I looked to Mad Dog to give him a chance to add something. When he didn’t, I told the group, “Do your job and I’ll be one of the nicest, easiest bosses you’ve ever had. Fuck around when you should be working, and you aren’t going to like me very much.”
I walked into my office and closed the door. “Do I have all the supernaturals? My intention was to leave the humans out of this conversation.”
“Everyone except the new wolf,” Kitty told me.
“Right. She’s being shown the lap dance areas and walked through the expectations for her first night.” And she was a sweetbutt. I’d be fucking her at the clubhouse, so she didn’t need to hear this.
“You left Atlas out,” his sister told me.
“Right. I should’ve said supernatural women.” I took a breath and told the group, “I’m sure ya’ll know I fucked Kitty last night while I was checking things out. I don’t want to hear any griping about her getting special treatment. You want to feel special? If I’m in my office with the door open, you’re always welcome to come in on your break, or before or after your shift. I rarely turn down an offer of a blow job from a shapeshifter. You want to offer your ass? Even better. Fair warning — I play rough, which is why the humans won’t be getting the same offer.”
“You’re saying we can get special favors by giving you free blow jobs?” Jade asked. She was Asian and a tiny little thing, but she wasn’t afraid to speak out.
“No. I’m saying I don’t want to hear complaints about Kitty getting special favors because I’ve fucked her. You think I treat people different after I’ve had my dick in them? Offer yourself up. I don’t do petty drama. If there’s a problem, we fix it, and that’s an easy problem to solve. Everyone’s dismissed except Soul. Leave the door open on your way out, and someone send Atlas in.”
The room emptied, Atlas came in to stand beside his sister, and I asked the siblings, “What’ll it be.”
“I’ll give up half my tips.” Atlas looked pissed, but that was okay.
“I need my tips,” Soul said. “I’ll take the belt.”
I told Atlas he was dismissed, and I met Soul’s angry gaze. “Bare your ass and lean over the desk. I don’t give a fuck what you do with your hands, but you should keep them out of the way — I won’t stop just because you try to block me. If you stand up or move away, the last two strikes you received don’t count. If you stand more than three times, you lose the option of being belted. You’ll pull your pants up and lose half your tips.” She was still standing and hadn’t moved to bare her ass, so I asked, “Do you still want to go through with this?”
Instead of answering, she pushed her jeans and panties to her knees and bent over the desk.
“The door is open so everyone will hear. If people want to watch, I won’t tell them to back away. If they aren’t ready for customers because they were watching, they’ll find themselves in hot water.”
I would’ve never started off this harsh with the workin’ girls. On the contrary, I’d wanted them to see me as manager and caretaker. Protector. However, I had no intention of dealing with a bunch of shit from a war between waitresses and dancers. Better to be a hard-ass to start with and then let them see I’m actually a nice guy. Also, showing up late to meet the new manager was a bullshit diva move, and I wasn’t having it.
The sound of a belt being pulled from pantloops is intimidating, and I made the most of it. Soul was pretending to be all badass, but I could scent her fear.
“Ten, today. If we have to do this again, it’ll be more.”
Soul is multiracial. If I had to guess, I’d say Caucasian, African American, and probably Native American. Her ass is light brown, and the first red streak was a beautiful shade of burgundy. I hit her harder than I would a human, and her scream filled the room.
Good.
The second strike was slightly less intense than the first, but I didn’t give her much time to recover, so her scream was just as loud. My dick threatened to swell, but I focused on keeping it soft. It wouldn’t do for me to sport a hard-on while I did this.
I kept the strikes manageable for her until I reached the eighth, which I made slightly more intense than the first. She nearly stood, but she managed to stay down enough to keep me from subtracting her last two. We had an audience — people working in view of the door, so they could see inside. Also, dancers at the edge of the stage, peering around the corner. I ignored them.
I gave the ninth and tenth back to back, a helluva lot harder than any previous strike, and I put my hand on her back to keep her from raising up. The belting was over, so I wasn’t holding her down to make her take it. I was giving her a little mercy so she didn’t get those two again.
Her ass was striped a deep burgundy red, but she could heal it in no time. I closed the door, turned, and leaned against it.
“Pull your pants up and have a seat when you’re ready.”
She stood and pulled them up, tears running down her face. I walked to my desk, grabbed a few tissues, and took them to her. She blew her nose, took a few breaths, and pulled herself together.
“If I thought a hug would help, I’d have given you one. I’ll need to get to know you better before I can learn how to comfort you.” I ran my hand through my hair and observed her body language. She was pissed, and embarrassed, and just all around unhappy.
I leaned against the desk and held the edge of the wood beside my hips. “I know you’re our star, but I don’t do divas. I don’t intend to screw around with the backstage area until I’ve been here at least a month, and maybe not even then.” Her area backstage was twice the size of everyone else’s space. The rest of the girls sat at a long counter with a mirror behind it to do their makeup and hair, and she had a dividing wall to give her some privacy. “Being the star doesn’t mean you don’t have to follow the rules. Understood?”
“You didn’t even ask why we were late.”
“I assumed you’d offer an explanation if you had a good reason.”
She looked at her feet.
“Was it a good reason?”
She shook her head, so I moved on. “How long until your marks fade?”
She shrugged. “Immediately if I change, but I’ll need to eat when I come back to human. Otherwise, probably an hour and a half.”
“You don’t go on stage for two hours, so it’s your choice. I aimed at your ass and not the backs of your legs. Wear one of those tiny skirts and you’ll be fine working the floor and taking people into the lap dance rooms. It’s dark in there.”
She shook her head. “I don’t have a lot of control as the snake, and I’m mad at you. Can I have your office without you in it, so I can shift and heal?”
“No. You won’t bite me. Your snake might consider it, but she won’t.”
She glared at me a few seconds, and then changed to snake without taking her clothes off. The snake wiggled out of them, gave me a lot of angry tongue action, and coiled as if to spring. I took a step closer and looked down with my arms loose at my side. If she struck, I’d grab her before she got a tooth on me.
But she changed back to naked human and took her time putting her clothes back on.
“Two burgers on the house,” I told her. “I’ll order them and bring them in, so no one will know you ate.” She nodded, and I closed my door on the way out to the bar.
Chapter Four
Bobcat
By ten that night, I realized I was more director than manager. This was entertainment, with lights and dancers and waitresses. I could see the interior through cameras from my office, but I worked best out in the club, directing dancers to people who didn’t look as if they were enjoying themselves, and making sure the parties were taken care of.
It turns out, they didn’t call the stage protrusions runways. They referred to them as the left stage, the center stage, and the right stage. The part in the back that connected them all together was called the main stage.
We had three to five dancers on the stages at all times
, and they took turns being in the spotlight on the center stage. Depending on the day of the week and time of the night, we had another three to ten dancers available to entertain parties, for lap dances, or for a trip next door. This was a weekend, so I had a fuckload of dancers and patrons and wait staff to manage. Dementor seemed to have a good handle on security, thank goodness.
As with the workin’ girls, it seemed repeat customers had their special favorites, and both Trinity and Jade had a knack for making every customer feel special — the mark of any good whore, but these girls were too skilled on stage to move to the spa.
I’d noted the night before that Birmingham is a long way from Vegas, but Soul was as good as anyone I’d seen in the Vegas shows. She also charged more than twice what the other girls did to walk next door, which meant she didn’t go as often, but she likely made more money. Because we took income from the johns to rent the rooms, we only got twenty percent of their take — to cover our expenses for protecting them from the johns and for paying legal fees if they were arrested.
The night was crazy hectic, but everything seemed to flow until one in the morning, when I heard an argument near the bar. I moved towards Jade and Alondra, looking like they were about to come to blows.
“I’ll keep them soaked in drinks, it’s your job to shake your ass and look pretty. Don’t you worry ’bout me doin’ my fucking job.”
“Their glasses were fuckin’ empty! Do your damned job and stop costing us money. We’re professional entertainers, you’re just a damned gofer.”
Alondra lifted her hand to strike Jade, and I took a few rapid steps and grabbed her arm.
“I have a whole stack of people wanting a job as a waitress. I suggest you get back to your job and see to it your customers are taken care of.”
She glared at me and walked away, and I turned to Jade. “You’re a mouthy little cunt, aren’t you? You’ll apologize for calling her a gofer, and you’ll tell her you couldn’t do your job without her, or you and I will have problems.” I leaned in and held the little fox shifter’s gaze. “You don’t want to have problems with me.”
She narrowed her eyes at me, and I gave her my friendliest smile, which I’m told is damned creepy when I’m making a point. “Let the bartenders or a bouncer know if you’re seeing drinks that need replacing. They’ll give me a heads up, and I’ll deal with the waitress — if she’s slammed then I’ll cover for her, if she’s not doing her job then she’ll hear from me. You aren’t her boss, and I don’t deal well with drama in my club.”
She blew out a breath. “Yeah. Okay, but don’t make me apologize.”
“You have your orders. You don’t want to have to apologize in the future? Don’t be a mouthy little bitch.” She didn’t respond, and I stepped back. “Apologize and then get back to the bachelor party. How long until you’re back on stage?”
She glanced at the stage and looked back to me. “Three numbers, but I don’t have much prep for this one, just a few minutes. I’m good.” The top tier girls danced center stage, then right stage, then left stage, and then entertained parties unless someone had requested a lap dance. When we didn’t have too many parties going, they worked the floor instead. Most of the girls changed outfits every time they went to center stage.
I nodded and watched her walk away. She stopped to talk to Alondra, and I focused in to listen.
“Look, I’m sorry about the gofer thing. That was bitchy. We need ya’ll. We can’t do our jobs without the alcohol flowing. I’ll try not to let my mouth run away again.”
Alondra looked surprised, but she glanced around and met my gaze. Her expression told me she knew I’d made Jade apologize, but she wasn’t bitchy back. “Yeah. Okay. I’m slammed, and a few of them are tossing them back like water. I’ll keep a closer eye.”
Did Alondra know about supernaturals? Did she know I could hear? Or, maybe she just thought the whole damned place was bugged.
Soul glared at me when I was near, but I ignored her animosity. However, when it was time to get half her brother’s tips at the end of the evening, I was worried I’d have to fire the man. After a thirty second staring contest, Atlas counted his tips out and handed over half.
“Is that all of them? And you know I’ll smell a lie.”
If looks could kill, I’d have been in serious trouble. Another staring contest, and Atlas pulled a smaller stack of bills from his other pocket, counted some more money out, and said, “Yes, that’s it. Half of my night.”
I put fifty back on his stack and let him watch me put the cash inside a glass jar, and then put it inside the safe. I closed it, locked it, and told him, “We’ll talk about where the money will go later, but it won’t go into my pocket, or any other brother’s, so long as I’m manager. The fund will benefit the employees as the need arises.”
He didn’t stop glaring at me, but some of the tension in his body relaxed.
“We square?” I asked.
“We were late. It won’t happen again.”
“If there’s a problem, call me. If you get caught in a wreck, or your neighbor collapses on the sidewalk and you need to help her... whatever. Call. Even if you oversleep, call me — the consequences will be less if I know you’re on the way and I don’t have to stress about being short-handed all damned night.”
“My apartment and car were set on fire during the riots. I’m sleeping on my sister’s sofa, and I’m stuck depending on her for transportation. My car insurance didn’t pay for damage due to civil disorder. I still have to pay the bank, but I don’t have a car.”
“I’m sorry about that, but that’s between you and your sister.”
He nodded. “I get it. Thanks for handing me some of it back.”
Jade was waiting outside my office when he left, and I motioned her in. She’d signed up for the first one-on-one meeting, and she smelled nervous as fuck.
“This is just a chance for me to get to know all of you,” I told her as I closed the door and walked to my chair. “Have a seat. Get comfortable. I’ll walk you out when we’re through. I assume you drive here?” I knew she did. I’d watched the security cams when everyone arrived before the meeting. I needed to get her talking, and that meant asking easy questions.
“Yeah. Whoever’s on bouncer duty usually walks us out. We’ve all had it drilled into us to call the control room and not the cops if we think someone’s trying to follow us home.”
“That’s right.” I sat and looked at my laptop, though I knew all about her without looking at her file. “You’re twenty, and it looks like you graduated high school with a 4.0 GPA, and you’re going to UAB with a major in Genetics and Genome Sciences? That’s pretty damned impressive.”
She shrugged. “My scholarship covers all but about five grand a year of my tuition and boarding, but working here, I can afford an apartment and don’t have to live on campus. Plus, I’m saving enough so I won’t have to work once I start the graduate program.”
I usually ask girls where they see themselves in five years. Some haven’t even considered it, and this gives me an idea of the kind of person they are. Others have a plan, and that’s always enlightening. I already knew Jade’s plan, so I didn’t need to ask. However, I wanted to know more about why she’d made certain choices. As a fox shifter, she didn’t view sex the same as humans. I was told she’s picky about who she’ll go next door with, but she goes if someone does it for her. Otherwise, she makes good money dancing and doing lap dances.
“I’m guessing you don’t have time for boyfriends?”
“No.”
“How much time do you give your fox?”
She sighed. “My grandmother isn’t happy with my life choices, but she doesn’t understand I want to study my own genome. She’s happy understanding what the magic requires, and doing it. I want to know how it works on a physical level.”
She hadn’t answered my question. I opted not to ask it again, but to go with the flow. “Your English is excellent, but at least one of the people wh
o raised you was born in Asia and moved here as an adult.” Her accent easily gave it away.
She nodded. “My grandmother was born and raised in Japan. My mother was born here. We’re all kitsune. As is the custom, I do not know my grandfather or father.”
“Your mother and grandmother live in Atlanta? How often do you get to see them?”
“School breaks, plus two weeks in the summer. I put in for leave months in advance, to be sure I get it.”
“Do they know where you work?”
She shook her head. “I think my grandmother might be able to accept it, but my mother never would.” She took a breath. “I won’t offer you a blow job, but you can take my ass without a condom if you’d like.”
I leaned back and gave her what I hoped was a warm smile. “Not in this meeting. I’ll enjoy the chance to take you up on the offer if you make it later, but this meeting is about getting to know you as a person, not a fucktoy. Do you have something against blow jobs?”
“Yes. I don’t do them. I also only have anal sex. I can’t take birth control, and the latex on condoms burns me, but I don’t trust them anyway — especially not the new non-latex ones. I don’t have time for a baby, and no one ever got pregnant from butt sex.”
The latex issue was a problem for many shapeshifters, so we kept polyisoprene condoms stocked as well. They’re thinner than latex and some people say they break more often, though I haven’t had that issue. The real problem is that they feel better than latex, and you aren’t likely to realize it’s broken until you’ve finished.
“Good to know. Have you ever encountered people from school while you dance?”
She gave me a mischievous grin, and her face morphed. It wasn’t a huge change, and I couldn’t put my finger on exactly what altered, but she suddenly didn’t look like Jade anymore. She rolled her eyes and morphed back into Jade. “That hasn’t been a problem.”
Bobcat (Rolling Thunder MC Birmingham Book 2) Page 3
