Friday night, they had three fill in girls. They weren’t the greatest, but they would do under the circumstances. Priscilla and Abi would pick up whatever pieces were left. Priscilla closing out the night would be beneficial.
When Priscilla went out to make her rounds for bottles, she noticed her mystery man. He was there again. This time in a black suit instead of the gray pinstriped one. His eyes watching her, following her closely. He still made no attempt at speaking to her. In light of recent events, it made her slightly uneasy. If he wouldn’t talk to her, she would start a conversation with him. At least get him talking so she knew the sound of his voice. Using her brain for a camera, she scanned every inch of him that she could see. Hell, with two of her friends dead, she couldn’t be too careful even right here in the club.
“Hey handsome.” She cooed at the man.
He responded by smiling at her and saying “Hello.”
“You aren’t very talkative are you?” She chided. “Want to buy me a bottle of champagne? Loosen up that tongue a bit.”
“I’m not interested in the fifteen minutes that I would get. A friend dragged me in the other night and I’ve found myself back every night since.” He started to speak to her.
“Really now?” She asked, trying to play it cool.
“Yes, really.” He replied simply. “Let me ask you a question.”
“Sure, go ahead.” She told him.
“Why are you here? I mean really, why are you here in a place like this?” He asked her seriously.
“This place has been good to me. That’s why I am here.” She replied.
“You deserve so much more than this. You carry yourself well, you are eloquent when you speak, and you are beautiful. I don’t understand.” He continued.
“Well, all of those things are great, but money doesn’t grow on trees and I needed a job where I could make some quick cash. This did it and I’ve been here since. Not long really, a couple months.” She stated.
“I’d love to buy you a drink, but not here.” He told her.
“I have a no dating clientele rule that I adhere to strictly.” She commented clearly.
“I see. Technically, I’m not clientele. I have never tipped you or bought your time.” He half grinned.
“Touché” She said, smiling back at him. This time with a genuine smile. He noticed the difference. “You have a sense of humor, I like that.”
“We could have a cup of coffee in the morning somewhere if you would feel safer in public.” He suggested.
“Perhaps we could.” She agreed. “I hate to run, but I have to get back to work. I’ve already given you more than fifteen without a bottle.” She winked.
“I told you, I don’t want your fifteen.” He said, back to his more serious self.
As she was walking away, he called her by name, “Ms. Pris., tomorrow morning, the coffee shop on the corner of Beach and First St., I’ll be there at nine.”
Without saying another word, she smiled back at him and continued across the room. She managed to squeak out four bottle services, but could not tell you what they said, because she was caught up in the man in the suit. She still didn’t know his name.
Leaving the floor, Nina touched her on the shoulder. “Girl have you lost your mind? Zena and Diamond are gone and you are flirting with a stranger on a personal level?”
“Nina, I promise you that I am very aware of the situation. I will not put myself into a place that is dangerous. Apparently right now, just being me is dangerous enough.” Priscilla told her.
“Just take care of you.” She replied.
“He wants to meet me at the coffee shop over on Beach at nine in the morning. It should be busy enough and public enough.” Priscilla went on.
“If you are going to meet someone, you let somebody know where you are every moment. I’m not playing. I don’t give a damn about you being an employee, I’ve grown to love you like family. To me, that’s important.” Nina said sternly.
“I promise, I will let someone know every move we make.” Priscilla smiled, “Does that make you feel better?”
“Yes, yes it does. I still don’t like it, but you are grown.” Nina replied.
Setting her alarm for seven thirty in the morning, she crawled into her bed, thankful for her new apartment, a job that provided well and how life had started to turn around. What made her sad was the loss of her two friends and the worry that there would be more. Trying to put all of that out of her mind for the night, she closed her eyes. Sleep found her easily tonight, she didn’t realize how exhausted she was.
Finding the coffee shop with relative ease, she parked her car and walked inside. There he was, his back to the entrance, yet he said hello to her when she started to approach him.
“How did you know it was me?” She asked out of curiosity.
“The smell of your shampoo and the perfume that you wear.” He answered, looking up at her. “Can I get you a cup of coffee?” He asked.
“Sure, thank you. Black with one sugar is good.” She replied.
While he was ordering their coffee, she pulled out her phone and sent a text to Nina. “At Beach coffee shop.”
A minute later she got the return text, “Thank you for letting me know.”
He brought back their coffees and sat down. “So tell me about you, Ms. Pris. The real you, not the dancer you. I obviously know Pris is not your name.”
“No, not technically, but it is a shortened version. Priscilla.” She replied.
“Well hello, Priscilla, it’s nice to meet you.” He smiled genuinely.
“It’s nice to meet you too. Except you are a step ahead of me, I don’t even know your stage name.” She smiled back.
“Adam Linston.” He told her. “I should have introduced myself last night.”
“It’s okay, we’re all even now.” She replied.
“I should be up front with you. I didn’t bring you here only for coffee.” He said, his words catching a bit as he spoke. “I have a business proposition for you. It might sound kind of odd, but just think about it before you respond.”
She looked at him nervously and nodded her head, no words would form.
“I want to hire you as a private dancer. For parties, no sexual acts involved, just dancing. It wouldn’t be an every night event, only when I host a party.” He told her. Usually he had no qualms being perfectly blunt, however, he was afraid that if he was, she would run.
“If these are just parties and nothing sexual, why are you having such a hard time telling me about them?” She asked him, genuinely concerned.
“I didn’t say that there was nothing sexual, I said that there were no sexual acts involved for you. Let me explain,” He paused momentarily before continuing, “I own a club of my own. This club has members. It’s a BDSM club. I don’t mean the type you see in porn across the internet. It is a light version, no harm comes to anyone, light bondage, discipline within reason. That type of thing. There are various different rooms with different activities. It is for the very discreet. We have one hundred members, some of which are in official positions. You would dance in the main room for the specified hours.”
Priscilla was stunned. She had no idea what to say, except that she thought she should probably go. As in run as fast as she could. There was a small part of her that was intrigued. “What the hell is wrong with you?” She asked herself. Sitting there speechless, he smiled at her.
“It’s not as bad as it sounds. There’s an entire network of our clubs. While they vary from what you do now, you could remain clothed as you do when you dance at Nina’s. It’s usually a six hour night, with adequate break and rest periods for you. After watching you dance, I would be willing to pay you ten thousand dollars per party. You are worth it. My clients would thoroughly enjoy it.” He told her.
“Ten thousand dollars for six hours and there is nothing sexual about it?” She exclaimed. “Do I have to sign a contract or could I try it once and then we go from there?” She couldn
’t believe that she was contemplating this insanity, but if it wasn’t every night and six hours would earn her that much money, it was something to toss around.
“We could work that out. If you were uncomfortable signing a contract for the first event, we could sign a non-disclosure agreement that was legally binding, keeping our members privacy intact. This club could end some of their careers.” He told her.
“When is the first party?” She inquired.
“We meet on the first and third Saturdays of each month, usually between ten and three in the morning.” He informed her. “That would be tonight. It’s the first Saturday and why I had to have coffee with you this morning.”
“I’m supposed to be working at Nina’s tonight, so that would be a problem.” She commented. “They are a little short-handed as it is.” She said.
“I understand its short notice, but perhaps you could work something out with Nina?” He was pushing her slightly and it was starting to annoy her.
“I’m not going to walk out on the woman that basically saved my life over some sex club that I might not even want to be a part of.” She was adamant. “I’ll talk with her but if it’s a problem, then the answer will be no.”
“Agreed. If you do decide to join us, and I hope you will, I think it will be a fascinating night for you as well as for us, I can send a car for you to drive you out.” He told her.
“I can drive myself, just give me the address.” She said.
“Ah, I can’t do that. Again, no contract, and member privacy are of our utmost importance.” He explained.
“Leave me a number where I can reach you, after I speak with Nina I will contact you either way.” She told him.
Handing her a business card with his number, he told her that he hoped she would agree to do this. If she did and was successful at capturing the interest of the members, there was a possibility that other clubs in the networking area would want to hire her on as well. This could be very lucrative for her and she had to consider it. She had been looking for ways to branch out and now this offer fell into her lap.
“Mr. Linston, I will call you as soon as I hear anything from Nina. Now, I should excuse myself and gather my thoughts. Thank you for the coffee and for the offer. I will be in touch.” She told him.
“The pleasure was all mine.” He replied.
What the hell was this? She felt like she should be looking around for hidden cameras. This was the single oddest thing that she could have had happen to her. It was also the single best paid opportunity she had ever had. If she could handle the strip club, she could handle a small group of members of some club, right? Plus, if she decided to take this on, not only would she be making twenty thousand dollars per month for two days of work, she wouldn’t be an exotic dancer at Nina’s and constantly looking over her shoulder for a murderer. It made sense on several levels.
Pressing the numbers for Nina, she felt kind of silly. How was she going to bring this up into conversation? “Oh, they want me to dance for a sex fetish club.” She laughed out loud at the ridiculousness of it. Really, there was nothing else to say, that was the exact truth. Wait until she tells her that she can’t tell her about it because of a non-disclosure agreement she had to sign first. This just got better and better.
“Hello?” Nina answered.
“Nina, it’s Priscilla, I need to talk with you for a minute about something serious. I was just offered a private position as a dancer for a member’s only club. The problem is, it’s the first and third Saturday’s of every month. Tonight being that first Saturday.” Priscilla explained to her.
“Seriously? Those people pay damn good money.” Nina said, not phased in the least.
“Wait, you know these people?” She asked her.
“No, not technically. I know of them. Have known girls that left big clubs to work two times per month.” Nina told her.
“So it’s not a bunch of bullshit?” She asked.
“No, not at all. It’s not often that they find the girl they are looking for, and it’s unheard of for them to actually seek her out.” Nina went on.
“Would you mind if I went to check it out tonight? I know with everything going on, we are short on dancers, but this could be life changing.” Priscilla pleaded her case.
“All you had to do was tell me you needed the night off. You haven’t missed a single shift and had picked up more along the way.” Nina said, “I don’t mind helping you out.”
“You are the greatest and I love you!” Priscilla told her. “I am a little nervous though too. I mean I don’t know what to expect. The element of surprise is definitely on their side. I’m in the dark on this one.”
“You’ll do amazingly well, I have no question.” Nina said.
Hanging up and dialing her phone again, she called Adam Linston. She had to have a car set up to pick her up and she would need to know what time she would be done. Tonight would be her first party and she was a little excited on top of the nerves.
“Hello, Mr. Linston?” Priscilla said.
“Hello, Priscilla.” He replied.
“I just wanted you to know that I will take up your offer for the night. I will try this party and see how it goes. I won’t promise you anything though. Except for discretion. I will be discreet.” She told him without stopping.
“I’ll have a car meet you in front of the same coffee shop from earlier, if that works for you?
“Yes sir, it does.” She said. “I’ll see you around six thirty.”
“See you this evening and thank you for getting back to me so soon.” He added.
CHAPTER SIX
Parking the car just before six twenty, Priscilla could see that the limousine was not there yet. This gave her some time to think about what she was getting into. Over her time in Florida she had held a variety of jobs, even her most recent and current as exotic dancer. She always did what she needed to make ends meet, but this time was different. This would give her an opportunity to not only live comfortably, but to be highly secure financially allowing for her to do more of the things that she wanted to do. With just two Saturdays per month, bringing in twenty thousand was going to be a cake walk. Although she wasn’t exactly sure what she would be a part of, if it was strictly dancing for her, who cared what they were participating in, as long as it wasn’t illegal?
Exactly at six thirty she saw the car turn the corner and pull up in front of the empty coffee shop. Adam stepped out of the car and leaned against it. Of course he didn’t see her, she was parked across the street in the lot with other cars. When he got out, she opened her door and stepped out as well. He had his back to her and didn’t see her until he heard her heels on the pavement as she crossed the street. Turning to look at her, he realized just how beautiful she was.
“Priscilla.” He said simply.
“Adam.” She said in return.
“Are you ready to go?” He asked her.
“Nervous but ready. I guess there is no better time than the present.” She giggled a bit.
Driving for what felt like forever, Priscilla found herself thinking of Nina’s. Hoping that there were enough girls there to cover. Things had changed for everyone since the deaths of Zena and Diamond. There had been no new developments and nothing close to solving the cases. However, it was of general assumption that they were related, due to the circumstances. Both girls died by the same manner, as well as all of the other similarities and connections. Priscilla had been fearful since Diamond’s murder, because someone was targeting them directly. Who would want to hurt two women who had done nothing to anyone? It was a question that she wasn’t sure would ever be answered.
Jarring her from the emotional state she was approaching, Adam told her they were almost there. “Just down the road here on the left. You should be able to see it around this bend.”
Coming into view was an extremely large home. No, you couldn’t call it a home, it was a mansion by all definitions. She couldn’t pry her eyes away from it. Even
in the dark, the lights coming from seemingly every window and doorway, made it appear gorgeous. Everything about this man looked like something from a magazine. Him, his home, his limo. Everything.
“It’s amazing.” She said in awe.
“You should see it in the daytime, when you can see the gardens and pool. I love it here. It’s far enough away from any cities, but not so far out that you can’t easily get there.” He said with pride in his voice.
“Nice. Looks like you have done well for yourself.” She commented casually. Thinking to herself, “If he knew where I was just a few short months ago, he wouldn’t have had me out here.”
“It wasn’t always easy, I was simply determined to get out of the hell hole I was in. Most of our problems are caused by something we either did or something we did not do. As children, we don’t have much input into what happens, but as we near adulthood we can start slowly changing that.” He told her.
The driver turned the car down a tree lined drive like you see again, in magazines. Weeping Willow trees intermixed with Wisteria. Even at night, though slightly creepy, you could see that it was beautiful.
“Well here we are. There probably isn’t anyone here yet, I don’t see any cars. This will give you time to change, I took it upon myself to provide you with your attire for the evening. Since this is a themed party, you will have to look the part.” He said. Inside he was still waiting for the panic button to push and for her to run. Finding someone new was not an easy task.“That’s fine, costumes are costumes. They aren’t a permanent wardrobe choice.” She answered.
Opening the door, Adam stepped out. She hadn’t realized how tall he was before now. Maybe because she was looking up at him from the seat of the car. He extended his hand and helped her out of the backseat.
Dancing In Darkness Page 5
