Stripped

"... You were never yours, you are mine, you always have been.." 8:44 pm Friday evening… A roar of an engine. Frantic shuffling of feet Then silence... This lasted for about fifteen seconds, and the door opened to reveal a lady, corporately dressed, piercings reflecting the light from the porch. "Good evening, Mr fall, may I come in" Tony, as he was popularly referred to, was having a hard time breathing, "come in" he said. He kept staring out into the darkness even after she came in. "what may I get you, whiskey, brandy, juice... " "I will be of no bother, Mrs Fall, please take a seat as we discuss why I am here " Tony closed the door with a heavy thud after he was done examining the environment to his content. He walked to where his wife was standing and joined her, his hands on her shoulder, obviously anxious about something. The visitor looked at her host's standing in front of her shaking. She almost felt pity. Almost. They made the deal, not just any deal, a deal with the devil. She felt tempted to ask them to have their seats, after all, this news had to be delivered to them while they were comfortable, this was one of those temptations she overcame, and she also did not want to point out their visible fear. Clearing her throat she said "Rufus is not a force to play with, he's been lenient with you on your shortcomings, merciful if you ask me, but this is the end. You made a deal, you need to meet up with your side of this deal. He built you and gave you what you requested, it's time to pay up Mr and Mrs Fall... " "But we need more time. Tell Rufus to spare our lives and give us more time, we will pay up. " Mrs Fall broke into sobs as soon as those words escaped her lips. The visitor rolled her eyes. "sorrows, sorrows and prayers" she thought. She had a quick giggle, but it was overshadowed by the sobs of Mrs Fall. She could feel their pain, but the famous line from one of the greatest series of all time was just perfect for this moment. She had one more piece of news to give them, she just wondered how they would take it, she felt it was a better option, and after a quick debate in her mind, she picked the lesser of the two evils. "I have another option, a solution if you may" "Tell us, anything, and we'll do that," Tony said, his wife was still sobbing, perhaps she was too heartbroken or the sob was too loud for her to listen. "He wants your daughter, Dominique, is it? " "Oh hell Nah, what the heck is happening, and who the heck are you who, how do you know me and what are you doing here?" The thud from the door after the moments of silence and the whispers of her parents woke her up and led her down the door The sound came from the stairs, standing there in her nightgown was Dominique, hair tied in a bun, a beautiful pair of legs and a face that would be ten times more attractive than it already was if she wasn't wearing a frown. The visitor chuckled "Smart one you be there, "she said addressing Mr and Mrs Fall, "You will do just fine, I'll take my leave now, get your house together, I'll be back tomorrow, set everything in order" She turned towards the door, placed her right foot outside the door with her left in the house, turned with a smirk and said "And Tony, you're looking in the wrong places, you should probably change those locks. Not that they would do anything to stop us but you should, "she turned to Dominique and smiled, "don't take it as a threat darling, see it as constructive criticism" Three hefty men emerged from three different directions. At least that was what Dominique counted, one from the closet, another from the kitchen, another opened the door from the porch. A tap on her arm startled her, and another one emerged from behind her. Dominique turned, looked him over and said "Either you're a ghost who materialized behind me or you are coming from my ROOM!!!! , what is happening here, I'm calling the police" She rushed down the stairs towards the land phone beside the refrigerator. The man who was behind her walked calmly down the stairs with a bounce in each step, "Don't bother, we were taking our leave anyway, it's not like you know what hit"His last words were said with a devilish yet familiar smile. His Cologne was no different than that of the one lingering in the air of the event she catered for. She turned to look at his face but it jogged no memory. She might not know that man, but she knew where he was from She waited till the roar of their engine faded into the night and turned to her parents. "What in tarnation are you doing with Rufus Stephano!!! " … This was one of her solo missions. Clad in her simple yet stunning aquamarine gown, she directed the other ushers at this party, first a surprise secret invite and now this. Dominique was bubbly with excitement but professionalism compelled her to contain and hide that excitement. Two days ago she received an email requesting her services, ominous to begin with but she didn't want to bother her parents. She had good reason to, they couldn't bear her being late and past curfew, not that they'd ground her or anything, just worried, her father nearly had a heart attack one time, even though he called to inform them that she'd be sleeping out that night. This would kill them if said a word. The invitation was short and precise, she was a baker, her pastries would be needed at the party, and she had no idea she would be working the party. She gave a different address for her pickup, her mom would snoop around to know who came to pick her up and where they were headed. Before she stood the well-known manor, the Stephano manor. The limo had done a good job picking her up without complications, the first time any of her rides had picked her up without being loud, she made that request every time and they always found a way to fail. Anyway, she didn't expect anything less than perfection from a worker at Stephano Manor. "Good evening, you must be Dominique Fall, this way please" the tall man in a three-piece suit ushered her in without her answering. As they went up the stairs he gave out instructions, "Your station would be at the far end of the hall, you're to supervise the waiters and try as much as possible not to have communications with our guests, and one last thing, you'd be needing this'' he stretched out his hands revealing a flower, it was wired, "whenever you need external assistance, some of our guests have a reputation for being douchebags, any questions?? " She just stared at him. "well in the absence of none, have a good time" She got to work immediately, serving drinks and pastries. And true to the mysterious man's words, she did meet some of the douchebags but nothing called for her to use the wire. Not until she went to the VIP section of the party, it looked like it, with the room looking like a mini-casino. After she directed the last usher on what to do in regard to filling the empty glass with a smile, she moved in to clear the table beside her. Knees bent, tray in her left hand, she felt a tap on her bum. She slowly dropped the tray back on the table and stood slowly "Careful now, "she thought to herself "Walk away, you do not want any trouble" She turned to a chubby old man who seemed like he would stink badly if he wasn't rich. Even at that, his hygiene seemed bad enough. She smiled and backed away slowly. "you seemed to be dressed differently" The next four seconds after he made this statement was torture for Dominique, almost throwing up she gave the weakest smile she could muster. That did not stop him. "You have the brightest eyes, did anyone tell you? " Dominique, disgusted with everything he was saying, took a step back, "I have to attend to a table, nice meeting you mister" She turned only to be obstructed by two hefty men, his bodyguards. "Our boss was having a nice conversation with you chica, why the rush? " "I don't want any trouble, I just wanted to clear up the tables, I'm certain I'm needed in the main hall". Everyone had left the room leaving Dominique and the musty man with his bodyguards. Instinctively, she placed her hands on her chest and the flower, she fidgeted with it for a while before realizing what it was for, she found the burden button and pressed it several times. The wait felt long, she just kept moving in circles to stall for time. "That's enough, Ra'ul" a voice barked, "you've had your fun, no more" "oh come on, I have done nothing wrong, just wanted to know little Miss Server better, there's no harm trying to know a beautiful lady is there" "You know his Rufus is about harassing his guests, you should know better" "He's not gonna know anything, not unless you tell him, you ain't do that now, will you?? " The man behind the voice, dressed in black turned to Dominique "You may leave, sorry for any inconvenience, your payment will be mailed to you, plus extra for this little incident, once again, my deepest apologies" Indecisive about what to do, Dominique took to the door. She left but not before she ran into a man with a masquerade mask, tall, jet-black hair, and broad-chested. Spilt wine, Loud gasp, Bodyguards ran from all over towards her, and she collapsed, the strong whiff of his perfume filled her nose.