that was the least of my worries. I glanced around, seeing Allie and her fiancé staring at me. One of the front desk gals, Tiffany, was standing in a circle with two stylists, Sophia and Lindsey, the three of them just staring at me in shock. Morgan and Shawna, an esthetician and massage therapist, gaped at me. How the hell was I supposed to act normal around my employees now? They had seen me in my bra! Shirt ripped off by the guy that signed their paychecks. What happened next?
Kevin was still on the ground, struggling to his feet. I noticed security making their way over to us. Lila and Carmen started to lead me to the stairs. Hannah and Peter were gathering our things at the booth–– our clutches and the gifts I had been given. My Louboutins, which had been so comfortable all night, suddenly felt like they were cutting off my circulation.
“Sir. We’re going to have to ask you to leave.” Security had made their way to Kevin, and they were now helping him off the ground.
“I’m not leaving! This is my party! Do you know who I am? Where’s Rick? Someone get Rick up here! He’ll tell you who I am. I probably paid both of your wages tonight!” Kevin was screaming in their faces, his own face red and eyes bulging. I cringed, just wanting to get far, far away from the whole scene. I wondered if I could ever show my face again at Tango. Probably not.
“Sir. We saw what you did, which is grounds for needing to leave. Right now,” the second security guard, who had even bigger biceps than his partner, didn’t even flinch at Kevin’s words. I was sure they heard it at all being bouncers at bars.
“To Alex? Oh, come on, she knows me. Alex! Alex, sweetheart! Tell these nice men that it’s no big deal. We know each other!” Kevin started shouting to me. I paused and looked at him. He was sweating and it looked like he laid in a spilt drink when he took his Henry-assisted tumble. He did not look like a businessman, a husband, or anyone with class or an ounce of respect. I felt for him–– for a just a second. I wondered if he realized how badly he fucked up this time, and how publicly.
Without a word, I turned around and kept walking towards the stairs. I was determined to hold the tears in, at least till we got to the limo. Carmen and Lila flanked me, and I could see Henry, Max, and Kyle quickly following behind us. Hannah and Peter came after them. Right when we got to the top of the stairs, Dani appeared.
“Hey, guys! Where are you going? What happened? Alex, what’s wrong?” She took one look at my face and knew a disaster had taken place. A disaster named Kevin Dohlman.
I didn’t say anything, just looked at Dani and slowly opened the coat I was wearing. Showing her that my outfit now consisted of a mini-skirt and white lace bra.
“What in the hell? Who did this to you?” Dani searched my face, and I saw her expression darken. “I’m so sorry, Alex. I thought...I didn’t think he would...I apologize for him. I can’t believe he would pull this tonight. In front of everyone. Oh, God, did everyone see?” Her eyes welled with tears, and I felt terrible for her. Her husband clearly had a lot of issues, and it was always Dani’s job to pick up the pieces after the hurricane and put everything back together.
I nodded, still unable to speak. Lila took over for me. “We’re going to get going. Kevin is in the process of being thrown out by security. You might want to help him.”
Dani stared at me for another second, her pain cutting right into me. “I’m really sorry about this, Alex. I...I’ll call you tomorrow.” And she rushed to the dance floor, where we could now see that Kevin was being physically removed by the bouncers, screaming his head off about lawyers and lawsuits.
We made it unscathed to the lower level and out into the night. Our limo was just around the corner, and Tony helped us all in. As I sat down and laid my head on Henry’s shoulder, I realized how exhausted I felt. How exhausted I felt every time I did a Blissful function. Whether it was working, meetings, phone calls, whatever–– Blissful always left this feeling with me.
“I don’t