Kamil stepped out of the backdoor and headed for the club's main entrance. Her dress had a pair of shorts underneath. The flared skirt flowed behind her like a cape. Unnoticeable silver sequins glinted under the moon.
The bouncer nodded at the sight of her, letting her in. A few men grunted at the special treatment.
Pausing in her tracks, Kamil looked over her shoulder. Her raven black hair cascaded down one side of her face. An apologetic smile bloomed on her lips.
The men became silent.
Kamil turned around and the escorts waiting by the door frowned when they spotted her. She fluttered her lashes, passing by. "Good evening, ladies."
They rolled their eyes.
At the bar, Kamil ordered her usual cocktail—bloody mary. The bartender had it prepared from the moment she emerged from the entryway. She thanked him and slipped a little extra something in the alcoholic beverage. Her nose twitched from the enticing smell.
She took a sip.
Then, her cell phone rang in her pocket.
"Hello?"
"Siren!"
"Ah, the sponsor for tonight." Kamil stirred her drink.
"I'm flattered that you recognize my voice."
She turned her head sideways and peeked through her hair. The voice echoed in both of her ears. He was still near the club. Judging by the background noise of the call, he must have stepped outside. Since she looked anyway, she searched for her man. The blood from the cocktail intercepted her senses.
Was he also outside?
"Now, about Leon…" Reuss began to say. He paced beside his car. This was supposedly Leon's business but he'd feel guilty if he didn't do something. Linda waited for him by the entrance, waving at incoming customers.
Kamil grinned, her mouth wide open. "I presume that's your friend?"
"Yeah, yeah. Um…"
"Is there a problem?" She sipped from her drink, detecting the hesitation in his voice.
Reuss gritted his teeth with his lips separated. He had tried over and over again about how to say this. Ever since the argument, his knowledge of words and sentence construction fled his mind. "I just thought you'd want to know that… he left shortly after the performance."
Kamil froze. Her voice came out in a whisper. "What?"
"Ah!" Reuss exclaimed. He quickened his pace and proceeded to remedy the situation. "But don't take it the wrong way! I'm more than willing to add a bit of bonus to the agreed amount. You had exceeded my expectations. I had never seen him act that way. You are as good as your manager said. This is no way your fault."
"Hmm."
Kamil turned her stool around. She faced the nearest wall. Customers and escorts occupied it as if they had moved into a private room. She shook her head and surveyed the rest of the club. A young man wearing a leather jacket stared at her.
Not breaking eye contact, she licked her bottom lip before looking away.
"Siren?" Reuss called. She had gone completely silent. He couldn't tell what was going on.
"Tell me," she finally spoke. "What exactly did you call my services for?"
"Well…"
"Your friend is special…" Kamil reasoned. She finished the rest of her drink and wiped off the excess on her lips with the back of her hand. "It is only natural that he also receives special treatment."
Two hands massaged her shoulders. Her obsidian eyes closed on instinct. Tilting her chin up, she revealed her long neck. Rough kisses trailed the side of it and up to the back of her ear. It made her toes curl.
"What are you talking about?"
"Nothing. Just mumbling. I thought we had something, you know?" Kamil opened her eyes by fraction, looking up at the young man through her lashes. Her voice wobbled. "He wasn't the only one acting out of character. I'd hate to never see him again."
Lips descended upon hers. They danced, demanding for submission. Kamil pretended to play along before sneaking an attack. She bit onto his bottom lip and sucked. The tangy taste of blood dripped onto her tongue.
Her fangs threatened to come out.
Kamil hissed.
Reuss sighed. He didn't believe in her act. It was common to see and to hear around this part of the city. Still, he decided not to call her out. "I'm sorry to further disappoint but he won't be coming back."
"Maybe I'd have a chance in another life," Kamil moaned, adding a whimper. His voice broke her from her daze. She held up a finger to her lips. The young man merely bit it out of the way and captured her chin between his lips.
"No matter what Leon says, you did great."
"Thank you. I should head back then."
"I understand. Thank you again for your help." Reuss headed back to the entrance. Linda spotted him right away and ignored the other men who tried to catch her attention. This sort of bliss didn't last forever but it did spice up his mundane life.
"Don't mention it." Kamil's eyes glazed at the young man's advances. He had slipped his hand through the slit of her skirt. She didn't mind a dominant man every now and then.
But it would always end in her victory.
When the call ended, his warm arms snared her waist, trapping her. She nuzzled her nose around his ear and across his jawline. He growled. With a smirk, she traced the veins underneath his neck. His breathing labored as she pulled him closer and let him feel every trace of her. It flared up his desires like a hungry wolf.
Then, Kamil sunk in her teeth.
Hours later, the sun was about to rise.
Kamil climbed up the stairs. A small room had been provided for her. It had enough to fit a bed and a bathroom. Her success as the club's star earned her a right to her own room. The private dressing room couldn't come fast enough.
'Leon…' she tested his name in her mind.
Just the mere mention of it reminded her of that brief encounter. The name fitted him well. He had seemed like a predator that purred under her touch. A beast of a human she'd tame. She could almost taste the sweet zest of his blood—
The sensation was short-lived.
Her latest donor enraptured her taste buds. The upside was that he had drunk vodka earlier. She could almost pretend she had a stronger concentration of her bloody mary.
Snores came from the other rooms. Kamil pulled a floorboard after she changed into an oversized shirt. Underneath the wooden plank, a silver laptop laid. She took it out and reinserted the floorboard. It looked exactly like it did when she first moved into the room.
Jumping onto her bed, she flipped the cover open and accessed her account. She checked the security measures before anything else. Her every activity had to be covered. No trace should be left behind—nothing that could alert unwanted people to her location.
The web browser popped up on her screen. Her hand posed to type an address she was familiar with when a web article caught her eye. A picture of a silver-haired man was attached to its headline. Swiping her keyboard over the mouse pad, she clicked on it.
```Leon Orsino, CEO of Lander Investments Inc., has raised their stocks' market price by 150% of its last year's peak amount—becoming a billionaire as its major stockholder. Representatives of the company express their admiration and loyalty to the newly titled billionaire...```
Kamil gaped at the article. Below it were more news on Leon Orsino and other related topics. Her fingers tapped onto the mattress. It seemed like she didn't need to hire an investigator. He was the hottest topic across publishing companies. Video clips of his interviews also spread across the internet.
She found it a little ironic.
Running from an interested party sounded like what a teenager would do.
Through her browsing, Kamil ended up on the company's website. She scrolled downwards until something peculiar caught her attention. The feature led her to a new page. Black text over white background, it looked plain and dreary but Kamil thought of the opposite.
Inspiration struck her like a bolt of lightning.
"Well, well, well…, what do we have here?" she muttered. A Cheshire cat smile slowly bloomed on her lips. "Lander Investments is looking for new employees."