“Okay, well, get yaself extra sexy. Ya need to impress him.”
Kiki gave Duke her scariest warning look. “Duke. Leave. Before I put lipstick on you.”
He backed up a step, hands out. “Hey ... keep dat girl stuff away from me. Ya know I ain’t like dat.” A sweat had broken out across his forehead.
Kiki smiled. “I know you wear our underwear and heels when we leave them here. Don’t worry, Dukey Doo. Your secret is safe with me.”
Duke pointed a shaking finger at Kiki’s face as he backed away some more. “Dat ain’t true! Ya betta not be tellin’ people dat! And stop callin’ me dat doo doo name or whateva!” He turned and rushed out of the dressing room.
The girls sitting around listening in on the conversation started laughing. Kiki smiled, turning back to the mirror. She posed, pursing her lips and turning her face left and right, admiring her work and making an air kiss at her reflection. Perfect.
Reaching down into her satchel, she pulled out part of the costume she would be wearing for her one and only dance tonight. It weighed just a few ounces – a pair of barely there underwear and a bra in dark blue lace with rhinestones to set off the cut of the lines. A new pair of thigh-high silk stockings with a seam up the back completed the underthings part of the costume.
She stood and turned to the rack of clothing behind her. It contained her costumes, ones she’d had custom made to fit her measurements. Out came the dark navy, pinstriped business suit with all its accompanying pieces – a prim, white, button-down Brooks Brothers shirt, a pencil skirt that ended way too high above the knee, and a suit jacket, all in matching, light wool fabric. She unlocked the case behind the clothing rack and pulled out the dark blue designer platform stilettos with the five-inch heels.
She put the underwear on and the hose, making sure the seams were perfectly straight and centered on the backs of her legs. The clothing ensemble and shoes followed, effectively transforming Kiki into a six-foot-two-inch-tall, high-powered business woman – or at least, that was the illusion. She stood in front of one of the full-length mirrors nearby, turning to admire herself in profile. All she needed were the finishing touches.
From one of the drawers she took out a long string of white pearls with a knot in them, putting them on over her head and resting them between her breasts. Then she quickly twisted her hair up and stuck a few pins in the knot she’d made. A few loose curls hung down at the sides of her face, and the rest was caught up in a loose bun. Just a couple of pulls on the pins and all of it would drop down in a wavy mass.
She stood there, her image reflected in the mirror, every inch a man’s sexual fantasy. Tonight she was a conservative businesswoman on the outside, like Elizabeth, ready to be revealed as the sexy stripper she was on the inside. It was a very well-received fantasy at Lola’s, guaranteed to bring in the biggest tips.
The pearls would stay on for the entire dance. Kiki knew that guys liked pearls on naked women. It made them fantasize about being the ones to give her their own set of special pearls. It was so easy to manipulate their minds into reaching for their wallets.
Kiki walked over to the door that led to the stage and stepped through so she could watch Shawnda do her thing and possibly catch a peek of Mister Important Board Member. As soon as her eyes adjusted to the dim lights, she was able to pick him out. He sat in front, engaged in conversation with the man next to him. His tie was cinched up as tight as it would go, his jacket still on. Man, how uptight can a guy possibly be? He was gorgeous, if you like the perfectly groomed, aristocratic-looking type. Maybe he was English; he had that European air about him.
Kiki looked over at Shawnda and could tell that this guy’s attitude was pissing her friend off. Shawnda was really working it, swinging her hips, leaning over to give him her best cleavage shots, and otherwise focusing a lot of her attention on the guy. But even Kiki could see from her vantage point that it was a lost cause. He was definitely not interested.
Kiki was fascinated. She’d never seen a guy sober who could ignore Shawnda like that. Maybe when they were totally blotto and so drunk they couldn’t see straight, but not sober and if they had eyeballs that worked. The girl was stacked and she knew how to dance.
Kiki smiled, thinking about how pissed Shawnda was going to be when she came backstage. Maybe she’d be too angry to go through with Bobby’s plans for her. Wouldn’t that be sweet? Kiki wanted to be around for that conversation. Bobby didn’t like being told no. He hung around the club all the time, recruiting for his bottom line. A total sleezeball. Kiki would like to witness him getting shut down by a pissed off Shawnda. Not even Bobby would mess with her when she was in one of her moods – at least not when there were witnesses around.