Chapter 2

A/N: Wow! That was some response to the first chapter of this little fic. Thank you so much your reviews. We enjoyed them all. This chapter is a little bit longer and jam packed full of stuff. As stated before the chapters will have alternating POVs so this chapter is all Bella. Thanks to Maplestyle, Sassynoles, and 2 brown eyes for prereading. Also, thanks to Alice's White Rabbit for betaing! Lets' see what Bella has to say.

Songs for this chapter: For Your Entertainment by Adam Lambert, Smile by Lilly Allen

There is a playlist for this youtu .be / 5HnUAOeXI6c

We are posting on both individual profiles for the first few chapters. This is a collab between Jgaff and Cullenlvr83 and our collab name is CullenGaff.

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BPOV

When Edward taunted me about not having the stomach to dance for him, I felt my blood start to boil. How dare he? I had just met him, and I had to prove that I should have this job by stripping my clothes off. Of course, I was nervous. Add in the fact that he was undeniably gorgeous, and I wanted to fall into a heap at his feet and do whatever he wanted. I can do this, I chanted to myself. "Of course, I have the stomach for it. The question is can you handle it?"

His lips lifted into a humorless smile, and he stepped aside to let Rose lead me to his office. I looked back, and Alice waved at me, and I winked at her. When we got there, Rose waited outside the door obediently. Edward unlocked the door and opened it, waiting for me to walk in. He followed me and told Rose to wait for me in the hall, then effectively shut the door with just him and me in the room. He walked over to me and grabbed my arm. I scoffed and pulled my arm out of his grip.

"Watch it, sweetheart." Somehow, he made a term of endearment sound like an insult. "I don't employ junkies, so you can either let me inspect your arms and feet for needle marks, or you can walk out the door and find a job somewhere else."

I sighed and turned both my arms so they were facing palm up and allowed him to look closely at the creases and places most people injected drugs. He looked down toward my feet. I looked back at him dumbly. "If you want me to take my shoes off, then you're gonna have to help me get them back on." The corner of his mouth lifted up, and he gestured for me to hurry up. I untied the ribbons and pulled the heels off. I sat and he crouched to look at my feet. I laughed when he brushed the underside of my foot. "Sorry, I'm ticklish."

He finished his inspection, and I put my shoes back on. He helped me lace the ribbons back up my legs, and I had to admit that having his hands on me was turning me on just a little bit. I had to bite back a moan when his hand slid down my leg after he finished tying the second one. I got up, and he stood as well, going over to his desk. "I imagine you'll need music?" he asked.

I nodded without a word. He booted up his computer, and I waited for him, looking around his office without trying to look like I was. He had a large, walnut wood desk that was shoved up against the wall with a computer and several monitors for surveillance. It looked like there were cameras everywhere in the club. On the desk was also all the typical office supplies. There was a bookshelf on the adjacent wall that looked like it was cedar. It was tall and filled with all types of books that looked like a mishmash of genres. He was either well read or had multiple personalities. I wasn't ruling one way or the other yet. The floor was carpeted with a dark gray color, and it looked like it was probably pretty plush, but carpet could be deceiving. Rug burn is a real bitch. The one thing that struck me as odd was the complete lack of personal items. No pictures of family, no knickknacks, or sentimental items. I assumed that he spent no time in this room or he was as cold as he seemed.

The familiar beginning of "For Your Entertainment" by Adam Lambert started playing, and Edward raised his eyebrow. "Where's the girl who asked me if I can handle it?" he taunted me again.

I huffed, walked over to him with the beat of the song, and pushed him to sit in his chair. I spun around to give myself some room. I sensually rolled my torso and hips to the beat of the song while I thought about what moves to pull. I hesitated for a moment, and he just raised his eyebrow at me again, and I wanted to smack the cold, calculating smile off his face. I pulled the tie off my neck and crawled onto his lap. I wrapped the tie around his neck and pulled him close to me. I ground my hips into his and rolled my torso back and pulled myself back up to him with the tie. I turned around on his lap and swiveled my hips down, leaned back, and whispered the lyrics into his ear. "Oh, do you know what you got into you? Can you handle what I'm about to do? 'Cause it's about to get rough for you. I'm here for your entertainment." I put my fedora on his head, pushed myself off his lap, and I took a deep breath, steeling myself for what I had to do next. I turned facing him and slowly unzipped my corset while I slowly rolled myself to the ground. Once the corset was unzipped, I pulled it open roughly, twirled it around my head, and flung it toward Edward. He deftly caught it midair and gave me a cocky, humorless smile. I flipped my hair as I went to the floor on my stomach, and turned myself over, lifting my legs and scissored them. Then I lifted my hips, thrusting into the air a few times, digging my nails into the carpet, and realizing it was actually really soft and comfortable. I stood and swiveled my hips, pulling my boy shorts down, leaving me in my bra and G-string. I turned my back to him, unclasped my bra, and pulled it off, flinging it somewhere in the office. I did another hair whip, still facing away from him, but I heard him huff, so I got down to the ground and crawled back over to him, pulling his legs apart, and looked at him through my lashes and licked my lips. I pulled myself up to his lap again and straddled him. I felt his obvious excitement through his dress slacks; I raised my eyebrow at him. I flicked the fedora off his head, realizing it was fucking sexy on him, and ran my hands through his hair, tugging on it gently, and he made that growling sound again. Then I took one of my newly manicured nails and stroked it down the side of his face. It was nearing the end of the song, so I gave him a sassy, sexy smile with a wink and pulled myself off of his lap. The song switched over to another song, and I gathered my clothes and started getting redressed. He launched himself out of his chair.

"I don't remember telling you that you could get redressed." He practically roared at me. I was taken aback for a moment at his hostility.

"I'm not your bitch, Mr. Cullen. I'm a potential employee, and the dance you requested is over."

His eyebrows shot nearly into his hairline, and I could see the shock and …maybe amusement on his face. He stalked toward me, and I scrambled backward, getting trapped against the wall. He caged me in with his arms on either side of my body. He leaned in and got close enough without our bodies touching. "While I can appreciate that you are able to stand up for yourself, if I'm to be your boss, you will be respectful when speaking to me." I lowered my face because he was doing a good job of intimidating me. I felt his thumb and forefinger grip my chin and tilt it up, so I was looking in his face again. "No one wants to hear a beautiful girl use such derogatory words." He finished with a mocking tone. I pulled my face from his hands and gently pushed him away from me.

"May I get dressed, please, Mr. Cullen," I asked, making my voice sugary sweet. He waved his hand as if to say I was dismissed.

"You're hired, Belladonna, but I'll be watching you. What's your real name? I need to know for payroll."

"Bella Masen," I said, trying to lie smoothly about my last name. Edward could never find out my real last name because … No, it wouldn't happen. He'd never come here. He didn't know where I was—I was sure of it. I got redressed as fast as I could, making sure to grab my hat, and redid the tie around my neck. I stood by his door, waiting for him to dismiss me.

"Oh, see, it's not so hard to have manners." He came over and opened the door. "Glitter will let you know where to go and what to do. I'd listen to her 'cause she can be strict if you get on her bad side."

Rose rolled her eyes at him and gave him a snarky smile. She grabbed my arm and led me away from Edward's office.

Alice rejoined us on my left side. "Well, you must have impressed him because every other girl who has personally auditioned for him has left his office in tears. Sorry I didn't warn you, but I didn't want to mess with your head before entering the den of the beast."

"Is it embarrassing that I watched stripper dance videos on YouTube to get ready for tonight?"

Rose and Alice both laughed. "No, whatever works for you, Belladonna. And apparently, it did work for you."

I chuckled, and they gave me a tour of the club, showing me the two stages they had and where private lap dances were performed. Rose ran through the rules with me. The most important cardinal rule was that we could touch the guys as much as we wanted, but they were NEVER allowed to touch us. If it happened, we were to let security know immediately, and that person would be removed. Edward didn't put up with that bullshit, so it was a "no tolerance" policy. That's why there were cameras everywhere—to keep the dancers safe. For tonight, Rose had me learn some choreography from Alice, and then she took over when Alice had to go onstage. I didn't see Edward most of the night, but I got the feeling that someone was watching me off and on all night. I went back in the dressing to change into my street clothes and wash the makeup off my face before I left for the night.

Edward called me into his office and looked a little surprised at my bare face and simple clothes, but I ignored the looks he was giving me. He wrote me a check for one night of work because I didn't make any tips, as I didn't perform. I thanked him and graciously accepted the duffle bag of clothes Alice pushed on me. Two of the bouncers walked the dancers to their cars, and I was headed home after my first night of work. Once I got up to my apartment, I dropped the bag of clothes to go through when I woke up. I was wiped out. I pulled the check out of my pocket and finally looked at it. I was confused when I saw the amount. I knew strippers could make good money, especially at an upscale place like Edward's club, but surely eight hours of work where I didn't actually dance wasn't worth $250. I was wondering if I should bring up the mistake or just take the money and not mention it. I was too tired to think about it right now, so I put the check in my wallet, locked my apartment, and passed out on my bed after I set my alarm.

When I was woken up by the alarm clock, I was ready to throw in the towel on getting any type of restful sleep. My dreams alternated between completely arousing and downright embarrassing. I had no time to reflect on the strip dance I had to do for Edward last night. Now that I did, a thrill of excitement and arousal ran through me. I was immensely proud of my performance, and I knew he liked it too. I had felt his very prominent erection, but his cool demeanor stayed in place the whole time.

Alice and Rose were both super chatty and wanted to know all about me. Of course, I couldn't tell them the 100 percent truth. My past was completely off-limits because it needed to stay where it belonged, which was behind me. It had been two weeks since I left Forks with a vow to never come back. My dad, of course, called me the next day. He was a cop, and I wouldn't put it past him to use his power to ping my phone and find me. He was never above controlling me, no matter the ethics involved. I disappeared in the middle of the night because it was the only way I would've been able to leave.

My truck was packed with what I could hide in the cab of it, and I was also taking what I could easily put in the bed of my truck fast, right before I left. I had the remaining contents of my checking account in my purse—the money I had been saving for six months. I was moving to Seattle, Washington in the middle of the night, with no one around to stop me. I'd finished my online degree in English, and my dad had finally switched the title of my truck over to me. He only did it because I'd been the one to do upkeep on it and drive it since it had been paid off. I was 21 years old and still lived with my dad.

Until recently, I'd been stuck in a relationship that was going nowhere. Jacob was possessive, controlling, and jealous, and I only had platonic feelings for him. I refused to sleep with him, and I knew he had cheated on me, probably several times over. Every time I tried to break up with him, he wormed his way back in by going through my father.

With both my dad and my boyfriend controlling my life and making all my decisions for me, I knew it was time to get out of Dodge now. I waited for my dad to fall asleep, then made my way outside. I put my truck in neutral and pushed it down the street until I was a few houses away, hopped in, and cranked the ignition, and I was free.

When I arrived in Seattle, I had already paid my deposit for an apartment and the first month's rent. I had my friend Jessica pretend to be my previous landlord, and she gave me a glowing recommendation. My credit was also spotless since I lived with my dad and had extraordinarily little in the way of bills. Most of my meager income in Forks had been spent on my truck payment and insurance.

The only problem with not having Jacob around anymore would be I needed to find a new mechanic. I'd just finished bringing in the last of my stuff from my truck when my dad called. I huffed. I'd known this was coming and had rehearsed what I was going to say. I loved my dad and knew he loved me, but I needed to live my own life.

"Hello?"

"Isabella Marie Swan, where in the hell are you? I wake up to see your vehicle gone, your room mostly emptied, and your bed empty."

"I left, Dad. I can't live life the way you want me to anymore. I want to get a real job, my own place, and I don't want to be with Jacob anymore."

"Where are you, Bells?"

Oh, he had to go and use the nickname. He sounded worried, and I almost caved. I had to stay strong, so I used the best card I had. "I can't tell you that, Daddy. I know the first thing you will do will be to come looking. I also know when you get to the station you're going to try to ping my phone, so I'm changing my number. Please don't come looking for me because you'll have to bring me back kicking and screaming. This is what I need, Daddy," I finished. I knew using the daddy card really wasn't fair, but he needed to let me go. "Just let me go."

"I can't make that promise to you, Bella. You need to come home, and we can talk about this."

"No, Dad, that won't help. I'm sorry. I have to go. I love you." I hung up and immediately called the phone company to change my phone number. I cried for half an hour about what I had just done before I told myself to grow the fuck up and stop crying like a little girl. I wiped the tears away and started building my new life.

Since that first day two weeks ago, it was a struggle, but now I had a job, my own apartment, a vehicle, and I was doing it all on my own. Today, I had things to do before heading to work for the night. I had to go cash my check, go grocery shopping, and maybe get some ideas for some new lingerie.

Alice had given me lots of new clothes, but some of it was too fluttery and pink for me. I picked my name because Belladonna was a plant that was also called deadly nightshade and was poisonous. The plant got that name from the "beautiful women" of Renaissance Italy, who took it to enlarge their pupils, which they found more alluring. Therefore, my alter ego was dark, dangerous, and alluring.

It was a part of myself that I didn't let out enough. I'm sure that was why Edward was staring at me last night when I was in my regular clothes. I had put my hair in braided pigtails, was wearing a burgundy and white raglan tee that was a little baggy but still fitted, and dark red suede-like leggings that had button snaps from mid-thigh all the way down. My feet were encased in my favorite Converse sneakers that had a butterfly painted on the back. Even Alice had to admit that I looked good when I had dressed down. She did it begrudgingly because she was all about high fashion. I was about looking good and feeling comfortable, the best of both worlds.

When I got back to my apartment from my grocery shopping, I was also down $150 because of the new outfit I bought. It was a lot, but I had to have it when I saw it. I was going to wear it tonight for my second night at the club. Rose had said she would probably let me dance at least once tonight because I picked up their choreography so fast.

I transferred the distressed striped burgundy and black thigh highs into the duffle bag. That was followed by the black and dark red corset with the attached skirt that just covered my ass. I added a red thong, then put in the shoes. I loved the shoes I had found. They were serious high heels with red and black lace with a rose design. There were two straps at the top and a bow at the back.

I put the duffle bag aside and put on my deal with it T-shirt, my juicy Victoria's Secret sweatpants, and my Converse shoes. I grabbed my keys, the duffle bag, and my Harry Potter Gryffindor zip jacket and left my apartment. I threw my stuff in my truck and headed to DarkStrip. I was still supposed to show up a little early for Alice to do my makeup and hair. When I got to the club and saw Rose, I talked to her for a minute, and then made my way to the dressing room, assuming that was where Alice would be.

I rounded the corner from the hallway and ran straight into a wall of muscle. I almost fell straight on my ass but was stopped by strong hands gripping my upper arms. I looked up and saw an exceptionally large, tall man with ebony eyes and black cropped hair. He would have been completely frightening because of his size, but the huge, dimpled grin on his face made me feel at ease. "Watch it, little one. Wouldn't want to bruise that pretty ass."

I laughed and gave him a shy smile. "Maybe you should let me decide if I want my ass bruised."

He let out a large, loud laugh. "Touché. Emmett McCarty," he said, putting his hand out to shake.

I took his hand and shook it. "Bella Masen, or Belladonna to the customers."

"You work here?" he asked

"Yeah, I just started last night," I told him.

"Well, it seems like you need someone to tell you all about this place," he said, his arm winding around my waist.

"Emmett!" a familiar voice called out. We both turned around to face a very pissed off-looking Edward. "What the fuck are you doing?"

"I just met little Bella here. We were talking."

"Well, you need to get your hands off what's mine."

Emmett's eyes went wide, and immediately, I felt his warmth leave my side. "Sorry, boss. I didn't know."

My eyes narrowed. Emmett seemed almost scared of Edward, and it didn't make sense to me. I felt a thrill go through me at Edward's possession of me, but I wasn't anyone's property. I was going to put him in his place. I got into his personal space. "Excuse me. What's mine? What the fuck does that mean? I'm not a piece of property, you ass, and least of all to you. I barely know you," I said.

Edward gripped my arm and pulled me into the dressing room. I pulled away from him. He grabbed me again and brought my body close to his. "Emmett knows his place, but you don't seem to. This is my club. I own everything in it, and when you are under my roof and working here, then yes, I own your ass."

I was stunned by his words but also disturbingly turned on. "You sound like a control freak."

He gave me that cold, calculating smile. "Baby, you have no idea." He turned and walked away.

I sighed and went to find Alice. It was gonna be a long night.

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A/N: So, how do we feel now? Who else votes that Mr. Cullen is a bit of an ass? Let us know what you think and review! See you lovelies Wednesday.