“Do we?” He cocked his head and began shuffling papers on his desk, practically dismissing me. He had no idea who he was dealing with. I was not one to be trifled with. I was Olivia fucking Petrov.
I grabbed my cell phone and pulled up the video. Turning the screen toward him, I pushed Play. His face tensed up. His shoulders slumped. A vein in the center of his forehead became very prominent. Pulled-together Bryce wasn’t so pulled together anymore. I smirked.
After Bryce made the comment about my body ending up in the pile and laughed, I stopped the video and put the phone back in my purse.
“Where did you get that?” His eyes darted all over as if he were looking for an answer to this little problem he now had. I’m sure he was thinking about what object in the room he could bludgeon me with, but I wasn’t scared of Bryce. I had all the power, and power makes you fearless.
“It doesn’t matter where I got it. It matters what I’m going to do with it.” I raised an eyebrow.
He took a deep breath and refocused his eyes on me, staring intently. “And what are you going to do with it?” He clenched his jaw.
“That’s up to you.” I pulled out a tube of lip gloss from my purse and applied it without a care in the world, slowly and with precision.
Bryce leaned back in his chair and swiveled it slightly, contemplating what to say next. He was finally taking me seriously. Women had to do drastic things to be taken seriously these days.
“What do you want, Olivia?”
“I want in,” I said, returning the tube of gloss to my purse.
“Interesting.” He brought his hands in front of him, placing the tips of his fingers together.
“And I want money.”
“Of course you do. Women are so shortsighted.” He chuckled.
I stood from my seat and threw my bag over my shoulder. I was not about to be laughed at. I had all the power. I knew that. He just needed to be reminded of it. Just as I was turning for the door, he stood from his seat. “Hold on, wait,” Bryce said putting his hands up.
I smiled and turned back toward him.
“How much?”
“Five hundred thousand dollars,” I said without missing a beat.
“And you give me the video.” He jutted up his chin.
“Not a chance. I’ll hold on to the video as a life insurance policy. But I’d like in. As long as you treat me like a fair partner, this video will never see the light of day,” I said, putting a hand on my hip. “We can work out the exact terms of our partnership later, but I want the money by tomorrow night.”
He pretended to be considering the offer, but he knew he had no other choice, and I knew it too.
“If you go to the police, you and your husband will be done as well,” he said confidently. Oh, silly boy, still thinking he had the upper hand.
“Without money, we’re already done,” I spat back.
He walked to my side of the desk and stood in front of me, less than a step between us. He was so close I could feel his breath on me. I wasn’t backing down. I looked him right in the eye.
“I hope you know what you’re doing, little girl.”
I took one small step toward him, closing the distance between us. I reached my hand out, grabbing his dick with force—just hard enough to hurt in a pleasurable way. He jolted a tiny bit, but he didn’t resist. He smiled and raised an eyebrow, the tightness in his eyes disappeared.
I bit my lower lip. “You have no idea what I can do.”
67
Jenny
“You ready for this?” I asked as I straightened up the refreshment table in the middle of the salon.
Keisha finished wiping down her station. “Can we cancel?” she said with a laugh.
“I wish.”
I looked around the salon to make sure everything was in place. We had a few contract SFX makeup artists and manicurists set up as Keisha and I wouldn’t be able to handle it all by ourselves. We had already finished nearly all our full-time clients this morning, and we only had Olivia, Crystal, Karen, and surprisingly, Shannon—who made a last-minute appointment with us—left. I wasn’t keen on seeing Olivia, but she had phoned earlier, explaining her behavior the other night. She said Dean had an emergency and that she would reimburse us for the night out and clear up her membership fees. I had a feeling she was full of shit, and I was tired of her excuses, but Keisha and I were also attending the party, so I figured I had better play nice . . . at least for tonight.
“You’re right, Keisha.”
She gave me a look that said, Who, me? “I’m not sure what you’re referring to, but I won’t argue with that.” She laughed as she set out glasses for wine and cocktails.
“I mean, you were right about me hiring another person and taking time for myself. I’m going to do just that. After this party, I’m only working forty hours a week, fifty tops.”
“What made you decide that?” Keisha raised an eyebrow.
I shrugged my shoulders. “Life’s just too short. For all I know, I could die tonight, and I don’t want my legacy to be an upscale salon for catty middle-aged women. When I die, I hope I leave behind people that truly loved and cared for me.”
Keisha walked over to me. “You have me. But I know what you mean.” She smiled, pulling me in for a hug. “I’m going to hold you to that,” she whispered.
“I wouldn’t expect anything less.”
The front door chimed, and Olivia emerged from behind the curtains like a bat flying out of hell.
“Converting another one, I see,” Olivia said, pulling a pair of oversized sunglasses down her nose and off her face. We ignored her quip. Keisha patted my back and told me she was proud of me.
Olivia slid her glasses into her bag and took off her coat, tossing it at Mary without even looking. It landed right on Mary’s face. Mary groaned, straightened herself out, and returned to the front, carrying Olivia’s coat.
“Was that necessary?” Keisha asked.
Olivia ignored her. She probably hadn’t even realized what she had done to Mary, but then again, knowing her, I’m sure she did.
“Let’s get started. What are you dressing up as?” I asked, trying to get this over with as quickly as possible.
“Not so fast. I’ll have a drink first, and I’d like to settle my debt.” Olivia put up a finger, then dropped her hand into her oversized bag, pulling out a wad of cash. She held it out to me. “It’s six thousand dollars. You can count it if you’d like.”
“Not necessary.” I walked to her and took the money. Keisha begrudgingly handed her a glass of champagne.
Olivia smiled and sipped her drink. “Perfect. Everything is settled. Now, I’m going as a sexy skeleton. I’d like big voluminous hair, sky-high eyelashes, and perfect skeleton makeup.”
I nodded. “All right. Have a seat. One of the SFX artists will take care of the makeup, and I’ll do your hair after.”
Olivia plopped her skinny ass in a chair. Her head was held high as she clutched her drink, slowly bringing it to her lips. She was comfortable and at peace, almost like she knew everything was going to be just fine, like all the pieces in her life had fallen perfectly into place. She took another drink, emptying it, then tapped her long nails on the glass. Keisha rolled her eyes and refilled it, then filled a glass for herself and one for me. As she handed it over, she whispered, “You’re going to need this.” I smiled at her and took a drink. Keisha leaned against her station and fiddled with her phone.
“Where are the rest of the ladies?” Olivia glanced around.
“They should be here shortly. Shannon’s coming too. She called me earlier.” I raised an eyebrow.
“That’s the saddest thing I’ve ever heard,” Olivia said with an obnoxious laugh. “But it should make for some good entertainment.”
“Yeah, you sure like to be entertained,” I said just above a whisper as I pulled out several sets of curlers and cans of hairspray.
“What are you two going as?” Olivia took a sip of her drink.
Just as I was about to answer, she interrupted, “The help?” She let out a loud cackle. Keisha shook her head, biting back her anger.
“I’m just teasing, of course,” she said through her deep throaty laugh.