Lara stepped off the main stage at The Pearl, listening to the cacophony of cheers and hollering coming from the crowd behind her. She had just completed her set on the pole and could still feel the excitement and adrenaline that accompanied performing in front of so many people. Pole work was probably the weakest area of her game, having only being able to practice during off hours at her old club, The Pussy Cat. The pros hadn’t taken kindly to a mere waitress hogging the pole, even when the place was empty. A turf thing, she assumed.
Still, she was a professional now and expected to perform, not in front of an empty room but a packed one instead. And she was improving quickly. It had been her third time on the main stage since Dave had hired her and it had been her best performance yet. She was getting more comfortable with each attempt and the patrons certainly seemed to appreciate her. She was just over a week in the place and her stints on the pole were drawing more patrons than almost anyone else. The regulars were beginning to recognise her and requests for private dances were happening more and more.
The upside of this was that she had to spend almost no time looking for targets for lap dances. They were coming to her. Meaning profitable shifts. Very profitable in fact. The downside was she was busy for most of her shifts, meaning she hadn’t had much time to get to know the other girls. Her meteoric rise and popularity with the patrons had been noticed and some of them didn’t like the competition. She was getting some dirty looks already. She would have to remedy that. It could get out of control quickly. One dancer in particular, a voluptuous redhead named Sarah, had taken a strong dislike to Lara almost instantly. Sarah had started a month before Lara and gotten that “new girl” boost that strip clubs usually experienced from the regulars who loved seeing fresh meat. Sarah had been replaced when a new sex doll had shown up. She isn’t the favourite toy in Andy’s room any more, Lara thought with a snigger to herself.
Lara could understand it to a certain degree. A little professional jealousy at the office was normal. It was also fine to not like someone. They didn’t all have to be bosom buddies. But Sarah was taking it too far. Lara was convinced that Sarah had been starting rumours that she would fuck clients every night in the VIP and that she was secretly Dave’s mistress and that was the only reason she was hired. And some of the other girls clearly believed it. The irony of the rumour was that Lara had heard similar tales regarding Sarah. That Sarah would do anything in the VIP, if the price was right. Sarah saw herself as competing with the other dancers and “winning” was all that mattered.
The other problem was that Lara suspected that Sarah was stealing her stuff. Her expensive moisturizer had disappeared, as had her phone. Both had been tucked away in her cubby in the changing room and had vanished. She had no proof but she felt it was obvious who had done it. Fucking bitch, she fumed.
Pulling her robe around her, she made her way through the back of the club towards the changing rooms. Before she could enter the door, she saw head of security Jack approaching her. Or “Handsome Jack” as some of the girls referred to him, as she had come to learn.
“Hey Lara. Caught the end of your performance. Damned fine show. Really got them going,” he said with a smile.
“Thanks Jack. I think the transition from my spinning allegra could have been smoother,” she said thoughtfully.
Jack started to chuckle and replied, “Lara don’t take this the wrong way but the guys here wouldn’t know an allegra from an alpaca. They’re more focused on the, ye know, naked lady dancing in front of them. Don’t get too caught up in the technicalities. You looked amazing.”
“Nonsense!” she replied sarcastically. “Professional pole dancing adjudicators, the lot of them. A fight broke out in the front row over the merits of a side saddle superman versus a brass monkey.”
Jack raised an eyebrow and smirked back at her. “You just made those moves up, didn’t you?”
“Maybe. Who is to say? You’ll have to catch my next set and see if they are in my routine,” she said as she casually leaned against the door, enjoying the back and forth.
“Wouldn’t miss it,” he told her. “Dave needs to see you in his office,” he added, his smile faltering a bit.
Great. Fan-fucking-tastic, Lara thought.
“Right. Well, I better get dressed and get up there,” she muttered, tightening the sash around her robe subconsciously at the mention of Dave.
“Yeah. Best not to keep him waiting. He’s in a foul mood today.” Jack gave her a brief nod as he turned and walked back down the hall.
A sense of foreboding tore through her as she got dressed in the changing room. She had been there over a week and hadn’t been alone with the club’s owner Dave since her audition. They’d had some brief conversations, sure, but always out on the floor. He had been leery and handsy but that was pretty standard. He hadn’t pushed things yet. She felt it was imperative to keep their relationship professional. She was sure he absolutely did not feel the same way.
The timing did make her feel uneasy, though. Why wait until now? Why today and not her second day in the place. When men like him wanted to fuck, they tended not to wait around. Self-control didn’t strike her as one of Dave’s strong suits. She mulled it over as she made her way towards his office. Maybe he hadn’t made a move yet for fear of scaring her off? How long would that last? Would he even care if she quit? She was making the club money, more than most of the other girls.
I might be giving myself too much credit here. He has a lot of girls here. I’m ultimately replaceable, she considered as she glided up the stairs to his office.
Perhaps he was more into the chase of the prize? The idea of conquest as opposed to the treasure itself? If that was the case, she could handle him. Push and pull. Tease and denial. If he was indeed into that, it was a game she could play well enough.
She opened the door and strolled in with confidence. The smell of his cigar hit her instantly. Dave was sitting behind his large desk, a half empty glass of whiskey on the desk. He looked up and glared at her. “Where the fuck did you learn manners, huh? In polite society we fucking knock before entering,” he snarled in her direction.
“Do you want me to go back out and knock?” she shot back.
A noticeable flash of anger spread across his face for a moment but then dissolved. “Just shut the door and sit down. I have a job for you.”
She shuddered a bit as she recalled the last job he had given her: her encounter with Captain Price in the VIP room. Dave had an informal agreement with the local cops that they would ignore the goings on at the club for access to the girls. Access, she sneered to herself. He had fucked her face mercilessly and fired his disgusting cum down her throat. He was a pig in more than one sense of the word. She would not be repeating that under any circumstances and she needed to make that clear to Dave right here and now.
“Dave, regarding Captain Price and…” she started. He cut her off immediately.
“This isn’t about our dear Captain, although I had a chat with him during our poker game on Wednesday night and he did nothing but sing your praises. Gushing, he was. The compliments were practically spurting out of him…” Dave said with a sinister smile. His innuendo was clear and not subtle.
“I’m sure,” she responded dryly. There was a pregnant silence between them as they stared at each other until Dave broke the deadlock.
“No, this is about Lenny. Have you met him yet?” he said as he swirled the remaining drink in his glass.
She smirked slightly at the mention of Lenny. Lenny was the club’s IT guy, but seemingly much more than that. He had his hands on everything in the club. He had set up and now maintained their extensive security system including the cameras and communications system the security and bouncers used. He ran The Pearl’s website and online video services exclusively by himself. He also had the lighting and music systems so well programmed with scripts and other forms of automation she didn’t understand that the DJs seemingly only had to press “play” to sync the lighting to their set lists. They fucking loved him for that.
And so did Dave, as Lenny was saving him a fortune. Frankly, from what she had gathered, Lenny was criminally underpaid for the value he brought to the club. She had bumped into him a couple of times during her first week on his rare visits on site. He preferred to work from home, if he could. At least, that’s what Lara assumed. He hadn’t exactly gotten many words out during their first interaction. He had gawked at her chest nearly the entire time and just nodded when she said anything to him. During the second short chat they had, he had babbled incessantly about nothing and fell over his own words repeatedly trying to make conversation. She had sized him up pretty quickly. Clearly a giant nerd. Smart, but socially inept and a little clueless. If he had told her he was a virgin, she wouldn’t have been shocked. The type to leer but not confident or experienced enough to ever do anything she would worry about. Ultimately harmless in person. She would just remember to cover the webcam on her computer. His type got braver and more dangerous with a keyboard in front of them.
Still, he had an earnestness and innocence about him she found sweet. He had a nice face and he was clearly smitten with her. She figured if she did more than simply smile at him he would lose the power of speech or melt into a puddle on the floor.
“Yeah, I met him. He was replacing the card reader behind the bar for Enrique. He seems nice,” she finished noncommittally.
“He is nice! Exactly. So I want you to go over to his place and be just as nice to him as you were to the Captain.”
Like fuck am I going to do that. She knew she couldn’t say that to Dave, though. This would take some finesse.
“Dave, I appreciate you hiring me,” she started, her voice even. “I really like it here and I feel like I am an asset. But this sort of thing really isn’t part of my…”
“You’ll do as you’re fucking told,” he retorted, his voice low and dangerous.
He fixed her with a hard stare, his eyes narrowing as he stared her down from his seat. Lara was a little scared. She had seen him yell and scream at people during her short time here. That seemed to be his go-to move and was something of a regular occurrence. She hadn’t seen this yet, though. He looked mean and dangerous as his eyes bore into her. Suddenly, his gaze softened somewhat.
“Listen Lara, I like you. You’ve got what it takes to be a mega-hit here. But you have to get with the program. Be a team player,” he said in a conciliatory manner.
He then started to chortle to himself as he said, “Besides, it’s fucking Lenny. You’ve seen the kid. Just give him a dance. How will it be any different to the dozens you’ve given downstairs in the booths? He’ll probably blow his load the moment you walk in his door. In fact, I bet you a hundred bucks he’ll be done in under a minute,” he finished in between laughs.
Lara had to admit he had a point. Lenny would be easy work. The chances of a Captain Price situation repeating itself were practically zero. It would just be another inexperienced mark she dealt with on a daily basis. And this was clearly one of the reasons why Lenny was willing to put up with Dave’s meagre compensation. Clearly, his compensation wasn’t just monetary.
“Okay, I get your point,” she admitted. But she still didn’t want to leave the club. House visits made her feel like a hooker and not a dancer. “Can’t he come into the club?” she pleaded. “I’ll set him up in the VIP. He’ll love it!”
Dave shut that down instantly. “No, he’s practically a shut-in. He only comes in when he absolutely has to…” Dave responded. This was partially true, of course. But the more pertinent reason was that Lenny was the one who had set up the cameras in the VIP at Dave’s direction. Lenny knew everything in there was recorded. The kid wasn’t dumb. He didn’t want his junk being filmed.
“You’ll have to go to him.”
Lara sighed. This wasn’t a hill worth dying on. It would only be a lap dance after all. Just say yes and get in Dave’s good graces. Having Lenny onside couldn’t hurt either.
“Alright, Dave. I’ll do it. No problem. Just because you asked, though,” she said with a sultry smile.
“Good girl. Get going. I’ll text you his address,” he said with a hint of finality. She took the hint and got to her feet to leave. When she reached the door, she heard Dave call her name with that low, deadened and dangerous tone from earlier.
“And Lara? I don’t appreciate the backtalk. The next time I say ‘jump’, you say…”
“I’ll land on your dick?” she quipped back.
He looked stunned for a second and then let out a massive belly laugh. “I’ll have to remember that one. And remember that you were the one who said it too.”
Lara gave him a sly grin and turned on her heels and sauntered out of the room, her hips swaying.
—————–
Lenny’s building was nice. Much nicer than hers, anyway. She told herself her shitty living conditions wouldn’t be permanent. In just over a week she had paid six grand of debt off one of her cards. Six grand. In a week. It made her mind boggle. The girls back at The Pussy Cat hadn’t made nearly that much. The Pearl’s high class vibe had it packed in a way she wasn’t used to and that led to lots of dances and plenty of tips.
Keeping the job was worth the headache of dealing with Dave. The longer she could hack it, the more healthy her bank account would get. Besides, she enjoyed it most of the time. Most of the patrons were delighted to have somebody who looked like her grind on their laps. If they hadn’t finished by her second song, it was a rarity. It gave her a thrill and she was good at it so why not make money doing it?
Lara could see herself moving to a place like this soon. It was a sleek, mostly glass building that stretched upwards for dozens of floors. Plenty of large windows that no doubt provided spectacular views of the city. Very modern. The inside was impressive too. The entrance expanded into a grand foyer. The floor was marble and polished and their elevator actually worked. Her lift had been out of service since she moved in.
This place has a doorman, for crying out loud. How high society is that? Lara mused as she rode the elevator to Lenny’s floor. Lenny clearly had other income streams excluding what he was getting from Dave. She’d have to ask him about that. She strolled up to Lenny’s door and pressed the high-tech looking buzzer in front of her. The door clicked loudly and swung open automatically.
“Come on in,” Lenny’s voice came meekly through the speaker. Fancy. I need a door like this, she thought as she entered the apartment. She walked in and took a cursory glance around the living room. It was in stark contrast to the elegance displayed in the rest of the building. The room looked like a giant nerd-cave. She spotted a large desk in the corner with a gaming chair in front of it with a giant PC tower sitting atop it. At least she assumed it was a PC. It looked like it was about to come alive and attack. Five monitors attached to different extendable arms all lined up perfectly in front of the desk.
Why that many? Do you really need that many screens? Can’t you only look at one at a time? On one of the monitors was a large picture of an anime girl with a low cut top with large tits similar to Lara’s. He has a type, I guess.
The room was packed with technology everywhere and pop culture ephemera displayed on every surface. Shelves were full of action figures and comic book issues, painstakingly categorized by issue number. There was also a giant sword hanging up above the gargantuan TV on his wall. Lara couldn’t help stare at it.
Who owns a fucking sword?
“Ice, one of the finest Valyrian steel swords ever made.”
Lara turned around with a start. She hadn’t seen Lenny sitting on the sofa. She gave him a perplexed look and he continued.
“Ned Stark’s sword? From Game of Thrones?” Lenny offered with an almost worried look.
“Oh, of course. I love that show,” Lara said, walking towards the sword to run her hand along it’s edge.
“Really?” Lenny said, a clear note of doubt in his voice.
“Sure. But didn’t Tywin melt it down?”
A grand smile beamed from Lenny’s face. “Yes, you’re right! He did. But I just had to have…
