Page 24 of Fang
“Yeah, it’s her birthday.” Penelope smiles.
“Happy birthday, Cami. Here. Take this. Pen can add it to my bill.”
He picks up several of the four-dollar chocolates I passed on and hands them to me.
“Oh no. That’s not necessary.”
Happy shoves them into my hands. “Stop being so stubborn and take the chocolate. Enjoy your birthday. I hope you aren’t working tonight.”
I hope to God he doesn’t tell Penelope what that work entails.
“Nope. Going home now,” I tell him.
He smiles. “Good. Have fun.”
“Thank you again,” I tell Penelope. “You too, Happy.”
Then I leave.
At my car, I buckle my flowers to keep them safe before settling into the driver’s seat.
Smiling over at my flowers, I let the joy they bring me settle in.
It might not be much, but to me they are the world.
I swear, when it rains, it pours.
It’s been a long couple of days. The club is making more profits, but managing women has never been so difficult. It’s like none of them can get along. The worst part is that a lot of it seems to be aimed at Cami.
She wasn’t wrong when she said the other girls wouldn’t be happy with her having a guard while they don’t. I really don’t give a fuck, but it is causing me a headache.
My phone rings as I pull up outside the clubhouse. I see the club number and groan.
“What?” I bark into it.
“One of the patrons touched me and I didn’t like it,” Venus cries into the phone.
“Did Jim take care of it?” I ask, referencing the security guard on shift tonight.
“Yes, he gave the guy a warning, but if I had my own bodyguard it wouldn’t have happened.” She whines.
“Venus, I mean this in the best way possible. You would sell your left toe if someone were willing to pay enough. You barelyhit triple digits on the stage. I can’t afford to have a guy on you when you literally do extras all the time. It doesn’t make sense.”
“So I need to be a prude to get a brother watching me?” she hisses into the phone.
“You need to learn how to dance, stop letting every guy from here to Mississippi play hide the salami, and tone down the makeup before you get a brother watching you. You knew what you signed on for. This is my decision, so if you don’t like it, I hear the Flamingo across town is hiring.”
“That’s mean to say. They take seventy percent of the money we earn.”
I do know that. We only take thirty. That’s why the girls like working for us.
“It’s your choice. Don’t call my phone with this bullshit again. It’s for emergencies.”
I hang up, rubbing my head as I move into the clubhouse. Something sweet has me following my nose toward the kitchen.
“Hey, Pres. What smells so good?” I ask Savage as I step into the kitchen.
He nods over to Bailey at the stove. “Ask her.”
