Chapter 2
Lauralyn
My phone buzzes again.
I don’t need to look to know who it is.
But still… I do.
Unknown Number: This is your final notice, Miss Prince. If we do not receive payment on Monday, we’ll be forced to withdraw you from the system.
My throat tightens as if the words are squeezing around my neck. It’s the third notification I’ve received today. It’s like everyone got together and decided they were coming after me at once. The credit agency, the utility companies. Now, my school.
I don’t understand how it got to this point.
No, that’s not true. I know exactly how I got here. One bad decision after another. Now, I’m buried under a stack full of regret and debt, and I’m about to lose everything I’ve worked so hard for.
I lock the screen and toss my phone onto the couch, pacing the length of the dressing room.
The mirror along the wall catches every anxious movement, making me feel like I’m being chased by my panic.
My clicking heels match my nervous heartbeat.
How am I supposed to come up with eight thousand dollars in four days?
I’m making twenty dollars an hour plus tips.
And with my current credit score, no bank is going to give me a loan.
The door opens without a knock and Lola comes sweeping in like she owns the air.
Technically she does. She owns the place and practically all the showgirls that dance for her.
Everyone bows before her like she’s a queen.
But in some ways, she is. She pays well, treats us like humans, and will never let a man lay one unwelcome finger on us.
I’ve heard horror stories about things that have happened to girls on the strip, so I feel lucky to be working here.
“You look like hell,” she says kindly, those dark eyes assessing me as she crosses her arms.
“Feel worse,” I admit, ignoring my phone as the screen lights up again. I’m sure it’s another agency wanting my firstborn child at this point.
“Well, I think I have something that will make you feel better.”
I look up.
“It’s a weekend gig. There’s a very important gentleman coming to town, and he’s in need of some ‘entertainment.’ A private dance. Some undivided attention. Someone willing to fulfill any special requests.”
I gulp—hard.
When I took this job, I swore I wouldn’t stoop lower than dancing topless on stage. But now… my desperation is in the driver’s seat.
“Before you turn it down, Lauralyn, you should know that the man is a billionaire and is looking for something discreet. Which means neither you nor he will ever speak one word of your time together. There will never be anything to haunt you later down the road.”
In other words, we’ll be the only two people who know what transpires between us.
Still… I will know what I did. I will always know that I sold my body like a whore for money.
I’ll know that I let some strange man touch me and do who knows what with me, all so I could pay my bills.
I’ll have degraded myself for a quick fix to a problem.
But my problem won’t be fixed. I’m eight thousand dollars in debt. A few grand isn’t going to make a dent.
“I can’t.”
Lola’s lips turn down, but she doesn’t push.
She wouldn’t. The one thing she told me during my interview was that she will present opportunities when they arise, but she will never force us to do anything we’re not comfortable with.
When she first came to work on the strip, she became enslaved to a man who made her feel like she was nothing but a dirty whore.
He forced her to do horrid things with vile men, and she had to fight her way to freedom.
It took her years to earn back her dignity and power, and she promised to never strip us of ours. She vowed to protect us.
“I understand, and I don’t blame you for your choice. It’s the reason I didn’t tell you how much it paid. I wanted you to make the decision you could live with and not be swayed by the amount. Money will come and go, but dignity is our key to survival.”
How much is she talking? She’s making it seem like a lot.
“How much will it pay?” I have to ask. If it’s a life-changing amount, I may be willing to do it.
Her head cocks, eyes weary. She’s like a mother hen concerned for her daughter. Has been since the day I showed up in tears desperate for a job.
“Ten thousand plus tips.”
“Ten thousand?”
I swallow hard. That’s more than enough to fix my problems. That would clear all my debts and allow me to finish my degree. Plus, tips. I could bank extra and actually have an in-case-of-emergency fund. For the last year, I’ve been living paycheck to paycheck.
“I’ll do it.”
Again, her eyes peer in closer, worried I’m making a decision I’ll regret.
“Are you sure? Money comes and goes, Laur. But memories… memories last a lifetime.”
It’s one weekend. A few days amongst the hundreds of others that will come and go.
And no one will know what transpired between us.
If the guy is ugly, I can close my eyes and fantasize that I’m with someone else.
It’s like acting out a movie. And at the end of the weekend, I’ll be debt free and working toward my future.
A future where I’m not degrading myself night after night on that stage, shaking my tits for drunk, hollering men.
“Losing all that I’ve worked for will burn me alive, Lola.
Those are the memories I won’t be able to live with.
” Working so hard, coming so far, all to have it ripped away and forever working on the strip, struggling to make rent.
That’s a nightmare that will destroy me.
“A few kinky nights with some billionaire, I can handle.” It’ll be like Indecent Proposal. Only I’m not married.
She looks content with that answer, nodding in agreement.
“Okay. But just so you know, you have to audition first. I’m sending five girls over tomorrow at noon.
You’ll audition for the man in charge, and he’ll decide who’s cut out for the job.
If I know him as well as I think I do, you’ll be his pick.
You’re exactly his type. But ultimately, it’s his client he’s shopping for. ”
My stomach drops a bit. I’ll be competing against others. There are some really gorgeous girls here. I almost don’t want to ask, but I do. “Which girls are you sending?”
“You, Chantelle, Marin, Pix, and… Portia.”
Portia? My stomach sinks. She’s the prettiest girl in this place. Long legs. Gorgeous brown hair. Big boobs. Plus, she can move her body in ways mine doesn’t even bend.
“Don’t look defeated, Laur. You’re just as beautiful and talented.
And the one thing you have going for you, which they don’t, is the innocence.
You’re new and you haven’t been jaded yet.
Anyone can see that in your eyes. And Deuce will be able to too.
Now, go and dance, and we’ll see how everything plays out.
He asked for high-end, and you’re the classiest girl I have in this place. ”
Classy? I look down at my sparkly fringed skirt and my nipple tassels.
The classy girl I once was is long gone.
She died the day my father’s casket was lowered into the ground.
All of it was ripped away. My car, my funds, my tuition.
If my dad hadn’t already paid for my dorm for that year, I wouldn’t have had a home either.
“How can you not see it?”
Lola’s question draws me back from my haunting nightmare. I’m not sure what she means by that.
“Be at the Steel Sinners Casino at noon. Ask for Deuce. Tell him Lola sent you.”
The door closes behind her before I can ask the million questions flooding my mind.
The Steel Sinners? But those men are dangerous.
That motorcycle club runs this town. And from what I’ve been told, you never want to mess with them.
One wrong move, and no one ever hears from you again.
How on earth is Lola caught up with those men?
Maybe Portia is the right choice after all.