“ARE YOU READY FOR A PARTY NEW YORK CITY?”
The girl screamed, her Australian accent peeking through the bright smile on her lips as she mixed at the set in the club. This was the dream. Yep. This. DJing at the biggest clubs in city that never sleeps, being up all night, making a living doing something she actually loved to do. What she needed to do… after all, this was her calling. And, it was something her parents never thought she could do which… was exactly why she was thrown out of her house at the age of 16 when she said she wanted to drop out of high school. Well… jokes on you mum. Look at her now. 17 years old and she was LIVING the dream.
“Ma’am we need you to get off the stage right now,”
A frown met her lips as she turned towards the bouncer… and an angry DJ that she… may have locked into the closet with the implication that she was going to fck him before locking the door… all so that she could steal the set. What? DJing was a difficult industry okay and as crazy as it was, no fcking club bouncer wanted to hire a girl DJ, even if the crowd was having a fcking blast. Yes. A FCKING blast - that wasn’t an understatement. Okay, maybe a part of it was also that she was 17, had none of her own equipment, no experience, and lived in a run-down apartment so far away from every club that she was always late. Mayyyyybe all of that played a tiny factor.
BUT HEY.
The dream right?
“Come on – the crowd’s enjoying the set. They’re eating this up. Just let me finish the song at least… hey don’t put your hands on me.” Leilani argued as the bouncer grabbed her arm rudely. She almost didn’t get a chance to grab her camera before she was RUDLY pulled off the stage.
“Sorry for being late babes. Now the real party can start,” she heard the arse DJ say into the mic as he took over - and she was quite literally PUSHED OUT INTO THE STREET. Fck them… at least she got a video of her playing a little bit. It may even be enough for her to submit it as part of her audition reel to clubs. With a sigh, Lei leaned against the wall - opening her camera hoping… praying that she had usable footage. And… well it only took her a second to realize… nothing recorded. Fcking hell.
“Personally I thought you were pretty great up there. The bouncer seemed like a bummer though,”
Lei looked up, frowning. Here’s the other thing the girl had realized about New York - men felt like they had a right to talk to any fcking girl they wanted. Well, Mr. Tall, Dark, and Slightly Handsome - Leilani didn’t want that right now, and she didn’t need any man trying to get her back to their apartment.
“I know, I don’t need you telling me that. And if you don’t mind, there’s a lot of street here, you don’t need to be crowding mine."
She heard the man laugh. He LAUGHED. Rude. “I’m not trying to flirt with you, trust me. I just… have a proposition if you’re willing to hear it? We can go wherever you choose.,”
“If it’s some weird fifty shades of gray thing, I’m not fcking you, so please leave me alone."
“It’s purely business darling. I promise. At the very least, you’ll get a dinner out of it. I’ll pay. Just pick the place - price doesn’t matter.,”
“Oh… price doesn’t matter does it?."
Did Leilani tell him to bring her to one of the most expensive restaurants in New York - in hopes of making the man quit? Yes, yes she did. Did she expect him to actually get her in without a reservation, and for them to be seated at the VIP table? No… no she didn’t.
So how the actual fck were they here? And… she was definitely not wearing the right clothes for this - that much was obvious by the looks she was getting from others. What? Clubbing clothes did not equate to… extremely fine dining clothes.
He didn’t even say as she ordered the most expensive steak on the menu. And just to press him further, she asked the waiter for the most expensive bottle of wine as well… and he didn’t even blink an eye. Instead, he ordered himself a salad. Was this some sort of… sugar daddy type thing?
“So are you going to talk… or…"
“Well, I was going to let you eat what you ordered first - but I guess we can get to the… proposition aspect of this conversation,”
“It’s going to be some sort of freaky sex thing isn’t it?. Come on man, I already said no to that."
“No, not some freaky sex thing.”
“Do you work for the mafia? Because look - I’m not into those bullsht rom-coms where the mafia person gets the girl into a terrible situation and the girl ends up having some psychological love for the mafia king."
There was a smile on the man’s face as the wine arrived, and he took a sip of his drink before responding to her sentiment “Not that either… are there really stories about mafia love… stuff? That… wow… Americans have some weird telly.,”
“No… I totally haven’t… um… watched any of that… ever…? What? I didn’t say anything."
“Righhhht… alright… am allowed to talk or do you have more guesses,” He responded with a laugh, leaning into his seat as he bore his eyes into hers.
“Please go ahead, and I’m telling you the answer will most likely be no…"
“I guess we’ll see about that. I have a job for you. I’m looking to hire a few… actors for a long-term project in Los Angeles,”
“Here’s the issue with that, I’m not an actor"
“And this isn’t your regular acting gig, so you don’t have to be. Look… I’m doing some investigative journalism in one of the richest neighborhoods in LA involving some… really fcked up rich people sht. And… I kind of need a cover story including a fake family. Trust me, I know I sound bonkers and there’s a lot more to the story that I’ll tell you if you’re interested. I know you’ll probably have to think about this but before you say no. I’ll pay you for your time… extremely well, I’ll give you housing at a spectacular mansion, and… pay for anything you need. Equipment for DJing… lessons… I’ll even help you get some gigs at clubs in LA”
“You… are crazy. Yep… that has to be it. Assuming I believe you… why me?"
“I overheard you telling someone on the train a few weeks ago how they would remember your name and how you were going to take over New York, hell… the world. I respect it… and I know it’s hard to do when you don’t have money or family support. I’m providing that… and you don’t have to do anything you don’t want to… I just need your help every now and again.”
Did Leilani ever think she would be moving to LA, changing her last name, using an American accent, and taking on a new identity with 4 other people? No. Quite honestly - it was kind of weird, if you asked her. But over time… she started getting more comfortable with that very idea. It made sense, why Mason was doing this. Him… having explained most of the why to her… and his article was quite spectacular…well… for what he had let her read.
The game - blue royalty? Pretty fcked up… and she understood why he wanted to do this. And honestly, her part deal was pretty damn easy. She lived in his house, ate his food, and relaxed. She did what she wanted - going to clubs, partying, etc. Simply with a different last name and accent. That being said, the acting part of this came in when Mason’s friends were over and usually he told her what to say… how much to interact which… hadn’t been much. There had been a few occasions where she had to go to a therapist with her fake family and act out. Act out, of course, because she was supposed to be the black sheep of the family.
And god, can she just say, the pay… was amazing. She was making more than she could ever dream of. A wage that would honestly help her when this gig ended. 4 years - that’s what she signed on for, and honestly, she didn’t mind. Plus for the most part, she was the only one actually living in the mansion with Mason. The other family members having jobs that kept them away - which apparently made sense for the rich and wealthy?
“Lei, I have a job for you.”
Raising her eyebrows, Leilani looked at Mason who walked in - dropping his backpack after school. She was laying on the couch. Over the past two years, she actually started considering the man friend and a natural smile fell on her lips. “What’s up?”
“It is… a little different than what I’ve had you doing before Leilani… if you’re not up for it let me know… but I need you to get close to someone. You don’t have to do anything you’re not comfortable doing, but I need you to at least become friends with him. Get him talking to you about his life… talk to him bout your… about Lelianli Mitchell’s terrible family life…”
“And you need this for the game?”
“I’m almost to senior year, and it’s time to start getting you guys a little more entangled with the players of the game… and I’ll of course pay you more.”
“What do I have to do?”
Her going to a club - normal. Her going to a club to talk up one of Mason’s classmates… not so normal. But… the goal was just to be friends with this guy… this guy who grew up wealthy and she wasn’t directly hurting. The game would just be using the friendship against Mason… so honestly… she wasn’t doing anything bad. This was easy…
Looking around the club, Leilani’s eyes caught sight of the man she was supposed to talk to. He looked nice… though everyone knew looks could be deceiving. Ezekiel Griffin… son of one of the most famous music producers in the industry. In her old life, Lei actually had heard the Griffin name in passing. Almost everyone in any music industry had… but that life was currently irrelevant.
Zek was laughing with friends in the VIP area, and with a deep breath, Lei found herself walking towards him. Looking at the bouncer standing next to a velvet rope, Lei nonchalantly said “Leilani Mitchell. I’m on the list,” before being allowed in. Lei knew this crowd, and she knew exactly what her in was… and that started with talking to Zek’s friend who had walked away from the group for a second… and then working her way to her target.
Laughter escaped her lips as Lei held up the bottle of vodka with three of Zek’s friends around her. Little by little she had made friends with the three - being the life of the party before being brought to the main group in the middle. She saw Zek look up at her, and only smiled back before looking at the others surprised by her appearance [color= #bc958e] “I’m telling you, you can’t underestimate the boobs sweetie. How else are you going to get a free bottle,” [/color] Lei laughed - an ongoing joke with the other boys as she took a seat next to Zek on the couch.
[color= #bc958e] “Now what do you say we give the fruits of my labor a try,” [/color]
As one of the other boys started pouring, Lei smiled once again at the boy next to her. “Please don’t ask how I got the bottle. I’m sworn to secrecy by your buddies over there now.” She laughed, before continuing Sorry, I guess I should at least introduce myself. Leilani."
Once the man next to her introduced himself, Lei laughed joking about how so he was the one his friends were raving about DJing a set tonight and went straight to flirting… at least on the part of how she’d love to give the DJing thing a try if he’d teach her.
And that, ladies and gentlemen… was how her friendship with Zek started. With an innocent ask to teach her how to play… proceeded by her showing up on stage. It was fun… he was fun… and she knew her goal was to be friends… but she couldn’t help herself as her lips met his later in the night.
Over the last few years, her… thing with Zek stayed just that. A fun little thing the two of them did when one was bored… but honestly, she did appreciate the man as a friend. Sure… her stories were fake. Well… mostly. Sure Leilani Mitchell hated her family but, Leilani Cassidy… also had issues with her family. There was always truth mixed into the lies… and she appreciated the friendship that Zek provided.
Part of her felt guilty for the lies… but after years of doing it… reality and lies get mixed together. That was the issue today. In the Mitchell story - Leilani had run away 4 months ago with no contact with any of her friends, but in reality, Mason had helped her snag a few gigs internationally. That being said…she was back… and Mason had a new job for her… one that she didn’t know if she should take but… her mother had reached out and was asking for money for her little sister’s tuition.
So here goes the games again.
She hadn’t spoken to Zek in months… but after a few minutes of staring at her phone that she had left with Mason… she took a deep breath and sent a message.
To: Zek
From: Lei
Message: “Hey… can we talk sometime today? I need you.”
@astxrism
What Lei Wore to the Club
