As Mia walked out of the doctor's office, she felt a heavy weight of sadness on her young shoulders. He had informed her that the new director of the hospital was no longer okay with the monthly payment plan that they had given her before. They claimed that it was not sustainable to have her pay just twenty percent of what she owed each month while her bill continued to pile up.
Over the past year, her sister's medical bill had been increasing tremendously due to how severe her case became over time. And she already owed Big Pa a huge amount of money. She no longer only danced at his club as a worker but also as a debtor. She deliberated going to ask him for another loan, but she was scared of what he would ask for in return. What if she ends up having to sell her soul to him in order to get the money?
Then, she would never get her freedom back. All of her dreams would be crushed and flushed down the drain. Was she willing to do that? Mia did not know the answer. She decided to try and give it a shot first, "maybe Big Pa is not as bad. Maybe he would understand my predicament and would be willing to help I and my sister?" She said, trying to convince herself that asking the dangerous club owner for more money did not mean walking into her doom.
Just as she picked her bag up from the room of her sister, who was still sleeping, Mia was stopped immediately she got out of the room. It was him again, the man from earlier. Had he been following her around? She had wanted to believe that seeing him the first time was just a coincidence. But now, as he stood in the middle of two huge men in all black ensemble, who clearly had guns hidden somewhere in their clothes, she had no other choice than to believe what she had feared.
Mia did not say anything. Instead, she observed them. The man whom she was familiar with was relaxed, and the other two clearly did not see her as a threat from their body language. She looked at the space in between them and calculated her love before making it. When she saw the right time, she did the one thing she had learnt to do since she was a child… to run. Mia began to rub down the hallway, not bothering to look behind her shoulders.
She took every turn with instinct, not knowing where exactly she was going but trusting that it would lead her far away from those dangerous men. Mia was scared, she panicked as she thought about her sick sister who was fast asleep in the hospital. What if she succeeded in running away but they took her sister instead? That thought was the reason why she stopped. She was about jumping of the railing but instead turned around to face the men who did not break a sweat but were paying heavily.
"You sure are a feisty one, little one," one of them said as he got closer to her. Mia's body stiffened as he made small strides toward her, "I wonder what the boss wants with her anyway. She is not his usual type?" The one said as he looked at her covered body in the oversized coat. But she did not know that he was not talking about her body but rather her profession. Alexander preferred high-class women, the ones whom no one knew or may have heard off. The ones who required private jets when travelling to him.
But Mia was the opposite. She was barely surviving on her stripper salary and could not afford the luxury of good heels, not to talk about expensive bags and clothes that would make her look chic. "Enough," a voice said from behind the two men. "Leave us," he said. They obeyed and immediately walked away from them. Far enough to not hear their conversation, but close enough to jump in if they were needed. "I am Andre Ivanov, and you are?" he said.
Mia's eyebrow raised in confusion. How dare he act so insouciant as though his men had not just chased her around the huge hospital building? She wondered. "I am Andre Ivanov. And you are?" Alexander asked again. "I heard you the first time," she said cockily as she folded her arms, making her boobs pop from the top of her coat. Alexander's breath hitched in his throat at the action. "I see. I thought to assume that you had a hearing problem since you had a thing for making people repeat themselves twice before you respond," he said.
"What a jerk," Mia mumbled to herself, but he heard it. "Jerk? Is that your name?" Alexander asked, trying to play dumb with her. He knee her name. He knew everything about her, even those that she did not know about herself. He was just asking her to start up the conversation. "Mia Zolotov," she finally said. He nodded in response. "What do you want from me, Mr Ivanov?" she asked him. He looked at her, feeling a little lustful knowing what was beneath the large coat.
He wanted to tell her every canal thing that he wanted to do to her. To give her details of what he really wanted from her. Instead, he controlled himself, looked her in the eyes, and said, "I have a job offer for you, Mia. One that will have you no longer working for Big Pa's club. You will no longer owe the hospital or anyone money and will be free to live your dreams." Mia wanted to doubt him, but she was too desperate to not listen to his offer.
"And what job is that?" she asked. "Come work for me," he said.