Page 4 of Rags to Vegas
My night club days were pretty much behind me. When I did hang out with friends, it mostly consisted of brunch, lunch,dinner, wine tasting, movie theatres, bowling, or bar hopping. My dating life had been nonexistent since relocating and though I got lonely at times, I didn’t mind too much. I was still healing from the trauma that I endured while being with Nick. Remaining single until the day I died was very much an option if I had to keep running into losers, abusers, liars, and cheaters. As a teenager, I dreamed of a fairytale type wedding with the love of my life. Eventually we would have three kids. One girl and two boys. As I neared thirty, I had to take into consideration that those daydreams could remain just that. Dreams.
I thanked Rachelle for coming to the rescue, she wished me luck, and left. Listening to music typically put me in a good mood, so I let the soft, melodic, sounds of R&B soothe me while I got dressed for work. The club was almost a twenty-minute drive from my apartment, and my 8:00 shift had me leaving home an hour early because I was sure traffic was thick
Since moving to Vegas and getting my own place, I didn’t think I had time for school because I needed to work as much as I could. Time was ticking, however. Did I want to be a waitress at thirty? People swore I didn’t look my age, and I often got accused of being in my early twenties, but that might not last forever. Did I really want to be that ‘old’ person still working in a gentleman’s club, even if I wasn’t a dancer? So many decisions. So little time.
When I arrived at the club, I was shocked at how congested the parking lot was. It looked as if there was a pretty full house, and that sent my nerves into overdrive. Reaching inside of my purse, I pulled out a miniature bottle of tequila. One shot would relax me a bit while keeping me level and clear headed enough to be able to do my job effectively. Emerging from my car, my gaze poured over the array of luxury vehicles in the parking lot. Lexus, Benz, BMW, Jaguar, Maserati, Lamborghini. I took in every vehicle. Men with money drinking alcohol were my favorite. While some men got drunk and became overlyobnoxious and hard to deal with, there were a lot of men that got inebriated and liked to flex. They spent money irresponsibly and often tipped big. I loved it.
At the entrance, I gave the burly security guard my name and told him that I was a new employee. He must have been expecting me because he simply nodded his head and allowed me through. The moment I stepped over the threshold, there was an attractive woman with olive skin and long dark hair working at the counter. She smiled making the deep dimples in her cheeks visible.
“Hi, hun.” She eyed my attire and smiled brighter. “Berkley?”
“Yes,” I called out over the loud music. The bass from the speakers seemed to bounce off my body. I couldn’t imagine being at work with a migraine. As much as I loved music, just the thought of that was torture.
“Welcome! My name is Alexandria, and I work the front for the most part. Sometimes, if we’re short staffed, I’ll serve. The person that’s training you tonight is Halle. I’ll take you to her.”
Alexandria walked out from behind the counter. She was dressed in the same uniform as me. I thought my shorts were tiny, but hers were more like panties than shorts. We were in a gentleman’s club, however, and compared to some of the women on stage, Alexandria’s barely there shorts were very fitting. My orbs bounced around the room as the music got louder. Colored strobe lights pulsed as we maneuvered through the crowd. There were men in business suits, and men in casual attire. There were older men, young men, short, tall, black, white, Indian, Arabic. Wild Wonders was definitely a melting pot. All I cared about was the green money. The people that frequented the club was the last thing on my mind as long as they weren’t disrespectful or inappropriate.
The air inside the club held an array of different smells. Expensive cologne, mixed with cheap perfume, hair spray, andthe fruity scents from some of the vape smoke being exhaled into the open space. We found Halle in the VIP section talking and laughing with a group of five guys. She was passing out drinks, and the first thought I had of her was,wow, she’s freakin’ gorgeous.Halle’s dark skin glistened underneath the club lights, and I wasn’t sure if her stark white teeth were super straight and perfect because of braces or if they were veneers. Her braids were pulled on top of her head and wrapped into a neat bun, and her thick, dark brows were full and arched to perfection. When she noticed us walking into the section, a genuine simper graced her face.
“Boo this is, Berkley. You’ll be training her tonight.”
“Hi, I’m Halle.”
“Nice to meet you,” relief oozed off me when I realized that she was nice. I wasn’t looking forward to any possible mean girl bullshit. Server jobs could be competitive because we worked for tips. I’d seen people argue and almost come to blows over something as simple as who got assigned to the best sections.
Alexandria excused herself, and Halle guided me out of the section. “It might look packed in here but trust me, this is a light night.” Her words made my eyes balloon, and she chuckled. “This is nothing, it can get thick! That’s a good thing though. Everyone is different, and some of us have regulars, or just luck up with the customers we get, but in the eight months that I’ve been working here, I never leave work with less than $800. And that’s a bad night.” My brows hiked while she gave a curt nod. “There are nights I clear $1,500. Swear to God.”
That was almost my rent. Being able to possibly make my rent in one night of work sounded like music to my ears. Usually, it took me about one and a half weeks to make my rent money. “That’s awesome.”
“It is. Sebastian is pretty good about minimizing the bullshit that we have to deal with. The bouncers have zero tolerance fordisrespect. They won’t hesitate to toss someone out, but there are definitely some that slip through the cracks. There are broke jerks that come in all the time, but some of the biggest assholes are the rich men. Just smile and deal with it until it becomes too much and then get security.”
I nodded my understanding, and she continued.
“The next table we’re going to belongs to Crenshaw Malone. If you don’t know who that is, he retired from the NBA after five years when he suffered from a real bad injury. The last contract he signed was for twenty-one million, so actively playing or not, I’m pretty sure he’s still filthy rich. He’s one of the laid back ones, and rarely does he ever hit on anyone. Being overly thirsty and aggressive will make him dismiss you and request another server, so be polite without doing too much. He doesn’t give me down low vibes, so maybe he’s in a relationship and faithful. Not one of the dancers or female staff have ever been with him, and that’s rare.”
It was hard for me to pay attention as she gave me the run down on Mr. Malone. I wasn’t sure why I kept running into him. I was watching her mouth move, but I wasn’t focused on the words coming out of it. Internally, I willed myself to calm down. Just as Crenshaw acted like he didn’t recognize me at the auto shop, he’d probably do the same tonight.
Halle ambled into a section that had ones littering the floor. There was so much money on the floor that it was almost impossible not to step on it. At least six men occupied the section, but of course, I noticed Crenshaw first.
I attempted to remain cool while Halle stood by Crenshaw. “This is Berkley, she’ll be assisting me tonight. You gentlemen good over here?” she asked with a wide smile.
I hoped I was smiling. I was so nervous I wasn’t sure if my face had even moved.
“I’m straight.” Crenshaw was speaking to Halle, but he was staring at me.
There was no doubt in my mind that I looked like I’d swallowed a rock. Halle tossed a quick look over her shoulder. She widened her eyes at me a bit before turning back to face Crenshaw. “Okay, I’ll be back to check on you in a bit. What about you guys? You good?”
Two of the men had requests, and Halle scurried toward me, so we could go get the chasers and alcohol they asked for. “Did you see the way Crenshaw was eyeballing you?” she squealed.
“Yeah. Do you think that means he didn’t want me there?” I asked nervously.
Halle stopped walking abruptly and looked at me as if I’d sprouted another head. “No way are you that naïve. You a virgin or something? That man was looking at you like he wanted to take you down.” She resumed walking, and I followed praying I could make it through the night without making a fool of myself. Was it possible that he remembered me?
CHAPTER 4
CRENSHAW
“Yo,”I called out to Berkley as she walked toward her car. Three security guards stood on the sidewalk watching all the employees leave for the night. I was parked near the front, and they could see me. Knowing I was cool and would be cracking on some pussy before I ever attempted to harm one of the girls, I was acknowledged with head nods from all three.
