The Dancer

by Jordan Silver

  Her chest heaved with anger but she had the good sense to sit. Not many people can withstand my glare, least of all a half pint little thing like her.

  Tony opened the door just then and passed her the bag that I’d forgotten. She gave him a grudging thanks but never took her eyes off of me.

  It was finally hitting home what the fuck I’d just done, but for some reason I couldn’t make myself care. I could just claim temporary insanity or some shit because, what else could it be?

  I held my fingers above my lips as I studied her while she stared back at me. No scratch that, that wasn’t a stare, but a glower.

  Now that I had her here I didn’t know what the hell to do next. I’d acted without thinking which wasn’t something I was known for. But the thought of her dancing in that place made my skin crawl.

  We might be on the same street, but we’re miles apart in everything else. That still didn’t explain why I didn’t want her dancing in my place, or why I’d ran out the door after her.

  “Do you know how many laws you’ve just broken?”

  “I’m not concerned.”

  “Why have you brought me here?” Fuck if I know. I’m still trying to figure that shit out myself.

  If I tell her about my sixth sense there’s a sure bet she’d laugh her ass off. Only I know that shit’s real. But the fact that she’s nowhere near my type is throwing me off.

  She fidgeted under my unwavering stare which I didn’t break until she started to get up from the chair. “Stay!” I knew in my gut that if she walked out the door I’d regret it for the rest of my life.

  “What is your problem? Why do you keep giving me canine commands?”

  “I’m sorry I don’t mean to. Look, let’s start over.” I rubbed my hand over my face to give myself a few seconds. Shit didn’t work.

  “Why do you want to dance?”

  “Why is that any of your business?” She looked me dead in my face and asked me that shit.

  “Do you know who I am?”

  “Does it look like I care?” Does she really not give a shit? Or is that just false bravado?

  “I’ll repeat the question. Think long and hard before you answer this time or you may not like my response.” If looks could kill I’d be six feet deep.

  I realized that she was the first female to give me shit ever in my life. Even as a young man in high school and beyond, girls used to take my shit no matter what kind of mood I was in.

  Only my mother would put me in my place if I got out of hand. Come to think of it, I don’t recall ever treating a female in such a shabby fashion before. I was usually much smoother when dealing with the opposite sex.

  I didn’t stop to think why this one in particular had brought out this side of me. I just knew that I didn’t want her shaking her ass on a stage for leering men to paw at and make lewd comments about to their friends.

  She wasn’t the youngest or the prettiest one to cross these doors in the past few years that I’ve been here. But for some reason she was the one to catch my notice. I’d try to figure that shit out when it didn’t feel like my head was about to spin off my shoulders.

  I’m thinking my instincts might be off on this one. There’s nothing remotely appealing about this girl. Not that she’s not pretty she’s that and more. But she doesn’t have that raw edge to her. That quality that I always look for in a woman that assures me there will be no drama when I kick her out of my bed.

  “Let’s try this again. I won’t ask why you want to dance since the question is moot. No one in this city will hire you to dance.” I’ll make sure of that shit. She opened her mouth no doubt to swear at me some more, but I held up a finger to put her on pause.

  “I’m not finished. If it’s a job you’re after, I’m more than willing to give you one, but not as a stripper. Believe it or not, in my place, some of the waitresses make just as much and sometimes more than the dancers. It all depends on their shifts.”

  “I’ve never worked as a waitress before.”

  “Does that mean you’ve danced before?” From the way she shifted her eyes and tugged at her bag I took that to mean she wasn’t going to answer.

  “Fine! If you want the job it’s yours. You will be trained so that’s not an issue. The hours are long on the weekends but the pay is worth it.”

  I actually tensed up as I waited for her to reject my offer, and only relaxed when she didn’t. I was still trying to take her in, still trying to figure out what about her was making me sweat.

  I had a sneaky suspicion I knew what the fuck was up, but there was no way. Then again life likes to fuck with me for pure shits and giggles. Whatever the cause, I knew I had to follow through. Because as fucked up as this shit is, my sixth sense has never steered me wrong before.

  “If you’re good at what you do, you’ll make good money in tips on top of your pay which is the best in the city.” She bit into her lip as if giving my words some thought and looked around the room.

  I can’t believe I’m actually sitting here trying to sell her on the job. In fact nothing made sense since I stood at the bar and was poleaxed for no good damn reason.

  She took her sweet time answering and once her eyes came back to me that fire had not been banked. She was still pissed and with good reason.

  I should probably apologize for my behavior, but I didn’t want to. I was trying to do her a favor wasn’t I? But from the looks of it she didn’t see it that way.

  If shit was different I would probably laugh at the situation, but my thoughts and emotions were all over the damn place. Besides, nothing about this felt remotely funny.

  Chapter 3

  I expected her to ask me something as inane as why I was doing this, but she didn’t. “I’ll give it two weeks but if it doesn’t work I’ll go elsewhere. As to me not finding a job in the city, there are other places outside of the city I can try.”

  She got to her feet and pushed the bag on her shoulder. “Who do I have to see about the job?”

  “You’re seeing him now.” I don’t usually handle the hiring, but with her I had a feeling I was going to be breaking a lot of my own rules.

  “Wait here.” I went out and found the floor manager to get what I needed, and just as I thought, everyone was giving me strange looks. I ignored them all and walked back into my office without a word to anyone.

  I passed her the paperwork to fill out and left the room again to give her some time alone. Something else I’ve never done, leave anyone let alone a total stranger unattended in my private office, but I did it now without a second thought.

  My staff was never allowed in there except for the general manager, rarely. And on occasion the shift managers who never got any farther than the doorway. We usually met in the manager’s office on the other side if there was a need.

  I headed to the bar to order her something to eat since she looked beat. She had that hungry look that I knew only too well. I struggled over what to get her since I know fuck all about female eating habits, they change so often. In the end I chose something I would eat with a few modifications.

  I went back to her after making sure someone would bring it to her once it was ready, still ignoring the questioning looks and knowing glances from my staff. It was mighty crowded around the damn bar and the hallway leading to my office. Nosy fucks!

  She was placing the papers and pen on the desk when I walked back in and for some reason I felt panic at the thought of her leaving. I even contemplated blocking her path to the door to keep her here, but was saved from that asinine move when she didn’t leave the chair right away.

  “Aren’t you at least going to look at it?”

  “Huh?” She pointed to the papers she’d just filled out and I came out of my stupor.

  “Oh, yeah, sure.” The fuck I know. As far as I’m concerned she was already hired.

  Get your shit together Max before your ass ends up in trouble. No doubt she’d find my behavior strange. Even I thought I was acting like some kind of deran
ged lunatic. First grabbing her hand and dragging her off, and now holding her hostage in my inner sanctum.

  I took an inordinate amount of time looking over the sheet of paper and was glad when I found something to hold her back for.

  “Why did you put a PO Box as your address?” She swallowed hard and fiddled with the bag in her lap and looked everywhere but at me. Very suspicious indeed.

  Of course my mind automatically started going in all directions. Only someone who was hiding or running from something would do such a thing right.

  “I just recently moved here and I don’t have a permanent residence as yet.”

  “Where are you staying?”

  “Why is that important right now? I’ll let you know as soon as I find a place.”

  “Are you saying you’re living on the streets?” That ugly jacket she wore did look like she was two steps away from being homeless. But she was too clean and even with the hungry look I’d noticed earlier it didn’t ring true.

  “No! I’m staying with friends until I find a place of my own if that’s any of your concern.” She was back to being pissy, but I was beginning to think that was her defense mechanism.

  Somehow I knew she was lying to me, but I didn’t want to push her, not yet. They’d be time enough to find out all I wanted to know. But without an address how would I find her if she decided to skip? And why did the thought of losing her make my gut hurt?

  “Okay we’ll leave it for now. The hours are from four until midnight, you can start training tomorrow. Once your three days of training are up we’ll work out a schedule.”

  “Do I get paid for training?” At least she wasn’t shy. Most people wouldn’t ask that question outright, at least not to me anyway. What a bold little thing she is.

  “Yes, you also get meals before shift starts and all the soda and juice throughout. If I catch you drinking alcohol on the job you’re fired.” She made a face, but didn’t say anything else.

  Just then there was a knock on the door and one of the bar backs came in with a tray. I saw the quick look she gave the food before looking shyly away again. It was the first look of uncertainty I’d seen on her face and I didn’t like it. I didn’t like that she was hungry.

  “Thanks Paul, put it there.” I pointed to the place in front of her on the desk and waited for him to leave before looking at her. Pride, it came off of her like a scent. She was hungry that much was obvious, but she made no move to pick up the fork that was there.

  “What’s this?” She looked at the steak and fries with the side salad that I’d ordered with a bottle of my favorite water, before staring back at me. She knew that I knew she was hungry, but to save her

  pride I had to play this shit off right or I’d hurt her. I know a lot about female pride.

  I’d watched my mother over the years and knew how hard it was for a strong woman to have to admit that she needed help from anyone.

  This one looked like she was cut from the same bolt of cloth as mom was. Stiff necked, hardheaded, stubborn; but deep down the salt of the earth.

  “I ordered you a meal. All the new tryouts get fed and since I robbed you of that I thought it only fair that I feed you.” That was only partly true.

  The tryouts were fed sure, but nowhere near as good as that. “I wasn’t sure what you liked to drink so I ordered water. If there’s something else you’d prefer…”

  “No this is fine.” She picked up the fork and put it back down again.

  “Something wrong? The steak is medium-well, I wasn’t sure…”

  “It’s not that, it just feels a bit odd eating with you watching me.” She gave me a look like she really expected me to get up and leave. What nerve in

  this one.

  “I won’t watch you, I have work to do.” I turned back to the long forgotten computer and pretended an interest in the words on the screen. In reality I was too aware of her presence to concentrate on anything else.

  She watched me for a few seconds more before picking up the knife and fork, still with a wary look my way. She was hungry, but pretending not to be as she picked at her food. That shit hurt me like a stab wound to the chest.

  I know the signs well and for some reason watching her reminded me of days when mom and I were barely scraping by and the pickings were slim.

  Seeing her like that bothered me more than it should’ve. I’m the type who gives to charity and would drop a few dollars in a hat when passing someone in need, but I’m no bleeding heart.

  She’s not the first person I’ve come across who didn’t know where their next meal was coming from. In fact I’ve hired plenty with that predicament, both men and women. But with this one, I hated that she knew that pain.

  I felt guilt and didn’t understand the feeling. Guilt and some other emotion that I had no name for. As I watched her out the side of my eye, I wondered not for the first time in the last half an hour, just what the fuck was up with me.

  It was as if I was in tune with this girl in some weird way. Just her presence alone was enough to bring forth memories I’d long buried. I hate revisiting the days of my mother’s hardship. Of the life we’d lived before football gave me a way out for her and I.

  But here I was steeped in old thoughts all because of her. Somehow the memories didn’t cut as deep as they usually do, because of her. For some odd reason they made me want to take care of her all the more.

  I was distracted from my thoughts by a knock at the door and wasn’t too surprised to see Arlene, the manager from earlier, poke her head around the opening once I gave the command to enter.

  Her gaze went directly to Annabelle and I saw the look of disbelief on her face before she could hide it. “Oh, isn’t she trying out? We’re almost done with auditions.”

  “No, close the door.” She threw me a look but knew better than to question me if she wanted to keep her cushy job. Her eyes went to Annabelle again before closing the door. That’s not going to be good.

  Thankfully she wasn’t the manager for the restaurant side of the business so she wouldn’t have much dealings with Anna if any in the future. Still there might be some interaction here and there over time. I’ll have to stay on that shit!

  I’m not blind to the attitudes of women, especially one who thinks she has a shot. And it wouldn’t be the first time jealousy had got the best of her.

  So far she’s kept herself contained and probably isn’t aware that I’m on to her past behavior. I never paid much attention to that shit since I had no real interest in the girls she’d warned off. But I had a feeling this time might be different.

  I got an uneasy feeling before I was able to squash it. I hadn’t witnessed her past behavior and none of the girls had made an issue of it. So there was no need for me to panic.

  It was only because of Tony who keeps his ear to the ground that I even knew anything had taken place. That she’d confronted a few of the dancers who’d shown an interest in me.

  I’m sure there was nothing to worry about, at least I hoped there wasn’t. After all she hadn’t been wrong in warning them off. And since she was in charge of the dancers I’d seen it as nothing more than her managerial duty.

  But it was obvious that this was different. It was true that I’d never shown any interest in anyone who worked for me, and this evening could be seen as something out of the ordinary, but what had I done really?

  Shit, when I look back on my actions I’d done plenty. I’d been territorial, heavy handed and downright domineering. Looking back I’d acted like I own her and I’d done it for everyone and their mother to see. Fuck!

  But is she really that stupid that she’d come after her because of my actions? I hope not. Her jealousy aside, she’s really good with the girls and have been a big help when it comes to keeping things the way I like them.

  I’d hired her away from a very prestigious firm to come work for me because I liked her work ethic, but if she went after this one I have a feeling she wouldn’t last much longer as my employee.r />
  I got that buzzed feeling again and took note. There are a handful of times in my life when I’ve felt like this. When I got the scholarship, when I was drafted, and when I won the nightclubs.

  For this reason I was pretty sure she was life’s latest curve ball. I’m not quite sure how yet, but it never fails. The only thing is, in the past, this feeling always came before something good.

  By the looks of this one shit was about to get difficult. For one that mouth of hers was a big fucking no-no and her attitude left much to be desired. I don’t think a female has ever sworn at me before, at least not directly to my face.

  I stole a glance at her as she dragged a French fry

  through the pint of ketchup she’d poured onto the plate before putting it between her lips. The action seemed so sensual, it was hard to look away.

  Since when are you mesmerized by a woman eating? What weird shit are you on now? I looked away quickly when she lifted her head and looked in my direction.

  She’s so prickly she just might go off the handle again if she caught me, since I’d promised not to watch. She went back to eating and I noticed something else about her.

  She was so still, so quiet, it was almost like she wasn’t there. I didn’t even hear her chewing. The longer I sat there pretending not to look at her the more I realized that I felt…settled with her here.

  More relaxed than usual for this place in any case. As if she had some kind of calming affect on me, which made no sense whatsoever with that mouth of hers.

  I smiled to myself at the fact that she was pretending I wasn’t here. Out of the corner of my eye I saw her looking around the room at the wall where photos of my past glory now hung.

  It had been years since I even noticed them, but somehow having her see them made me want to puff out my chest with pride.

  She didn’t ask any questions, didn’t get excited the way most people do. In fact I wasn’t even sure she knew who I was since she never answered the question the first time I asked. Rude ass!