Serving the Billionaire(10)

I didn’t see him again until Sunday. I went to work at the club every night, determined to make as much money as possible before they realized how incompetent and clueless I was. I learned quickly. After the first night, I didn’t wear my heels on the subway. Instead, I carried them in my bag, and changed out of my flats once I got to the club. I packed a book in my purse to have something to read during the long subway ride. I perfected my makeup by practicing over and over in the mornings before work. I saw which clients wanted flattery and which wanted to drink in peace. I kept my mouth shut and my mouth curved into a slight smile, and I learned.

I followed Beth for two more nights, and then she set me loose on my own table—just one, so that she could keep an eye on me, and make sure I didn’t do anything stupid. I must have passed muster, because the next night, she gave me two tables.

It was heady. I was making more money than I knew what to do with, and I was surprised to realize that I liked the way the clients looked at me as I walked past holding a tray on my shoulder. They wanted me. I could see it in their eyes, the banked desire. I had never been desirable before. Especially compared to Sadie, I was just shy, awkward Regan, gawky and a little too short; but in my heels and black skirt, I was sexy. It was a powerful feeling.

On Sunday afternoon, when I arrived at the club shortly before opening, Germaine called me into her office. I went in, heart pounding. Had I done something wrong? Was she about to fire me?

She didn’t look angry, though, and she smiled at me warmly as I closed the door. “Have a seat,” she said. “Beth tells me you’ve been doing very well.”

I sat down, a little surprised. Beth hadn’t given me any indication of how she thought I was doing, which of course made me assume that I was shit and she was just trying to be nice. “Um, thank you,” I said.

“She thinks you’ll be an excellent server with more experience,” Germaine said. “But that isn’t why I called you in here. I’ll cut straight to the chase. One of our regular clients would like you to serve in his private room tonight.”

I had only a vague idea of what went on in the private rooms, but from comments the other waitresses had made, it sounded pretty scandalous—and I wasn’t sure I wanted to get involved. What I didn’t know couldn’t hurt me. “A regular client?” I asked.

“Yes,” Germaine said. “He told me that you waited on him on Wednesday night, and he seems to have taken a shine to you.” She paused, and then said, “I want to make it clear that you’re under no obligation to do this. If you choose not to, I’ll simply tell the client that you aren’t available, and that will be the end of it. But I also think you should know that he offered to pay you one thousand dollars for serving his party tonight.”

It took a few moments for the meaning of her words to sink in. A thousand dollars? For one night of work? There was a catch of some sort—I was sure of it. “What, um. What kind of party? I mean, what’s going to happen in his private room?” I’d avoided asking any questions before, but if I was going to do this, I wanted to go in with my eyes open.#p#分页标题#e#

Germain pressed her lips together, but she nodded slightly. “You have a right to know. He typically brings a handful of companions, and requests... entertainment from a few of our dancers. The girls tell me that he never touches them, although his companions do; but that none of them have particularly exotic tastes. Lap-dances, a little groping. No actual sex.”

“Who is he?” I asked.

“You can speak with him, if you’d like,” Germaine said. “He’ll be arriving soon. You don’t need to decide immediately if you’d like to serve for him. See what he has to say, and then I’ll work out the details. Or,” she went on, looking closely at my face, “you can work the main floor as usual tonight, and I’ll have another girl serve him in the future.”

I thought about it. A thousand dollars was a lot of money—and I would just be serving, not giving any lap-dances of my own. “I’ll talk to him,” I decided.

“Excellent,” Germaine said. “He’ll be in room 4 in ten minutes. You can wait for him in there, if you’d like.”

I still didn’t know who this man was, and the thought of waiting alone in a room for some wealthy, powerful customer made me a little nervous. Germaine didn’t seem to think there was anything unusual about it, though, and I didn’t want her to think I wasn’t up for the task. I put on my game face and went back out into the club.