Rose of Thorne

by Mia Michelle

  The door chimes and three beautiful girls near my age are laughing as they sit in the corner booth. I finish clearing away the counter and make my way over to them. I am relieved they only want coffee, and I quickly fill their cups. The café is really slow, so I go ahead and turn off the neon OPEN sign before I begin doing my nightly table checks. I am adding new napkins to the booth in front of the group of girls when I overhear their conversation. They are discussing how much they made in tips the night before. I almost drop the dispenser in my hand at the mention of the amount. It is triple what I make her in an entire month here at the café and that is with me working double shifts.

  I don’t even want to know what they had to do to earn that kind of money.

  Now they are talking about how the owner had mentioned they are needing another girl to work at lounge by the bar.

  A bar? I can handle that I think.

  So, I do it. I gather up my courage and I ask them about the position.

  I’m now sitting in my car looking at the card that Megan, one of the girls had given me. JAXX is a new bar and restaurant about twenty minutes from downtown Austin. According to Megan it is pretty normal stuff such as waiting on tables and bringing drinks from the bar to the customers. The only catch is that all the waitresses perform one dance together on stage every night. It is nothing inappropriate, but something that was sure to draw in a large crowd of men. She wants me to come by tomorrow during practice to meet the manager and see for myself if I will be interested. I don’t know if I can do it, but I don’t see any harm in checking it out. I tuck the card in the cup holder and head home. Sleep is not kind to me tonight; I am too worried about my first day near Sebastian.

  Morning finds me weary and tired. This is my first day, officially, as an intern at Thorne Enterprise. To say I am a nervous wreck is a complete understatement. I am more like an emotional mess I check myself in my full length mirror for the thousandth time before grabbing my leather satchel and heading out the door and to the driveway. The rain is pouring down hard, and the traffic is slowing up because of an accident in the far left lane. Less than ten minutes into my drive, I am jolted as my steering wheel jerks to the side followed by a loud noise.

  REALLY? JUST GREAT! A freaking blowout on my first day!

  I look at my clock on my phone.

  SHIT!

  I know how to change a tire, but I will ruin my dress on this wet pavement. Cars buzz by me and the rain continues to pour as I frantically try calling Kylie.

  Come on… please… please… pick up… “Hi, this is Kylie leave me a message!”

  SHIT!!! Now, I’ve only got twenty minutes!

  I am going to be late if I don’t hurry. I throw on my vinyl raincoat and battle the rain as I kneel on the pavement with the jack in my hand. Of course, the lug nuts would be rusted, and I now have grease all over my hands and cream dress. I roll the spare on and secure it quickly, then throw the other in the trunk along with the jack and wrench. Jumping in my car, I look at the clock.

  SHIT! SHIT! Two minutes until 8:00am.

  I put the call through to Sara but am transferred to the wrong extension. I leave a message with the front desk and frantically make my way through town. I park in the garage in my designated number and grab my satchel and make a mad sprint for the elevator. I don’t even bother locking the car because I mean, who is going to steal that piece of shit next to all these other fancy cars. I absentmindedly look into the mirror in the foyer and I am horrified at my appearance.

  The hair I had spent so long on this morning now resembles a wet mop of curls down my back, my mascara is streaked down one side, and grease is smeared on my left cheek. We won’t even discuss the clothes. I look up at the clock on the wall 8:22 am.

  Shit….SHIT!

  I quickly wipe at the grease, but it isn’t coming off. Oh no…NO! The elevator chimes open behind me and I see his eyes find mine through the mirror. Sebastian.

  Can someone PLEASE, just kill me now!

  He is with two other gentlemen and he dismisses them immediately after he sees me. Panicked, I quickly make a sprint for the stairwell door. I had almost made it to the door when his hand finds my arm and I before I know it I am being led into a nearby office.

  “You are late, Skylar! You missed the morning meeting and the agenda for the week. I am very disappointed that you not only show up late, but you show up looking like… like this. You look like a drowned grease rat,” he grits through his teeth.

  “I’m so sorry. My car had a blowout this morning on the interstate. I had to change my tire in this weather. I tried to call Sara, but I kept getting the wrong extension. It won’t happen again, I swear!” I plead with him to understand. His look softens at first. It’s as if he is struggling to stay angry, but then he spins away from me. With his back now turned, he opens the door but not before spitting out, “You need to go home, Skylar, NOW! And it’s best you remember that I won’t tolerate this kind of behavior in the future. I suggest you show up on time from here on out because this is your first and only warning. Next time will result in being excused from this internship program. Is that understood, Ms. Rose?”

  “Yes, sir,” I reply softly, looking down so that I don’t give him the satisfaction of seeing me cry.

  He closes the door, and I stand there shaking from both the wetness of my clothes and the anger in his voice. I slowly exit the room and make my way to leave the building.

  Sara is coming through the lobby to sign for a package and spots me as I emerge from the hall. Her eyes grow wide, and she pulls me into the nearby ladies room. I can no longer manage to hold back the tears, and I sob into my hands as I hear the water turning on at the sink. Sara walks over to the door, locks it, and leads me to the bench by the mirror. She smiles sadly at me as she gently wipes my face and speaks softly to me.

  “Shhh... It’s okay, honey. What happened?” she asks as she continues to wipe my face.

  “I had a flat on my way here and had trouble changing the tire. It caused me to be late and ruin my clothes. Seb… Mr. Thorne spotted me as I was trying to make my way to the elevator and told me to go home. He is upset that I showed up late and looking like this. I tried to call you to explain, but I got transferred to the wrong department every time. I left a message for you, but I didn’t know if you would get it in time.”

  “Now, now, dear. You have had a most horrible day, bless your heart! I am certain Mr. Thorne wasn’t angry. He probably was just busy this morning, and you misread him. He can come across harsh sometimes, I’m afraid. Trust me, it will be fine. Now, let’s get you cleaned up, shall we?”

  I nod at her, and she pats me on the back. She helps me to remove most of the grease from my face and arms and thankfully now I look much more presentable.

  “Now, why don’t you go on home and rest? Tomorrow will be much better, I am certain,” she says and kisses my cheek. When she does that, it reminds me of my mother and of how much I miss her. Especially in times like these. I look up at Sara’s face. I really like this woman, and I am so glad I have her on my side.

  “Thank you so much, Sara,” I tell her as I hug her and grab my bags.

  I can’t help my mind from racing on my drive home. What right did he have to get so upset with me? I mean sure I was late, but it was obvious that I had not been lying about having the flat. I don’t know if I can handle him getting angry at me like that again. Perhaps I have made a mistake in taking this internship. I can’t help but wonder where the Sebastian I know went? Can I do this for the next six months? I just didn’t know. Before I know it, my eyes grow heavy, and I drift off to sleep across my bed.

  Sebastian

  “CLEAR MY SCHEDULE!” I bark at Sara, when I meet her in the lobby. I am fuming as I make my way up to my office floor. I slam the large wooden door behind me and flip over the leather chair in front of my desk. With one swift movement, I swipe the desk of its contents and watch as the glass paper weight falls and shatters. I grab my hair and growl out i
n anger. “FUCK!” How could I have spoken to her so horribly?

  When I stepped off the elevator earlier, I was beyond horrified at what I saw. There she stood, rain soaked and filthy, frantically rubbing grease from her beautiful face, and what did I do? I yell at her. I was so damn mad at thinking about how she could have been hurt that I took my anger out on her. All I can think about is her trying to change that tire on the side of the busy interstate in the middle of the pouring rain, with no one to help her.

  What if she had been hit by a car? What if she had wrecked with the blowout?

  All of these scenarios play out in my head, and I am BEYOND pissed that I allowed myself to even care. I can’t let her see how she affects me, so I give her the Sebastian she has never met. The Sebastian that the world and everyone else knows as the asshole, the monster, the cold hateful son of a bitch.

  Standing there with grease all over her face and soaked to the bone she looked so fucking beautiful. It was all I could do not to pull her into my arms and kiss her like crazy, but instead I sent her home out of panic because of my body’s reaction to her. She has no idea just how much she affects me and to be honest I don’t know how this whole intern thing is going to work out. I can’t spend the entire time away on business or hiding in my office.

  No, what I need is a distraction, a really good distraction to help me get her off my mind. Yes, a good fuck is exactly what I need to get myself back on track. My old childhood pal Jackson Stone has just opened his new club JAXX last month and I have heard it was the hottest new ticket in town. I text Jackson and he tells me that he has me a section reserved in the VIP area upstairs. I immediately feel better and back on track to being me. I have let Skylar Rose into my head for far too long. After tonight she will no longer be more than a memory.

  Skylar

  I wake up near noon take a shower and change my clothes. The sadness of earlier has now been replaced by intense anger. I don’t know what tomorrow will bring, but I will just learn to keep my head down and do my job. One thing was for sure, I am through wasting my time on worrying about Sebastian Thorne. The Sebastian I know is obviously gone and maybe he never even existed to begin with. Even though it was him on the outside, Mr. Thorne is now the one present. I have an internship to complete and a future ahead of me. The last thing I need is a distraction. I’ll just consider it a lesson learned.

  Since I have the afternoon free, I text Megan to see when I can come to check things out at the club. I get an immediate reply from her telling me that she will be there all evening and to come anytime I want. Texting her back, I let her know I am on the way there, and I throw my curls into a ponytail.

  The club is only about a twenty-five minute drive from my house. When I arrive, there only a few cars occupy the large parking lot. Nervously I open up the front door, and I am shocked at the elegant layout of the room. This place is not at all what I had imagined in my head. A beautiful lounge is located off to the left past the entrance. Slowly, I continued walking through the lounge area and on into another massive room full of the deep passion colors of red and purple. A beautiful wooden bar sits to the left of the room facing the large dining area. A stage set in the center of the room has a massive metal stairway leads up to another large section that overlooks the entire downstairs.

  I don’t see Megan anywhere, so I make my way towards the front of the room. A tall guy with dark hair comes in behind the bar carrying cases of bottles and quickly stops when he sees me. His dark eyes slowly rake up and down my body and he looks at me with a mischievous grin on his face. The look he continues giving me makes me more than uncomfortable. When his gaze lands on my chest, I feel instantly self-conscious of the tank top I am wearing.

  “Well, hello there, are you looking for someone? If not, I certainly hope you are looking for me,” he says and winks.

  Oh great… let’s just say CREEP!

  “UM… hi, I’m looking for Megan. She told me to stop by.”

  “Oh yeah, are you the new girl? Megan is in the back office. I’m Brandon, by the way. I’m one of the bartenders here,” he says as he extends his hand out to me. Hesitantly I take it and shake his hand.

  “I’m Skylar, and I just came to talk to her about a job. I haven’t been offered anything yet.”

  He nods and leans over the bar, and I can smell his strong cologne.

  “Trust me, babe, one look at you and Jackson will have you as his star lady here.”

  He lifts the phone and hits a button, “Megan, there is a bombshell up here waiting to see you,” Brandon says and hangs the phone back up.

  “She will be here in just a minute. You can have a seat and wait here if you like. Can I get you something to drink?” he asks me as he leans into the bar.

  “No, thank you, I’m fine,” I reply nervously.

  “Okay, well, just let me know if you need anything,” he offers and continues putting away the bottles behind the bar. Just a few minutes later Megan appears in a pair of tight shorts and even tighter midriff bearing top; looking like she was just posing for some magazine.

  Crap! Does this girl ever have a bad hair day or anything?

  Brandon’s eyes never leave me while he stands trying to look busy behind the bar. I can’t help it there is just something about him makes me more than nervous. Well… to be perfectly honest he scares the living hell out of me.

  Megan walks me around the place and explains the job in more detail. According to her, I will be required to wear a short black shirt, black high heels, and a tight black shirt with JAXX’S GIRLS written on the front. Since mostly this is a gentlemen’s bar, we are expected to wear our makeup more defined, and our hair always has to be down. Basically, I will be waiting tables downstairs unless I am requested or assigned to a customer in the VIP section upstairs.

  “VIP clients usually request the girls, so that’s where the money is,” she explains. “Nothing inappropriate is allowed to happen here. Jackson is extremely strict on his rules with the customers. You are just to flirt and be attentive to the guys. They are not allowed to make physical contact with you in any way or speak to you suggestively. If this happens, you are to let him or one of the bouncers know, and they will take care of it. Jackson usually handles all of that himself. He wants this to be a clean place, even if it is more of a gentlemen’s club.”

  “What about the dancing? Didn’t you say we have to perform on stage? I ask nervously. This is the part I am dread knowing about most.

  “Oh, yeah, we rehearse a new routine twice a week. It’s usually simple and something sexy, but not too provocative. We all dance together on stage, usually around 10pm, and then we split those tips between us. The other tip money is all ours plus Jackson pays us very well. Trust me, you will do really well here,” she says. Suddenly, she jumps up on the stage and looks down at me.

  I stare at the stage anxiously since this is the hardest part for me. It isn’t the same as the performances I used to do. It is exactly like going to a club, I tell myself.

  I have no emotional investment in it. I can do this. I have to do this!

  She senses my fears and has the guy in the back start some music over the speakers.

  “Here watch me,” she says as she sits a chair in the middle of the stage. She shows me a few basic moves around the chair, and within minutes I have picked up the entire routine. By the third time, I have the routine down cold. She smiles at me as we move perfectly timed together. When the music ends, I am startled to hear loud clapping coming from near the bar.

  Brandon is whistling beside a tall blond man dressed in dark jeans and a gray shirt.

  “Well done, ladies! Megan, who do we have here?” The tall handsome blonde says as he smiles at me.

  “Jackson, this is the girl I was telling you about, Skylar Rose. Skylar, this is Jackson Stone, he owns the place.”

  “Megan, you didn’t quite tell me what a find she is. I must say, Skylar, that performance… well… let’s just say you more than have a job here if
you wish.”

  “Thank you, sir. Yes, I would really appreciate that,” I reply.

  “Sir? Oh my, my, Megan, yes, I think you have outdone yourself with this one,” Jackson chuckles pulling me in to him. When he moves to the side I find the dark stare of Brandon’s eyes upon me. There is something dark about him, almost evil, and I can literally feel the hairs on my arm begin to stand. There is no way I ever want to be alone around this guy.

  “Listen, Skylar, do you think you might be able to start tonight? I have a girl that’s out, and we have some special guests who have already reserved a spot upstairs.”

  “Um, sure, but I–”

  He interrupts me before I can finish. “Fantastic! Megan, can you get her fitted for her uniform?” Megan nods as he turns to take a phone call.

  A half an hour later, I head home to get ready for work and to check on Sophie. I quickly make supper, and by the time she arrives after soccer, we eat together, and I quickly get ready for work. I slip on the short skirt and shirt that seem to be two sizes too small. My shirt rides up just above the belly button exposing the jeweled ring that Kylie dared me to get for my 20th birthday. Because I am blessed up top, the letters JAXX now stretch wide across my chest. Yeah, I’m sure I will get some stares tonight, and I’m hoping I can handle it all. I straighten my hair until it is silky smooth and play up my makeup, enhancing my eyes with dark eye shadow. When I am done, I barely recognize myself. I slide into my black stilettos and take a deep breath. I coach myself the whole drive there… YOU CAN DO THIS!

  Sebastian

  JAXX is packed when I arrive later that night. I am proud of my friend as I step inside and admire his new club. Jackson meets me at the door with his sly grin and slaps me on the back.

  “Long time no see, my friend. I have your spot upstairs reserved for you. I will send a girl up for your area in just a bit, bro. I’ll be up in a little later to check on you. I need to check on some shipment mix-up at the bar.”