by CELENE CAREY
*Six Months Earlier*
“Congratulations, Tessa.” The voice on the other end of the call said cheerfully. “You’ve got the job. Your first shift is tomorrow at six pm. We will need you to come in at about 5 so we can get you inducted and fitted out for a uniform” I smiled and thanked the caller before I hung up. I jumped for joy with a shout of “Yes!” leaving my lips and echoing off the bare walls of our tiny little apartment.
I’d landed a bar job at one of the upper-class clubs in the city. The tips alone were rumoured to be more than what the nightly rate was for a normal shift. Our lives were going to be better now, especially with the extra money coming in from the bar job.
Tyler came in from his room, a transformer toy in each hand. “What’s up Mummy?” he asked, looking at my grinning face.
“Mummy got a new job, baby!” I said, picking him up and twirling him around while I tickled him. My gorgeous boy giggled and wriggled in my arms as we danced around until I was dizzy.
“And guess what?” I asked him
“What Mummy?”
“We are getting pizza for dinner tonight!” I said. It would cost almost the last of my money but I didn’t care, we still had some food left in the house to last us until I got paid, and I would have to start my job the next night. I knew that Olivia, the teenaged daughter of my neighbour, was more than happy to take care of Ty. We had arrangements set up for whenever I had work at night that she would come over and take care of him.
I quickly called Olivia and made the arrangements for her to take care of Ty before I called our local pizza shop and ordered Ty’s favourite and my favourite pizzas. I got Ty some clean socks and helped him with his shoes before I got myself ready. I took my son’s hand and we headed out of our little apartment and down through the complex.
We lived in one of the poorer parts of the city, mostly immigrants who had come to the country through less than legal means and families down on their luck lived in the sprawling apartment complex, along with the usual junkies and potheads. I held on tightly to Ty’s hand as we walked past the graffiti marked walls and the small skateboard bowl where the local youth spent more time than at school.
We walked around broken bottles and I kept an eye out for discarded needles, making sure we walked on the concrete footpath and never through the long grass on the nature strip when we needed to cross the road.
It was my hope that we could get out of this hole with the money I was going to make with my new job. I just had to ensure that I held onto it as long as I could. Many of my other jobs were all temporary, or on-call positions, but I took what I could get. Being on welfare only got you so far and the rent for our little apartment was really more than what was reasonable for the area. Even with the government’s rental assistance program for low-income earners, it was hard to make ends meet.
We reached Mr. Vanzetti’s Pizzeria and collected our orders. Tyler skipped beside me happily as we went to one of the better kept parks in the area. We sat and ate our pizzas before Tyler went and made some new friends with some of the other kids who were there with their parents. A little Muslim boy and an African boy started to play tag with her son and she smiled at their carefree play. The mothers of the other boys sat nearby, watching their kids while they exhausted themselves. I managed to chat with the other mothers, their English was not the best but we were able to understand most of it, talking mostly about our little ones.
All in all, I think that they were just happy to see their son’s safe and happy. I couldn’t imagine what I would do if Ty came into danger.
He came back dirty, sweaty, exhausted but happy along with Ahmed and Najok, the boys he had played with. He climbed up onto my lap and gave me a big wet kiss on my cheek. The other women nodded and said their goodbyes as they took their kids home. The sun was setting in the sky and I knew that it was time to take my little ball of energy home too.
We picked out the uneaten crusts from Ty’s pizza to feed the magpies that warbled nearby in the red light of dusk. Their comical hops towards the crusts on the ground gave Tyler fits of giggles, and I couldn’t help but laugh with him at the antics of the beautiful birds. I took his hand and picked up the leftover pizza boxes and we headed home.
I scrubbed Ty clean in the small bath before I snuggled with him and read a bedtime story about a cow who escaped her paddock. Moogooley Oogooley’s adventures were some of Ty’s favourite bedtime stories. He sleepily told me that he loved me, and my heart almost burst. I kissed my boy on his forehead, brushing aside the blond curls before I slipped from his bed and turned out the light.
I went to sleep happy that night, content and ready to start my new job.
CHAPTER 2
Saturday went by in a breeze, Ty helped me to clean the house, as best as a six year old could before he got bored and went to watch SpongeBob on TV. I did a few loads of washing down in the communal laundry before I set to making some dinner for Ty and Olivia to eat while I was at work. Before I knew it, the lasagne was ready and it was almost four o’clock.
There was a knock on the door. Ty jumped up to greet Olivia. The pretty young girl gave him a big hug and gave him a colouring in book. She had a bag with her schoolwork slung over her shoulder. I came out of the bathroom fresh from my shower and with a smile on my face.
“Hey Olivia!” I said with a grin, “Thanks again.”
“No problem Tess, I love watching Ty. He’s my main man.” She ruffled Ty’s hair. “And such a cutie, he’s gonna have the girls after him when he’s older.” She grinned.
“He already does at school.” I said with a laugh. “Ty, who was it who tried to kiss you at school on Wednesday?”
“Jenna.” Ty said, making a face.
“Oh, is Jenna your girlfriend?” Olivia asked with a giggle.
“No… Amy is!” Ty said, taking the colouring in book and settling in at the chipped coffee table to colour.
“Boys these days.” Olivia said with a shake of her head.
“Yeah, tell me about it.” I said, watching as my boy began to colour the pages before him.
“Well dinner is in the oven. It’s ready when you guys are. I’m not sure what time I will be back but I’ll call you when I finish up. Don’t let him stay up too late, definitely not past midnight.” I said, grabbing my keys, phone and handbag. I walked around the couch and gave Ty a kiss on the head before I left the house.
#
At the club, I was a bundle of nerves but quickly calmed after I met my supervisor, Gina.
She was a leggy blonde, with beautiful blue eyes and a ready and winning smile. She was thin like me, but athletic, whereas my skinniness was brought on from ensuring that my son always ate first.
“So you’ll be working the main bar tonight. We have three clubs here. The top club is The Gold Zone, our nightclub. The second level is the Midas club, basically a place for people to come and wind down, have something to nibble on, drink etcetera. She walked behind the main bar of Midas, the club was quiet as the other bar girls finished their prep and the bouncers and security guards did a final lap of the place to make sure that everything was ready for their clientele.
“And the last club, in the basement, is the Golden Slip, it’s a strip club. You’ll be expected to work in every bar on rotation, or as needed. Tonight, you’re here with Amber, and Riley.” Gina introduced me to the other girls and left us to get the bar prepped.
Amber smiled at me and Riley was just as friendly. I had a good feeling about this job.
The doors opened at six and the first customers came in. the music pumped through the wall-mounted speakers and the noise levels grew. I went out onto the floor to collect the empties I dropped one when I felt a hand slide up the length of my thigh and caress the curves of my ass through my skinny jeans, going dangerously close to slip between my legs. The glass shattered and some smart arse shouted out “Taxi!” I turned to confront the groper. The drunk guy leered at me and began to advance. The reek of alcohol strong on his b
reath and tattoos on his upper arms gave him a menacing look.
He backed me up against a table and reached out to fondle my breasts. His eyes seemed to be transfixed on them under the tight black shirt with ‘Tessa´ emblazoned on the left in gold and ‘bar staff’ right below my name. A large hand grabbed the drunk’s shoulder and pulled him away to reveal one of the brawniest guys I’ve ever laid eyes on.
Bulging muscles strained for freedom under his tight black shirt. “Mack” was the name in gold print over his left pectoral. “Security” I had never been happier to see a security guy in all my life as I had at that moment. Mack roughly shoved the drunk into the hands of two other security guys, almost as bulky as him.
“You ok, darlin’?” he asked me.
I nodded. “Yeah, thanks.”
“Ok, anyone else bothers you, just let me know.” He said with a wink. Mack turned away and nodded to his team-mates. They hustled the drunk out of the club. I quickly cleaned up the broken glass and collected the rest of the empties.
Riley grinned at me when I got back. I looked at her with a raised eyebrow as I dumped the shards of glass in the glass bin.
“What?” I asked innocently.
“I see you met Mack.” She grinned
“Mack is a nice piece of ass isn’t he?” Amber said as she pulled a beer from one of the taps for a customer. “Thanks sweetie.” She said as the customer paid and left a nice big tip for the girls in the tip jar.
I had to agree, my eyes went out over the crowd to seek him out. He stood out like dogs balls, towering above the club’s patrons. He nodded at me and I blushed.
“Oh, newbie has got it baaaad!” Riley chuckled as she poured three shots of Jack. I shook my head and concentrated on my job.
My feet were killing me at the end of the shift, I knew I’d have to find some more comfortable shoes rather than the pinching tight ones that my feet had swollen into during the night.
#
We closed up and cleaned up the bar as the contracted cleaners came in to battle their way through the filth left behind by the patrons. As I ran a cleaning rag over the sticky bar a tall, handsome man walked by. He glanced at me and kept on looking. I smiled nicely then went back to my work, washing away the spilled alcohol from the bar.
Riley came up behind me and began to run water through the beer taps, cleaning the lines.
“Who was that?” I asked her, nodding in the direction of the man. He was joined by two security guards, another well-dressed guy and Mack.
“Who?” She asked me, I nodded to the tall, handsome one who had caught my eye before.
“Oh…” Riley said nodding. “That’s the owner, Salvatore Carelli. Guy is like worth about seven million, at least. He owns like five clubs in other cities but this one is his baby. I heard he lives in an apartment at the top of the building.” Riley said, watching as the golden fluid cleared to water. She poured the bucket of watery beer down the sink and then continued to pour until the water was clean, indicating that the lines were ready to be used again.
“Well.” Gina said as she came up to the bar to collect the takings. “Time to divvy up the tips girls.” She said as she pulled the full tip jar over. The notes and coins were counted and divvied between them. There was at least a hundred and fifty bucks each. I couldn’t help the grin on my face, just this one night alone paid for the week’s rent.
“Tess, you’ll be needed to work tomorrow, till Tuesday, then you have Wednesdays and Thursdays off.” Gina said as we left the bar and headed to the staff room to clock off.
“Cool.” I said. “Not a problem at all.” It was nearing 4 am by the time I got home and woke Olivia up so she could go home with her pay of 75 bucks out of my tips. She was more than happy with that.
I checked in on Ty, sleeping like a baby, his stuffed dinosaur tucked under his arm. I tucked him in and kissed his cheek before I left the single bedroom in the apartment and crashed out on the couch.
CHAPTER 3
I worked my ass off for the rest of the week, meeting more of the bartenders and making new friends. I had spoken a few words with Salvatore Carelli, we seemed to get on very well, and I often found his eyes meeting mine with an unspoken desire to know more about him.
Gina was impressed with my work ethic, my cheery demeanour and friendliness towards staff and customers. The tips were definitely worth the ogling and the suggestions from the drunken patrons.
The next week Gina came up to me.
“Tess, I’m in a bind, one of the girls who works the Slip quit on me, can you fill in?” she asked, her eyes practically begging me.
“Sure, just bar work?” I asked her.
“No… You’ll be serving in the private rooms.” Gina said as she escorted me down to the strip club. “Basically the guys will push a call button for drink service, you go in, take their orders, they pay upfront, and then you bring their drinks. The tips in there are a heck of a lot better than anything you’ll get upstairs.”
She patted me on the shoulder. “You’ll be fine, just remember, it’s an adults only type thing, X rated stuff, especially in the private rooms.” She handed me a small pendant with a red button on it. “This is your emergency button. Push it if there’s anything that happens to you that you can’t handle, security will be there in a flash.” She said as we entered the strip club.
Music and lights pounded and flashed as scantily clad girls danced on stages through the club. Poles were being used and abused by others who wore next to nothing, and then removed their garments to the hoots and hollers of the men who watched and masturbated unashamedly to the erotic dancing before them. The smell of sex, booze and money permeated the air to mix with the sweaty lust that hung heavily. I was so totally out of my element here. I took it in my stride and headed for the bar. Gina showed me the call panel, a light was flashing on it already.
“Ok, chick, you’re up.” She said, patting me on the shoulder. I looked at the light, “Room 3” I smiled, and grabbed an order pad and pen, stood up straight, and confident, despite the multitude of butterflies that were racing around in my stomach. I perked myself up, putting on a cheery smile, and with my shoulders back, and boobs out, I made my way to ‘room 3.’
Mack and another burly security guard were there, waiting outside the door. “Hi Tess.” He grinned. “Didn’t think I’d see you down here in Hades.”
“Hades?” I asked, with a grin as I pushed the button to reset the call light back at the bar.
“Yep, the lower pits of hell, where the sinners sin all day, every day. This is a twenty-four hour den of vice, home of the debauched.” Mack grinned. They had shared a coffee together in the staff’s break room a few nights ago, chatting a little bit about nothing in particular before Mack was called away to help break up a fight in the main bar.
“Gina asked me to fill in for one of the girls tonight, so here I am.” She grinned.
“Well, better not keep the VIPs waiting.” Mack said as he knocked on the door. A male voice called out from within, Mack opened the door and I entered. The private room was dark, a single pole sat in the middle, shrouded in a dim light, taking a moment for my eyes to adjust I noticed there were about five men lounging in the large leather armchairs. The pole was currently unoccupied, the stripper was nestled between the knees of one of the men. She was hard at work sucking his cock while he smoked. A cigarette end glowed in the shadows concealing his face.
The air smelled heavy of men, alcohol, sex and cigarette smoke.
“Good evening, would anyone like to order?” I said with a pleasant smile.
“Well, well, well.” One of the shadows said. “Sal, your bar staff are getting prettier and prettier.” He blew out the aromatic smoke of a cigar. The wisps of smoke billowing into the dim light. “Why don’t you come sit on my lap sweetheart, and I’ll give you my order.”
I smiled and shook my head. “I’m sorry sir, but I’m not allowed to involve myself with the guests, just here to bring you your drinks.”
The men chuckled. “
“You know the rules Dominic.” One of the men said with a voice that almost melted my panties with the deep timbre, he was to the left of the guy receiving the blowjob. “My bar girls are not to be touched.”
“Aw come on Sal.” The shadow who wanted my ass on his lap. “Just one taste, I’ll bet her pussy is ripe for a licking.” Okay… maybe not his lap. I felt my cheeks flush with heat and my body reacted to the ribald words of the guest.
“Nope, and don’t ask again. This one is new and we don’t want to scare her off.” Sal’s voice betrayed a hint of humour and I could feel his eyes roving about my body. Over the tight tee and skinny jeans that hugged my tits and ass. To the smile on my face, where my cheeks flushed a heated red in embarrassment.
“Have we caused you a bit of embarrassment my dear?” Sal asked. I shook my head.
“Not at all, sir. Just not used to gentlemen using language more commonly used by drunken university students trying to grab at my ass while I’m working shifts upstairs.” I said with a grin. Sal laughed.
“Well, let’s get these drinks on the way then. What’s your name? You got spunk.”
“Tess.” I said as I began to take their orders. I got out of the room quickly and got their orders on the double. My face glowing with heat and embarrassment as my panties felt damp. This place was a bad influence on my body. I returned with the orders and got another smile from Mack, plus a two hundred dollar tip from the guys in the room. Damn this was a sweet paying gig, just in tips alone.
I worked the VIPs and private rooms for the rest of the night. Taking orders from guests as they sucked, fucked and ogled their way through the night with the strippers that were working. Receiving a few harmless pinches and slaps on my own ass for the effort of bringing in drinks.
Towards the end of the night I was doing an empties run. Sal and his friends headed out of room 3, their stripper had left earlier to do a show on the stage with two others. Sal caught my eye and winked. I flushed, damn he was a good looking guy, but I knew there was no chance in hell he’d go for a barmaid like me.