The Danger Of Beauty

Angelina has found herself alone once again in another city. At 30 years old, she could never have imagined moving so many times. She has spent most of her life on the run. She has lived a hard life, but despite this, she has maintained her beauty. She embodies sensuality with every movement which can often lead to trouble. It is unsurprising that she ended up working in clubs. After a decade of being in the sex industry, she was ready to quit, but the pandemic hit her hard. She knew her time in New York City was done. Miami is open and she needs work. She swore off stripping in her thirties, but she is desperate. Being desperate is very dangerous, especially for a beautiful woman.

Angelina is getting ready in the dressing room for her first night at Miami Dolls. She does her makeup to accentuate her auburn hair and blue eyes. There are several dancers sitting around with very few customers in the venue. She fears she is wasting her time tonight. Judging by the quality of the men entering this club, there is clearly no money to be made. A voluptuous dancer named Maria is taking tequila shots besides her and offers her one. She thanks her and they laugh about needing a drink to get through such a slow night.

Maria is a feisty brunette in her mid twenties. She is a hustler and loves to indulge in the party lifestyle Miami has to offer. She jokes about needing more sugar daddies. Angelina finds sugar daddies to be exhausting. She would rather earn her money in the club. Maria reminds her that with the way the economy is going, stripping is too unreliable of an income. Maria comments on her appearance and how this guy she is seeing would love her. She tells her she should meet him for connections and invites her to dinner the following evening at his restaurant. She reassures her that quality men will be there, and it could be a big money making opportunity. Angelina is hesitant at first. She does not want to find herself in yet another compromising position, but glancing around this empty club is enough for her to accept the invitation.

Friday evening arrives and Angelina exits her Uber and approaches Fuego, the hot new restaurant in Miami. Reggaeton music can be heard in the street coming from the open air restaurant. The latin influence is apparent and the visuals fit Miami’s hip aesthetic. She is excited at the prospects of fast cash and is prepared to play the part she needs to play.

Maria spots Angelina and nudges her man while excitedly pointing at her. The couple approach Fuego’s entrance together to greet her. In a heavy Russian accent he introduces himself as Oleg Morozov. He is a dominant and aggressive man who appears to be in his late forties. There is a seediness about him. She has encountered these types before. She is on guard but hides it. His intelligence is obvious, and his interest in her is even more so. He looks pleasantly surprised. He tells her that he has a date for her. He explains that his friend will be arriving later. They lead her to a large table with blush velvet seating. Oleg takes the lead and introduces Angelina to his business partners who share ownership of Fuego with him. Champagne and oysters are already on the table. Maria reunites with her drink, and Oleg summons a waiter to pour Angelina a glass of champagne.

Angelina is aware of Oleg’s fixation on her. He is analyzing her every move and is listening to her words intently. She is quite the actress and knows how to tailor her behavior to fit whatever role she needs to play in a given moment. Maria is making frequent trips to the bathroom between drinks to do lines of coke. While she is absent, Oleg comments on how he doesn’t touch that shit, but he surrounds himself with women who do. He makes eye contact with Angelina and slyly remarks that bitches like Maria are disposable. This makes Angelina uneasy. She does not trust him. She comments on how she has never taken a liking to drugs. Oleg mentions that her date is minutes away and he would like to have a word with her in private before meeting him. She agrees to walk over to the bar with him.

Oleg gestures for the bartender and orders two Moscow Mules and then focuses back on Angelina. He tells her she is smart and how refreshing it is to meet someone like her in Miami. He thought Maria was just going to bring another whore to dinner. He goes on to say that he has countless women like Maria on call. He laughs while saying those whores will blow anyone for some blow. But he sees that Angelina is different. She is wondering what point he is trying to make here and asks why he is with Maria if he thinks so poorly of her. He quips back that he’s a man, and a man has needs, and whores like her are a wild fuck. It is too easy for him to pass on a guaranteed good time. He then shifts in attitude and reaches into his suit pocket to take out a small black notebook. He whispers that this is his golden ticket and that he could help her become very rich. She grows suspicious as to what he is insinuating and firmly whispers back that she is not an escort. He quickly denies implying she ever was. She asks him what the book is. He told her it’s his list of the most powerful men he networks with. They require all types of services from concierge to security. This includes entertainment. He says she could help him find entertainment. She sees where this is going. She tells Oleg she has a past and that chapter of her life is over. She does not want to partake in any illegal activity. They are briefly interrupted by the bartender who hands them their drinks.

Oleg asks Angelina if she ever had a Moscow Mule. She has. He then asks her if she had ever been to Moscow. She has not. He proceeds in detail about how he grew up as an orphan on the streets of Moscow. His mother was a prostitute and left him to fend for himself. By the age of four, she had vanished entirely. He had never forgiven his mother for abandoning him. In his mind she was a whore and she died a whore.

Angelina is confused as to why he is sharing this. She is growing more suspicious of his business ties. She senses an overbearing darkness about him and she does her best to play it cool. He makes it clear he is going to let her in on a little secret. He microchips women who provide services for him and his wealthy clients. He claims they willingly agree to the microchipping for their own safety. He even admits to microchipping Maria. He gives some bullshit excuses for why it is helping them. Angelina sees right through him. He does all this for control. He views these women as his possessions and then makes sure they cannot disappear from him like his mother did.

Oleg is interrupted by a phone call and excuses himself momentarily. A part of Angelina wants to end the evening right now and leave, and another part is too curious and wants to find out more. She is also concerned for Maria. He returns a minute later and tells her that his friend has arrived. He reveals that his friend is a Greek shipping heir named Stavros Othonos, and he inherited a one hundred million dollar trust fund. Stavros is listed in this notebook of his. He tells her that if she can seduce Stavros tonight, she will be greatly rewarded.

Angelina excuses herself to go to the restroom. She is full of adrenaline at this point. She is broke and needs money. Against her best judgment, she decides to stay. She has met all sorts of dangerous characters over the years and survived. If she plays her cards right, she could hit the jackpot, but if theres a misstep, she could end up trafficked or worse.

Back at the table Stavros Othonos has made himself comfortable. He is handsome and he knows it. He is of medium build with black hair and blue eyes. He is about the same age as Angelina, but his cherubic face makes him look more like a boy than a man. Angelina introduces herself and he is pleased with what he sees. Oleg seats her next to Stavros. He kisses her on the cheek while simultaneously grabbing her inner thigh. Angelina pulls back and in full-actress- mode, playfully swats at his hand while giving a seductive glance. He clearly has been drinking and is displaying an overt sense of entitlement. He comments about how he needs to wake up and implies he wants cocaine. Maria has a never ending supply and suggests he follow her to the bathroom. He wraps his arm around Angelina and says he will only go if this pretty lady joins him. She senses an opportunity. She thinks to herself, there’s no fool like a man on cocaine.

The girls bring Stavros into the restroom and lock the door. Maria has had too many drinks and fumbles in her purse looking for the cocaine. Stavros is pushy and keeps trying to touch Angelina. He keeps asking her to let him do it off her ass. Maria finds the bag of cocaine and hands it to him. She is so drunk and high, she can barely walk. Oleg knocks on the door and demands Maria get out.

Now Angelina and Stavros are alone with the cocaine. She thinks to herself how foolish she has been tonight. She is internally panicking but doesn’t show it. He pins her against the bathroom wall, bends her over and lifts up her dress. He tells her he only wants to have fun and to do a few lines off her ass. As a defense mechanism, she plays along, flirtatiously asking him how much he loves her ass. The high hits him quick. His behavior is almost animalistic. She doesn’t want to cause a scene. She tries to defuse the situation by telling him they can have a lot more fun at his hotel. His pants are now down around his ankles. He tries pulling her panties down from behind, but she elbows him hard in the nose. He trips and hits his head hard on the bathroom tile. He is out cold. She is now filled with rage and is disgusted by him. She checks his breathing and pulse. He is fine and will probably wake soon. She then notices his wallet has fallen out of his pants. She opens it. Stacks of hundreds are folded neatly inside. She can’t believe it. This man has been carrying $20,000 cash. She hears a knock on the door followed by Oleg’s voice. She impulsively pockets the cash and tells Oleg they will be out in a minute. Stavros is gaining consciousness. She frantically puts the empty wallet back in his pocket. He slowly starts to get up and is a bit disoriented, but she guides him back to the table. She has had enough. She excuses herself from the table exclaiming she forgot her phone in the restroom. She makes her way to the restroom out of sight and then exits out of the back door. She has put herself in danger once again for money and is scared. She knows they will search for her. She must leave Miami. Now.