we don't want to be late. And just so you know, I already invited your family to stay at my house," Tom informed Lucy.

"My family? When?" Lucy asked in confusion.

"Yes. Your parents were here earlier. I met them already," Tom said, and turned away from her to look at Alicia.

"Alicia, you're both invited too."