Temptation (16 page)

I wonder if Viktor will just forget about that stupid contract and let me serve drinks or something. I would clean the damn bathrooms at this point. Anything to make this nervous and twitching feeling go away. Maybe I’m so nervous because I know I’ll be taking my clothes off for men. Only one other person has seen me naked, but I’m not even going to count him. Malcolm is an ass, and I’m trying very hard to block him and anything to do with him out. Yes, that’s hard since Gabbie is his, and the fact that she has his eyes. God, if only he could see me now. His mother would be so proud.

I glance at the clock, wishing time would just stop. I thought maybe it wouldn’t go by so fast, but that’s the funny thing about waiting for something you don’t want to happen. It seems the more I don’t want to go with Viktor, the faster the time goes by. I start to bite my nails but I quickly stop as I don’t want to mess up the beautiful manicure as I continue to wait and think about tonight. I haven’t been this nervous in, well never actually. Fuck, I don’t think I can do this.

I startle, jumping off the couch when the doorbell chimes. I know exactly who’s at the door. Why Viktor didn’t just walk in like he normally does is beyond me. I wipe my hands on my jeans and run my hand through my hair. I take a deep breath, still trying to calm my nerves as I make my way to the door. My breath catches in my throat and my mouth goes dry as I crack open the door and see him. Damn him for looking sexy in his signature white button down, dark jacket, and his black slacks. This man is nothing but sin and temptation. I bite my lip as I check him out, but when he clears his throat, I instantly stop. I have to get my mind out of the gutter. He looks professional. Yes, very professional. I’m confused to why he’s the one picking me up. I try not to think much of it, and hopefully he’s just being nice and caring since this is my first night.

“Are you ready to go?” He asks and I nod since I’ve suddenly lost my voice. He waits for me as I grab my bag and walk out the door. I feel as though my feet weigh a ton each. I keep telling myself I can do this and I have to do this. For Gabbie. I have to give her the best life. I can do this for two years and I’ll have enough money set aside for us.

Viktor opens the car door for me and I get into the back seat. I don’t question when he gets in the back with me, or about the unknown driver that sits up front. I try to make my mind go blank. I try not to let my nerves get the best of me, but it’s extremely hard. When the driver pulls out of the driveway, I think I might get sick. I lean back against the head rest and I close my eyes as I take deep breaths. I try to think of anything other than what I’ll be doing later tonight.

Viktor’s hand grabs my bouncing leg, and I open my eyes to see what he’s up to. He’s staring at me intently, almost as if he wants to say or do something. And even though I don’t know if he should be touching me, I welcome his comfort. His touch actually starts to calm me, and I slowly start to relax. All I need now is for him to talk to me and I’ll be good to go.

I can hear his words in my head when we were at the hospital and his talking comforted me. I can’t help but smile knowing he helped me push through the unbearable pain. It’s still crazy to me how he found me that day. Either luck was on my side, or it was one hell of a coincidence. Whatever the reason, I’ll be forever grateful to him for taking care of me. If he hadn’t come when he did, I might have given birth on the damn sidewalk.

The whole way to the club, Viktor’s hand never leaves my knee. Neither of us speak, and my nerves have all but disappeared now. I don’t think about what I’m going to do tonight. Instead, I think of Gabbie. I see her smiling at me and giggling. I see her kicking her little chubby legs and how she makes me unbelievably happy. I never, in a million years, thought that having her would make me feel this complete. In a way, I should thank Malcolm for doing what he did. I couldn’t imagine my life now without her.

All too soon we stop and I look out the window to see that red door that leads into the club. Viktor’s hand leaves my leg, and as if someone dumped ice all over me, the nerves come back. I miss his touch. The calm has vanished and I try to shake the nerves off, telling myself this is it. There’s no going back now, and I have to do what I need to. Viktor opens the car door for me and I get out. He places his hand on my lower back, and just knowing he’s right next to me makes it easier to walk through that red door. Just like before, as soon as I’m inside, the music, smells, and the bright lights overwhelm me. Only this time, there isn’t a beautiful woman dancing. There isn’t a soul in sight.

Viktor leads me towards his office, but we turn left just before we reach it. He stops at a purple door this time, one I didn’t see last time I was here.

“Margo is waiting inside for you. She’ll show you around and introduce you to everyone. Once she’s done, and you’re ready, come see me.” Viktor tells me and then walks away from me. I want to call him back, wanting him to go with me. But I know he can’t. This is the part I have to do alone.

With a heavy sigh, I open the door and walk inside.

The first thing I notice, are the other dancers walking around. Some walk around topless, and the others are sitting at their vanities putting on makeup. The room is huge and there’s at least ten vanities lined up against the walls. Racks full of clothes, and shelves lined with shoes cover another side of the wall. I see lockers on one side and dark purple colored walls and black title floors make the room seem erotic. I also notice a full length mirror and a very beautiful woman standing in front of it. I watch her as she twists and turns looking at the outfit she’s wearing. I stand close by the door in case I decide to bolt. The thought is comforting, but I know I can’t leave now.

“You must be the new girl. I’m Margo. Come, I’ll introduce you to the other girls. Have you picked a stage name? Viktor told me you wanted to pick a name for yourself.”

I’m bombarded with questions from Margo, and it takes me a few minutes before I can answer her. “I … uh.”

“Oh, honey, don’t be nervous. Everyone here is very sweet and they will welcome you with open arms.”

I nod and say, “I want to be called Scarlet Rose. It’s nice to meet you, Margo.”

“Nicely chosen. I like that.”

I smile at Margo. I think I’ll like this lady. She seems nice enough and she reminds me a lot of my mom for some reason. She looks older than everyone in the room and she has a motherly feel. She’s taller than me, but is super skinny. Her hair is tightly pulled back into a bun, and she reminds me of a school teacher with her black rimmed glasses. But it’s her bright green eyes and her friendly nature that make me like her the most.

Margo takes me by the arm and brings me further into the room. She claps her hands as she gets everyone in the room to listen to her. “Girls, this is Scarlet Rose. I want you all to welcome her tonight and make her feel right at home. We all remember the first night and I want each of you to help her in any way she might need.”

I’m surprised when I hear every one of them say yes ma’am to her, and they come up to greet me. I already know I’ll never remember all of their names tonight, but I smile and say hello to each of them. They all seem very welcoming, and I relax a little more knowing I feel so at ease with them.

“Alright ladies, finish getting ready. Star, you’re up in twenty minutes for your practice run. Everyone else, you know what to do,” Margo tells them and they instantly go back to what they were doing.

“Practice run?” I ask Margo when she takes me out of the room to show me around some more.

“Every night before we open, each dancer gets a practice run with their three songs for the night. It helps the DJ and the dancer to be sure everything is set for when it’s their turn to perform. I want to show you around really quick. I want to make sure you have a chance to get up there before we open. I think it’ll be easier on you knowing somewhat of what you’re going to do tonight,” she tells me with a sweet smile.

I nod, secretly thanking her for that. I honestly have no clue what routine I’ll do. I have my three songs, but I never practiced to them.

I follow Margo around the club again, still shocked that I’m here. Shocked that I’m actually going to do this. She shows me the rooms I longed to see the first night Viktor brought me here. The rooms with the red doors along the long hallway. Once she opens one of them, I realize what they are used for. They’re for the private dances. The rooms aren’t very big. There’s a recliner against the wall, a small table beside it, and a pole. The walls are a deep red color and the floors are that same shiny grey tile. Margo tells me that these rooms are for the clients who request special dances from the girls. She also tells me, that the clients have to pay a minimum of five grand for these dances and the time limit for the rooms use is thirty minutes. She laughs at the expression on my face. It seems a bit ridiculous to me that someone would pay that much money for thirty minutes. Margo tells me, that the rooms are the second most popular requests in the club.

She leads me out of the private room and she takes me up the stairs close by Viktor’s office. I stare longer than I probably should at his dark green door.

“Scarlet? Come on, I need you to keep up.”

“Sorry.”

Crap. Margo saw me staring at Viktor’s door like some lost puppy begging to come inside. I’ll have to be more careful, knowing the contract I signed. I can’t afford to be fired, or do anything that would terminate my contract. No matter how tempting it is to run and find him, begging him to comfort me.

I follow right behind Margo up the winding staircase. She pulls out a key once we get in front yet another red door.

“This room is for the VIP clients only. We mainly use this room for big parties. Or for the clients that have a big group of men with them. This room also has to be booked in advance before it can be used. If it’s a large group, then we pick more girls to come dance and entertain them,” she tells me as she unlocks the door and turns on the light.

Once my eyes adjust to the lighting, I see why this room is used for parties. It’s almost the size of the first floor. The room has one big sectional couch surrounding the entire back wall. There are tables on each side, and one big one in the middle. There’s a stage, although it’s not as big as the one downstairs. It has a pole in the front of the stage mimicking the stage downstairs. There’s also a bar and shelves of liquor behind it to the right of the stage. I have a feeling this room is where most of the money comes in. Margo tells me this room rents for the night starting at fifteen grand. That’s just to rent the room. Then she tells me for each hour the clients are here, the fee rises another five grand.

I realize
there’s a certain affluence with the clientele here. I mean I don’t see any average Joe’s coming in here with that much money to spend. And I wonder how good these girls are knowing how much money they make in just one night. I won’t deny the sudden insecurities that come over me. I don’t know if I’ll be good enough for this kind of money. I haven’t danced in a long time, and not to mention I have never stripped for anyone before.

Margo senses my unease. She walks over to me and puts her hand on my shoulder as she says, “This first night is always the hardest. Viktor talked about you very highly to me, and I believe him and trust him. I know he wouldn’t have went through the trouble of getting you to work here if he didn’t think you could do it. The best advice I can give you is this; when you go out there tonight, don’t think. Do what you do best. Dance. That’s all you need to do.”

“Thank you, Margo. I hope Viktor was right about me. To be honest, I still don’t know if I can do this.”

“You will do fine. Trust me, stop thinking so much and just go with it. Come on. We need to get you ready.”

I let Margo lead me back to the dressing room and she finds me an empty vanity to use. I’m glad I didn’t have to bring my own makeup. I look at the collection of expensive makeup laying before me and I just sit there staring at it. I’m not even sure what to do with half of it. I hardly ever wear the stuff. This is all foreign to me. Margo leaves me to take care of something, and I literally sit and stare for a few minutes before one of the girls comes over to me.

“It’s a bit overwhelming isn’t it?” she states.

“You could say that again.”

“I’m Trixie by the way. I can help you if you want.”

I turn toward Trixie as I say, “I would love some help. Please show me what you can do.”

She laughs and she pulls up a seat beside me. “So, you’re the newbie huh?”

“Yeah, how could you tell? I’m Scarlet.”

“Well, you looked a little lost after Margo left you and I thought I would help. I remember my first night. I had a friend help me and I thought I should help you through yours. I hope you don’t mind.”

I shake my hands to try and dismiss any concern that she’s overstepped any boundaries. “No, I don’t mind at all. Thank you. I really don’t know what would’ve happened if you hadn’t come over to recuse me.”

Trixie laughs and she reaches to grab some of the makeup. I sit and I let her work her magic on me. While she applies my makeup, I listen to her talk about herself and how she became a dancer. Her story isn’t nearly as dramatic as mine. She needed a way to pay for college, but once she finished school, she didn’t want to quit dancing. She has a business degree, but she would rather dance than sit behind a desk all day.

From first impressions, I really like Trixie. I don’t know if that is her real name or not, but I can see us becoming friends. Even if it’s only at the club. I really like her personality and how upbeat she is about everything she talks about. She continues to do my makeup for me while she talks nonstop. I don’t really say much back to her. My nerves are back and hearing her talk away about nothing helps me from freaking the fuck out and running to the hills.

“I think I’m finished with your makeup. You want me to do your hair too?”

“Yes, please. You’re a life-saver, Trixie.”

“Not a problem, doll. I actually love your hair,” she says as she runs her fingers through my newly styled hair. “Did you go to the salon that boss man recommended?”