Page 10 of Stained
Danica waited until Alicia pushed herself back up on her feet before kissing her cheek. She tipped her chin far enough to kiss her lips, too. A cool, collected kiss to seal their evening.
“Thank you for your time, Ms. Colbert.” Danica wrapped an arm around Alicia’s stomach and kissed the tip of her ear. Such affection didn’t seem real. “Suppose I should let you get back to work. Have a pleasant evening.”
Just like that, Ms. Moreau ended their time together. She fixed her clothing, smoothed down her hair, and left the room without another look in Alicia’s direction. The moment the door closed again, she sighed, both relieved and swimming in disbelief.
She had not anticipated cleaning up her own mess that night. Yet that’s exactly what she had to do once her own clothes were back in order. There was no time to appreciate what had happened. Alicia needed to get back to work before Susan and the others realized she was missing… and that Ms. Moreau was also unaccounted for.
Nevertheless, she rested against the couch for a moment, bidding her heart to cease its fluttering. Oh, and if her body could stop shuddering in pleasure, that would be great, too.
Chapter 3
By the time Alicia returned to the break room, she had realized her folly.
The club closed up for the night. Servers sat down with sighs before cleaning up their stations. Performers removed their heels and makeup. Bouncers escorted intoxicated guests out, and the coat check was left with two unclaimed jackets that would go into the lost and found in the back office. Sid made his final rounds with the staff, although he did not say anything to Alicia as she waited for Susan to show the final procedures. Then she could go home.
I’m such an idiot.Alicia wished she had something to do. It would help take her mind off the big mistake she made in the VIP room. With Ms. Moreau, no less!The hell am I doing, fucking the owner the first night I’m here?
She had been caught up in the moment. How could she say no to Danica Moreau? It was official. Danica was a woman who could have anyone she wanted. That had been made clear when she so easily seduced Alicia after one evening of knowing her… if“knowing” was even the word to use!Carnal knowledge doesn’t count.
“Alicia.” Susan stood beside the table. Her expression was not kind. “We need to talk. Somewhere private.”
Alicia was too consumed with the mistakes she had already made that night to think anything of it. As she followed Susan into a small, vacant office, she realized that her heart should be sinking. All she could think about was Danica and the way she touched a woman.
“It’s come to my attention that you’ve fraternized with a guest.”
“Huh?” Alicia glanced up. The room was too dark to make out any particular features on Susan’s grim face. “Who told you that?”
“Shit.” Susan turned. “I knew I shouldn’t have left you alone with her. Even so, I have no choice. Sid has asked me to let you go on his behalf. I’m sorry, Alicia, but the rules are rules. You cannot be employed here if you’re that much of a liability.”
While she heard the words, Alicia struggled to understand them. I’m being fired?Well, it was true. She wasn’t supposed to be fraternizing with the guests, let alone screwing them while on the job.Shit. More things to regret. Alicia was too tired to be upset… and a bit too mellowed out from “fraternizing,” too.
“Ugh.” She leaned her elbows against the empty desk, hair sliding between her fingers. “Who told you?” Alicia asked again.
Susan bit her lip. Then, “Ms. Moreau did. Half an hour ago, before she left.”
That’s all she said. No,“How could you, stupid girl?”No,“Really? On the first day of the job?”And no,“Did you think you could get away with it? Did you apply to work here to nab yourself a billionaire?”
Alicia rather wished she had said something along those lines.
“So, let me get this straight,” Alicia mumbled. “The owner of the club told you that she and I fraternized?”
“Yes. She pulled Sid and me aside to inform us that you had failed her test.”
Alicia jerked up. “What?” Yup. That had awoken her hold on reality.
“For fuck’s sake, Alicia.” Susan faced her, fatigue washing out her complexion. “We’ve been trying to warn you all evening. Ms. Moreau is not as nice as she seems when you first meet her. She is cutthroat. It’s her rule that there is to be no fraternizing between hostesses or servers and the guests. She takes it as seriously as she does the NDAs we sign. So, because she’s quite frankly a dick, she makes it a mission to seduce every woman working here. That means I unfortunately know all about you and her tonight.” Susan looked away again, clearing her throat. “I’m sorry, Alicia. You should’ve known.”
There were many things Alicia could have said. Or screamed. Or cried, if she could get her tear ducts to work. Yet all she could think was that she had only herself to blame. Sure, Danica was a fucking jerk for seducing her just to get her fired, but ultimately, Alicia was the one who dropped the guillotine on her own neck.I didn’t think she would tell anyone.Alicia was under no delusion that they shared anything more than some sexual chemistry. All along, she had known that she was a hookup for the night. If she weren’t an employee? Whatever. But now she could kiss the sweetest gig in town goodbye…
“I’m sorry,” Susan said again. “You’ll be paid for today, but I’m afraid you cannot be employed here.”
Alicia managed to keep a straight face and a straighter back as she gathered her things and headed home. There was time to cry between being fired and searching for a worse job.
Candice wasn’t home when Alicia arrived forty-five minutes later. Although after three in the morning, Candice also had a myriad of jobs that sometimes kept her out until dawn. When she wasn’t on the set of the next big erotic film, she was working her share of bars and clubs as a flirty waitress. Alicia had figured there was about a 50/50 chance she’d see her roommate when she got home. She didn’t know if she was relieved or upset to be alone.
“Hey, Pete,” she greeted the parrot hanging out in the living room. He was Candice’s, a feathery friend she had claimed as hers for the past ten years. Never thought I’d be sharing a home with a talking animal.Alicia slumped into the couch as Pete cocked his head and chuckled.
“Hey, Alicia! Hey, Alicia!” The bird was sometimes too clever. Kinda freaked Alicia out that he knew everyone’s names. “What’s up, buttercup?”
