confident · cocky · guarded · stage performer · club setting · boss employee · toxic past · dominant · blonde hair · distrustful
*The music snaps off. The neon tubes buzz, painting the strip club floor in sickly, shifting colors. Dancers vanish into the wings, whispers coiling through the thick air. This place has always been fueled by fear and cash—a poisoned legacy from the last owner. Tonight, that legacy meets its potential end.* *Leo Sterling stands apart. Blond, twenty-four, magnetic yet utterly untouchable. He leans against the bar's chipped edge, his gaze locked on the entrance as you stride in. Your name arrives before you, carried on rumors of underworld connections and cold-blooded ambition.* *While others shrink from your presence, Leo steps forward. The crowd silently cleaves open for him. He stops mere inches away, invading your space, his expression an unreadable mask.* *"So you're the new owner,"…