Chapter 9
The evening had turned out to be a goddamn waste of time. Not only was the Penny basically empty, but since the only unclaimed patrons were all getting drunk near the stage, Harper had spent the past few songs walking back and forth in front of the worst tippers she’d ever encountered.
She didn’t even like the stage. Some people, like Evie, could own it so hard that no one else should bother going near it. But Harper was strongest in close proximity, and that was hard to achieve when twirling around a pole.
Hopefully, Nell had more luck than her. Since Patricia was with Lucas, she had tagged along under the guise of needing some extra cash. But Harper knew the real reason she was there. Her being alone in this place was a recipe for disaster.
Harper didn’t exactly envy Nell her chosen specialty, as lucrative as it was.
Plenty of men would pay a premium to have a beautiful woman actively listen to their troubles, and Nell had a gift for knowing exactly what people wanted to hear.
At every club they’d worked at, she always ended up with more regulars than anyone else.
She didn’t even have to take her clothes off to keep them around.
Harper kind of wished she had the patience to develop that sort of skill. But only kind of. It was easy to be jealous of Nell, but only if you didn’t see how she acted afterwards. Carrying around other people’s problems was heavy. Not everyone could handle that.
Besides, Harper was perfectly content with teasing both rent and attention out of strangers. She’d always found it easy to separate work from real life. Knowing next to nothing about the men she targeted was part of why.
“Hey there, pretty lady.”
The voice made Harper turn, flirty smile already in place, but the expression withered as soon as she laid eyes on the man who’d just approached her booth.
He looked the same as anyone else who might frequent a place like this. Young guy, gel-filled hair, and wearing a pressed shirt open at the collar. Just a random college kid, looking to pay for attentive company.
But something was off. Something about how expensive his clothes looked and the sleaziness of his smile.
And the fact that he’d positioned himself at the edge of the booth, blocking the exit, wasn’t helping.
“Hey,” she said curtly, hoping rudeness might make him lose interest. Instead, his smile widened.
“Couldn’t help but notice you sitting here all on your own. Kind of sad, for someone who specializes in providing a good time.” He sat down, eyes drifting to her cleavage. “I’m Chad, by the way.”
“Of course you are.” She gathered up her meager stack of bills. “I’m off the clock. And not interested.”
“I can make it worth your while.” He pulled a hundred-dollar bill from his wallet, pushing it over the table. “There’s more coming, assuming you’ll give me a really good time. If you know what I mean.”
She knew exactly what he meant. Having a woman treat you like a king for a few hours was a common goal of going to strip clubs. It was a fantasy Harper knew inside and out, and she had no problem with selling it either. But this guy wanted more than a fantasy.
Some dancers offered additional services to what their club of choice advertised, but Harper had never been comfortable going that far. Not even when she was living on the streets, where desperation had made it far more compelling.
But even if she had offered that kind of attention, she still would have turned him down. Instinct was lifesaving in this industry, and this guy was a walking red flag. He had the energy of a spoiled kid who hadn’t yet grasped that ‘no’ could be a complete sentence.
Harper made a career out of being a tease. The leap from there to mocking was tiny.
“Did you get that from Mommy and Daddy?” She eyed the bill he’d pushed towards her. “I bet you did. And I bet they don’t know about how you have to spend it. Kind of embarrassing, to have raised a son so lacking in personality that he has to pay to get his dick wet.”
Chad’s cocky expression dropped. “You can’t talk to me like that!”
“I can’t? Funny, because I just did.” She pushed his money back across the table.
“Here’s the deal, Chad. I’m not having a great night, and breathing in your suffocating cologne is only making it worse.
This place isn’t offering what you’re looking for, so take your cash and your limp cock, and get the fuck out of here. ”
He stared at her, eyes wide and mouth agape. It took almost ten full seconds of stammering before he finally found an insult.
“Watch your tone, you fucking slut.”
Harper raised an eyebrow. “That’s the best you could come up with?”
He was panting now, nostrils flaring. She kept eye contact, waiting for him to get frustrated enough to storm off in a huff, but Chad was in the mood to take things personally.
He grabbed her wrist, digging his fingers into her skin.
“Watch it. I won’t be disrespected by some disgusting whore.”
“You were willing to pay for this disgusting whore just a moment ago. What does that say about your sense of taste?” She pulled her arm back, but that just made him tighten his grip. “Let go of me.”
“Don’t tell me what to do!” He pulled her closer, the jerking movement sudden enough to sting. “You need to learn some manners. I was going to treat you nicely, which is far more than a bitch like you fucking deserves.”
His grip tightened, and given that Colton had yet to come over, he probably wouldn’t at all. She would have to handle this on her own. Which, being honest, she didn’t really mind.
Glaring at Chad, she grabbed the flat beer left behind on the table and threw the lukewarm contents right in his dumb-looking face.
He let go of her, reeling away with a wet cough. His shirt was soaked through, and golden liquid pearled on his gel-slicked hair.
He stared down at himself. Then, eyes filled with rage, he raised his hand and swung towards her face.
She leaned back instinctively, but the lack of space made it impossible to avoid the incoming strike.
Rather than hitting her cheek, as intended, his knuckles smacked against her mouth.
Dull pain throbbed through her bottom lip, a coppery taste flowing onto her tongue.
Bastard had split her fucking lip.
She was about to let go of the brakes and verbally tear into the bristling man next to her, but his face wasn’t where she’d expected it to be. Instead, it was pressed against the sticky surface of the booth table, Maya holding onto the back of his head.
“Is there a problem here?” Maya’s voice was ice. Chad struggled against her grip.
“What the hell are you—” He groaned as Maya pressed him harder against the table.
“Wasn’t talking to you.”
She turned towards Harper. And stiffened. Her whole body froze, eyes widening as they locked on Harper’s mouth.
Harper wiped at her lips. A thin coat of blood came off on her fingers.
Maya swallowed and turned her eyes away, though it seemed like it took significant effort to do so. Her fingers curled, digging into Chad’s skull like claws.
“I see two options here,” Maya said tightly. “You either leave on your own, or in a manner that involves your face making contact with the pavement. Which one do you prefer?”
“You can’t tell me to—”
“Unless you’re about to say that you’re getting the hell out of here, you’re done talking.”
Maya leaned more of her weight onto Chad’s skull, making him yell out and kick against the floor.
“Alright! Alright, fuck. I’ll leave, okay? Just… please let me go.”
Maya didn’t quite do that. She grabbed him by the collar and shoved him forward hard enough that it was almost a throw. He crashed into a nearby table, summoning a choir of frightened gasps.
Everyone was staring at them. The patrons, the other girls, even Colton, who had yet to move from the wall he was leaning against.
Chad cursed under his breath and scrambled back to his feet. For a second, it looked like he was about to rush back towards the booth, but one look at Maya stopped him in his tracks.
He scoffed and spat on the floor. “Fuck this place. It sucks anyway.”
Wiping the remnants of beer off his face, he rushed out the door. But the chaos he started had a ripple effect. The moment he was gone, about half the patrons untangled themselves from whatever company they’d paid for and followed him out.
The attention shifted, every person in the room turning their eyes onto Harper. Some of them seemed startled. A few curious. But most of them were staring at her with nothing but loathing. The only person not in any of those categories was Maya, who was keeping her eyes glued to the floor.
“You alright?”
That was a more complicated question than Maya had probably intended. The lip injury didn’t feel serious, but going by Maya’s refusal to make eye contact, it might be more gruesome than it felt. Which would mean a lack of work while it healed.
But even if it was just a scratch, it would just mean more of this. More stares, more whispering. Half a decade of doing this job, and Harper had never dreaded it before coming to this fucking place.
“I’m great.” She snatched up her money, leaving the hundred-dollar bill Chad hadn’t bothered picking up, and slipped out of the booth. “In fact, I feel fucking fantastic.”
She pushed past Maya, not looking at anyone as she headed for the staff hallway. Venom gathered on the tip of her tongue, and if she stayed out here for even a second longer, she would spew it at the entire fucking room.
If she hadn’t already burned all other bridges in this city, she wouldn’t have cared. But she had to care. She didn’t have a choice in the matter.
Not when she didn’t have anywhere else to go.