Pop Star Ch. 04

Li couldn't believe that someone had the audacity to interrupt a VIP guest. The night was going so great with Ai experiencing the ultimate humiliation orchestrated by him. And he was supposed to be the main event. Nothing was going to stop him from fulfilling that.

"What do you want!" Li yelled as he opened the door.

It was the hotel manager, who politely smiled. "Hello Mr. Komari, I'm sorry to interrupt but I'm afraid there's been a change in plans."

Li tempered his anger. "What do you mean a change in plans?"

"Unfortunately, we've had a very important client reach out to book this room. So, we're going to have to ask you to leave."

"Umm, we are very important. Do I have to call Mr. Wagner to remind..."

"Actually, we've already spoken to Mr. Wagner and he's happy to accommodate. In fact, he has authorized the party favor girls to stay here for the new guest." The manager said.

"This is bullshit. You can't just kick us out. It's my future brother-in-law's bachelor party."

"Again, I am sorry for this inconvenience. Please take up any grievances with Mr. Wagner."

Li couldn't believe that Mr. Wagner would just sell out to the highest bidder. Well, he could believe it, but it was a bad business practice. Who could possibly be coming that would entice Mr. Wagner to change his mind?

"Who booked the room?" Li asked.

"Unfortunately, I am not at liberty to disclose that." The manager said. He checked his watch. "Now I do need you to clean up and clear out within the next twenty minutes as we do have our cleaning crew ready to prepare the room."

"Where the hell are we supposed to go? Is there another suite available?"

"No, but we do have two very spacious rooms that connect in the middle. I'd be happy to reserve those for you."

"How much is that?"

"About $2,000 altogether."

Li meekly nodded. If the basic rooms were $2,000, then Mr. Wagner must have shelled out a fortune for the best suite. And now Li and his party were left hanging out to dry. That was the cost of doing business with someone rich and powerful.

"We'll think about." Li said.

It was way too expensive for his budget and the only person who could comfortably afford it was the one whom they were celebrating. He shut the door and turned to share the bad news with the rest of the group. Once again, he had missed his opportunity with Ai, but he would not give up. Sooner or later, she was going to be his again.

**

Ai stared up at the ceiling dreading her brother's return. As if fucking everyone else wasn't enough humiliation, now she had to please and satisfy him. But she had accepted that fact as soon as she had seen him at the beginning of the night. After he had missed his opportunity in the office, she knew he'd stop at nothing to get another one.

The door swung open but instead of Li, two cleaning ladies strolled in. They handed Ai a robe and asked her to come with them. What the hell was going on? In the main room, Betsy also had a robe and joined Ai with the cleaning ladies. The Bachelor party was no longer in full swing, but instead packing up their stuff. Li stared Ai down as she walked by but did nothing to stop her from leaving. Once again, he had failed at his attempt to fuck her because he opted to humiliate her first. The next time he had the opportunity, she was sure he wouldn't squander it. Like her time in his office, she took pleasure from her brother's failure once again.

The two girls were ushered into another room and told to shower and clean themselves up. Ai tried to ask questions, but the hotel staff did not have any answers. So she enjoyed her time in the nice hot shower, washing off the filth and depravity from the night and hoping that the memories would go away with it. Once she was done, she brushed her hair and stared at her reflection in the mirror. Was this really worth it? Mr. Wagner had clearly orchestrated this and the only reason she had followed orders was to keep her job. Maybe she could make it on her own like Riley. Maybe she didn't need a job that treated her more like an object than a person. Maybe it was time for a change.

Three hard knocks at the door startled Ai from her thoughts.

"You've got ten minutes." The voice, now a man, said loudly.

Ai dried her hair with the hair dryer and put on the fresh new clothes that had been left for her along with a make-up kit. Her outfit was a nice cocktail dress with matching heels and the only downside was the lack of underwear. However, anything was better than her previous predicament. She did her makeup and the finished product looked like a girl ready for a night on the town. But she knew that wasn't the purpose of all this. In the back of her mind, she was adamant that it was Li, further playing mind games with her. The only antidote to that thought was the sour look he had given her when she left the suite. That was a hard emotion to fake convincingly. Which meant that the only other culprit was Mr. Wagner. What kind of shenanigans did he have planned after her already wild night?

Ai stepped out of the washroom and was surprised to see Betsy wearing an identical outfit. There was no one else in the room.

"Betsy." Ai said and then hugged her friend. "Do you know what's going on?"

"No idea, but it looks like our night's not over."

Ai looked down at her dress. "At least we look more respectable."

Betsy nodded in agreement and the two fell into an awkward silence.

"Are you okay, Ai? I know that must have been..."

Before Ai could respond, the door burst opened and a man yapping on his phone waltzed in. His sharp suit and intimidating body language gave him an air of someone who demanded respect. Not because he deserved it, but because he would make a big deal if there was none.

"Ya, ya, I got it. Don't worry about it." The man said. "Listen, I'd love to continue this, but I gotta go. The big man wants everything ready before he arrives...Okay, bye."

The man ended the call and put his phone in his pocket. His focus shifted to the two girls.

"Ladies. What luck that we got permission to use you." The intimidating man said. "Calling you party favors is a little problematic if the press ever gets wind of this. So, you'll be performing the same functions as you were just doing, but we're calling you hired models. Capissh?"

"What do you mean performing the same functions?" Betsy asked.

"You know, do whatever anyone says. If a guy comes up to you and asks for some relief, you drop to your knees and give him some relief. That sort of thing."

"So, slaves." Ai said.

"If I recall my conversation with your employer, I believe he said this was part of your contract. So, call it a corporate slave, but we expect to get what we paid for." The man said. "At least you're a little more dressed up."

Ai and Betsy didn't say anything else. If he had spoken with Mr. Wagner, then it was already a done deal. Like the Bachelor party, they knew the consequences if they disobeyed.

"Now if you two are done yapping, follow me."

It wasn't Li's party, but it seemed a lot more intimidating based solely on the man's expensively tailored suit. If this was just the guy coordinating, that meant whoever was in charge was a very big deal. Ai and Betsy followed the man out and Ai took comfort in the fact that nothing could be worse than what she had experienced. At least that's what she told herself. But she was about to find out if that was really true.

**

After shooting a fan video, Riley sat dolled up on her patio vaping while scrolling through her social media. Life was good and she had carved a niche out for herself to not only explore her sexuality, but she also made good money doing it. Some people were shy about porn. Not her. Being in control of her career gave her all the creative freedom she needed to ensure that she was comfortable with what she was doing. It was truly liberating and although her family didn't understand at first, after they saw her happiness and the money pouring in, they had become more supportive. As best they could, anyway. It was not a topic brought up much for the sanity of her father.

A message popped up from Jack Frost telling her about another shoot which would also require Ai if she was interested. After the time stop wedding shoot, a lot of producers had reached out to Riley to inquire about Ai. She had passed along the requests to Ai, but the girl was still fresh and needed time to consider her options. But seeing how this was the same producer and director, Riley gave Ai a call to field her interest. After two attempts that both ended up going to voicemail, Riley was feeling adventurous and decided to just seek Ai out in person. She checked the Find a Friend App and saw that her friend was at the Northland Suites. Not a shabby place to spend the evening. Riley took one last vape and headed off in hopes of a good night.

**

Kim's cab ride was long and terrible. Making small talk with people was the worst thing, especially as a famous singer. The driver had recognized her right away and didn't question why she was taking a cab. He asked her about her career and what it was like being famous. Kim gave short answers to be polite because she couldn't exactly tell him off. She didn't have the money to be an asshole until she got her identity back.

The cab dropped her off and she gave him what money she had, which was twenty dollars short. The man looked to her for an explanation, and she told him that it had been a bad night and that her wallet had been stolen. The cab driver was willing to look the other way on the condition that Kim kiss him on the lips. Kim had no choice but to reluctantly pucker up and kiss the man. She could have risked refusing and letting him call the cops, but if the cops didn't believe her, then she'd be arrested without ID. Besides, she wanted a chance to see Kin's face when she was revealed as an imposter.

Kim walked up to the main door of the prestige area of Northland Suites and was stopped by two bouncers who she didn't recognize.

"This is Rolland Hill's party, right?" Kim asked.

"Who's asking?"

"I'm Kim Ai. I was just in the video he shot."

The two bouncers looked at each other but stood their ground.

"Ain't nothing going on here. Move along, kid."

"I know Rolland's in there, I was invited."

"We already have a Kim Ai present. So, either she looks very similar to you and somehow copied your ID or you are some scam artist making a Youtube video."

"No, she stole my things. She's a back-up dancer named Kin and she friggen stole everything."

"A back-up dancer named Kin stole your ID, your phone and somehow convinced Rolland that she was you?"

"Well, I wouldn't say convinced. He probably doesn't care. If you could get that phone from her, I can call my agent Norris and he can sort things out."

The bouncer pulled out his phone and handed it to Kim.

"You can call him on my phone. I'm not going to go harass a popular singer because of a crazy stalker's wild accusations."

Kim grabbed the phone. But her mind went blank. She couldn't remember the number for Norris. All those times she had called him, it was always from her contacts. There was no point in remembering his number because she'd never need it. With that not an option, Kim searched herself on the web and brought up a picture. She showed it to the bouncers.

"That's me. See."

The bouncers looked at the picture then at Kim.

"Your lips are way bigger, sweetheart." The bouncer said.

Kim looked at the picture. She tried to bring up an article about her new lips, but the bouncer grabbed his phone back.

"This isn't a library. What happened to calling Norris?"

"I can't remember his number. I always used my phone for that. Look if you search about my lips, you'll see that."

The bouncer waved his hand. "We're not entertaining you anymore, the answer is no."

"Is there anything else I could do to entice you to let me in?" Kim said in a sexual manner. She had no other ideas left except to use her femininity and exploit male weakness.

"So, then you can report us to the police about abusing our power to get you to blow us. Yah, no thanks. Now if you don't leave, we'll call the police."

Kim wanted to keep trying but realized that it was futile. She left the entrance and walked around the building looking for another solution.

"They wouldn't let you in either, huh?"

A woman was leaning against the wall and vaping.

"Yah, even though I'm on the guest list." Kim said.

"Shitty."

"What's your story?"

"My friend's in there and I was hoping to meet up, but they wouldn't let me in." the girl said. "I'm Riley by the way."

"Kim Ai."

"The pop star Kim?"

Kim nodded.

"What happened to your lips?"

"Poor advice from my agent."

"Men." Riley said. "Always think they know what they're doing."

"And what do you do?"

"I do porn, but kind of my own brand. Very freelance, but very monetary."

"Can't beat exploiting men's fondness for the female body."

"I'd drink to that." Riley said. "Say, if we're both trying to get in, I think I have a plan. You interested?"

Kim smiled. "I'm all ears."

***

It was weird. Very weird. Mia had been among famous people before, but Rolland's entourage was by far the strangest. Everyone was so accommodating that she wondered if there was anyone there being themselves.

Rolland sat down across from Mia on the couch with Kin close by. Mia had thought Kim would be coming, but she didn't question the substitution. Around them were mostly attractive girls who had worked behind the scenes at the music video plus all of the back-up dancers. The only guys around were the other back-up dancers and the personal assistants who tended to Rolland's every need. It sounded and looked like a terrible job.

With the party underway, Mia chatted with a few of the back-up dancers about their respective careers and Rolland was subject to Kin's futile attempts to get his attention. What really captured his attention, judging by the constant staring, was Mia. To catch her interest, he opted to demonstrate his power.

"Ladies." Rolland said, interrupting Kin to get Mia and her group's attention. The girls stopped their conversation, and all looked at Rolland. "With the exception of Mia, I think this party would be a lot better if you all removed your shirts and bras."

The back-up dancers glanced at each other uncomfortably but immediately removed their shirts and bras without question. They waited momentarily for further instructions, but Rolland continued his conversation with those around him. Surrounded by tits, it was an uncomfortable silence for Mia before one of the lead back-up dancers, Bella, put her hand gently on Mia's arm.

"It's okay, he does this all the time." Her tone was a whisper so that only the group of girls could hear. "We just have to put up with it or we're gone."

"He fires you?" Mia asked incredulously.

"He technically can't fire a contracted member; he just chooses to never work with them again."

"That's horrible."

"That's show business."

It wasn't a goal before, but Mia vowed to never become a diva like that. The entire room was willing to do whatever Rolland wanted in hopes of maintaining a job and a paycheck. The only person he wasn't picking on was Mia, because her brand was about to explode, and Rolland wanted to be seen with her more than she needed to be seen with him.

"Bella take the rest of your clothes off and come give me a lap dance." Rolland commanded from across the room.

Bella smiled politely at Mia then stood up to follow the commands. The entire room watched as the lead dancer gave Rolland a naked lap dance. She didn't hold back either, making sure to grind on him and let him know that he could touch her anywhere he wanted. However, Rolland must have known what she was doing and kept his hands to himself. It seemed that if the person was comfortable with the task he assigned, it suddenly became a bore to Rolland. He'd much rather see a girl struggle with her own personal boundaries.

Throughout the dance, Rolland would occasionally glance at Mia and smile slightly, like he was showing off his control. In reality, he was revealing how much of an inflated ego he really had. Had she known, she would have never agreed to collaborate despite the exposure it was going to give her.

Once Rolland decided that the dance was done, he signaled one of his new assistants over. His innocent expression revealed his inexperience in the business. The kid was probably fresh out of a college program, and this was his first big gig. Rolland stood up and wrapped his arm around the young man.

"Steve, for a hell of a job today, I'm going to reward you." Rolland said. He pointed at the nude Bella standing in front of them. "You my man, get to do whatever you want with the lead dancer."

Steve's jaw almost hit the floor. "Are you serious? I mean is she okay..."

"She's perfectly fine with it, isn't that right, Bella?"

Bella smiled and nodded her head.

"Well, she's all yours."

Steve grabbed Bella's hand and walked off towards one of the private rooms. It was a complete disgrace how Rolland was treating people and Mia had seen enough. She stood up and stormed over to Rolland.

"You can't just do that." Mia yelled.

"Do what?"

"Force someone to sleep with someone else."

"I don't know what you're talking about because all I saw was consent."

"She didn't want to fuck him, and you know that." Mia said. Her habit of pointing her finger in an argument emphasized her anger.

"Did we listen to the same conversation?" Rolland looked past Mia at the group of dancers. "Ladies, did Bella say she wanted to fuck Steve?"

The ladies all nodded. Rolland's trademark grin crept up on his face.

"How many of you want to fuck Steve?" Every hand went up. "Well, why don't you go join Bella. And I better hear a five-star review from Steve. If you can't move in the bedroom, you can't move on my set!"

The girls walked off one by one, glaring at Mia as they passed. Because she had stood up for them, she had made it worse for them and now they blamed her. But the real problem was the prick in charge.

"You are such an ass. They're only doing this because they want to keep their jobs." Mia said.

"Sounds like a winning strategy for them. But I disagree. People have the right to say no to me." Rolland said. He caught eyes with a gorgeous model walking by wearing a white dress while drinking red wine. "For example. Trish, do you want to pour that wine on your head?"

The model had been minding her own business and was caught completely off guard. Her mouth smiled but her eyes didn't. She nodded her head and without hesitation, poured the wine over her perfectly permed hair. It immediately dripped down onto her beautiful white dress. If Mia was being honest, she had been one of the hottest girls in the room, and now she had to spend the rest of the night smelling like a ladies' night out.

The emotional control that these tortured workers showed just to try to stay alive in the industry was fascinating. The model walked away without batting an eye or shedding a tear despite having her night ruined. Unlike them, Mia let her emotions do the talking. She grabbed a glass of red wine from another model and splashed it into Rolland's face.

"Let's see how you like wearing wine the whole night."

A silence swept over everyone, even in the farthest corners as if everyone always had an ear to what their boss was up to. Rolland was too shocked to move. Not that Mia cared. She turned and stormed out of the party, hoping to never run into Rolland again.

**

"Sir, the party favors from Mr. Wagner." the assistant said as he escorted Ai and Betsy in.

The infamous Rolland Hills was pacing shirtless in the middle of the room, clearly bothered by something.