Unravel (Club V Book 1)

by Gisele St. Claire

  “Ladies!” My brief reverie was over as our manager, Stew, made his way through the crowd and behind the bar. Stew was a massive guy at 6’7’ and 290 pounds. A former linebacker, he was now in charge of all the sales here at the club.

  He looked around and motioned a hand down the length of the bar. “You two are amazing. Thank you so much for taking on the extra burden of all the new patrons. I don’t think the owners knew just how well it was going to pay off when they placed that ad, but here we are and it looks like it’s going to be amazing.”

  “Happy to see it,” I said with a genuine smile.

  “Now that I’ve sufficiently oiled the cogs, I do have a favor to ask you specifically, Samara.”

  I raised an eyebrow. “Okay?”

  “I know tomorrow is your day off, but—”

  “Do you need me to come in? That’s no problem.” I blurted the words out. I was always happy to pick up an extra shift.

  Stew shook his head. “Well, not exactly. I’m going to bump Lori up to help out Suzy tomorrow night, but I was wondering if you would be able to go to the New York location tomorrow night? They have a big event and combined with the added traffic because of that ad campaign, they need as many hands on deck as they can get. You’ll be paid time and a half.”

  My eyes went wide. I had never worked at the New York location of Club V before. I hadn’t ever stepped a foot inside the place, but I knew about it by reputation. And the reputation was that they pulled in the real high rollers. Sure, here in New Jersey we saw quite a bit of money coming through the doors thanks to the people who lived in bedroom communities out here and worked high paying jobs in the city, as well as the folks who had jobs in the gambling industry or who were making their money that way.

  But New York City! Bright lights, big city…and people with crazy, insatiable sexual appetites. I guess I just needed to hope that they liked their drinks bottomless as well.

  “Absolutely. No problem, Stew. I didn’t have anything on my schedule anyway.” I gave Suzy a glance, thinking of our earlier conversation regarding my now defunct relationship with Kevin.

  “Great! I’ll make the call and let them know you’ll be there. Shift starts at 7:00 pm, maybe show up a little earlier so that they can show you the lay of the land. Oh, and you’ll need to grab one of the Club V button down blouses. They’re a little more strict about the look the bartenders have going on at that location.”

  I nodded excitedly and kept myself from rushing Stew with a hug. He talked to us a little more about some upcoming events at the club and then disappeared back into his office.

  Suzy turned to look at me, her eyes wide. “You’re going to work at NYC!”

  “Just for a night…”

  “Yeah, but you never know what it could turn into. And my god, you know how much money they see at that location…well, I mean, we don’t really know, but you know it is like major. That $50 Tommy slid between your boobs? Yeah, try something closer to $1000 in New York. Have you ever even seen a $1000 bill?” Suzy leaned against the wall and let out a breathless sigh.

  “I doubt anyone is going to slide $1000 between my boobs.”

  Suzy shook her head. “You’re right, that’s not how they roll up there.” She leaned in close to whisper with a giggle. “They’ll try to slide it in your pussy!”

  I swatted at her and glared momentarily before going to fill another glass of wine. When I returned she was still laughing.

  “But seriously, Samara, you know you’re going to have to watch it up there. I’ve never been, but I’ve heard that they do things a little differently around that place. You know what they say…about that room.”

  Anyone unfamiliar with the reputation of Club V wouldn’t know what ‘room’ Suzy was talking about, but having worked at the New Jersey location for a year now I was well aware of the rumors that surrounded the club.

  People said it was an auction room where men could come to buy women for their own pleasure and purposes. It was all rumored, of course, and no one that either Suzy or I knew had ever seen one of the rooms. Club V had a nationwide presence and they were growing by the year. If the rumors were true, Club V had an auction room at all of their major locations—New York, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Chicago, and Dallas. What happened in those auction rooms a person could only dream about because as far as I knew, no living breathing person that I had ever met, with any connection to the club, had ever stepped foot inside one.

  “You know, that could all be some kind of an urban legend. You know how those kinds of stories get started. Probably a waitress at one of the places saw something happening in one of the private rooms she didn’t understand, she told a friend and there you go. It’s a game of telephone and no one knows where it started.”

  Suzy shrugged and handed one of the bar patrons a receipt to sign. “All I’m saying is…” she moved closer to me to speak in a hushed tone. “You need to keep your head high and stay strong at a place like that. You know why I’m here? I know I can trust Stew. I wouldn’t be here if we didn’t have the kind of manager I knew I could put my complete trust in. While I have faith in the Club V brand—you know as well as I do how well they vet their members—NYC is the biggest club they have and I’ve heard stories about what some of the people show up there wanting. Sure, there’s BDSM going on around here but I’d say it’s pretty light. New York has the most elite, exclusive kind of access. They cater to their patrons’ every whim. You just need to make sure you don’t catch anyone’s eye or become a whim.”

  I rolled my eyes. “Look, I’ll be wearing the uniform. And like you said—the place is super elite and exclusive. If the guys here know that we aren’t to be bothered, I am certain that the members at that location are aware of the rule as well.”

  Suzy finally nodded. “I really am happy for you, Samara. I know that working time and a half at NYC will probably be close to two weeks of your regular work here and I know you can use that cash. Honestly, I’m probably a little jealous.” She said the last bit with a grin. “And feel free to give my number to any of the eligible ones you run into. If they’re members at the NYC location then there aren’t any stipulations about me dating them.”

  I nodded and smiled at my best friend. “That’s right, your own personal matchmaker right here. What in the world would you do without me?”

  She waved her hand nonchalantly. “Keep dating losers, clearly.”

  “You’ve had better luck than I have,” I said with a hint of bitterness in my voice. It would have been really great to have any of the short lived relationships I had been involved in since I first started college turn out to be more than just passing time, but I had almost resigned myself to no longer worrying about getting dates. There would always be men, that much I knew. I would be doing myself a favor if I spent time focusing on school and work.

  “True,” Suzy agreed. She was looking out over the crowd as it began to thin.

  Later in the evening people moved on to the alcoves or the private areas. The private rooms filled up quickly, the first of which were always the voyeur rooms with a glass panel in the voyeur hall. I had trekked down that hall several times but it never failed to shock and titillate when I realized I was surrounded on all sides by naked bodies, writhing in pleasure.

  From our station at the main bar we could look out across the expanse of the large main room and see the pool where a few people were in skimpy bathing suits or nothing at all. It was all quite spectacle this time of night, but at the bar things began to quiet. There would still be a few people there for drinks, those who had already partaken of whatever they were going to do at the club that night, or those who treated the bar like what it was—a place where they could air their troubles to a kind listening ear. And in the case of me, Suzy, and everyone else tending at Club V, our patrons got an eyeful to carry home with them every evening.

  “I wouldn’t hate to have a wealthy guy though, you know, like one of the sort we see around here,” Suzy mused.
r />   I surveyed the room. “You really think you want a guy who would show up here?”

  She shrugged as she started wiping down an area behind the bar.

  “Of course not here, specifically, since it isn’t allowed. But yeah, I think I wouldn’t mind a guy from one of the other clubs. Just to get treated well for a little while.”

  I thought carefully about what I was going to say next. No one was around to hear me and I would never say anything in front of a patron, but I had reservations about some of these guys.

  “You don’t mind…you know, what they’re into? Some of them can get a little scary.”

  “I know what you mean. There are a few, really vanilla guys, around here though. I’m sure NYC has some folks who are just there to fuck or watch other people. Not everyone is into butt plugs and ball gags, but I’m not judging your taste, Samara.” She elbowed me with a laugh.

  I just smiled and brushed her off. “Yeah, I really don’t think that’s my style.”

  Suzy gave me a half smile. “You’ll never know until you try. Have you given that much thought?”

  “Butt plugs and ball gags?”

  Suzy rolled her eyes. “No, finally handing in that v-card of yours. I don’t ever want to put any pressure on you and I know you have your reasons, but I think it might be a good thing for you to just let go a little. It doesn’t have to be perfect the first time. I’d challenge you to find many people who would describe their first time as perfect. It’s usually clumsy and messy and awkward.”

  I cleared away a few glasses and stacked them in a drainer where they would later be taken to the back to be washed.

  “You make love sound like so much fun, Suzy. Really, anyone would be champing at the bit to get at something like that.”

  She held a finger in the air. “Ah, see! That’s where you’re confused. You’re talking about love and I’m talking about some good, old-fashioned fucking. Just letting loose and going after it with a guy. Find one a little older, make sure he knows what he’s doing. They say making sure they can dance is a good indicator. Just find yourself one and go for it.” Suzy reached out and rubbed my arm. “You’ve got the body of a goddess! There are dozens of guys here every night who would die to get into bed with you. And if they knew you were a virgin…holy shit, Samara. Men worship women in that situation.”

  I frowned at her. She absolutely knew that wasn’t the kind of response I had encountered when guys I dated found out I had never had sex.

  “Umm, what? No way. Every guy I’ve dated hasn’t been into that. Or wanted to push me so far, so fast, that I had to get away.”

  “That is because you are dating boys, baby. It’s time you found yourself a man to date. I’m serious. You need to find yourself a full-grown gentleman who knows what’s up. Keep your eyes peeled in NYC. Those executive types are always crowding those places. You need to find one to help you out and then never let that guy go.”

  Chapter 3

  The train ride into the city the next evening was long and unfamiliar. I could have driven but that would have just been a nightmare. I had found a subway map on my phone and was referring to it every once in a while to make sure I didn’t miss my stop. Unwilling to be mistaken for a tourist, I held my head high and tried to give off an air of knowing what I was doing, even though I was a little afraid to be traveling to the city on my own. It wasn’t something I did much of and though I felt very confident in my own abilities, I couldn’t let my guard slip and discount the kind of crime that women sometimes experienced on public transit.

  It was a rude reminder a few stops down the line, when an older man got on the train and stood in front of my seat, his crotch almost in my face. I got up and moved down the train only to find him close at my heels. Uncertain of his intentions—whether pervy or just downright criminal—I stood next to another woman and watched the man as he stopped and stared at me, a wide, gold-toothed grin spreading across his face.

  It had been a mistake to get on the train already dressed for work. Fishnets, heels, and a miniskirt spelled one thing to people on the train and I just hoped that I looked high end if they were going to make their assumptions. For the duration of the ride I ignored the unwanted attention and finally reached my stop, hopping up and rushing out the doors, along the platform, and up the steps to the street level.

  Club V was only a few blocks away from the subway stop and I made it there in almost no time without any further issues from people I met on the street. This Club V, much like the one back at home, was understated from the outside. It seemed to be more of an issue of discretion here though, as many of their clients were actually elite members of society. Sure, back home we had our own and often entertained men that were known to be part of mob families, but here they entertained actors, diplomats, members of the news media, and politicians who were in town making the rounds on various news outlets.

  Club V NYC was in what had at one point been a textile factory. It was two stories and each story was slightly exaggerated in height, with the tall windows so common to factories built over a hundred years ago. Most of these windows appeared to be blacked out from the inside to maintain the ambiance Club V was known for, but the beauty of the old building was rather stunning from the outside. Other than the words “CLUB V” on an engraved brass plate near the front door, a person would never know what happened behind these walls. I had a feeling many still didn’t, because you couldn’t use Google to find out much about this place. I knew because I had tried many times before I took the initial job offer over a year before.

  I made my way around the side and pressed a button on the employee entrance.

  “Yes?” A voice rang out over an intercom.

  “Umm…hi. I’m Samara, Samara Tanza. From the New Jersey location. I’m here to bartend for the evening.”

  There was a pause and for a moment I wondered if I was going to be turned away and dreaded the long train ride back home.

  “Right, right. I’ll buzz you in.”

  There was a buzz and a click and I was able to open the heavy door that stood between me and the inside of Club V. It was so heavy that it shut behind me quickly and hard, pushing me inside the small foyer. It was total blackness for a moment and I had to give my eyes a second to adjust to the absence of light. After a few seconds it was clear that it wasn’t truly dark inside, only dim and especially so in this small area of the club.

  A woman in a short, skin-tight red bandage dress appeared as if from nowhere and smiled at me, offering her hand in greeting.

  “Samara…it’s a delight to meet you. I’m Elle, the director of staffing here. Why don’t you follow me. Jake wanted to see you before you were sent to orientation with one of our lead bartenders.”

  I wasn’t sure who Jake was, but assumed that he was the NYC version of Stew and so I followed Elle down the hall to one of the offices.

  “Jake is one of our co-owners. He just wanted to do a little run down of a few company policies and let you know what the expectations are here at the NYC location. I’m sure it’s all mostly what you’ve been used to in New Jersey, but there may be a few differences. We pride ourselves on maintaining a very exclusive list of members and do everything we can to preserve their privacy. I think you’ll understand what I’m getting at there.”

  I nodded, then realizing she couldn’t see me as I followed her, so I spoke up. “Oh, right. Of course. Yes, we never talk about any of our patrons outside of the club.”

  “That’s great,” Elle said. I could hear the smile in her voice. “I’m sure you’ll enjoy getting to know Jake. Here’s his office.”

  The office was on the far corner and the door opened to reveal some of those massively tall windows I had seen from the outside, only these weren’t covered and the late evening light filtered into the dim office.

  “Jake, this is Samara,” Elle said. She smiled and shut the door behind her, leaving me standing there as Jake turned around slowly in his office chair and stood to greet me.
>
  He grinned as he stood there with his hands stuffed in his front pockets, the light gray suit he wore was well-tailored and fit him perfectly. He was a tall, stunning picture of a man with jet black hair, full lips, olive skin and eyes that hovered somewhere between blue and gray.

  I was silent and realized I had been staring, and that he had been also. Unsure of who was expected to speak first, I finally spoke up.

  “Hi…Jake.”

  He nodded. “I like to see all the new people we bring on board. Just to get an idea of who is new on the floor and who might need some assistance.” He moved around his desk and came forward to greet me, reaching out a hand to shake mine. “Samara? Lovely name.” His words were like butter. I was sure but it sounded like he had the slightest hint of an accent and that made this already incredible looking hunk of a man even more attractive.

  “Thank you,” I said, trying to play it as cool as I could. If everyone around this place looked half as good as Jake did, it was going to be a long, but fun night full of eye candy.

  “I hope you’ll enjoy your time here. And not that I am looking to poach someone from one of our other locations, but you can be certain that someone of your calibre is always welcome here at Club V NYC. I’ve heard what a great bartender you’ve been in Jersey and you come highly recommended.”

  I felt my face flush. “Well, Stew is really kind. I’ve enjoyed working at Club V over the past year and couldn’t imagine a better place for myself.”

  Jake rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “What are your long-term goals regarding employment with us?”

  No one had ever asked me that question before, other than Stew when he promoted me to bartender after I had been serving for a few months.

  “I’ve really enjoyed bartending. To be honest with you it’s the thing that I’m doing to pay for my college tuition. It’s been great for that. The tips are wonderful and I’ve been able to pay for everything myself so far, without any help from my parents.”

  Something seemed to flash across Jake’s face. “How old are you?”