Bound To You

Invite-Only

"Happy Birthday bishhhhhhh!” Riley screamed through the phone as soon as I answered it. I chuckled sleepily. "What are you doing still in bed?" She asked me.

“I went to sleep late. Besides I'm off."

"Okay, well wake your ass up,” she demanded.

“Whhhhyy?" I groaned as I adjusted my blankets.

"Because you only turn twenty eight once and I have invitations for us to get into this elite nightclub. "It's invite-only."

"How the hell did you manage to do that?" I sat up.

"You remember the guy I was dancing with, right?"

She was dancing with more than one person that night. "No."

"Anyway, his name was Jacob and he said that he and his friend owns this club. He said it's very elite and it's really amazing."

I climbed out of bed and headed towards the bathroom. "Okay, so we're just going based on what he said." Although, I really wanted to go out, I had to be careful not to run into Robert. I haven't heard from Zane since he left my house that night. Honestly, I missed his presence.

“No silly, we're going because we are going to have free drinks thanks to Jacob and his friend and I know you will not be able to turn down free drinks." She's right about that.

"Fine, we can go. What time should I be ready?" I asked. Even if I said no, she still would've figured out a way for me to go.

"Be ready by nine. And please dress up. I'll be there to do your hair and makeup,” she divulged.

"Okay, I will." She was more excited about my birthday than me. I hung up and began to get dressed. I had to meet with my dad for lunch after promising that I would make it up to him.

An hour later, I met my dad at our favorite restaurant. We sat in the booth and the waitress came and took our order. "Happy birthday baby girl."

"Thank you dad,” I smiled and leaned in to kiss his cheek. I know that I really haven't spent any time with him lately so I really cherish moments like this.

"Ari, has everything been okay?" He asked me. I didn't want to lie to him but I also didn't want to tell him that I was shot at and the new CEO was shot because of me.

“Yeah, everything is fine."

He knew when I was lying and I was hoping he doesn't call my bluff. "Are you sure?"

I nodded my head, “Yeah. I'm sure. So tell me how's everything going with you?" I changed the subject. Spending a lot of quality time with Percy Knight was a rare find for me. My dad worked his ass to become successful and when s**t hit the fan, he had to make some decisions that will help our family business. I will always love and respect him because of it. So, when I'm able to have this daddy/daughter time, I always made sure that we’re happy, laughing, and not talking about work related issues. It's just us. I knew today would be a little different because he really value my opinion when it comes to this company. "I've just been relaxing but I'm worried about the company. It's hard to sit back and leave your work in some else's hand and trust that they would do right by it,” he answered. "Zane Calloway is known to turn around failing companies. I was lucky enough to get him to agree to it and this is why I am asking you for your thoughts."

I took a deep breath as I stared at my empty plate. "Za- Mr. Calloway, is a really tough guy. I can't really say how everything will turn out because it's still too early, but I can promise you that I will do my part on making this company successful for us. After all, my name is on the building too."

He chuckled which seemed to relieve the tension he was carrying. We continued to talk and the conversation I've been avoiding came up again. "Ari, when are you going to settle down? I'm not getting any younger and would like some grand children."

"Honestly dad, I haven't been looking." He frowned, causing his fore head to wrinkle a bit. "What happened between you and Robert?" I knew this question was coming.

"Robert and I are done, but I don't want to talk about that. I want to know why after all of these years, you haven't found another woman?" I answered, again switching the subject. "No woman wants to be with this old man,” he giggled.

"Oh please, you're only fifty two years old. I bet you all the middle-aged women waiting for you to take them for a ride with your motorcycle." He had the coolest motorcycle. It was a Harley Davidson Special Edition.

He laughed again, “I don't think so, sweetie."

"Sure, you don't. Seriously dad, I want you to be happy. You don't have to be all alone in that big house."

He grabbed my hand. "I'm fine sweetheart. You just find somebody so you can have my grandchildren."

I felt my face heat up. "Sure, we'll talkanother time. I have to go, Riley will be at my place shortly,” I checked my watch as I realized I lost track of the time again.

“Okay, love you and happy birthday."

"Love you too,” I yelled as I made my way out of the door.

I made it home just in time to be dressed when Riley came through the door. "Yesssss, bish!” She exclaimed as she examined my outfit. I wore a short green glittered dress. It had thin spaghetti straps and revealed a lot of skin. I wore some gold patent platform heels and a gold necklace with an emerald gem.

“Do you like it?" I turned so she could fully see the outfit.

"Girl, yes! You look absolutely stunning." She did too. She wore a two piece pink matching crop too and skirt with her pink heels.

"So do you!” I pointed out. We started on our make up and Riley fixed my hair. Of course we pre-gamed, that's our thing. This time, we had Tito's, which was one of my favorite vodka as we waited for our Uber driver to come.

Finally, we arrived to Club Lex. I was expecting it to be loud and crowded but to my surprise, there was no line just one guy guarding a door. Riley and I approached the guy and she gave him the tickets. I was a little skeptical unsure if we were at the right place. He let us in and the music boomed through my ears. We walked through the crowd making our way to the bar. Once we approached the bar, Riley’s friend approached us and they hugged. She had good taste in men. Jacob was cute with light brown eyes and light brown hair. He wasn’t as tall as Zane, but he stood at least five foot eleven. Why was I thinking about him again? Because you like him.

Shaking my away my inner thoughts, I ordered my drink as Riley introduced me to Jacob.

“Ari, this is Jacob,” She said. “Jacob, this is my best friend, Ari and today is her birthday.” We reached out and shook hands as he wished me a happy birthday. He also told us to order whatever we wanted and that he would take care of it. So, we drank until I couldn’t drink anymore. I was drunk but I was also having a great time. I danced with so many people that my hair began to curl up from sweating. Riley and Jacob were all over each other and I was glad she had someone that was into her.

“Hey I’m going to get some fresh air,” I told her. She was kissing Jacob and she waved her hand while her lips stayed connected to his. I giggled as I walked away feeling a little wobbly. I tried to find a door that would lead me to go outside, but instead I found a door that led to a different room. It was dark with the exception of a small light, but the cool air hit my face and I was grateful for that. All of sudden, I heard a noise, more like a moan. I had no idea that anyone was here. It was definitely a female’s voice. Next, I heard a grunt and now both voices were filling the room. I took some steps back and accidentally knocked over something causing them to stop. Suddenly, I heard footsteps but before I can turn and run, the man caught me.

“Well, what do we have here?” He growled.

“I’m sorry, I was trying to get some fresh air. I’ll leave.” I tried to turn away but he held on to my arm.

“I can’t let you do that. You entered a private area that I’m pretty sure only the elite people know of. But man I can’t deny the fact that you’re a beautiful woman.” I tried to move my arm away, but he gripped it tighter. “You’re a fighter, I like that.”

I pushed him with my other hand, “Let go of me!”

He wore a sinister smile. “You being a little disobedient and I don’t like that.” He pushed me against the wall, his naked body covering mine. His dark eyes stared into mine, but it wasn’t warm at all. They’re were empty. He ran his hand down my thigh and kissed on my neck.

“Get off of me!” I screamed as I tried to push him away. He made his way to my collarbone, kissing there.

“Let me go!” I screamed as I kept trying to fight him off. He held my legs with his strong ones. I closed my teary eyes as I was beginning to lose hope.

In an instant, the man was snatched away from me. He was on the ground, someone was holding his neck. “What the f**k do you think, you’re doing?” He asked the man in a low threatening tone. I knew that voice very well. Relief washed over me as Zane has once again saved me.

“She came in here, I could let her leave boss.” Boss? I was confused.

“So, that mean you assault her?” Zane was angry.

“Why do you care so much? She’s nothing but a little slut,” the man spat. There were no more words as Zane punched the man several times.

“She’s mine and you don’t touch what’s mine!” He yelled. “As of now, your membership is suspended indefinitely. Get the f**k out my club.” His club? I thought to myself. Omg. He’s the other owner! The man scurried on his feet and went to grab his clothes. Zane called security to make sure he was escorted out properly.

He grabbed my hand dragging me out of the room and led me outside.

Once we were alone, he turned towards me and boy he was angry.

“Ari, what the f**k are you doing here?” He yelled.

“I-I didn’t know this was your club!” I hollered.

“How did you find out about this place?”

“Riley got us tickets for my birthday.” He ran his hand over his face trying to calm himself down. “I swear I didn’t know, Zane.”

“It’s your birthday?” He asked. I nodded my head.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Again, why did he care? He’s my boss nothing more.

“There was nothing to tell,” I puffed out a breath as he looked over me. “I’m fine, he didn’t hurt me.”

“He shouldn’t have touched you!” He shouted. “I was going to get some fresh air and walked into the wrong room,” I explained. It was technically my fault.

“That’s not how we do things here.” Curiously, I asked a question that I probably shouldn’t have asked. “So, what exactly was that back there then?”

“I’ll explain later, but right now we’re leaving,” he commanded.

“No, I’m not. I can’t leave Riley. We came here together.”

“Arielle,” he growled. “Fine, call her and tell her that we’re leaving.” I pulled out my phone and dialed her.

“Hey girl where are you?” She asked.

“Hey, I’m going to leave. Are you okay staying here?”

“I’m fine, Jacob haven’t left my side. So I’ll go home with him.” She hiccuped. Gosh, she’s drunk too. “I-I mean, he will take me home.”

“Okay, text me and let me know you’re safe.”

“I will.” We hung up the phone and I looked up at Zane as he was texting someone on his phone. I took the time to look at him. He wore dark brown casual pants with a multicolored brown sweater. Damn, can he get even better looking? I asked myself.

“Are you ready or are you going to keep staring?” He questioned, breaking my train of thought.

“I wasn’t staring at you.” He knew damn well I was lying.

He shook his head, “Let’s just go.”

I followed him to his car and he opened the door for me to get in. Once I was in, he walked around to the other side and got in. We pulled off going in the opposite direction of my house. “Zane?” I cautioned.

“Hmm?” He answered.

“That’s not the way to my house,” I hinted.

“I know.” He know! What the hell?

“Then where are you taking me?” I tried to stay calm. He looked at me, his eyes pierced into mine as he answered me.

“To my house.” What the entire f**k?