Page 38 of Shar: A Woman Alone

“The job’s yours. We’lldiscuss salary, responsibilities and shit another time. The apartment upstairscomes with the job and the salary will reflect that. I get a spare key to theapartment as a security thing. Look forward to seeing what you make of theplace. Come on, Shar. Let’s be on our way.”

The trip back to theclubhouse in the SUV is surprisingly quiet and I only catch the odd look fromShar.

As soon as we walk into theclubhouse, all hell is let loose. A woman's scream erupts from the kitchen, andthen there’s the crashing of dishes or something. One voice rises above all thenoise, and it drips venom. Recognizing the voice as Wendy’s, I dash through thedoor and am just in time to see Lira facing up to Wendy.

“Shut your filthy mouth, youwhore. I’m done with your shit. One more step and I’ll stick your head up yourass. The President gave me full reign over the kitchen, food and menus. What Ido is between me and the President. If you don’t like it, take it up with him.”

“He lords it over thebrothers. What happens with the women is my business.”

Before Wendy spits anotherword, I have her by the back of the neck and drag her not only from thekitchen, but out of the clubhouse and to the gate.

As I approach, the prospectopens it and as soon as I am close enough, I throw Wendy to the sidewalk.

“Set foot inside the compoundor any of the club businesses and you’re dead.” Walking back into theclubhouse, I head for the kitchen. Lira is tidying up and just gives me a smileas though this was an everyday occurrence.

After making sure Lira is good, I head to my office, where Isit relaxing behind my desk with my eyes closed. Each day seems to have its owndrama, but thankfully, this hasn’t been a bad day.

CHAPTER 19

Shar

Having breakfast while waiting for Crack, I watch Lira busyin the kitchen. I’m pretty sure Sharp is right in what he said about her nottaking her rest days. Seeing Crack walk in, grab a plate and load it up withbacon, sausage, scrambled eggs and then top it off with toast, I can see whyLira is always busy. I have to assume that all the brothers are eating similaramounts at each mealtime, so there’s no wonder she feels she has to be here allthe time. This needs some more thought if we’re not going to lose her and herexcellent services.

“Morning, Shar. Is that your second helping or are you nothungry on this fine day?” Crack gives me a beaming smile, and if I didn’t knowhim better, I’d think he had some great sex last night with his good humortoday.

“Have you ever stopped to think how much food the brothers,as a whole, get through at each mealtime? There’s way more than thirty peopleincluding Zara, the prospects, and the whores. Three meals a day. That is a lotof food and a tremendous amount of work preparing and cooking it.”

“Yeah. But it’s spread from what, let’s say six am to sevenpm? It’s not like it’s all in a four-hour period or something,” Crack statesbetween a mouth full of egg.

“So, by your reckoning then, Lira has to be here to startbreakfast by five am and doesn’t get away after cleaning down before eight oreven nine pm, seven days a week. Fifteen-hour days, seven days a week. Howwould you like it if Sharp gave you those hours?”

Having lost my appetite, I clear away my plate and need totalk to Sharp, urgently. As I’m leaving the kitchen, I notice Josie in the recroom and she seems to be eyeing Lira as she’s working.

Tiptoeing quietly over to her, she is so engrossed that shedoesn’t notice me at her side. “See something interesting, Josie? Planning onfollowing Wendy out the gate, maybe?”

She jumps a mile as I whisper in her ear and looks at mewith genuine fear in her eyes.

“No, Shar. Oh no! I was watching how she does things. She’slike a freakin’ machine, the way she has so much going on all at once. When Ifirst got here, I used to love doing the meals and tried to teach myselfcooking skills. I was never very good around a stove, though. Then, when Wendyand Lizzie got here, Syn got her claws into them and turned them against anykind of work except being on their knees or their backs. We stopped doingmeals, and no one seemed to be bothered, but I miss those early times, Shar. Itwas good to see the guys enjoying the food I’d made them, and the days wentquicker too.”

“You’re coming with me to speak to Sharp. I think I may havea promotion for you. Come on.”

Taking her arm, I almost drag her to Sharp’s office.Knocking on the door, I wait for him to shout enter and then drag Josie to thechairs in front of his desk.

“Morning, Sharp. I may have a solution to our Lira problem.”

Judging by the look he’s giving Josie, he thinks she is theproblem. “What the fuck has happened now? Didn’t Wendy’s exit teach you whoresanything?” Josie looks like she has been slapped and I have to say, for thefirst time in my life, I feel sorry for a club whore.

“Whoa, Sharp. Hold on there. Not so fast. Josie, tell Sharpwhat you’ve just told me. All of it, word for word.”

Josie repeats her story, and it doesn’t escape my noticethat a tear runs down her cheek.

“Okay. I may have spoken a bit too soon there. So Shar,what’s your solution?” Sharp leans back in his chair with a coffee grasped inhis hands that he had on his desk.

“Well, I propose we fire Josie as a club whore forstarters…” I wait for Josie’s reaction before I continue, and she doesn’t letme down.

“No, please. I don’t have anywhere else to go and certainlywon’t get another job in town…”

“And then we make her Lira’s assistant. We can’t have awhore working in the kitchen but a nice clean young woman that wants to learnand progress? That would be a good move. More responsibility, more salary?” Iwatch Sharp’s reaction and he isn’t as shocked as I was expecting.

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