Page 2 of Crushed
“Not that I’m aware of.” Dahlia narrowed her eyes. “I’m afraid he tends to stress them out with his requirements.”
Requirements?
“One of those, huh?” Lizzy asked. She raised an eyebrow at me as if to say,You sure you can take care of him?
I shrugged. I could figure it out. “I can handle him,” I said.
“Scarlett will be going undercover,” Lizzy said. She put a hand on my shoulder. “She hasn’t worked at an entertainment club, but she understands the way it works.”
“What she really means is that I know how to seduce a man,” I said dryly.
Dahlia stifled a chuckle. “And how did you learn how to do that?”
“From the best.” I threw a thumb in Lizzy’s direction. “She says she used to get more requests than some of the twenty-year-olds here.”
“She was one of our best.” Dahlia looked around the room, then settled on me again. “Do you have any talents, Miss…” Her eyes scanned me.
“Hayes,” I said. “Scarlett Hayes. But you can call me Scarlett.”
“Do you have any talents, then, Miss Scarlett?”
I raised an eyebrow at Lizzy. “Remember I told you about the entertainment aspect of the club?” Lizzy said.
Right.That. Lizzy had showcased her strength training skills back when she worked here.
“I can spin fire,” I offered. “That’s kind of unique.”
Dahlia shifted in her seat. “You can spin fire?”
“Like flow arts,” I said. “It’s a type of performance art.”
“Do you mean like fire dancing?” Dahlia leaned back and crossed her legs. “I’ve always wanted a fire dancer at our club. Scarlett, the fire dancer. It has a certain ring to it.” She touched her chin. “And you can do it professionally?”
Was I able to pass it off with the barest amount of knowledge, so that the people who had never performed with fire before, would be too distracted by the pretty flames to know what was going on? Yes. Would it look professional? To the unknowing eye,yes.
“I tried it a few times,” I said. “I’m not perfect, but I can do it well enough.”
“And that’s good enough for me,” Dahlia said. She sat up straight. “When can you begin?”
Lizzy locked eyes with me and I gave her a slight nod, showing that I accepted the assignment.
“She can start tomorrow,” Lizzy said. “And she’ll be doing the job solo.”
My jaw dropped. What the hell? “Solo?” I asked.
“Oh?” Dahlia asked. “Solo?”
“Usually, I would take care of the final task, but Scarlett here,” Lizzy patted me on the shoulder, “is ready for her own job.”
“If you trust her, I trust her,” Dahlia said to Lizzy, then looked at me slowly. “You can handle entertaining club members?”
I shrugged. “Well, I can sweet talk my way into almost anything,” I said.
“Such confidence,” Dahlia said. She jerked her chin. “Fix that sentence. Cut the ‘almost.’ Youcantalk your way into anything. That way, child, it’s not simply a question of what, but of motivation.”
“Child?” I asked.
“You understand, yes? It’s a matter of if you do not want to, or want to.”
