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Roxie's POV

"Oh, Roxanne! I'm so glad I caught you this time!" Of course, it was the one person I hated more than anything. I struggled to keep the phone in my hand as I put it on mute so she couldn't hear what I was about to say next.

"IT'S FREAKING HER!" I screamed, scaring all of them.

"WHO?!" Ivy and Khloe yelled at the same time, too drunk to put two and two together.

"TORI! THE CHICK WHO HAS MY MAN!" I screeched back. They both gasped dramatically as Milo just watched the whole scene unfold with amusement.

"Put it on speaker!" Khloe yelled back.

"Hello? Excuse me?" Tori called out, deeply annoyed. I took the phone off of mute and put her on speaker before replying, "yeah I'm here".

"Great. Well, Jedrek informed me that you RSVP'd no to our wedding," she stated nonsensically.

"Yep, sure did," I said, popping the P, not having a single care in my drunken state. Ivy, Milo, and Khloe struggled to not burst out laughing and give away that I wasn't alone.

"Well, that just won't do. Your father said you shouldn't have a problem getting time off of work to be able to attend not only the wedding but also the wedding shower, so I don't see why you would've declined to come," she stated smugly. My jaw dropped open at her high-handed attitude at the same time Khloe mouthed that witch.

"Well, Tori, as shocking as it may seem I have much more important things to do than come to your wedding," I snorted, though it came out with more fire than I intended it to due to the alcohol in my system.

"Excuse me?" she growled, clearly caught off guard.

"I'm sorry, Tori, did I stutter?" I asked, feeling brave.

"We'll see what Roger has to say about this," she replied snippily, "will you be bringing a plus one?" she questioned, still assuming she was going to get her way. Instead of replying, I just hung up, not in the mood to deal with her anymore. I was having a great time, but her negative attitude was already starting to kill it.

The second I ended the call, they all started cackling with laughter.

"I c-can't believe her!" Ivy cracked up while bursting into another fit of laughter.

"Ugh! She's always been like that. Since the first day I met her. Her own father never has and never will tell her no, so she walks around as if the world owes her something," I groaned.

"You can't possibly go to that wedding by yourself. You'll go insane before you even make it back home," Khloe deadpanned. I sighed deeply, knowing she was absolutely correct.

"Khloe, I can't take you. I know the second you set eyes on my step-mom you'll open a can of whoop-ass," I stated knowingly.

"Yeah, and then I'd do the same to Tori," she said with a smirk. I giggled at her smile before my phone ringing cut me off again.

"You gotta be kidding me, who now?!" I growled before answering the call.

"What!" I yelled into the receiver.

"Roxanne Amelia Robinson don't you dare take that tone with me!" my father growled. My body froze up at the sound of his voice. We hadn't talked in a very long time. I couldn't forgive him for forgetting about my mom so easily and moving onto that atrocity he called a wife.

"What do you want?" I asked, anger heavily laced in my tone.

"Your sister-"

"She is not my damn sister!" I barked back, not even letting him finish his sentence. I will never consider that girl to be my sister.

"I don't care what you think about her, Roxanne, you still have to be nice to her. I understand that you're still hung up over Jedrek choosing her over you, but you need to put your big girl panties on and grow the hell up. The wedding shower is six weeks from today and the wedding is a week after that. I expect to see you home a few days before the shower," my father demanded before hanging up the phone like I'd done to Tori moments ago. My hands shook as I gently set my phone down.

It only took me being gone for four years for them to ruin my father too.

"Who was that?" Khloe asked quietly, not a single one of them making a move or a sound.

"My father," I whispered.

"What did he say?" she asked apprehensively.

"That what I feel doesn't matter and he expects to see me in a month and a half for the wedding..." I trailed off, refusing to let my heart fully interpret what he'd just said to me. It would break me.

"I don't have any family left," I rasped out, voice barely above a whisper. Ivy reached forward and grabbed a hold of my hand, giving it a gentle squeeze for reassurance.

"I'll go with you," Milo insisted, his face a picture of seriousness.

"I appreciate the offer more than you know, but it won't change anything," I mumbled. "You guys have fun, okay? I'm just gonna get a cab home," I said, getting up to grab my phone and purse.

"Why don't you just stay the night here? We have work tonight anyway," Khloe suggested to which Ivy nodded her head in agreement.

"Thanks, but I just want to be alone for a little bit. See you guys later," I said before seeing myself out.

**

"Are you sure you're okay to go tonight? Last night was tough," Khloe questioned with worry, her eyes never leaving my face as I continued to put on my makeup.

"I'm okay. I cried it out and now I'm past it, I promise," I ensured with a small smile. She released a deep sigh, clearly not believing me. 

"Fine, but if tonight gets to be too much, you'll tell me, right?" she asked.

"Of course!" I lied. She and I both knew I would stick it out tonight whether it went well or not - just because that's how I was. Yesterday was a freak situation and I was not going to let it stop me from making a bag full of cash tonight. We both quickly dressed, deciding on me wearing the exact same thing I wore yesterday night but in a deep maroon color.

When we got to Rouge, Milo did his rundown for the night like he had yesterday, except this time I wasn't assigned to a VIP room.

"We're going to switch things up a bit. Roxie, you're going to be working in the main lounge room tonight. You should be just fine since you have previous waiting experience," he insisted before clapping his hands and telling everyone to have a safe and fun night.

"You sure about the main lounge decision, Milo?" Khloe asked, clearly worried for me for some reason.

"When have my hunches ever been wrong?" he asked pointedly. "She's going to be with you all night, so you can show her the ropes," he said before walking out and heading to his office. I followed after Khloe in silence, in awe of the room we ended up in. It had a modern, yet cozy feel. No wonder people who came usually ended up staying the whole night.

"Okay, so there's really nothing to this that you won't be able to pick up quickly. All we do is take food and drink orders all night. The only tricky part is if someone asks you questions about the food or drinks. The easiest thing to do is look over the menu yourself and find something you would like and suggest that whenever asked. If you include a lip bite or flirty wink they won't ever question you," she said, clearly speaking from experience. I nodded and grabbed the menu from her, doing as she suggested. I chose two different drinks and one food before committing them to memory.

"Are you ready? Doors are about to open in a few minutes," Khloe asked. I nodded, though I wasn't sure I actually was.

Boy was I surprised.

We'd only been open for an hour and a half and I already had a thousand dollars in tips tucked into the top of my tights. It seemed like a lot, but not when I considered that a couple Benjamin's was pocket change to these men.

All in all, I was shocked at how easy the job actually was. Granted, I had a lot of experience working in extremely busy restaurants during high school, but this was a piece of cake.

"You're a natural!" Milo exclaimed happily when I approached the bar again to grab another round of drinks for one of my tables. He was seated on one of the stools with some paperwork and a scotch, doing work while overseeing operations I presumed.

"Thanks," I said, unable to hold back my smile. I was always one who strived to be the best at my job and pressured myself to impress my bosses.

"Also, before you walk off again, I had a particular client request you in their VIP lounge after seeing you in the main area when he came in," he said with a smirk and a single raised brow.

"Oh?" I asked, confused. I don't remember seeing anyone walking through that really stuck out to me.

"I pulled Elizabeth into the main so you can take her place, though she's very unhappy about it," he chuckled, not seeming to care.

"What room number?" I asked, handing my tray to Elizabeth - who didn't miss the opportunity to glare at me as she walked off.

"It's not a VIP room. It's the VIP lounge. It's the only one we have and it's reserved for only our most prestigious clientele. Consider yourself lucky," he remarked before giving me directions to the room.

"Do I just do the same thing in there that I do here in here?" I asked nervously.

"More or less," Milo answered cryptically before shooing me off. The butterflies in my stomach mounted as I grew closer to the daunting red door. I knocked as a courtesy before pushing the door open and cautiously entering.

"Ah, there she is," I heard a manly voice muse. I shut the door behind me with my butt before searching for where the voice came from. I spotted a man relaxing against a large, plush black couch with his legs widely spread and his arms resting over the entire back of the seat.

"I heard my presence was requested?" I asked cheekily, putting on an act so they couldn't tell how completely scared I was to mess this up.

"Mhmm," the man hummed while looking at my body up and down. "Why don't you come on over here?" he suggested while patting his thigh. I couldn't help the pang of familiarity in my chest over the simple action as my body flooded with heat.

The only man I wanted beckoning me onto his lap didn't want me back, but I also have bills to pay...

I smiled flirtatiously before slowly walking towards him, doing my best to sway my hips seductively. I knew it was working, as I watched his gaze move from my face down my body. When I reached where he was seated, I slid down onto his lap and wrapped one arm around his neck. I used my fingers to stroke his skin, tickling his baby hairs and causing goosebumps to arise over the exposed skin I could see - which wasn't much, just a small sliver of his chest from the first few buttons of his dress shirt left undone.

His bulky arm wrapped around my waist, his palm resting on the side of my hip as his fingers spread outwards to grasp the side of my hip and butt. Okay, Mr. Handsey...

I crossed one leg over the other, slightly irked when his other hand came up to rest on my knee before it traveled further up my thigh.

"I thought Milo was holding out on me, keeping such a beautiful thing as yourself from my lounge," he purred, moving his hand away from my knee to take a hearty sip of the spiced liquid in his glass. I felt my heart stutter with every clink of the ice against his glass.

"Hmm, we can't have that can we?" I cooed back, resting my hand on his still-exploring one on my leg. I disguised the action as wanting to touch him, but really I just didn't want his hand moving any closer to my lady region. Finally looking up and making eye contact, I was stunned silent.

Damn, he's good-looking. I bit my lip before squirming in his lap, causing him to grunt quietly before spreading his legs just an inch or so more. I felt the telltale hardening of his...friend against my backside, causing my self-esteem to shoot through the roof. Who am I kidding? I still got it - take that Tori!

"Tell me about yourself, kitten," he asked, though it sounded like more of a demand than an actual question.

"What do you want to know?" I asked while running my fingers along his jawline.

"How did you end up working for Milo? I know I would've noticed you before now," he stated.

"This is only my second night here. Before this, I was a sous chef at a not-so-famous restaurant. But, it went under, so here I am," I giggled, internally cringing at how unsexy what I just said sounded.

"How old are you, sweetheart?" he asked, looking genuinely curious.

"Twenty-two, almost twenty-three," I answered cautiously, interested as to why he would ask me that. He chuckled quietly before moving so quickly I had no idea what was going on. Next thing I knew, I was straddling him with the tent in his pants brushing up against my most intimate area. I whined lowly in my throat, unable to help the sound from escaping. It had been so long since anyone of the opposite sex had even breathed near me.

Mr. Handsey must have a thing for younger girls I guessed based upon his abrupt reaction to my confession.

"My men and I were going to start a game of poker, but I think I'd rather get a little private dance in the backroom. What do you say, sweetheart?" he husked out, licking his lips. It wasn't until then that I realized we weren't alone in the room. However, I didn't pay the others much attention. I wouldn't mind rubbing up against him a little more...

"I say lead the way," I purred against the shell of his ear.