by Wilde, Rhea
He was smiling a gorgeous smile at me. I couldn’t tell what color his eyes were but they were mesmerizing just the same. His brown hair was short and styled in a way that complemented the rest of his face. He had a strong jawline that was clean-shaven. He was dressed in an expensive-looking suit just like every other man in the club, the jacket bunching up around his broad shoulders.
“I hope I’m not interrupting,” he continued to smile. “You just looked like you weren’t doing anything else at the moment.”
“No, I’m not,” I said, smiling back at him. “I was just waiting.”
“You were waiting for someone?”
“Yeah. The security guard—”
“Security? Am I bothering you? Just let me know. I’ll leave you alone. There’s no need for you to tell security.”
“No, that’s not what I meant,” I laughed. “I mean, he’s talking to the manager, I think.”
“The manager? That’s even worse. I kind of like coming here. I don’t want to get kicked out.”
He continued to smile at me. I grinned at him and started to shake my head. There was something about him that was so disarming. Even with a bunch of naked women dancing around us, I found myself already comfortable around him.
“You’re not going to get kicked out,” I said. “At least, not because of me. Don’t worry, I won’t tell on you.”
“Good. Because if it’s wrong for a man to walk up to a beautiful woman and start a conversation, I would have been kicked out of here a long time ago.”
When he winked at me, I could immediately feel myself beginning to blush. I turned my head away from him and looked down at the ground, trying to hide my grin. The bartender thankfully showed up and took his order to help take his attention away from me. But as soon as the man received his drink, he turned back to me.
“So you’re here to see the manager?” he asked. “So if it’s not to kick me out, why are you going to talk to him?”
“Actually… I might be working here.”
“You’re looking for a job here.”
“If it’s possible.”
“…Interesting.”
He looked at me with a sly grin on his face then took a sip of his drink. His head was slightly turned away from me so that he was looking at me from the corner of his eye. It was almost like he didn’t want to pay too much attention to me.
“Well, I’ve got my drink. I suppose I should be on my way.”
“You don’t have to leave me,” I said to him, trying to get him to stay for some reason.
“That’s all right. Maybe when they hire you, we can talk again.”
He winked at me and turned around to walk away. I had only spoken to him for a few moments and already I found myself wanting him to stay. But he was quickly replaced by the security guard who had first brought me in here.
“Franklin’s busy at the moment,” the bouncer said to me. “Can you come back tomorrow night for an interview?”
“Um… sure. I guess so. Is there any way I can stick around for a little while?”
“I’m sorry. Only customers and employees are allowed to be in the club. Right this way.”
The bouncer escorted me back through the club toward the entrance. As I walked through the crowd of people, I saw the man I had just spoken to sitting by himself in a corner lounge. He had one leg crossed over the other, his drink sitting in his hand. I stared at him as he watched the dancers on stage. Just as I neared the entrance, I saw his eyes suddenly shift in my direction. From far away, I swore that there was the slightest little smile on his face. At least, that’s what I wanted to think. But just as quickly as I was let into the club, I was kicked out of it. I would have to wait for another day to learn more about that man or anything else in the club. Thankfully, my next appointment was already set. I would be back at Platinum tomorrow night.
Chapter 6
Not much happened last night but I finally had something to work with. Platinum wasn’t your ordinary strip club. The beautiful women and men throwing their money around was standard. There was something deeper though. Their cover charge alone was exorbitant. They attracted every affluent man in the city. That itself was a story. After just one night, my objective was clear: discover the appeal of Platinum.
I woke up late the next day and hopped in front of my computer. I typed out the prompt and the basic outline of what I needed to get accomplished. I was lucky. The opportunities continued to present themselves. I not only had a way into Platinum but a chance to get a look at the inner-workings of the club. The first step in this process was securing my position.
I looked at the wrinkled black dress I wore last night and wondered whether or not I should head back in. It was the classiest thing I owned but it already reeked of an odd combination of perfume, cologne, alcohol and whatever that stuff is that sprays from a fog machine. I decided that the man in charge of hiring wouldn’t mind what I wore. I just had to play the part. Besides, the dress had a bit of a trashy look to it at this point. There was no use trying to look for something more appropriate.
I spent the rest of the day getting ready for my appointment. I wondered whether or not they would even remember me. After I got dressed, I grabbed my digital recorder and stuffed it back into my purse. I headed back to Platinum in the hopes that they would let me in on their little secret.
I got to the club and the crowd was the same as usual. Men looking for a good time and giving off the appearance that they had a lot of money to throw away. I got in line and waited until I was greeted with the hulking bouncer Bran at the door once again.
“ID?” he asked me.
“I… I was here last night. I was trying to work here. You told me to come back tonight so I could speak to… Franklin, was it?”
He stared at me for a second. I was wearing the exact same outfit but he still didn’t recognize me.
“You’re trying to work here?” he asked.
“Yes.”
“Okay,” he sighed. “Follow him.”
I thought it was strange that he didn’t remember me but didn’t give it a second thought. Maybe I wasn’t sexy enough to be memorable. I followed another security guard back into the club and I was immediately reminded of the sights and sounds that men were willing to spend a premium to witness. The women on stage were just as beautiful as I remembered. The men dipped back into their bank accounts and had more money to shower them with. I followed the security guard to the same place next to the bar.
“Wait right here,” he said to me.
I did as I was told. I looked around to make sure that nobody was paying any attention to me. Then I dug into my purse to make sure that my recorder was in a spot that could record everything without being completely obvious. As I positioned it, I suddenly felt someone standing next to me.
“Welcome back.”
I jerked my head up and quickly zipped my purse up. I looked up at the man that had come out of nowhere. It was the same man I had spoken to just last night. I didn’t remember exactly what he looked like but seeing him again brought back a flood of familiar emotions.
“Oh, you’re back here, too,” I said to the attractive man.
“Why wouldn’t I be? This is the place to be, isn’t it?”
“I’ve only been here a couple of times now. I wouldn’t know.”
“Well, now you do. It’s… good to see you again.”
He winked at me as he waited for the bartender to return with his drink order. I stared back at him, narrowing my eyes to see what his deal was. I wasn’t dressed like the other women so it was obvious that I didn’t work here. That didn’t deter him from once again starting a conversation with me.
“You look disappointed,” he said to me.
“What? Why would you say that?”
“I don’t know. You just look a little out of place here.”
“I… I could say the same about you.”
“Why’s that?”
“Look around. There are dozens of
women walking around half-naked. And you still walk up to the one with clothes on.”
“Maybe that’s why I walked up to you. Maybe I’m interested in the one who’s different from everybody else.”
“Or maybe you just don’t know how to have any fun.”
“I never thought of it that way.”
He smirked at me as the bartender rested his drink in front of him. I watched the man as he leaned against the bar. The both of us remained silent then turned our attention to the woman dancing on stage in front of us. She was topless, a pair of breasts on display that were too perfect to be real. She bent over in front of the pole next to her in nothing but a tiny pair of red bikini bottoms and matching heels that were like stilts on her feet. She used the pole for leverage to show all of the men in front of her just how flexible she was. There was no doubt that there were ideas running through every man’s mind about what they could do to her, including the man standing next to me.
“What do you think?” I asked him, not taking my eyes off the woman on stage.
“What do I think about what?”
“What else? Her.”
“She’s like every other woman in this club. She’s gorgeous.”
“Yeah, I think so, too.”
“Were you expecting a different answer?”
“No. But maybe I was just hoping for one.”
“So… When am I get to see you on the stage doing that?”
He slowly turned his head toward me. From the corner of my eye, I could see the sly grin forming on his face. I opened my mouth slightly to hide my smile, pushing my tongue against the side of my cheek to stop from blushing.
“I don’t think you’re ever going to get me on stage like that,” I said to him.
“You don’t have to do it for me.”
“Well, I don’t see any man in this club I would do it for.”
“It’s not about me or any other man. These women do it for themselves. Look at them. You think that they’re like slaves. They’re at the mercy of the men staring and gawking at them. That’s wrong. Look at how much power they have. As much money as all of these men have, the only reason they worked so hard to get it is for a chance at what’s between her legs. She’s in control. Don’t you like control?”
“That may be true but that’s not enough to get me do dance for them. You have to try a little harder to convince me.”
“You never know until you try.”
“Then I suppose I will never know.”
“And you say I’m the one who doesn’t know how to have any fun.”
I looked at him and he winked at me. I turned my head away from him, trying not to get lost in his smile.
Who is this guy?
I wanted to ask him all about who he was but it would seem too obvious. I was here to do a story on what it was like inside Platinum. If I could just manage to make him a little more comfortable, maybe then he would be willing to talk more about something a little less superficial. Maybe he could even tell me something about Landon Schrader.
“You’re up,” he suddenly said to me.
“What?”
He pointed to the side. I turned my head and saw the security guard approaching me.
“Franklin will see you now,” he said to me.
I nodded then slowly started to follow him. I turned around to look for the man I was just speaking to but he was already gone. Two nights in a row and he managed to slip away before I even noticed.
I stepped into the office and the security guard closed the door behind me. The place was much more luxurious than I was expecting. Everything seemed to have a shine and polish to it. The walls looked like they were stained wood and paintings adorned them. The carpet was a bright white that didn’t seem to have any blemishes on it. The furniture was elaborate and tasteful. It looked like this was more than a place where ordinary business was conducted. Or maybe I was just so used to the cubicles at The High Standard.
I slowly walked forward in the spacious office and saw a man lounging in his chair behind his desk. His gray hair was slicked back over his head. His face was shining like he was covered in a layer of sweat. He was wearing an ordinary dress shirt but it was barely noticeable from the amount of jewelry he was wearing. He wore rings on almost every finger and bracelets on both wrists. Several golden chains hung from around his neck. The thick-framed glasses almost looked out of place on him. I didn’t know what exactly to think of him.
“Come,” he said, his voice more polite than I was expecting. “Don’t be shy. Have a seat.”
I walked forward and followed his instructions. As I took a seat, I tried to nonchalantly reach into my purse. I turned on my recorder and shortly after, I pulled out my compact. I opened the mirror to pretend like I was putting on makeup when he stopped me.
“There’s no need for that,” he said. “I already know what you look like. Besides, nobody’s going to notice anyway. The lighting in the club is designed for that.”
I nodded then slowly placed my compact back into my purse.
“You got an ID on you?” he asked me. “I just need to make sure you’re not a minor. You have to be twenty-one here because of the alcohol.”
I searched for the right ID then handed it to him. He glanced at it for only a moment then gave it back to me.
“Harley,” he said to me. “That’s a good name. You won’t have to change it if you’re working here.”
“Thank you, sir.”
“There’s no need to call me that. My name is Franklin. Worry about the customer's needs, not mine. That’s how we make money.”
“Oh… All right…”
“Now tell me, Harley. Why is it that you want to work at Platinum?”
After he asked me the question, I realized my mistake. I was so focused on trying to find information for my story that I didn’t bother coming up with any excuses for Harley. It suddenly became a test of my improvisational skills.
“Well… Platinum is the best club in the city. And I want to work for the best.”
“Do you have any experience, Harley?”
“…No. No, I don’t. But I didn’t want to waste my time at any other clubs.”
“You know that you would make more money at other clubs, right?”
“Sir?”
“We take a larger cut than most other clubs. And we’re always looking for new talent. As a result, a lot of women come here and don’t make nearly as much as they used to.”
“I guess it’s good that I don’t know how much I would usually make then.”
I smiled and he slowly started to do the same. He began to nod his head then leaned back in his chair.
“What do you know about Platinum?”
“What?”
“I mean, you said you wanted to work for the best club in the city. So what about this club makes it the best?”
“I think it’s obvious. The women who work here are beautiful. And our guests are appropriate for these kind of women. Platinum seems to have a higher standard than everywhere else.”
“Good. That’s exactly what I wanted to hear. Now take off your dress.”
“What?”
“You just said that the women who work here are beautiful. If you’re going to work alongside them, you’re going to have to show that you belong.”
“Right.”
The sudden bluntness of his request caught me off guard. But if I wanted to stay here, it was obvious what I needed to do. This wasn’t a big deal.
I held back a deep breath and slowly stood up from the chair. I grabbed the straps of my dress and slowly lowered them down my arms. Franklin eyeballed me with something that wasn’t as lustful as I was expecting. He almost looked bored at me. That made the entire experience more comfortable for me. I pulled the dress down and it fell down around my ankles. I stood there in front of him in nothing but my underwear.
Franklin continued to stare at me. I playfully spun around to further display my willingness to play the part. Franklin
laughed at me then slowly nodded his head. Sitting around a computer all day and working on assignments didn’t give me the opportunity to improve on whatever imperfections my body might have. I could only hope that what Franklin saw was good enough.
“Not bad,” he said. “I’ve seen better but not bad at all. Now lose the underwear.”
“What?”
“Do I have to explain it to you? Did you forget where you are?”
“No. Of course not.”
I bit my bottom lip and reached behind my back. I unhooked my bra and slowly let it drop down my arms.
“There’s no need to be sensual about it,” he said to me. “Just take everything off so I can see.”
“Right.”
I let the bra drop down then pulled my panties down. I dropped my arms to my sides, trying to figure out a position to stand in that wasn’t completely awkward while he stared at me. Franklin didn’t have any expression on his face. He still looked bored.
“Have you considered getting implants?” he asked me.
“I… No, I haven’t.”
“Well, it’s not a necessity. It’s up to you. Some men like it, some don’t. A lot of guys are a fan of the natural look. What do you wear? A B-cup?”
“Yes, 34B.”
“All right, Harley,” he sighed. “Everything seems to be in order. You can put your clothes back on.”
I hastily pulled everything on. Franklin looked through the computer on his desk and started scribbling things down on a piece of paper.
“You say that you don’t have any experience dancing?” he asked me.
“No, I don’t.”
“Okay. That’s fine. You’ll need a permit. And you’ll have to go through some training if you want to make any money. And that is what this is about, right? Making money?”
“Yes, it is.”
I took a seat back in my chair. Franklin stared at me and I shifted my eyes to the ground, unsure of what he was looking at.
“Are you sure you want to do this?” he asked me.