[right][sub][color=dimgray]Collab with [@Moon Child]
Around lunchtime
At IMPULSE[/color][/sub][/right]
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[indent]Inspired by the after-dark entertainment of Las Vegas, the city that never sleeps, [i]IMPULSE[/i] was one of the bigger venues in Boston, not too far from Common and Chinatown, right by [i]Bliss Salon & Spa[/i] and across the street from [i]The Rabbit Hole[/i], a good old fashioned bar with a lot of history, and [i]Genesis[/i], an electrifying nightclub directed to the young and beautiful. The strip joint was at the corner, so it wasn’t hard to miss. What can Tate say? He liked the attention and the controversy.  

There was a blue neon [url=https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/1551/9867/products/Pole-Dance-Girl-Strip-Club-Neon-Sign-7.jpg?v=1534044758]sign[/url] of a girl on a pole (located to the left of the [url=http://www.7days7nights.com/images/venues/images/HAUS%20NIGHTCLUB%20$Wednesday-350.jpg]door[/url]), next to the vertical words ‘OPEN’. On the other side of the door, there was a gold plate with IMPULSE engraved on it and on the privacy window near it was the words ‘BABYDOLLS’. All signs were off, which signaled it was closed. Specifically approaching 11:30 am. Lunch time. 

Tate Paxton leaned in his office chair, his office located in the [url=http://mediajoongdok.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/ideas-of-green-basement-remodels-costs-tips-considerations-on-remodel-a-basement-of-remodel-a-basement.jpg]basement[/url],  staring at one of his workers seeking a promotion, now that the house mom had taken her leave to pursue her dreams. Her name was [url=http://wallpapersmug.com/download/750x1334/3fd0d8/Anastasia-Scheglova-turtleneck-tshirt.jpg]Lena Berry[/url], a cute, little thing, nicknamed Strawberry, who was originally a barback. [color=3041cb][b]“You do know how much I’ll expect of you, Berry, right? Being a house mom isn’t easy.”[/b][/color] He used his professional voice, not his boston slang one - which he was known for.

[color=ffa07a][b]“I know! And I’m positively ready. I can be whatever the girls need. I’ll make sure the reality tv show that is the dressing room is kept to a minimum, and if they need a therapist, or a cheerleader, or just someone to keep them in line, I’m the girl! I know I’m nothing like Marjorie, she was definitely way more… uptight, but I have the spunk to be the leader you and Josh need. I promise I won’t fail you. Failure isn’t an option! The girls need someone that gets them and isn’t like ‘the man’. There’s some things they’ll tell me that they won’t tell you.”[/b][/color] 

[color=3041cb][b]“Is that so…”[/b][/color] Strawberry was always way too enthusiastic about this scene, but hey, it showed she was passionate. Though, he never thought someone as pretty as her would actually want to make this a career. [color=3041cb][b]“How about the stress? You can handle that? Your priority is the entertainers, but sometimes, customers get too carried away.  You don’t have to directly deal with them, but if there isn’t a bouncer or someone that can defuse the situation near by, you might have to.”[/b][/color] 

[color=ffa07a][b]“Oh please.”[/b][/color] The model before him sassily rolled her eyes, while crossing her legs. [color=ffa07a][b]“I’m sure I can handle it. I’ve dealt with bar fights with your cousin. I might be cute, but I know how to put men in their place.”[/b][/color] Hot. Lena smirked at her handsome, brown haired boss, waiting for the next question. 

Glancing up from her resume and his notes to her green gaze, Tate carefully watched her in contemplative silence. His expression blank and hard to read. She didn’t seem unnerved at all. He liked that. A girl who had her emotions in check. [color=3041cb][b]“Tell me something you’d tell the girls. Advice and what not. You’ve primarily worked at the bar, so moving from that to entertainment, could be a challenge.”[/b][/color] 

Running her hand through her gorgeous, long strawberry blonde hair, Lena chuckled, [color=ffa07a][b]“That’s an easy one. The obvious tip would be don’t drink because you’re bored, you might drink one too many and when it’s time to make money, you stumble and fall. That wouldn’t look good for the Paxton duo, now would it?”[/b][/color] Tate placed his pen down, nodding and resting his chin on his palm. He wanted to hear more, so she kept going.  [color=ffa07a][b]“Another one is if you’re with a customer for ten minutes and he hasn’t gotten you a drink or paid for a dance, he’s not worth your time and effort because he just isn’t THAT into you. So, sweetie. Move on. There’s other customers that want to give you money.”[/b][/color] 

She leaned in forward, her stare deadly serious. Her skin looked soft. [color=ffa07a][b]“Trust me, boss. I’ve been watching everyone for like two years now. I can do it. I know I can.”[/b][/color] To think this girl was three years older than him; she was the embodiment of a ‘babydoll’. 

Out of nowhere, the sound of the sliding door being brusquely opened echoed loudly across the room, the panels wobbling dangerously at the same time the conversation between Lena and Tate was effectively interrupted. Before any of them had time to even question what was going on, a short, petite young woman stormed inside, raven hair flying behind her and a glare full of such red-hot anger it could probably be compared to the flames of Hell. 

[color=B30A69][b]“I’m so- Honestly? I’m really [i]not[/i] sorry for interrupting. Whatever [i]this[/i] is, it’s over. I need to speak to our charming boss here [i]now[/i][/b].”[/color]

Dully, Tate gazed at Spice with nothing but ‘amusement’. By that, he simply met her eyes with frost. There was no anger, no sadness, no joy. There was nothing but a wall in between them. Distance. [color=3041cb][b]“Lena, we’ll continue our conversation later.”[/b][/color] 

The beautiful specimen before him, not the raging fury, the calmer one, gave him a perplexed look before saying one last thing, [color=ffa07a][b]“...so yes, or no?”[/b][/color] Honestly, Lena could care less about what Stephanie wanted. Her own advancement was top priority. Tate simply smiled and gave her a nod. With that, she childishly grinned happily at him. She got the job! Standing up, she turned on her heel and walked past the fiery stripper, [color=ffa07a][b]“I’ll see you at six.”[/b][/color] The only reply she got back from the other girl was an eye roll.

When the glass door slid closed and the two were left alone, Spice and Tate, the macho man of IMPULSE gestured for his employee to sit down, [color=3041cb][b]“What brings you here, Miss Spice?”[/b][/color] 

The young woman ignored his gesture to take a seat, choosing to remain standing with her hands on her hips. When she heard the way and tone of voice he was using with her, Stephanie couldn’t help but roll her eyes and scoff in disbelief. [color=B30A69][b]“[i]‘Miss Spice’[/i]?”[/b][/color] she repeated, moving her hands away from her hips long enough to use her fingers to make air quotes. [color=B30A69][b]“Since when the fuck am I [i]‘Miss Spice’[/i] to you?!”[/b][/color]

This is why you don’t fuck someone before you hire them. Intentionally, he decided to play this game with the young feline he was connected to by a purple thread.  [color=3041cb][b]“Are you on your period? Do you need some chocolate? I have some.”[/b][/color] He opened his desk drawer to take some out. 

[color=B30A69][b]“I don’t need your fucking chocolate!”[/b][/color] Spice shouted at the top of her lungs, stomping her way until she was close enough to the desk to violently slam the desk drawer close. She would never understand how a man who’d worked with women for so many years could be so stupid when the time came to deal with them. [color=B30A69][b]“All I really need to know why the hell are you still ignoring me!”[/b][/color]

[color=3041cb][b]“Oh [i]Kitten[/i].”[/b][/color] Tate said her nickname, but in a condescending tone. That’s what she wanted. [color=3041cb][b]“If I was ignoring [i]you[/i], would you be here right now? Would you still have access to my playground?”[/b][/color] He’d be lying if he said he didn’t enjoy this. It was [i]easy[/i] to get Spice’s panties in a bunch. He nonchalantly leaned back, a devilish smirk rising on his face. She denied the chocolate. That’s too bad. 

[color=B30A69][b]“Don’t you play those stupid games with me, Tate Paxton!”[/b][/color] she spat, now effectively stung by the way he said her pet name. [color=B30A69][b]“I am [i]not[/i] in the mood, and you know [i]exactly[/i] what I mean when I say you’ve been ignoring me! But you know what? Let me refresh that selective memory of yours. You have been-”[/b][/color] Spice began, counting down the offenses with her fingers. [color=B30A69][b]“Let’s see… One, sending my calls to voicemail. Two, leaving my texts on read. Three, sending Josh to talk to me about business when it’s things that [i]YOU[/i] usually handle.. Four, treating me just like all the other girls here when you had [i]promised[/i] to me things wouldn’t change. And five, refusing to have the balls to fucking admit it to my face!”[/b][/color]

[color=3041cb][i]Oh boy. She used your almost full name.[/i][/color] Tate silently scoffed. [color=3041cb][b]“Interesting theory you have in that little head of yours.”[/b][/color] Standing up, exceptionally taller than his lustful lover, Tate kept his brown eyes locked in on her face, [color=3041cb][b]“I’m a busy man, Steph.”[/b][/color] His voice softened, but his words were as sharp as a razorblade. [color=3041cb][b]“I have a business to carry and with the spring festival just a day away, and IMPULSE having a business relationship with SPECTRUM. I’m trying to see if we can have one of the events here. I can’t be [i]distracted[/i]. Like I’ve told you in the beginning, I will tell you again. I will call you. Not the other way around.”[/b][/color] Rather than approach her and give her intimate comfort, he made his way to his door, giving her the cold shoulder, and smoothly slid it open, [color=3041cb][b]“Now, if you’ll excuse yourself. I have work to do.”[/b][/color]

To say that Spice was shocked was an understatement. The pale-skinned girl remained motionless on the spot, staring at Tate with wide, sad eyes. His words and the tone he was using with her pierced her the same way broken glass would, causing her a stinging pain similar to the one Ethan made her feel. She could feel the purple string of fate that connected them start to fray in the most minuscule of ways, but enough to be noticed. It was in moments like this that Stephanie Cross wondered to herself what could she have possibly done to the Universe to always end up tangled with the same type of men: arrogant, selfish assholes who saw her as nothing more than another toy in their shelves. No matter how hard she tried or how much she gave, the result was always the same: it was never enough.

Feeling absolutely defeated, Spice took a deep breath, squared her shoulders and began her trek out of the office, not even bothering to look at Tate as she walked past him and out the door. The last thing she wanted was for him to notice the tears glazing up her brown eyes.

After the door was closed and he was left to his own devices, Tate leaned his head on the door and closed his eyes. This was harder than he thought. [/indent]