Total pages in book: 31
Estimated words: 29205 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 146(@200wpm)___ 117(@250wpm)___ 97(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 29205 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 146(@200wpm)___ 117(@250wpm)___ 97(@300wpm)
“Thanks.”
Pushing through the double doors, I find a hallway not unlike the one I spent some time in last night, even if this one seems more worn. The fluorescent lights sputter a little, and paint is peeling in places. The second door on the right is open, and I knock on the frame as I look inside. “Hello?”
Randall looks up from the desk and gives me a sarcastic smile. “Oh, it’s you. Mr. Rivers told me that you’d changed your mind.”
“Yeah.”
The disdain is practically rippling off him. “Sit down.” I do, and he gives me a clipboard full of papers. “Basic employment stuff. W-2, direct deposit, employee questionnaire guidelines. Let me know when you’re done.”
He goes back to typing on his computer. I don’t like Randall. I mean, I’m sure he’s got some kind of redeeming quality to be employed here, but I don’t like the vibe he gives off. Thankfully, I’ve done this kind of paperwork so many times over the past few years that it doesn’t take me long, and it’s only a few minutes before I hand the clipboard last night.
“Good.” He gives me another look down his nose. “I heard that you got a tour of the place last night, so we’ll skip that. Follow me and I’ll show you the costume room.”
He leads me out of the room, further down the hallway and through another set of double doors. I fight to keep my jaw from falling to the floor. This room is huge, with double-high racks of clothing filling the space. I spot a little bit of everything, from tiny sparkly bikinis to a corset with some LEDs attached. “Most of these are for theme nights, and we’ll let you know when you need to choose one. Those you don’t get to keep.” He leads me to a corner of the room with more traditional looking club wear. “This is the normal dance-wear. Choose three outfits, you’ll get to switch them out in a few weeks. You’ll learn the schedule. When you’re done, head to the dressing room. I’ll give you and the other new dancers a quick orientation before opening.”
He disappears through the racks of clothes, and I can’t help being a little bit relieved. I look around, taking in the racks of clothes. This is insane. And amazing. The more I find out about this place, the more those two words seem to go together to describe it. I start to flip through the clothes and there’s anything you could ever want, really. I know my first choice the moment I see it: A royal blue 1960s mini-dress that’s covered in sequins. With the lights in the club, that dress is going to look like a disco ball, and I’m thinking hell yes. And the thought of Julian seeing me in that dress, all legs and glitter is a bonus. I can’t keep the grin off my face. No job should be this fun.
I pick some neon orange high-waisted leggings and a black halter bra as my second costume, and my third is a body suit with crystals in interesting patterns. There’s a rack of high heeled shoes, and I pick some pairs in my size that look good but hopefully also won’t make my feet bleed. Randall told me to go to the dressing room. We skipped that part of the tour last night, but I’m not going to go ask him. But it turns out that it’s not that hard to find, the door is behind the main bar.
When I enter, there’s already a bunch of people milling around and getting ready. One of them is Cosette. “Libby!” She jumps off the bench and tackles me in a hug, all signs of yesterday’s awkwardness gone. In fact, she seems like she’s bouncing off the walls. I struggle to not drop anything. “I’m so excited, are you excited?”
I laugh. “Yes. Only a really good job lets you go shopping before you actually have to work.”
“I know, right?” Cosette laughs too, a little too loud and hard. “I saw your locker, it’s over here.”
She points me down the row, and I see a locker that has a piece of paper attached to it with my name. I pull the paper off and turn it over. On the other side is the lock combination along with a note in neat handwriting.
I can’t wait to see you dance again.
There’s no signature, but there doesn’t have to be. I know exactly who wrote it. I put my clothes inside the locker and change into the blue mini-dress while Cosette sits down on the bench by me to do her make up. She’s fidgeting and jumpy while she does her make-up and she hasn’t stopped talking since we came over to the locker, filling me in on our colleagues. “Everyone is super nice. Those girls over there, they go into the orgy room and fool around with each other to make people more comfortable to start having sex. The girls over there in the black pants and bras are the waitresses. She’s a DJ.” Cosette gestures to a gorgeous tall woman who’s putting on some neon eye make-up.