"Off in la-la land," Kim kidded, as she brought her breakfast tray. But, in her usual fashion, she lit up one of her long cigarettes and grabbed her coffee before she ate. "Tell me all, and I mean all about last night."
"Well," Dani began, "we went in a limo and that was a first for me. Very luxurious. Then we had dinner at the Le Fleur. It's nice there, I liked it a lot."
She raised her eyebrows. "And between Le Fleur and eleven o'clock?"
Dani laughed. "Well I had this problem. My legs cramped up at the restaurant. So he had someone named Charlene rub my legs and back."
"Isn't she a doll? But he's such a coward," she said, "he didn't do it himself?"
"That's an interesting thought. No, he was quite a gentleman. But he did take off my dress."
Kim squealed then held her mouth, as people began staring.
"So anyway, that was when Charlene was there. After she left I just couldn't stay awake so I slept for a while, I think half-hour."
"And?"
Dani grew warm just thinking about it, and she thought her face must have revealed embarrassment.
Kim waited, and dragged on her cigarette.
"Well, then, I couldn't get my dress zipped, so he helped me. And, he brushed my hair."
Kim looked off into the distance. "Yeah, I can see him doing that. He was a perfect gentleman, right?"
"Yes, I guess you could say that. He never kissed me or anything."
"Damn," she said, "I'm just dying to know how he kisses. I bet he's dynamite. Be sure to let me know if he ever does. I'm living vicariously through you here."
Dani found out the day before that Kim broke up with her boyfriend and could find no prospects anywhere. She said she was too picky about boyfriends.
Smiling, Dani said, "Tell me about the two men. Teeny and Lefty."
"Yeah, there's an interesting story. You know Al's father died in a gangland style shooting about five years ago. Teeny was consigliore to his father, the right hand man so to speak. Conferred with him on everything. Lefty is called that because he was the left hand to the father. When Al tried to take over the businesses, after the father died, I think he realized he needed to go legitimate with them. It's the new wave. He couldn't stand the violence that his family had come to represent. You know, the killing and such. Mafia style of living."
She continued, "Then all of a sudden out of nowhere he married Clarice. No one really got to know her though. She was very sheltered, and stayed in his other property on the outskirts of Vegas." She peered at Dani. "You resemble her a bit. Have a look next time you're up in the penthouse. Take my word for it, he'll ask you up there again eventually."
Jealousy hit Dani then. "Why, has he done this with other women?"
"No," she grinned, as she ground out the cigarette and nibbled on her toast. "I just know him. I saw the way he looked at you last night. Girl, he's in love." She squealed again and stomped her feet and now people really looked.
Tony Barrelli came into town on Al's private jet around noon. After the limo ride from the airport, he was glad to stretch his legs and walk around Winner Takes All Casino for a while. He watched the dealers, efficiently dealing and breaking hundred dollar bills, he watched the cage counting out change carefully, and congratulating patrons on jackpots, and he walked by the immaculate slot areas.
Riding up to Al's penthouse, a quiet ride compared to the din of the casino, he was thankful his friend had given him the responsibility of his Atlantic City casino. Tony thought casinos were in his blood. He loved every minute being manager, interfacing with staff, finding problems and solving them.
"Hey!" he cried, once in Al's living area.
The man came out in his shirtsleeves and chino pants, more casual than Tony had ever seen him.
"What's this, I leave for a while and you look like preppy central?"
Al laughed and they hugged and shook hands. "Come," he said, "have a drink. What can I get you?"
"Pussy, if you've got it."
Laughing again, he replied, "In plentiful supply, my friend. Just let me know who and what time."
They strolled into the den area, and sat facing each other.
"My briefcase is in the room," Tony began, "I figured you'd want to set aside about an hour to go over the figures."
Al nodded. "Around ten tomorrow."
Nodding to the pictures of Clarice and Al on the glass shelves in the stereo component, he said, "Find a replacement yet?"
In typical fashion, Al just said, "I'm working on it."
"How's that blonde bombshell in your review? I can't remember her name, but she's good for what ails me."
"Lorali. I'll see if she can see you tonight. I'm sure it can be arranged."
"So how is your casino doing?"
Sighing, Al replied, "We're losing cash. Someone's on the take, or maybe two or three. Surveillance shows nothing. Audit shows nothing. Yet the cage is consistently off, more and more every week."
"Wish I could help. It's hard when your own turn on you."
Al knew what he meant. He gave his employees the world and in return expected unflagging loyalty.
He sat back in his chair. "You know, Vito is a weak manager, not good at hiring the best of people. Maybe I'm expecting too much. After all, this town does attract a certain amount of lowlifes with no criminal records. But, that doesn't mean they aren't criminals when all is said and done. How do I catch them?"
Tony frowned. "I would start by looking for the most obvious one, maybe with behavior problems."
Immediately, Al thought of Michael throwing chairs on the pull and Maude coming in late. "We don't see anything on the tapes."
"You tried going in person?"
"They'd never act up if I was looking over their shoulders."
"How about a mole?"
"Now I think you've got something my friend."
Lorali, in her suite relaxing, answered her cell phone on the second ring when she saw who was calling. "Yes Al?" she purred.
She heard a game on TV in the background, as he said casually, "How are you Lorali?"
"If I was any better it would be illegal."
He laughed. "My friend Tony is here from Atlantic City. Do you remember him?"
"Mister fix it," she joked, "of course I remember him." How could she forget? He was a positively horny man, with insatiable appetites. She could barely walk after that last time with him. It wasn't really bad, just vigorous.
"He'd like to see you after the last show," Al said finally. She heard two voices in the background.
"Where are you?"
"In the penthouse with Vito and Tony."
Vito. Now that was a whole different story. It was well known that Marie liked him. A lot. Lorali didn't want to mess with that.
Besides, her tastes ran toward the Tony type, muscled, thirtyish, wavy brown hair who had a way with women. "Sure," she said finally, "anything for you."
Plus, she thought, it would satisfy his appetites for a while and please her boss.
"Okay," Al said, "we'll come backstage after the performance."
They clicked off and she remembered last night, and Al having his hand on Dani's back. She sniffed, and thought she had that one covered.
Marie's cell phone rang as she was out shopping. "Hi Al," she said breathlessly, as she searched for a place in the packed mall to sit down.
"Did I catch you at a good time?" he asked politely.
"Of course, I was just shopping and I think it uses more energy than dancing ever did."
"I'll bet. Listen, I have a favor to ask."
Her sensors were immediately on red alert. Al had never asked her for a favor in five years. "Anything. What can I do?"
"I need you to change positions in the casino. I'd like you to be assistant cage manager."
She felt like the wind had been knocked out of her. "Am I not doing a good job?" She loved working backstage, and wasn't wild about switching to the cage of all places.
"You always do exce
llent work, Marie. I need someone I trust down there."
It dawned on her then. Someone was on the take, and he wanted her to find out who. "No problem. I understand completely. When do I start?"
"How about Monday? That will give you a day off. The shift is four AM to noon."
"Okay. I'll check with Stutgart and we'll work it out."
"And Marie, it's just temporary. You understand."
"Absolutely."
Dani had a bite to eat at six o'clock that evening, but her usual appetite had left her in the afternoon. She had pre-performance jitters, as she paced up and back in her suite.
Her phone rang. "Yes?" she snapped.
Al paused for a minute. "Are you okay, Dani?"
She ran a hand through her hair. "No."
"Talk to me."
"What if I screw up?" So badly they fire me, although she couldn't say that to him.
"You won't," he said smoothly.
"Wish I had your confidence." She continued pacing.
"Would you like some company?" She heard someone in the background then, a shout then yells. "Football," he said simply. "A few diehard fans in the penthouse here."
She had to think about this for a minute. Did she really want to see him or would he just make her more nervous? "I think I'll just stand around here and worry. Thanks anyway. See you at the show."
A few minutes later, she answered a knock on the door. A stocky grey-haired woman stood there carrying a tote. "Remember me?" she asked Dani.
"No, I'm sorry. I don't."
"Charlene." She pushed into the room. "Al called me. Said you needed calming down."
Dani closed the door, and smiled at the woman. "I'm sorry, I was so preoccupied last night, but I do remember your wonderful massage."
"Well let's go then," Charlene said good-naturedly.
During the massage, Dani asked her, "How long have you worked for Al?"
"Must be a million years now," she laughed, "but seriously I worked on his father too, so it's been a while. That means I can call him a jackass and he doesn't talk back."
"And what was his father like?"
"Very old school. And a mean, murdering son-of-a-bitch who would stop at nothing to get what he wanted."
Dani gasped at that and the brutal honesty.
"It's the truth. And I see some of the old man in the son. Al's not vicious, though, that's the difference. He doesn't hold a grudge like the old man did. So, are you seeing him socially then?"
Dani thought for a minute. "Not really. He just asked me to dinner yesterday. And he gave me a cell phone, which I thought was nice."
Charlene snorted. "Wants to keep track of you, I'll bet my last buck. And he hasn't asked anyone to dinner since his wife died a year ago. The way he looked at you last night, I would say he's extremely interested."
"I just thought he was treating me the way he treats all new dancers," Dani said slowly.
"He always has an agenda. He knows I can see right through him, and he always seems to call when he's in a jam." Charlene finished up and put her lotions away while Dani donned her robe.
"That feels much better, thanks so much."
Charlene handed Dani her card. "Just give me a call whenever. I don't sleep too well anymore, so time is not really an issue with me."
Kim and Dani joined the other women before the first show.
Dani walked reluctantly to her make-up area, trying to remember what all to apply. First, she stroked on the primer, and applied foundation, blending it with her fingers. She didn't need concealer, so she applied powder.
For her eyes, she used the dark eye shadow for dramatic effect with silver on the lid. She then lined her eyes with charcoal liner.
False eyelashes were a bit tricky, getting them to size right, but she ended up with a good result.
She applied blusher, lined her lips with cherry red, and filled in her lips with cherry lipstick.
"Wow!" Kim said, as she came to see Dani's progress. "let's get dressed...or should I say undressed," she laughed.
The silver and gold spangled outfits were similar to a bikini with a separate top and bottom. Yesterday, she'd shaved off everything, as Kim told her not to leave a hair on her body, just on her head.
They stood together before the full length mirrors after strapping on the foot tall headdresses, complete with feathers, and donning long matching gloves.
"So kid," Kim drawled, "what do you think?"
Dani gave her a huge smile.
"That's the one, keep it on your face."
*****
"So," Tony asked Al, "isn't there a show at nine o'clock?"
"Yeah."
"Are we going?"
"No, we'll go to the eleven o'clock show. That's the one I usually go to."
"Okay my man, you just look nervous as hell, just wanted to ask."
*****
Dani thought the first show went very well. She tried to put her body on autopilot, and just recreate the dress rehearsal they'd had earlier. She erred once then caught herself in time so she wouldn't get too far out of step. She realized how powerful her body was, felt the magnetism of the audience reacting to her every move. As well, she wondered if they would really keep her on at the casino.
And, while performing, she realized Nola was right. There was an invisible barrier between the dancers and the audience. They couldn't hurt her at all.
Adriene and Kim complimented her afterwards, along with most of the other dancers.
And, as she looked in the mirror to fix her hair, she realized she'd done it. She was a dancer after all.
Chapter 7
However, the eleven o'clock show was a disaster.
At the beginning, they opened arms up in their pose position, to thunderous applause. The theater was packed.
Dani led the procession down the long steps on the stage, and into the lower dancing part of the stage to the sounds of a pounding rock song.
They danced for a minute or so then it struck. Dani's heel broke off her shoe, and went flying offstage. For a second she froze.
Then she really went on auto pilot. She took off both shoes, threw them backstage, shucked off her headdress also thrown now to the man offstage. Her hair flew out of the pins and was long on her back. She heard cheering from the audience, and it rallied her on.
After she'd thrown her gloves, she put on her thousand watt smile while posing. Then she started moving to the music. In her bare feet, she hunkered down, she shimmied and thrust her hips back and forth, and turned several times. More cheers from the audience.
But when she started whipping her hair back and forth, until it was a cloud around her face, they really went wild.
Her gaze caught that of snapping blue-grey eyes. So, she danced for Al. Shimmy, thrust, hair flip back, forth, with her hands out to the side then in front as she stepped forward. She turned her back to the audience and grinned at the dancers in front of her, all posing now, and ran her hands down her legs until her hands touched her feet and her hair gathered on the floor.
She repeated all the moves to fill in the ruined routine.
When the song ended, Dani lithely ran off stage, with a final whistle to the dancers, who followed her, smiling and waving at the audience.
"Holy shit!" Tony said to Al in amazement as they sat in the second row. "Who IS she?"
"The one I'm working on," Al said, without missing a beat.
"Damn. She makes the blonde look like dog crap. We still have that agreement to not go after each other's women?"
"You bet," Al replied, as a smile played on his lips.
Backstage, things were chaotic. All the women hugged Dani, with the exception of Lorali who had a scowl on her face.
Kim picked up the broken heel, and the other part of the shoe then looked at them closely. "Adriene, Marie, look at this."
But all the women gathered around Kim, who said, "Right here. It's been tampered with."
Al walked up. "Let me see that." They saw his jaw
flex as he inspected the mangled shoe, and his eyes were steel gray as they looked up. "If I find out who did this, there will be hell to pay," he said.
Then to Dani, who stood breathless and flushed, a softer look. "Are you all right then Miss Troubix?"
She watched him curiously. "Yes, sir."
"You didn't turn an ankle? You're not injured?"
"No, sir."
"Your dancing was outstanding tonight," he said as he smiled and looked down at her.
"Thank you, Mr. Scaletti."
"I'd like you to meet Antonio Barrelli, our GM in Atlantic City."
"How do you do Mr. Barrelli?"
"I do just fine, sweetheart. Call me Tony."
Dani wasn't sure why they were being so formal all of a sudden, but she was just glad she'd made it through the performance.
For some reason, she felt embarrassed now. The man Tony, a little shorter and stockier than Al, was eyeing her with interest. She turned back to her mirror and started taking off her make-up.
In the reflection, she watched Lorali saunter up to him and run a hand down his suit front. He bent down and whispered in her ear while his hand came onto her derriere. She giggled and slapped at him playfully.
Al took in the scene, she realized, as he took in everything. He caught her eye, and his look was warm. Very warm.
Back in her suite she realized that after every performance she would probably have this deflated feeling. She showered and washed her hair. Pouring herself a small amount of whiskey, she sipped as she sat on the sofa, and felt the burn going down her throat.
Her cell phone rang, and she had to hunt for it, finally found it under a cushion in the chair. "Yes?"
"Do you ever say hello?"
She laughed. "I guess I don't. I'm spacing out a bit, having a little letdown you could say."
Romance in Vegas - Showgirl! Page 5
