CHAPTER NINE
1443 Words
SNOOPING AROUND AND CAUGHT
ANDREA
I step into the changing room, my body still humming with the rush of adrenaline from dancing on stage. My chest rises and falls a little too fast, my pulse refusing to settle, like the music is still playing somewhere deep inside me.
The strange part about all of this is how new I still am here, barely a week and arely enough time to learn faces, routines, or even the layout properly and yet… this is the second time I’ve felt it.
That stare.
The first time, it had been distant almost like a whisper brushing against my skin and very easy to dismiss. Easy to question but tonight? Tonight was different.
Tonight, I saw him.
Not clearly, not enough to recognize features or even form but there was a shape. A presence tucked deep within the shadows behind the crowd, hidden, yet undeniable and watching completely focused on me.
“f**k…” I mutter under my breath, running a hand through my slightly damp hair.
I came here for a reason, a very clear one to get information and answers not… whatever this is turning into.
Not whatever he is doing to me and yet, my body betrays me in the most humiliating way possible.
As I peel off my costume and reach for my clothes, I become painfully aware of how soaked my panties are, my breath hitches slightly, embarrassment curling low in my stomach.
No one touched me, no one even came near me and still…
“Unbelievable,” I whisper to myself, shaking my head as I quickly change.
Maybe I really need to start bringing extra underwear because if this keeps happening, I’ll lose my mind before I even get close to finding what I came here for.
I force the thoughts away, pushing everything, everything to the back of my mind.
Work first pleasure later as always.
By the time I’m fully dressed, the clock on the wall reads just past 4 a.m, my ride should be here soon and that gives me, at most, thirty minutes, thirty minutes to do something useful, to get closer to the truth and I square my shoulders, take one last look at myself in the mirror, and step out of the changing room.
Sue is standing just outside, leaning casually against the wall like she’s been waiting.
“Nice to see you again, Olivia,” she says, her eyes scanning me with a small smile.
For a brief second, I freeze, Olivia.
Right.
That’s who I am here.
“Hi, Sue. It’s been a minute,” I reply, forcing a relaxed tone as I open the door wider for her.
“Oh, don’t worry,” she waves it off lightly. “I’m waiting outside, I’m going on stage soon.”
She pauses, her smile widening just a bit.
“Honestly, I didn’t think you were going to make it tonight, I didn’t see you earlier, and then suddenly you’re on stage and if I must say…” she tilts her head slightly, eyes glinting, “that was sensational.”
Heat creeps up my neck instantly.
“Thank you,” I say, genuinely this time. “I really appreciate that.”
Her expression softens for a moment, like she means more than just casual praise.
“Let’s make welcome our VVIP dancer—”
The announcement echoes faintly from the stage area, cutting through our conversation.
Sue exhales lightly. “That’s my cue.”
She pushes herself off the wall and starts walking backward toward the backstage entrance.
“It was nice seeing you today,” she adds. “I hope next time we can actually talk longer.”
I hesitate.
Next time, I shouldn’t be thinking about next time, I shouldn’t be settling in, forming connections, letting people get familiar with me.
That’s not why I’m here and yet, she seems nice, too nice for a place like this.
“Yeah,” I say after a second. “Me too.”
She gives me one last smile before disappearing behind the curtains and the next moment she’s gone, my focus snaps back into place.
No distractions or attachments we are on a mission Andrea
I move quickly but carefully, slipping down the corridor with measured steps, the club is still alive, but this part of the building feels different, quieter or more controlled.
More dangerous, I glance around, making sure no one is paying attention before heading toward the direction I discovered the last time I snooped around.
The detour room, it had been pure luck finding it before, a door slightly ajar, a hallway that didn’t match the rest of the club’s chaotic layout.
This time, I don’t hesitate, I find the same door near the male restroom and slip inside, closing it gently behind me, the air here is cooler, stiller, like it hasn’t been disturbed in hours.
Or maybe longer.
The hallway stretches ahead of me long, narrow, and dimly lit. The kind of place that feels like it exists separately from everything else and each step I take echoes faintly, and I immediately adjust, placing my feet more carefully, slower.
Quieter.
My senses sharpen as every sound matters, every shadow feels like it could move.
At the end of the hallway, I step out into a much larger space and for a moment, I just stand there, taking it in, it’s a wide corridor, almost like a private wing, clean, polished and anything to describe luxury
There’s enough space here for at least twenty rooms, maybe more but instead of doors lining both sides like you’d expect
There are only four, four doors in a space built for many and that alone tells me everything I need to know.
Whatever happens here isn’t for everyone, I move forward slowly, my eyes scanning every detail. The walls are bare, but not in a neglected way more like they were designed to reveal nothing.
No decorations or any signs, like nothing that gives away what this place is used for.
The first door has a simple label. I lean closer, reading it carefully, nothing useful.
The second same thing.
The third locked, with a faint hum that suggests something electronic.
Interesting.
By the time I reach the fourth door, my pulse has picked up again, not from dancing this time, from anticipation or instinct.
This is it.
The nameplate is different from the others, bolder
PRESIDENT
My breath catches.
Bingo.
I glance over my shoulder, making sure I’m still alone, the silence presses in around me, thick and almost suffocating.
Slowly, I step closer to the door, there’s a keypad embedded into the wall beside it.
Of course there is.
I crouch slightly, studying it. No obvious fingerprints, no worn-out keys whoever uses this is careful. Or maybe it resets. Either way, guessing won’t work.
But maybe…
Maybe there’s something else, I run my fingers lightly along the edges, checking for hidden panels, secondary locks, anything unusual.
Nothing.
“Think, Andrea,” I whisper to myself.
People like this powerful, secretive, they always have patterns, systems, backup measures, I lean in closer, trying to listen.
Nothing, no voices or movement but that doesn’t mean the room is empty and it definitely doesn’t mean I’m safe.
Still…
I didn’t come all this way to walk away, I straighten slightly, my hand hovering over the keypad.
If I can just
A presence shifts behind me, not a sound, not even a step.
A shift.
Like the air itself changed and my entire body goes rigid and before I can turn, I feel it.
Warm breath, close too close against my back and a voice follows, low and dangerously calm.
“Looking for something?”
Everything inside me drops.
My heart slams violently against my ribs, so loud I’m sure it’s echoing through the hallway, heat floods my body instantly, panic clawing its way up my throat.
Fuck.
Fuck.
Fuck.
How do I explain this?
How do I even begin to
My mind goes completely blank, I can feel the sweat forming along my spine, sliding slowly down my back and my palms turn damp, fingers twitching slightly as I try to keep them steady.
Don’t panic.
Don’t panic.
But it’s too late.
My breathing betrays me, shallow and uneven and my chest tightens, and for a terrifying second, it feels like I can’t get enough air in.
I don’t even know who’s behind me.
I don’t know what they’ve seen.
How long they’ve been standing there.
Watching.
The thought alone makes my stomach twist.
I’m cooked.
And this time
I’m completely on my own.
- Writer
