Depths of Depravity (9 page)

“
No. My friend Luther told me all about you.”

“
Luther?”

“
Yeah, Luther.”

He pointed toward the VIP section. I followed Romeo
’s finger all the way across the room and saw the man I had spoken to on the two previous nights I spent here. As I stared at him, I could see Luther looking back at me, unable to see the expression on his face

“
So his name’s Luther,” I said.

“
What? He didn’t tell you his name? Oh man, I really messed up.”

“
How did you mess up?”

“
I ruined the surprise. I spoiled the mystery. I mean, weren’t you curious as to why a man would walk up and speak to you without telling you who he was.”

“
I assumed he was just being polite.”

“
Luther is anything but polite.”

“
Why would you say that?” I giggled. “I thought you said you were his friend.”

“
Oh, I’m his friend. That means I know him better than anybody else. Do yourself a favor. Stay away from him.”

Romeo stared at me with a serious look on his face. I wasn
’t sure if he was being joking or not. I stared back at him, trying to get him to crack. He suddenly burst into a fit of laughter and I couldn’t help but join him.

“
But I’m still serious about staying away from him,” Romeo said to me.

“
Why should I stay away?”

“
If you’re planning on working here, I’m assuming you want to make a lot of money. You have to spread the love. Luther has a lot of money but not as much as Luther and everybody else combined. You want to maximize your profits.”

“
You seem to know a lot about stripper economics.”

“
Stripper economics is the same as any other business. And I would know a thing or two about business. I have a lot of money.”

“…
You’re just telling me to stay away from Luther because
you
want my company.”

“
Very good, Harley,” he laughed. “I like your honesty. You’re very upfront. Most of the women in here will whisper lies into a man’s ear because they think that’s the only way to get into a man’s wallet.”

“
Isn’t it?”

Romeo shook his head and smiled at me.

“Not only is it not the only way, in some cases, it’s not even the best way.”

I nodded then looked down at the ground, trying to take in everything Romeo was saying to me. He was an interesting man to say the least. I couldn
’t tell what he was trying to get at. Maybe he was attracted to me. But there would be no need for this conversation. If I were working, all he had to do was show me how much he was worth and I would give him nearly anything he wanted. It’s like he wasn’t talking to me like I was a soon-to-be stripper.

“
Be honest with me,” I said. “What’s your deal? And what is Luther up to? Do you guys just want to take me to the back? Because there’s no need to play any games.”

He paused for a moment. Romeo seemed almost reluctant to answer. I looked at him, trying to g
auge whatever it was he was thinking.

“
All right, Harley. The truth is I wanted to get a better look at you. Luther said something about you and I had to see it for myself. I wanted to see if it was true.”

“
See if
what
was true?”

“…
I think you’d rather hear it from Luther himself.”

“
Oh, come on!”

I had to hold back my frustration. As Romeo laughed at me, I was finding it hard to smile. He was the second person in the club that had managed to keep a secret from me. This wasn
’t just a case of the investigative reporter in me seeking out answers. Now my natural curiosity was being teased.

“
You’re a beautiful girl, Harley. If you really are going to work here, I’ve got a feeling you’re going to be very successful. And don’t worry. I’m sure Luther will be in touch with you once you’re available.”

“
I’m available right now.”

“
Not in the way he’s thinking of. Have a good night, Harley.”

Romeo winked at me with a devious little smirk on his face. He took his drink from the bar and disappeared back to the VIP section.
I watched him position himself in the same booth next to Luther. They were both quickly accompanied by two working girls.

Is this the story I
’m looking for? Or am I letting my personal feelings get in the way?

I wasn
’t sure what to think. The same man had spoken to me three nights in a row, even if it wasn’t directly. Just as curious, he could actually afford to come here every night. I didn’t know why I was so intrigued but I was. It was an odd feeling that I couldn’t figure out exactly. Whatever the case, my next trip to Platinum was definitely going to be interesting.

Chapter 9

I managed to get the permit I needed to work as a dancer with relative ease. Even better, I managed to get it under the name I was performing under. There was a lot at stake here. If I were found out, that would be the end of my career as a stripper and the end of my story. I had enough to tell a mildly interesting tale. But I wanted to go deeper. Anybody could tell a story on the things required to make it at a club. And if how easy it was for me was any indication, there were thousands of women in the city eligible for even a place like Platinum.

Everything was set for my first night of work. The only thing left for me to do was to pick out an outfit for my debut. I searched my dra
wers for the perfect set of underwear. It was difficult because nearly everything I owned was designed for comfort. There was never any reason for me to look that sexy. Worse than that, I didn’t have the heels that most of the women paraded around in. I ended up pulling out a pair of lacy red panties and a matching bra to go along with it. Thankfully, I at least had a pair of heels that matched. I stuffed my recorder into my bag and threw my makeshift costume on top of it.

There was a weird feeling building
up inside of me as I drove to Platinum. I wasn’t nervous or anxious at all. I found myself actually getting excited about getting started. There were times when I had to pretend I was someone else. I worked other jobs to learn the inner-workings of systems. Political scandals, police issues, frivolous lawsuits. All of these things involved some type of subterfuge. But there was nothing quite like this. I never had to parade around in my underwear.

Bran greeted me warmly as I walked in through the entrance.
I headed toward the security room and showed them that I was licensed to work. Everything went by without a hitch and my profile was locked into the computer. I punched-in on the time clock then made my way to the locker room. Sage was there talking to another dancer. She turned her attention to me as soon as I walked in the room.

“
Harley! You’re official.”

I sheepishly nodded to her and she gave me a big smile.

“So, your locker’s going to be over here,” she pointed it out to me. “Right here on the end so you can get in and out pretty easily. What are you wearing tonight?”

I placed my bag on a nearby bench and awkwardly dug around for the underwear I had thrown together. I pulled out the bra and panties. Sage looked at it and slowly nodded her head.

“That’ll do,” she said. “That’s something you would usually wear though, I’m assuming.”

“
It is.”

“
Right. There’s nothing wrong with comfortable underwear. But remember, you want to try something sexy. Let me introduce you to someone.”

She grabbed the girl she was just speaking to and directed her toward me. The woman was a busty brunette in a purple corset. She was wearing a black pair of panties and a matching ruffled garter belt. Her stockings went all the way up her long thighs just
underneath her ass. She was gorgeous, to say the least. She had these big blue eyes that were accentuated by her eyeshadow. It was a shame that they were probably lost underneath the red lights of the club.

“
Serenity, I want you to meet the new girl, Harley. Harley, this is Serenity.”

“
Nice to meet you,” I said to the beautiful brunette.

“
Likewise,” Serenity replied. “It’s always fun to meet the new talent.”

“
Now, this is what I was talking about,” Sage explained. “See what she’s wearing. She’s not really showing off too much but it’s still sexy. I mean, she looks great naked but her outfit highlights all of her features. There’s nothing wrong with an ordinary set of underwear. Guys would probably prefer if we all wore nothing at all. But they also have an imagination. You have to make them use it. Does that make sense, Harley?”

“
Yeah,” I smiled. “That makes perfect sense.”

“
Good. I suppose I should have explained this to you earlier. There’s a place on Woodward and 4th that specializes in this kind of stuff. You can buy yourself a new outfit. Maybe some heels, too.”

“
I’m guessing these won’t do,” I said, pulling my ordinary pair of heels from my bag.

“
They’ll do for now,” Sage said to me. “But only for you. You have the legs to pull it off. Just know that you can accentuate them even more if you get something new.”

“
Okay,” I said. “That’ll be next on my to-do list.”

“
You don’t really need anything else,” Sage said to me. “Just go out there, have some fun and make some money. I’m sure you’ll have trouble keeping all of the guys away from you.”

“
You’re going to have a lot of success here,” Serenity said. “Welcome to Platinum.”

I nodded to both of them and they disappeared back into the club. I looked around at the rest of the women near their lockers. They seemed
to be going about their business nonchalantly. It was time. I had a lot of work to do. I had to play the part of a stripper and find out if there was anything more interesting in this place besides the excessive prices and eccentric occupants.

I stepped o
ut onto the main floor in nothing but my underwear and a pair of heels. There was something liberating about wearing an outfit like this in full view of so many different people. There was never more than one person looking at me when I was dressed like this. Now there were plenty of people free to observe me like it wasn’t a big deal. I didn’t know what to expect now that I was actually working here. I was surprised to feel that a part of me was kind of enjoying the freedom.

But I was still completely new
at this. I had observed the process of how the girls worked. I was free to talk to any man and convince him to spend his money on me. Now that I was actually faced with it, it no longer seemed so simple.

How am I supposed to know which one of these men is
interested in me? Am I supposed to talk to all of them? Or do I just wait for one of them to come up to me?

It was obvious that the men in the VIP section were the ones that I needed to talk to. They had all of the money and were likely more interesting th
an anybody else in here. My coworker Jennifer couldn’t get ahold of a man like Landon Schrader. Now there were dozens of affluent men there in plain view. The only problem was that they were already occupied with other women.

Before I could struggle any fu
rther with my dilemma, I was greeted by a familiar face.

“
You look lovely this evening,” the man said to me.

“
Only this evening?” I asked. “Typical. A man only compliments me when I’m standing around in my underwear.”

“
If I told you that every night, you would just assume that I was lying.”

“
If you told me that every night, it means I’m seeing you much too often.”

He didn
’t say anything as I looked at him. I could see him fighting off the smirk on his face. I slowly turned my attention to the woman dancing on stage, pretending like I wasn’t interested in his company.

“
Your friend spilled your little secret,” I said to him.

“
Oh, did he? And what secret is that?”

“
I know who you are, Luther.”

“
Is that so? Do you
really
know who I am or do you just know my name?”

I turned my attention back to him. He was staring at me, a curious little smile on his lips.

“Is there anything for me to
really
know?” I said. “You’re a man who spends his time regularly at a strip club. That’s all. Or are you telling me there’s something deeper?”

I continued to pretend like I wasn
’t interested. Maybe this was the lead I was looking for. I was trying my best not to let the reporter side out of me. There was a girl inside of me that wanted to be a stripper. I just had to let her out.

“
That depends, Harley. I only tell people about me if they’re interested.”

“
I
am
interested. But only as far as your wallet is deep.”

Luther began to laugh. I winked at him, biting the corner of my bottom lip to try and entice him. He leaned in closer
to me and began to whisper into my ear.

“
Can I tell you a secret?”

“
You can. But I can’t promise it’s safety.”

I was only being honest with him.

“Fair enough,” he said. “I’m only telling you this because I can’t hold it back any longer.”

“
Go ahead, Luther. Let it out.”

“…
I want you, Harley. I don’t want you to dance for any of the other men in the club. I want you all to myself.”

I swallowed as I listened to him tell me his secret. Th
e way he said it was slow and almost sensual. I could feel his breath upon my ear, the warmth sending an odd sensation through my body. There was a tingling feeling of excitement on my skin. Maybe it was just because of how close he was to me but I suddenly found myself distracted. The friendly banter we had just moments ago was gone. He had flipped the switch on the mood so suddenly that I was having trouble reacting.

What
’s wrong with me? Why am I letting this get to me?

As Luther slowly pulled his face a
way from me, I was half-breathless and unable to respond. From the corner of my eye, I could see Luther staring at me. He was exuding some kind of intensity that was resonating from his body. I was worried that if I turned and looked at him I would lose control. Thankfully, I was able to gather myself and maintain my composure.

“
Good,” I replied. “Everybody gets what they want in Platinum. All you have to do is pay the price.”

“
And what price is that, Harley?”

“
I don’t think you can afford it.”

“
I know how things work here. You have to pay a five-hundred dollar fee for every night before you start making a profit.”

“
You’re in the ballpark.”

“
I’ll give you two week’s worth.”

“
That’s seven grand, Luther.”

“
Hmm… Good-looking and good at math. What a combination.”

I finally turned my attention to him. Not only was he offering to pay for my time here at the club but he was making me more suspicious as to who or what he
really
was. My story was right here in front of me. It seemed too convenient. But there was no way I could refuse his offer.

“
Deal. Are we going to Paradise or Limbo?”

“
We’ll start with Paradise for now.”

“
As you wish, Luther.”

I turned around and waited for him to follow me. When I realized he wasn
’t behind, I stopped myself and turned around. He was still standing in his familiar spot at the bar. He was looking around like he had lost something. I walked back up to him, confused as to what he was doing.

“
What’s going on?” I asked.

“
It’s not going to be just us,” he said. “I’m taking someone else with me. Ah, what’s your name?”

He offered his hand out to a girl walking by him. She took his hand and giggled at him.

“Hi,” she said, her voice with a little bit of a squeak. “I’m Jade.”

“
Jade. Nice to meet you, Jade. I’m Luther. I’m heading to Paradise with Harley over here. I was wondering if you’d be interested in joining us. You’ll get the same seven grand she’s getting.”

“
Seven—Really? Of course!”

Jade did little to hide her enthusiasm. Luther smiled at
me as he walked hand-in-hand with her toward the back of the club. I looked at him curiously, wondering what exactly he was up to.

I followed the two of them into Paradise. The place looked like more of a spectacle than I remembered now that there were ac
tually people back here. Men were sitting in their booths, some of them with the curtains down. They sat their stoically while the women writhed and slithered on top of them. I never pictured myself as someone who was quite as sexy or seductive as these women. It was too late to back out of it now. I had to try my best to see if I had what it took to at least fake it.

They made their way toward a booth in the corner. Before Luther made himself comfortable, he grabbed a chair off to the side and placed it ju
st in front of the booth. Then he took off his jacket and lounged in the chair.

“
You,” he said, pointing at me. “Sit in the chair.”

“
Okay…”

I did as I was instructed, still confused as to what was going on. He then directed Jade to do what every other woma
n in the room was doing.