Rose of Thorne (9 page)

Skylar

I wake up near noon take a shower and change my clothes. The sadness of earlier has now been replaced by intense anger. I don’t know what tomorrow will bring, but I will just learn to keep my head down and do my job. One thing was for sure, I am through wasting my time on worrying about Sebastian Thorne. The Sebastian I know is obviously gone and maybe he never even existed to begin with. Even though it was him on the outside, Mr. Thorne is now the one present. I have an internship to complete and a future ahead of me. The last thing I need is a distraction. I’ll just consider it a lesson learned.

Since I have
the afternoon free, I text Megan to see when I can come to check things out at the club. I get an immediate reply from her telling me that she will be there all evening and to come anytime I want. Texting her back, I let her know I am on the way there, and I throw my curls into a ponytail.

The club
is only about a twenty-five minute drive from my house. When I arrive, there only a few cars occupy the large parking lot. Nervously I open up the front door, and I am shocked at the elegant layout of the room. This place is not at all what I had imagined in my head. A beautiful lounge is located off to the left past the entrance. Slowly, I continued walking through the lounge area and on into another massive room full of the deep passion colors of red and purple. A beautiful wooden bar sits to the left of the room facing the large dining area. A stage set in the center of the room has a massive metal stairway leads up to another large section that overlooks the entire downstairs.

I don’t see Megan anywhere
, so I make my way towards the front of the room. A tall guy with dark hair comes in behind the bar carrying cases of bottles and quickly stops when he sees me. His dark eyes slowly rake up and down my body and he looks at me with a mischievous grin on his face. The look he continues giving me makes me more than uncomfortable. When his gaze lands on my chest, I feel instantly self-conscious of the tank top I am wearing.

“Well
, hello there, are you looking for someone? If not, I certainly hope you are looking for me,” he says and winks.

Oh great
… let’s just say CREEP!

“UM…
hi, I’m looking for Megan. She told me to stop by.”

“Oh yeah
, are you the new girl? Megan is in the back office. I’m Brandon, by the way. I’m one of the bartenders here,” he says as he extends his hand out to me. Hesitantly I take it and shake his hand.

“I’m Skylar
, and I just came to talk to her about a job. I haven’t been offered anything yet.”

He
nods and leans over the bar, and I can smell his strong cologne.

“Trust me
, babe, one look at you and Jackson will have you as his star lady here.”

He lifts the phone and hits a button, “Megan, there is a bombshell up here waiting t
o see you,” Brandon says and hangs the phone back up.

              “She will be here in just a minute. You can have a seat and wait here if you like. Can I get you something to drink?” he asks me as he leans into the bar.

“No
, thank you, I’m fine,” I reply nervously.

“Ok
ay, well, just let me know if you need anything,” he offers and continues putting away the bottles behind the bar. Just a few minutes later Megan appears in a pair of tight shorts and even tighter midriff bearing top; looking like she was just posing for some magazine.

Crap!
Does this girl ever have a bad hair day or anything?

Brandon’s eyes never leave me
while he stands trying to look busy behind the bar. I can’t help it there is just something about him makes me more than nervous. Well… to be perfectly honest he scares the living hell out of me.

Megan walks me around the place and explains the job in
more detail. According to her, I will be required to wear a short black shirt, black high heels, and a tight black shirt with JAXX’S GIRLS written on the front. Since mostly this is a gentlemen’s bar, we are expected to wear our makeup more defined, and our hair always has to be down. Basically, I will be waiting tables downstairs unless I am requested or assigned to a customer in the VIP section upstairs.

“VIP clients usually request the girls
, so that’s where the money is,” she explains. “Nothing inappropriate is allowed to happen here. Jackson is extremely strict on his rules with the customers. You are just to flirt and be attentive to the guys. They are not allowed to make physical contact with you in any way or speak to you suggestively. If this happens, you are to let him or one of the bouncers know, and they will take care of it. Jackson usually handles all of that himself. He wants this to be a clean place, even if it is more of a gentlemen’s club.”

“What about the dancing? Didn’t you say we
have to perform on stage? I ask nervously. This is the part I am dread knowing about most.

“Oh
, yeah, we rehearse a new routine twice a week. It’s usually simple and something sexy, but not too provocative. We all dance together on stage, usually around 10pm, and then we split those tips between us. The other tip money is all ours plus Jackson pays us very well. Trust me, you will do really well here,” she says. Suddenly, she jumps up on the stage and looks down at me.

I stare at the stage anxiously
since this is the hardest part for me. It isn’t the same as the performances I used to do. It is exactly like going to a club, I tell myself.

I have no emotional investment in it.
I can do this. I have to do this!

She senses my fears and has the guy in the back start some music over the speakers.

“Here watch me
,” she says as she sits a chair in the middle of the stage. She shows me a few basic moves around the chair, and within minutes I have picked up the entire routine. By the third time, I have the routine down cold. She smiles at me as we move perfectly timed together. When the music ends, I am startled to hear loud clapping coming from near the bar.

Brandon
is whistling beside a tall blond man dressed in dark jeans and a gray shirt.

“Well done
, ladies! Megan, who do we have here?” The tall handsome blonde says as he smiles at me.

“Jackson, this is the girl I was telling you about, Skylar Rose.
Skylar, this is Jackson Stone, he owns the place.”

“Megan, you didn’t quite tell me what a find she
is. I must say, Skylar, that performance… well… let’s just say you more than have a job here if you wish.”

“Thank you, sir. Ye
s, I would really appreciate that,” I reply.

“Sir? Oh my
, my, Megan, yes, I think you have outdone yourself with this one,” Jackson chuckles pulling me in to him. When he moves to the side I find the dark stare of Brandon’s eyes upon me. There is something dark about him, almost evil, and I can literally feel the hairs on my arm begin to stand. There is no way I ever want to be alone around this guy.

“Listen,
Skylar, do you think you might be able to start tonight? I have a girl that’s out, and we have some special guests who have already reserved a spot upstairs.”

“Um
, sure, but I–”

H
e interrupts me before I can finish. “Fantastic! Megan, can you get her fitted for her uniform?” Megan nods as he turns to take a phone call.

A half an hour later
, I head home to get ready for work and to check on Sophie. I quickly make supper, and by the time she arrives after soccer, we eat together, and I quickly get ready for work. I slip on the short skirt and shirt that seem to be two sizes too small. My shirt rides up just above the belly button exposing the jeweled ring that Kylie dared me to get for my 20
th
birthday. Because I am blessed up top, the letters JAXX now stretch wide across my chest. Yeah, I’m sure I will get some stares tonight, and I’m hoping I can handle it all. I straighten my hair until it is silky smooth and play up my makeup, enhancing my eyes with dark eye shadow. When I am done, I barely recognize myself. I slide into my black stilettos and take a deep breath. I coach myself the whole drive there…
YOU CAN DO THIS!

Sebastian

JAXX is packed when I arrive later that night. I am proud of my friend as I step inside and admire his new club. Jackson meets me at the door with his sly grin and slaps me on the back.

“Long time no see
, my friend. I have your spot upstairs reserved for you. I will send a girl up for your area in just a bit, bro. I’ll be up in a little later to check on you. I need to check on some shipment mix-up at the bar.”

I nod as I head upstairs to the VIP area.
You can’t help but notice the short black skirts and tight shirts that all the waitresses wear. Every single one of these babes is hot as shit. Yep, Jackson is a lucky bastard to be staring at this all night long.

“Can I get you something to drink, Mr. Thorne
?” a short, curvy blonde asks me with a purr to her voice. Her top rides up way above her navel revealing the dragonfly tattoo on her hip above her short skirt. Her legs… well, let’s just say that I can see them wrapped around me tonight if I play my cards right.

“Just cranberry and soda
, please,” I say as I slip her a fifty dollar bill. She winks those long lashes and struts away to get my drink. Two drinks and lots of flirting later, Daisy is more than throwing out the signals for a fuckfest later. Jackson is pretty strict on his fraternizing rules, but I will be the perfect gentlemen as long as I am here. She slides a note in the pocket of my shirt and sucks her lower lip into her mouth as she slowly moves away.

“Off at 11
. Your place or mine?” I fold the note back and smile to myself.

Yep, like I said…
too easy! I’m already forgetting Ms. Rose as we speak.

Jackson comes by to check on me and sits in the lounger across from me.

“Whew… we are slammed for a Monday night, man! So… what do you think of the place?” he asks me curiously.

“I think yo
u landed a great thing here, man! It’s classy, not sleazy, and the women are HOT!” I say nodding in Daisy’s direction.

He chuckles, “Yes, that’s a must on my interview process, but I must say
, you should see my new girl. Bastian, hot doesn’t begin to describe this one! I swear, when I saw her this afternoon, I thought she had walked in from some fantasy of mine. SHIT! I have never got so worked up before,” he exclaimed. “Dude, she was dancing with Megan up on stage, and I about lost it. I hired her on the spot, and she started tonight. TRUST ME, when you see her, you will know. She has gotten quite the attention downstairs. I almost sent her up here, but Daisy jumped the gun when she saw you.”