‘Oh, gentleman. I feel terrible,’ she said. ‘Here I am whittering on about nothing and you are all buying me drinks. It must be my turn to buy a round?’
‘No. Not at all. My turn,’ Big Barry spoke up. ‘Haven’t enjoyed myself this much in years,’ he added, downing his whiskey and ordering a round for everyone.
The other thing Siswan had done when she had first arrived that evening was to make Mike take down the bell.
‘No free drinks, Mike,’ she had told him. ‘If the girls can’t earn their own, they go without.’
He hadn’t argued. What was the point. It hadn’t been working his way for years. He had to trust her.
‘Another thing,’ she said, as he climbed down from the bar. ‘No matter what I order, no matter who orders for me, I only ever drink orange juice. I only ever use the same glass and never let anyone else open the carton. Only you or me. Okay?’
‘Oh, yes. Sure thing. Er, why Siswan?’ he asked her.
‘Mike, you are going to have to think for yourself, you know,’ she had admonished him. ‘I don’t want my drinks spiked. Surely you have heard of that?’
‘Oh, yes, right. That won’t happen. The regulars are good guys. Good enough, anyway.’
‘Not the customers, Mike. The girls.’
Mike didn’t fully understand. He thought the girls all stuck together. After seeing Pan’s face however, he knew that wasn’t going to be the case anymore.
He brought himself back to the present. Big Barry was telling everyone a story from his childhood. It wasn’t that funny but everyone laughed when Siswan did.
‘Barry. You and I need to talk more. Under that big chest of yours I believe there beats a heart of gold.’ She smiled at the big man.
Mike saw her take a quick glance around the bar. She swivelled on her stool to look at the entrance.
‘Ah, excuse me please? There’s someone who I need to have a quick word with. I won’t be long. Have a drink on me whilst I’m gone.’ She smiled and slid off the stool.
‘Wouldn’t hear of it,’ Tim called out. ‘Another round, young Pan. My tab.’ Mike just couldn’t believe it. Mind you, he thought, there’s going to be trouble now. He watched as Siswan moved across the floor to where Tam stood, waiting.
Tam looked at the girl coming toward her. Twenty? Maybe twenty-one? She wasn’t too sure. Difficult to tell with some of these new girls. Probably only eighteen. Done up like a tart. Except that this one wasn’t.
She didn’t wear any makeup at all as far as Tam could tell. Didn’t wear the same clothes either. Black, tailored trousers, white, short sleeved blouse. Nothing fancy. Nothing flash. Looked good. Who the bloody hell was she? Didn’t matter who she was though. She wasn’t going to have just any girl off the street walking into her bar without so much as a wai.
‘Hello, Tam.’ Siswan gave her the formal greeting. Hands raised as if in prayer. A slight bow of the head. A wai.
Tam didn’t offer one back. She began to smile. The normal response to a lesser person. She didn’t get very far though. The girl spoke again.
‘I wai to you as an equal, Tam,’ she said. ‘If you smile back at me, I’ll cut your cheeks open to your ears and you’ll smile for evermore.’
Tam’s mouth opened as though to speak. She looked at the girl whose eyes flicked down momentarily. Tam looked down. Saw the small blade she held in her hand. Out of sight of the men at the bar. A wicked looking blade. Evil. She looked back up in shock. Where the hell had that come from? The girl didn’t smile. She didn’t move a muscle.
‘Who are you?’ Tam managed to say.
‘I’m the person who is replacing you,’ Siswan told her.
The other girls were watching. They expected Tam to do something. They hadn’t seen the knife either. Couldn’t clearly make out what was being said. Any second now, they thought. Tam was bound to slap her. Tam was a good fighter, that’s why they all did as she said.
‘But you can’t just expect me to walk out,’ Tam said.
If she just turned away now she would lose face in front of the other girls. She wouldn’t be able to command any respect in the future. She’d have to move away. Another town. She wasn’t going to take this girl on though. She could tell when someone meant what they were saying. She didn’t fancy her chances. Not one little bit. She only ever fought when she knew she would win. What could she do?
As though reading her thoughts, Siswan turned her arm slightly. The one holding the knife. Tam could clearly see the scar running most of the way up her forearm.
‘Please. I can’t just walk.’
She looked up into a face that showed nothing. No emotion. Siswan just looked at her.
‘Yes, you can. You wai to me now. Turn around. Walk out and don’t come back,’ she said, with a voice like ice.
The three girls, sat on their chairs, couldn’t believe their eyes. Tam gave a low wai, turned, and walked past them without saying a word. She was finished. There would be no other bars, not in this town. Not as a leader. Within hours, every girl in every bar would know what had happened.
They looked at one another and then looked up. The new girl was walking toward them. She was smiling. Smiling at the inferior girls.
Chapter 3
Siswan checked out the girls as she walked towards them. They were all half turned in their chairs. Two wearing black mini-skirts. One in shorts. Low cut tops. Too much makeup. Normal bar girls all looking at her. Looks of shock. Mouths slightly open. A worried look in their eyes. Good, she thought, they should be worried.
‘Hello girls,’ she said, ‘Mind if I join you?’
One of them, Apple, stood and gave her a wai. She didn’t wai back. The other two, Tak and Lon, remained seated and just looked.
‘No. Better idea. You join me,’ Siswan said. Without waiting for a reply, she turned and walked back past the bar to the far end of the room.
‘Won’t be long,’ she smiled at the men sat at the bar. ‘Just having a very quick meeting.’ It was a genuine smile.
‘No problem, Siswan. I’ll keep them entertained,’ Mike laughed.
The regulars groaned in good humour. Mike was going to be a good partner, she thought. He still had enough common sense. He may even have some enthusiasm left. She smiled again.
‘Oh, gentlemen. I am so sorry!’
They all laughed. Mike laughed with them. He had a sense of humour as well.
When she reached the far end of the room she sat down on one of the chairs. It was a gloomy spot. Half the electric lights had failed. Just as well, she thought, makes the dirt harder to see. No one came this far into the bar any more.
The girls slowly followed and sat down in the chairs near her. Tak and Lon still acted sullen. Apple was the only one who seemed the least bit interested in what was happening.
‘Anyone want to leave?’ Siswan asked, politely enough.
None of the girls moved. Tak and Lon knew enough to wait until all the cards were on the table. They’d seen takeovers before. Apple was just interested. She would be the easy one to convert.
Siswan took a coin out of her pocket. She put in on the table in front of the girls. They all looked at it.
‘If I had ten of these and I gave you fifty percent, how many would you have?’ she asked.
‘Five,’ Apple replied quickly.
‘And if I had a hundred and gave you ten percent, how many would you have?’
‘Ten.’ Apple was the quickest again.
‘So, is ten percent of a hundred better than fifty percent of ten?’
‘Er, yes. That’s obvious,’ Lon replied this time.
‘How much did you send home last month?’ Siswan asked her.
‘Six thousand,’ Lon said.
‘And were your family pleased?’
‘Would they be pleased if you sent them ten thousand?’
‘I doubt it,’ Lon answered.
‘Then don’t,’ Siswan said.
The three girls looked at her incredulously. If they earned ten thousand they’d have to send it home. That was why they were here.
‘If they aren’t going to be happy with ten thousand, only send them the six they are used to. Keep the rest for yourselves,’ Siswan said.
‘What rest?’ Tak said. ‘I only sent five. That was all I earned.’
‘Soon you are going to be earning a lot more,’ Siswan told them. ‘If you are prepared to work hard.’
‘But why should we believe you?’ Lon asked. ‘I mean, if we earn good money, you’ll want some of it. Tam always did.’
Siswan looked the young girl in the eyes. Nineteen, she guessed. Hardly any education. Sent to earn money for the family. A family that was too bloody lazy to take care of itself. A pretty girl as well.
‘Lon, I have no interest in what you earn. I won’t take anything from you if you work hard,’ she told her.
Lon looked at her. All three of them looked at her. She wasn’t smiling. She looked as though she meant it. Meant every word.
‘Okay. Suppose we do what you want. How much can we earn?’ Tak asked.
‘Oh, in a good month, I’ll be expecting you to earn twenty, maybe twenty five thousand,’ Siswan replied.
‘And what do we have to do?’ Apple was interested. In fact, she was very interested. She’d only earned three thousand last month and her boyfriend had taken that.
‘Right now you go home. All of you go home. Get a good night’s rest and meet me back here at nine tomorrow morning,’ Siswan said.
‘What? Just go home?’ Lon asked.
‘Yes,’ Siswan told her.
Out of the three, Apple was going to be the easiest. Tak and Lon might make it. If they didn’t rebel. If Tam’s way of doing things hadn’t corrupted them too much. Siswan waited for them to understand.
‘We just go?’ Tak said.
‘Yes. Go home,’ Siswan told them. ‘And I do mean go home. If you go off to another bar, or club, I’ll know. I’m giving you a night off. Sleep. Believe me you are going to need the rest.’
‘Okay,’ Apple smiled and stood. She could do with a good night’s sleep. She wasn’t going to argue.
The other two followed her example. Their faces betrayed the fact that they thought the idea ridiculous. Tak gave Lon a knowing look. The club down the road would just be getting busy.
‘One other thing girls,’ Siswan stood as well. She was a good two inches taller than any of them. ‘You will always wai to me. I will never tell you again.’
The three girls were caught off guard. Apple was the first to offer the formal farewell. Tak and Lon followed quickly after. The look in Siswan’s eyes told them they’d better.
‘Mike is your boss. He deserves kindness and respect from you. You will always show him both,’ Siswan said.
The three girls looked at her again. They had never offered Mike anything other than contempt. Tam had told them he was just a farang fool that deserved nothing more than to be fleeced.
‘You all have a lot to learn,’ Siswan told them. ‘Tak, I saw the look you gave to Lon. You all think you are clever but you’re not. You are just stupid peasant girls who never think about tomorrow. Apple, you are no better. You let a lazy man take all your money even though he is having sex with someone else. Now, you can all believe me, or you can think I’m lying, but I tell you this, if you cross me, if you make me lose face, I’ll make sure you never work with farang again.’
Siswan had spoken quietly, calmly. She hadn’t raised her voice much above a whisper. She looked slowly across the faces of the three girls stood in front of her. She had their attention now. Their full, undivided, attention.
‘I gave you your chance to leave. Show your respect. Always,’ she told them. ‘If Jom wants her job make sure she’s with you tomorrow morning.’
Mike hadn’t understood a word of what was said at the far end of the bar. He reckoned Siswan had been laying down some ground rules. Couldn’t be sure. It was all bar-girl speak. Anyway, it looked like it was over now. The girls were all standing. He hoped they’d get back to work. The regulars were drinking like fish but it would still be good to get some fresh blood in. The conversation at the bar had picked up again and Mike tuned in to what was being said. Barry was having his say. Something about how to please a girl. Oh right. Like any of them knew how to do that. Out of the corner of his eye he saw the three girls wai to Siswan. Blimey, he thought, that’s a turn up. They hadn’t done that to Tam and she was their leader. Had been, he reminded himself. Something told him she wouldn’t be coming back.
Tim ordered yet another round of drinks. They were in good moods. Even John, who normally kept so quiet had joined in the conversation.
‘I loved a girl once,’ he said, to nobody in particular.
‘Really John?’ Barry asked. ‘Who was that then?’
‘Lovely girl she was,’ John reminisced. ‘Had a tattoo on her bum.’
‘What did it say?’ Tim asked.
‘No entry,’ John said.
The rest of them burst out laughing. Big Barry spluttered whiskey all over the bar.
‘Bloody hell, John,’ he shouted, after coughing his airways clear. ‘I thought you were being serious.’
‘I was,’ John said. He went back to his beer and his memories. He wasn’t laughing.
‘Yes. Well, er. Thanks for that moment, John. Good of you to share that with us,’ Tim said, still grinning.
Mike held his hand out to Pan. She looked up at him with a puzzled expression. He smiled. She passed him the bar chit for the drinks Tim had ordered. Mike checked it, smiled, passed it back. She looked sullen. Siswan was walking back towards him. The three girls followed in her wake.
‘Well done, Mike. We’ll make a bar owner out of you yet,’ she whispered in his ear. ‘The girls are going home now.’
‘What for?’ Mike asked.
‘Oh. They’re just tired. They need to get some sleep.’
The look in her eyes told him that was all there was to say on the subject. She had already turned away before he could argue.
‘Oh dear, Barry,’ she laughed. ‘You seem to have made a bit of a mess haven’t you. You really ought to be able to find your mouth by now, you know.’
Siswan took a cloth and mopped up the drink Barry had spluttered over the bar.
‘Pan?’ Siswan spoke in the local tongue. ‘Always keep the bar clean. There’s a good girl’
Mike watched her eyes. They didn’t smile even though her mouth did. He wasn’t sure what she’d said to Pan but he guessed. Things are changing around here, he thought. But why send the girls home? He didn’t understand that. Surely they were needed? Oh well. Best not to argue. He started to turn his attention back to the regulars.
‘Good night, Mike,’ Apple said, offering him a very polite wai.
He was startled. What the hell was this? They hadn’t said ‘goodnight’ to him before, let alone given him a wai. My god, now Tak and Lon were doing the same. He slipped off his stool. Started to raise his hands in response.
‘A smile will do, Mike,’ Siswan interrupted him. ‘Just a smile.’
He smiled at the three girls. They all took a quick glance at Siswan. They all nodded their heads to her as though in acquiescence. Bloody hell, Mike thought, this was a right turn up, and no mistake.
‘Good night girls,’ he said.
The three of them filed out. He looked to Siswan. Wanted to ask her what was happening. He couldn’t. She was busy with the regulars again. She had her arm resting gently across John’s shoulders.
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br /> ‘I’m sure she was a lovely girl, John,’ she was saying.
My god, Mike thought yet again, she hadn’t missed a trick. Not a word. Even whilst she had been talking to the girls she’d kept an ear on the bar. Bloody hell.
It was two-thirty in the morning. The bar had closed. The regulars had gone home. Pan had gone home. Siswan and Mike sat at the bar adding up the evenings takings. Mike hadn’t believed the first count so they were going through the chits again.
‘But that’s almost as much as we were taking when the bar was doing well,’ he said, when the totals agreed for the second time.
‘Yes. Not a lot is it?’ Siswan told him.
‘It’s a hell of a lot compared with normal, Siswan.’
‘Mike, it’s chicken feed.’ She looked at him. ‘A bar like this, in this position, should be making twenty times this amount. On a bad night.’
‘Yes. But even so.’ He tailed off. Twenty times? That would be a bloody fortune.
‘I’m glad you are so easily pleased,’ she laughed. ‘That’s why I chose you.’
‘Does this mean I could buy a new pair of shorts?’ he laughed with her. It was easy to laugh with her.
‘I’d prefer you to get trousers, Mike,’ she told him. ‘And a new shirt.’
‘Right you are. I’ll pop out tomorrow afternoon,’ he agreed.
‘The girls will be here in six hours. We’re going shopping. You can come,’ she said.
‘Eh, what for?’ he asked.
‘For new uniforms,’ she told him, with a smile.
‘Hang on, Siswan,’ he said. ‘I know we did well tonight but we didn’t do that well.’
‘It’s alright, Mike. I’ll pay and, when the bar makes enough, it will pay me back.’ Her voice suggested that there would be no doubt about that. ‘The cleaners will be here at eleven.’
‘What cleaners?’ he asked.
‘Cleaners, Mike. You know. People who come in and clean. It’s not that hard to understand,’ Siswan told him.
‘Oh. Right. Well, I’d best get to bed then. Looks like it’s going to be a busy day tomorrow.’
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