by K. M. Scott
Lola and I made our way to the circle of bartenders and servers who surrounded Stefan, and I saw Mika hang back away from the crowd. He hadn’t lied. I hadn’t been sure of what I’d find when I came back, but he’d been true to his word, it seemed. Hopefully, there wouldn’t be any more problems with Mika from now on.
I listened as Stefan handed out the night’s assignments, loving how happy Lola looked as he announced her new position as permanent head bartender and everyone but Mika clapped for her. Once or twice our eyes met and I smiled at him, surprised at how much I was beginning to like this new Stefan. I was sure he’d show me that arrogant asshole part of him again, but for the time being, I enjoyed the bossman.
When he finished, everyone scattered to their places to get ready for a busy Monday night. Assigned to the front bar with Lola, I had to laugh when she asked how I really got the scratch on my face.
“You heard right. Mika tried to scratch my eye out.”
“I bet Stefan saved you, right?”
Still his biggest cheerleader. “Not exactly, but now that I think of it, I should have asked for combat pay to come back.”
“He really does appreciate you, Shay. I can see it in the way he talks to you.”
“I must have missed the appreciation side of our boss, Lola. All I’ve seen is the sexually harassing side and the one where he was so angry I thought flames might shoot out his eyes the other night.”
She giggled and said, “You’re funny, you know that?”
“I guess. I just say what I think.”
Handing me a bottle from under the bar, she smiled. “I think that’s a good thing. There aren’t enough people in this world who say what they think.”
I couldn’t help but wonder how someone who’d obviously spent a lot of time in bars could be so gentle and naïve. Lola seemed to be at least my age, if not older, but she had the soul of someone who’d never seen ugliness in the world.
“You’re too nice, Lola.”
“Not always,” she said as she twisted her face into a fake grimace.
“You always make excuses for Stefan, and you seem to like the one part of me that pisses people off the most.”
“Well, I told you, men like Stefan are just being true to themselves, like you are. I think that’s why I like both of you. There’s nothing phony about either of you. That’s how people should be.”
Kerry interrupted us with a laundry list of questions, so Lola headed off to the back bar to help her. As I crouched down to get the area under the bar ready for the night, I looked up to see Stefan leaning over staring down at me. “You need something, bossman?”
“Just wanted to see if everything’s okay with my new bartender.”
I stood up and shook my head. “I’m not new, Stefan.”
“Well, I was hoping that maybe we could say that this is your first night so we could get off on the right foot this time around.”
He had that same look on his face that he’d worn earlier as he left my apartment. His brown eyes sparkled, like he was enjoying himself. Maybe he was right. Maybe we should try to get along instead of always being at each other’s throats.
I reached my hand out in front of me to shake his. “It’s nice to meet you. I’m Shay Callahan.”
He shook my hand and smiled. “And I’m Stefan March. Nice to meet you, Shay. I think you’re going to love working at Club X.”
His grip was light, even though his hand dwarfed mine. For the first time, I noticed how truly built he was and how attractive he could be. As I took my hand back, I smiled to him. “I’m sure I’m going to love it here.”
“Hey, Shay, glad to see you back.”
I turned to see Stefan’s brother Kane come from behind him. Always a nice surprise, he was all smiles for me tonight. “Well, I couldn’t stay away for long. Stefan convinced me everybody wins if I came back.”
“I’m sure they do. Mind if I steal my brother away for a moment?”
“No problem. I’ll leave you guys to it.”
Stefan’s expression had morphed into a sneer, and I walked down to the end of the bar to cut up some fruit. The two of them were still within earshot, though, and I heard Kane say, “You look like you’re making progress, but you’re still going to lose, Stef. And I’m going to enjoy it.”
“Lose my ass. Get ready to learn how to run a bar, Kane. And make sure the Mustang is ready because I am.”
I looked up to see them both staring down at me, Stefan with his new kinder look and Kane with a look that made me think Elliot might have had the right idea but the wrong brother.
* * *
MY RETURN to Club X turned out to be even better than I imagined. Whatever Stefan said to Mika worked because she practically avoided me like I had the plague and when she was forced to be around me, she made every effort to be civil. It looked at times like she wanted to bite through steel, but she remained polite, if cool. Cool was fine with me, though.
Lola’s new position as head bartender suited her, and I liked to think that I might have had something to do with her getting the recognition she deserved. As for me, I liked working with her and most of the other staff¸ and even Stefan had begun to grow on me. Not like he did for Lola, but at least I didn’t despise him anymore.
The night for the private party with the Seventies theme rolled around, and I showed up at work in my Daisy Duke costume, impressed I still fit into cutoff shorts I’d worn in my freshman year in college six long years before. A bunch of the girls had said they were coming dressed as Charlie’s Angels, so at least I wouldn’t look like one in a line of Farrah Fawcett clones. Nearly everyone had arrived already, so I took my place behind the front bar with Lola and hoped Stefan would assign me there for the party.
Lola looked me up and down and giggled. “I’d know those shorts anywhere! You’re Daisy Duke from that Dukes of Hazzard show, aren’t you? I love it!”
“Yeah, I figured since so many people would naturally go to the Charlie’s Angels look that I’d do something different.” Twirling around, I looked down at my shorts and said, “You don’t think they’re too short, do you? I mean, it is Club X but I’m not dancing.”
“They’re perfect. You have a good body, so you can carry them off. What do you think of my costume?”
Lola wore a dark wig tied into ponytails right below her ears with red ribbons, and her costume included a red tank top and blue shorts that resembled hot pants. I knew exactly who she was, but I couldn’t remember what TV show she was from. “Her name is Maryann, but what show was she on?”
“Gilligan’s Island! The guy at the costume place told me it would be perfect.”
“Definitely. We look perfect together up here. Let’s hope Stefan thinks so too.”
“I think he will. I asked him to put you up here whenever you’re on.”
She was too sweet. “You know as head bartender I think you could just tell him you want that, Lola.”
Shrugging, she smiled. “I know, but he’s so used to telling us what to do. I don’t want to give him a hassle.”
Behind her, Stefan walked up to the bar looking at a stack of papers and chimed in, “A hassle about what? Don’t tell me it has anything to do with this party because I’m already fed up with this Seventies shit. Between the disco ball and the DJ with his music, I can’t wait to get back to the present once tonight is over.”
“Do you like our costumes?” Lola asked quietly, obviously hoping for some validation from him.
Looking up, he studied her and then me and smiled. “I have no idea what you two are supposed to be, but I like what I see. As long as it works with the theme and Marshall that freak is happy, I’m happy.”
Lola beamed her pleasure at hearing Stefan was happy, but he just walked away, preoccupied with his paperwork. She so wanted him to like her, but from everything I’d seen, if he had been with her already, it was just to play.
The party began around nine, and I could tell immediately that the birthday boy liked to pa
rty hard. He and his friends downed glass after glass of top shelf scotch and cognac, tipping Lola and me like they had the ability to print money themselves. After just a few hours, my rent and all my utilities were covered.
The party raged on for hours, with some of my favorite oldies songs blasting through the room, and when regular members joined in to celebrate Halloween, Club X came alive like I’d never seen it before. The bar and dance floor were packed with people all in costumes, most of them far more revealing than mine or Lola’s, and the place had a sexual vibe to it usually reserved for the upper floors.
Even the ruler of the fantasy area came down to party, and while Lola handled a group of members dressed in togas who only wanted to talk about the orgy they’d love us to join, Kane hung out on my end of the bar waiting to talk to me. When I finally got to him nearly a half hour later, he offered me a tour of the upper floors.
“I thought maybe you’d like to come upstairs and see how crazy Club X gets on this, the wildest night of the year.”
Kane’s suggestion surprised me, but my curiosity got the best of me and I agreed. “I can’t do it until the crowd dies down, though. Will the offer be open later?”
“Any time. Just come up to the fifth floor. I’ll be there.”
I smiled at the chance to finally get a look at the fantasy area of the club, but Stefan had seen Kane’s visit too and quickly pushed his way through the crowd to find out why he’d been there. Yelling over the crowds, he leaned over the bar and said in my ear, “What did Kane want?”
I stopped pouring a glass of cognac and looked at him in confusion. “Just to offer to let me see the top floors. That’s all. I think I might go up if the crowd thins out down here later.”
“I need you down here, Shay. Lola can’t handle the entire front bar by herself.”
Was he losing his mind? “I wouldn’t leave her alone to handle everything, Stefan. If it doesn’t slow down, I’ll just go up another night. It’s okay. It’s a standing offer.”
My willingness to be a good employee didn’t make him any happier, and he stormed off toward his office without saying another word. The crowd didn’t slow down until nearly two in the morning, but when I had the chance, I told Lola I’d only be gone for a few minutes and hurried upstairs, too curious not to take the opportunity to check out the fantasy area of the club.
Kane stood at a counter at the top of the stairs watching the costumed crowds as they filed past him down the hallway. Far more serious looking than he ever was with me, he seemed as hard as a statue so no one stepped out of line in front of him. I stopped at his perch and with a smile said, “I only have a few minutes, but maybe a mini-tour can happen?”
“Did it finally slow down in the bar? That explains why my floors are mobbed. My guys keep telling them if they don’t have a room reserved it won’t happen, but it doesn’t keep them from hoping something will open up. This is typical Halloween behavior at Club X, though.”
“Maybe it would be better another time when it’s not so crowded?”
Kane’s blue eyes lit up and he gave me a smile. “Come around here. I’ve got an idea.”
I walked around behind the counter almost chest high on me and saw a bank of nearly twenty monitors he used to watch all the rooms. The scenes they showed were in black and white, but even in those bland colors I instantly saw what Carrie had meant by the freaky side of Club X.
He pointed at the screens and said, “Each one belongs to a room and I can use the bigger ones to take a closer look. Which one would you like to see better?”
A feeling of exhilaration raced through me. “I don’t know. This feels like spying on people’s private moments together.”
“If they wanted privacy, Shay, they’d stay home.” Looking down at me, he smiled. “Take your pick.”
My eyes traveled from one screen to the next, each one showing me sex and lust at its finest. A dark haired beautiful woman dressed in a nearly see-through black dress that fell to the middle of her thighs danced behind a window for a man who kneeled just inches from it staring at her like a starving man seeing food for the first time in months. I pointed at the screen and looked up at Kane. “He looks like he’s having a good time.”
“That’s exactly the fantasy he requested. He wants her close, but not too close as to tempt him. He won’t risk losing his wife and kids for his fetish, but he can’t stop himself either. So he has us stop him.”
“What’s his fetish?” I asked, studying the scene playing out in front of me.
“See-through clothing,” he said with a deep chuckle. “Gets him off every time.”
I turned toward Kane and shook my head in confusion. “Why doesn’t he just have his wife wear something see-through and save himself some money?”
“It’s not the same for him. Nothing to fight against.”
Rolling my eyes, I couldn’t help but think men were silly creatures. “Leave it to a man to want that.”
“Oh, you think this is just men? Look over here.” Kane pointed at the monitor farthest from me and I moved to stand in front of him to see better. “Sex is an equal opportunity game, Shay.”
I looked down and saw a woman sitting on a couch watching a man slowly undress another woman. As Kane and I stared at the monitor, the man removed a long white glove one finger at a time and then held it up for the woman next to him to examine. The entire scene had a surreal feel about it.
“What are they doing? Will he and the woman he’s undressing have sex right there in the room?”
Kane looked down at a sheet of paper and nodded. “After he removes every single piece of clothing she’s wearing, he’ll have sex with the woman on the couch. Simone had to find two of everything to wear tonight. The member has a thing for watching her husband undress another woman before she sleeps with him. See? Freak isn’t just a male thing.”
“Do you watch these every night, all night?”
“No,” he said with a grin as he sat back on a barstool. “I’ve seen everything here, so my eyes are trained to merely scan the monitors for any signs of problems. Other than that, I don’t watch because I don’t care.”
“Doesn’t anyone just have hot sex in these rooms?” I asked and felt my cheeks grow hot as I realized the words that had just come out of my mouth.
He nodded. “Sure, but most of what happens at clubs like this has little to do with just sex and almost nothing to do with love, so what you might think of as hot probably wouldn’t be what you’d see in any of my rooms.”
“This is an interesting place you have here. Thanks for the closer look.”
I felt someone’s hand touch mine and turned to see Stefan standing in front of me. His knitted brows and frown told me my boss was none too happy with me.
“What are you doing up here, Shay?” he asked sharply.
“Just getting the tour of Kane’s area.”
“You need to get back downstairs. I’m sure Kane can handle things on his own.”
I turned around toward Kane and bit my lip. “I think I’m in trouble with the boss. Thanks for the closer look,” I whispered.
“My pleasure. Come back anytime.”
As I walked toward the stairs, I tried to avoid Stefan’s angry stare and hoped I hadn’t ruined the good relationship we’d developed since I’d come back. I heard him snap at Kane, but didn’t quite understand what he said as I hurried downstairs back to see how Lola was holding up.
After the club closed, Lola and I stood in stunned amazement at how much the two of us had earned for just one night of bartending. This was what I’d come to Club X for.
“Can you believe this, Shay? I’ve never made this much in my life!” Lola squealed as we counted out our tips.
“I guess dressing up like this was a good idea, after all. A little T and A gets some great T-I-P-S,” I joked.
Stuffing her earnings into her purse, she finished the last of her clean up and motioned toward the door. “Want to get some breakfast? I’m starving.”
As much as I liked the idea of hanging out with Lola, after a long night all I could think of was hitting the bed, even though it would be another night alone. “Another time, okay? I’m feeling pretty beat.”
“No problem,” she said with a big smile. “I’m off tomorrow night, so I’ll see you Saturday?”
“I’ll be here. Be careful walking out.”
“I always ask Stefan to walk me out when I leave this late, so no worries. See you later!”
Lola headed toward Stefan’s office, and I finished the rest of my work. The idea of going home to bed had seemed like a great idea, but the fact that Elliot was gone and I was headed to an empty apartment made it more sad than anything else.
Lost in thought, I didn’t see Stefan approach the bar until he was right in front of me. “Hey, Shay. Good job tonight. You and Lola handled this front bar like the experts you are.”
Forcing a smile, I said, “Thanks, Stefan. I hope you weren’t too angry about me checking out the fantasy rooms upstairs.”
He narrowed his eyes to slits and stared at me. “You okay? You look like something’s wrong?”
“Yeah, I’m fine.”
“Mika didn’t give you any more problems tonight, did she? I thought she understood once more and she’s gone.”
“No, nothing like that.”
He came around the end of the bar and grabbed a bottle of whiskey off the top shelf. Putting it on the bar in front of him, he grabbed two glasses and turned toward me. “Neat or on the rocks?”
“I don’t know, Stefan. I probably should get going.”
“You don’t look like you’re in any hurry, Shay. Something happen between you and your boyfriend?”
Ignoring his question, I simply said, “Neat, please.”
He poured me a glass and I downed a few gulps hoping to push the whole Elliot thing out of my mind as quickly as possible. I’d finished the entire glass without saying another word, only realizing afterward that I’d gone into my own head right there and ignored Stefan.
I pushed the glass back toward him. “Another one, thanks.”
