Page 12 of Temptress
Now I was on the premises for the first time, meeting my new bosses face to face, and, after being shown the ropes, I understood why this position was so damn important to them.
McKenna spoke as I scanned some of the letters they received here at the club on a pretty regular basis. “As you can see, there are a lot of weirdos out there.”
That was putting it mildly. There was no shortage of hate mail, letters from religious fanatics who claimed they were all destined for hell for engaging in the sin of lust and such to women accusing them of turning their husbands on by dancing provocatively.
Most of those were laughable, nothing but rantings from bitter, unhappy people with nothing better to do with their time, but there were some that raised my brows. I hadn’t seen a single performance there, but from some of these letters, they were talented enough to have garnered fans that bordered on worrisome. It wasn’t surprising, given their level of fame. But it spoke to Bruce and McKenna being good, solid people that they wanted to look out for their crew like this.
“We’re just so glad you took the position,” McKenna continued as I placed the letters back on the desk that would officially be mine starting tomorrow. “These girls aren’t just our employees. I’ve been friends with most of them for years.”
Bruce hooked his arm around his wife’s shoulder, pulling her into his side. It was funny to see such a small, lithe woman cuddled into the huge bear of a man.
“These girls are Mac’s family. We’ll do whatever you suggest if it means keeping them safe.”
“I appreciate your faith in me,” I told them. “You’ve already got a great setup in place. That’s obvious.” With the exception of restrooms and the women’s dressing area, practically every inch of the club, inside and out, was covered by security cameras. “But if it’s good with you, I’d like to look through the résumés of the team you’ve already got in place. Just to see if I come across anything that sets off any alarms.”
It wasn’t long ago that a security guard on staff had been infatuated with one of the dancers. I was determined to make sure nothing like that would happen again.
McKenna nodded. “Of course. Those men officially fall under your authority. You have final say when it comes to hiring or firing. Marco spoke highly of you so I’m confident your judgement will be best.”
I had to admit, I was glad these two didn’t plan on micromanaging every little thing I did. The freedom to do my job without interference from people who didn’t know the first thing about this kind of shit was a relief. “Then I think this is going to work out great. I look forward to working here.”
Bruce gave me a jerk of his chin in quiet approval while McKenna smiled brightly. It was clear my joining the staff was a relief to her, and I was glad to provide that for her.
“Come on. I’ll give you a tour of the club and you can meet the security team, then I’ll introduce you to the girls once their rehearsal is finished.”
I followed the tiny, spunky blonde through the club taking it all in, and I had to admit, the place was cool as hell. The wood was a deep, warm cherry and the booths and chairs were upholstered in rich red leather and crimson velvet curtains were draped from the walls. The whole thing pulled off that cool prohibition vibe I dug.
I met the guys working security, and while most of them seemed cool enough, there was no missing the discomfort with a couple of them. Those were the résumés I was going to study the closest.
Afterward, we headed to the back of the club past the offices and stock rooms to a large room with mirrors on the walls and dark wood floors. A cluster of women were sitting around toward the back of the room as I followed McKenna inside.
I vaguely thought I heard her introduce me to the group, but all I could focus on was the woman sitting at the center of the group. My sassy little neighbor was staring in my direction, mouth agape and eyes wide as saucers.
Suddenly, the microscopic shorts and tiny tops made perfect sense, as did the fact she had the sexiest body I’d ever seen. Her ass alone had been plaguing my thoughts since the first time I saw her a week ago.
“Ladies,” I said, tipping my chin in acknowledgment while my gaze stayed rooted to Sloane. I couldn’t have looked away if I’d tried. “Sassy,” I greeted.
I didn’t miss the curious back and forth glances from the other women in the room.
“Do you two know each other?” McKenna asked.
But before Sloane could answer, the brunette sitting beside her sucked in a breath. “Wait. That’s him isn’t it?”
Another woman turned to Sloane, eyes wide. “That’sSexy Neighbor Guy?”
I didn’t bother masking the smirk that tugged at the corners of my lips.
“Yep, I can see it,” a third woman announced.
“Did you hear him call her Sassy?”
“Yeah, that was cute.”
They continued on like that, speaking about me like I wasn’t standing right there. I didn’t have the first clue what Sloane had told her friends about us, but despite my determination to avoid the woman at all costs, I couldn’t help but think this was certainly an interesting development.
7
SLOANE