Page 12 of Dirty Little Secret
Chapter 5
Zandra
The doors hadn’t even opened yet, and Mynt already felt electric.
“Damn, did you see that line? It goes all the way around the block!” Taylor asked me as we hurried to help the bartenders get ready for the onslaught of patrons who would soon be inside the club.
Out of the corner of my eye, I could see the manager, Rob, staring at me. I wasn’t sure if that was because he wanted to see how I handled my first big crowd, or if he just liked watching me. Either way, it made me feel more than a little bit uncomfortable.
Taking a deep breath, I settled into my waitress attitude and turned to look at Rob. With a wave of my hand, I broke his silent stare. “Hey, boss. Don’t worry about me. I’m used to busy Saturday nights.”
Jerking his head toward the entrance, he shouted, “Let them in!” His eyes still on me, he added, “Let’s see if you’re up to a Charleston Saturday night, Chicago.”
He’d nicknamed me that from the first night. I’d only worked three shifts so far, and they’d been easy enough. Rob got a kick out of trying to intimidate me with what he called “the largest crowds in history” that graced his club on Saturday nights.
From the line I’d seen outside when we came in, I was sure that the place would be packed, and we would have a hard night coming our way. But it wasn’t anything I couldn’t handle. “I’ve got this, boss.”
With the doors finally open, the place filled up in record time. I helped people find tables and got their drinks to them before helping more patrons. It was a fast pace, but I liked to be busy rather than bored.
On the other side of the packed room, I caught sight of a couple waitresses up on the bar, dancing. People cheered as they watched the two shaking their asses.
Taylor came up behind me as I took a moment to watch. “We should show those girls a thing or two, Zandy.”
Being no stranger to ass shaking, I nodded. “Okay. As soon as I get these three tables set up, I’ll meet you at the bar on this side.”
“It’s a date,” she said with a smile as she went to serve her customers.
The club had barely opened, and already I was forced to head back to my locker to put away the cash that filled my pockets. In this business, Saturdays were always the most profitable nights, but I was already on track to have one of my best nights ever.
When I left the locker room, I found Rob standing in the doorway of his office. He seemed to have been waiting for me. “How’s it going so far, Chicago?”
“Not bad at all, boss.” I made sure to keep calling him that, as the way he kept looking me up and down made it clear that he wouldn’t mind taking our relationship into something more personal than employer and employee. And I was not interested in that at all.
Taking a step back inside his office, he offered, “You want something to help make the night go better? A little boost?”
“The night’s already been pretty good so far. As a matter of fact, the tips I’ve already gotten tonight are enough to cover my car payment this month. I’m hoping the rest of the night will pay the rest of my bills.” I laughed as I kept walking. Going into his office alone didn’t seem like a great idea to me.
“Come on,” he said as he reached out, taking me by the arm.
I didn’t want to overreact, but the way he tugged at me had my alarms going off. Taylor’s appearance did much to ease my anxiety. “Hey. They’re playing our song, Zandy. Come on.”
Rob’s hand left my forearm. “You two going to dance on the bar?”
With a nod, I took off. ‘Yep.”
To my disappointment, he followed right behind me. “This, I’ve got to see.”
Normally, tension didn’t mess with me too much, and with Rob eager to watch me dance, tension had definitely settled in. By the time I got to Taylor, she had noticed my body language. “Maybe a shot first, then we dance.”
Nodding, I couldn’t think of a better way to help me chill out. Except if Rob would stop watching me, of course. “Yeah, how about a tequila shot?”
Rob’s warm breath moved past my ear as he shuffled in close behind me. “I’ll get you the good stuff,” he whispered.
Slipping behind the bar, Rob poured two shots that Taylor and I downed.
My heart was pounding in my chest as Rob offered me his hand to help me up on the bar. People were already crowding around the bar, watching me and shouting words of encouragement as Taylor was helped up by one of the bartenders. She made some sign to the DJ and the music changed to something sexy and slow.
Ignoring Rob and his gray eyes that bored into me, I looked at Taylor as I moved my body in slow, sexy waves, undulating toward her then toward the crowd, who was cheering us on.
