Page 7 of Bully

Tamen Bryce.

Even his name made my body tingle. But I hated him on principle alone. He was enemy number one as the new owner of the club.

He was also my boss and for some reason, he promoted me to manager last night in front of everyone. Even going as far as firing Mel, though to be honest, she needed to go. She was a miserable old hag who didn’t look out for anyone but herself.

But still.

I recounted every word he spoke in the brief meeting and our private one after, trying to figure out as much as possible about the mystery man so I could get my brain and my hormones on the same page before I left for our meeting in an hour.

Of course, he stayed at the fanciest hotel in all of Boston.

Rich fuck.

I hated guys like him; they were all the same. They thought their fat wallet added five inches to their dicks and a full head of hair to their heads; as if the money meant something. I mean, it did to girls like me literally working for it, but the presumption behind it always just aggravated me.

Don’t get me wrong, I wasn’t in the business of trading my body for money simply because I needed the cash, but it was a nice perk. There wasn’t some tragic backstory to my life that led me down the path of prostitution like so many other girls I worked with. It wasn’t even because of some overbearing addiction to sex or attention, like some others, either.

I just enjoyed the life. As a call girl and entertainer, I reveled in the power it afforded me. I enjoyed the freedom of it all.

Obviously the money was nice, if I was going to sleep with a client for cash, I might as well get as much out of their pockets as I could before I took their pants off. It just wasn’t the whole reason behind my profession. Which was why Tamen Bryce stepping in and throwing around words like class, luxury, and talents, like we were already beneath him, pissed me off.

Picking my phone up and walking out to my kitchen, I tried to focus on my daily routine as best as I could so I could ignore the feeling of impending doom weighing me down. My schedule was completely thrown off; I was supposed to meet my new boss at his hotel in an hour, a time that clashed horribly with my usual late start. The feeling of panic tightened in my chest.

“Ugh,” I groaned, the frustration a thick, suffocating weight in my chest as I let the enormity of his actions sink in. I thrived on my routine. And he was fucking it up.

My phone dinged again, and I eyed the screen.

Forty-seven new messages to the chat.

And that was after I cleared them when I woke up without reading any.

Fuck it.

The screen of my phone blazed as I swiped it open, a chaotic array of texts from a dozen different girls. I didn’t even have most of them saved in my contacts, but a few had names attached.

Who does he think he is? This ain’t a monarchy! He can’t just control everything like a king! -Unknown 1

He’s the owner babe, that’s literally the perk of his position. – Unknown 2

We’re not all some back-alley hookers, though! How dare he call us classless! -Unknown 3

Well, some of you are. – Unknown 2

Fuck you. – Unknown 1

Right back at you! – Unknown 2

Hey, I’m actually excited to update the place. Think of all the new clients that will come in. Wouldn’t you rather make more money with a little more luxury around? -Trixie

Trixie was young. I remember the first night she came in for work; God, her eyes had been as wide as saucers as she walked into the locker room. At least they were until she got done with her first client of the night.

Because after that, they were screwed shut tight with tears.

She worked at The Den because she got kicked out at seventeen by her dead-beat parents and was just trying to survive. For three years now, she had worked almost every single night to make enough money to survive, and she was still just a kid in a lot of ways.

When I distanced myself enough from my anger, I could understand why a girl like her would be excited about the changes. She deserved a damn break.

Bitch, spreading your legs is spreading your legs. We’re all still whores regardless of how much money we make for it. -Unknown 1

---