URBAN: Chosen By A Kingpin (24 page)

“Gigi.” Her father knocked on her door. “Are you ready?” He opened slowly and Giselle wore her mother’s old dress. It was a little bit too long and didn’t fit all the way, but it looked great on her. Her father smiled and immediately hugged her. He had tears in his eyes. “You’re not my little girl anymore.”

“I’m 16.” She reminded him.

“I know, but it’s still hard to adjust to you growing up.”

“What are you going to do when I get older? Like, what are you going to do when I’m getting married? Are you going to cry then too Daddy?”

“Probably.” He chuckled. “After I give your future husband a talk, beat him up, or whatever, I’ll probably cry.”

“As long as you are not crying while you are walking me down the aisle, I don’t care.” She smiled.

“I guess we’ll have to wait and see what happens then.” He smiled back at her.

He brought her downstairs and the guests greeted them. They shook hands, kissed cheeks, and said “hi” to everyone. When they arrived at the kitchen, Giselle saw her mother talking to one of the waiters they hired. She was making sure that all the food went out and of course making sure that the champagne glasses were full.

“You look great.” Her mother kissed her cheek.

“Your daughter reminded me that she is not a baby.”

“She isn’t.” She kissed her daughter’s forehead.

“And she doesn’t want me to cry on her wedding day.” Her father crossed her arms.

“As long as I can still cry.” Her mother laughed.

Her father took three glasses of champagne and handed it to his wife, his daughter, and kept one for himself.

“No.” Her mother took the glass from her. “You’re spoiling her again.”

“I’m not spoiling her. This is just for one night.” Her father handed back the champagne glass. “Pretty soon, she’ll be off to college and we might not get this night back. So for one night, let the girl have some champagne. She’ll have this one glass and then go out and eat.”

“Fine” Her mother rolled her eyes. “But if she develops a drinking problem, you’re paying for her rehab.” She joked. Her father laughed and kissed her mother. “Okay, all at the same time?”

They all held their glasses to their lips, and then sipped it. The bubbles raced to Giselle’s head.

“Whoah.” She commented. “This tastes pretty good”

As Giselle continued to drink the pink mixture at the strip club, it brought her back to that moment. The drink was sweet, but the fact that it brought her back to one of her favorite memories, made it sweeter.

“So, how is it?” The bartender looked on anxiously.

“It’s very sweet.” She took the last sip. “Thank you for this.” She could feel Lionel staring at her so it reminded her to why she was at the strip club in the first place. “Do you know if this place is hiring?”

“You want to become a bartender?”

“No.” She shook her head and looked into the eyes of the woman. “Not a bartender.”

“Oh.”

“Yes.”

“Well, are you sure that you don’t want to be a bartender? It’s much-”

“Easier.”

“Yes, but not in the way you think. It’s just that some of these girls go crazy with the dancing.”

“What do you mean?”

“Stripper envy. It’s like you are their competition, so they can’t even try to be friendly.”

“Ok.” Giselle still wasn’t getting what the bartender was telling her.

“Don’t expect friends here.”

“Got it.”

“I’m going to get the manager.”

When the bartender moved away to pick up the phone, Giselle looked over at Lionel. He nodded at her; letting her know that everything was going well. She gave him half a smile and circled her finger around the glass of the drink. She watched the strippers danced and wondered just how far she was willing to go to help Lionel. She knew he said that all she had to do was find out if the girl worked at the club, but what if that wasn’t enough? What if she had to get on the pole and lose her clothes. Just how far is she willing to go?

“Hi.” This tall lanky man came out of nowhere. “My name is Manuel.” He extended his hand and Giselle shook it quickly. “Trina tells me that you want to work here.”

“Yes.” She swallowed hard and then followed it with fake smile.

“Ok.” He sat next to her. “What’s your name?”

“Eva.” She smiled even harder. “Eva Jackson.”

“Alright. Well let me start off by saying that what I’m going to be saying to you and asking you, is not about you. When I make suggestions about your look or your style, it’s not about you at all. I say this because, a lot of women come in and out looking for work here, but they don’t even make it past the interview.”

“Alright.”

Just then the music changed. It was now pumping louder, faster, and a new dancer took to the stage.

“Should we go somewhere more quiet so that we can talk?” She asked but he shook his head

“If you’re going to work here, you’re going to have to get used to the noise.” He explained. “First, let me compliment you on your looks. You got the look down packed, but I don’t think that this place is cut out for you.”

“Why not?”

“You’re too shy.” He said flat out. “You’re barely looking me in the eyes, you keep shifting in your seat, and you can’t even look at the strippers. I don’t want you to get this job and then have to take some pills, drink, smoke something, just for you to be able to work here at Allure.”

“I can work here.”

“I don’t think so sorry.”

Manuel got up and started to leave. Lionel shook his head and Giselle panicked.

“No, don’t go.” She called after him.

“Eva, I can see it just looking at you that you can’t do this. I know you might really need the money, but I don’t think this would be the right fit for you.”

“What do I have to do to show you that I can?” He turned and looked at her. “What if I gave that guy a lapdance?” She pointed at Lionel. “What about it?”

She moved her way to Lionel. She spun him around and started to dance in front of him. She started to imitate the dancer that was on the pole in the other room. She had her hand on her knees and poked her butt out. She was nervous and she could feel that she was moving a bit stiff, but when she saw Lionel’s eyes, she started to sway a bit slowly. Her moves got a bit more sexually enticing. She grinded against him and could feel him rise up. She pulled away and then bent completely over. She turned around and bit her lip and then wiggled.

“Ok, that’s enough.” The manager said snapping Giselle out of her trance. “Eva, you must really need this job.” He laughed. “But if that’s just a taste of what you can do, you can start soon.”

“Thank you!” She smiled.

“In fact, why don’t you come to the back? You can get a look at the dressing room and sign some of the paperwork. I have to breakdown some of the percentages to you and talk about how the club works.”

“Sure.” She followed him. Before she was out of sight, she gave Lionel one last look. He just nodded at her.

Manuel led her through the club to the back. As soon as she turned the corner, they walked right to the dressing room. On one end of the wall, there was nothing but red lockers. On the other side there were dressing room mirrors and separate stations. On the counters there was makeup, perfume, and hair supplies scattered about. She heard some strippers talking further down, but she couldn’t see them. She tried to peek a little bit more, but Manuel gestured for her to follow him to the office. There she sat down and he started breaking down the business. The papers in front of her informed Giselle that she could either do a fifty-fifty split with the club with pay, or just all tips. She signed her fake name under the first option. He shook her hand.

“So, if you’d like, I want you to come and meet some of the dancers here.” He got up and walked ahead of her. She took a deep breath and followed him. This could be the moment. This could be where she meets the woman and then find out what is going on.

“Sure I’m more than ready to meet them.”

“Good, I think Diamond, Tarah, and Monique is here. Some of the other girls come later on tonight or tomorrow.”

“Okay.” Was all she could muster out. Her heart was beating five times as fast as it ever did.

They walked back into the dressing room.

“Man coming out.” He said out loud while covering his eyes.

“Oh please Manny, not only have you seen all of this, but you’re gay.” The blonde haired stripper laughed. “You’re not interested in our parts so you don’t have to be afraid of looking at them.” He took his hand away from his eyes.

“Just trying to be respectful.” He gave them a cheesy smile. “My beautiful ladies, I’d like to introduce you to the newest member of our Allure family. Her name is Eva.” He slid out of the way and presented Giselle, but known to them as Eva.

“Oooh, she’s pretty.” The blonde haired one stepped forward. “She doesn’t have that much tits, but that’s why you have me.” She shook her big breasts. “Oh, my fault, I didn’t even say my name. I’m Tarah. I’m their token white girl.” She smiled. Tarah was 5’5, had big breasts, and a round bottom. She loved to add splits and tricks to her pole dancing routine. She is 26 years old and has been working as a stripper for the past five years. She needed the money to pay for school. She knew it was the oldest stripper story in the world, but the money was good and it came fast. She was now getting her masters. This was her last year and she was going to make the best of it.

“Hi, I’m Diamond.” A tall Latina woman introduced herself. She was 23 and shaped like Jennifer Lopez. She had long black wavy hair and a dimple when she smiled. She was nicknamed “Princess” because they thought she was a bit spoiled. She had all her things arranged in a certain way and she only purchased the best of the best . She never wore anything she saw in stores and only shopped at exclusive stores. People often thought she was stuck up.

“I’m Monique.” The last stripper introduced herself in a rush. “I got to go. I’m next on stage.” She had a short pixie cut, thick thighs, a round bottom, and an ample chest. She was dancing as well as starring in several rap videos. She did stripping hoping to get into the model world, but the kind of pictures she was taking were not the ones she had in mind. She was also on the internet giving out free pole dancing lessons.

“So, I’m going to leave you here with the girls so that you all can get acquainted.” Manny left her alone with the strippers.

“What makes you want to shake your ass for money?” Diamond asked.

“Wow, you’re just going to jump right into it. You’re not even going to try to let her get used to it.” Tarah chuckled. “At least give the girl five minutes.”

“Nah, if she’s going to do this, she’s going to have to get used to it really quick. There’s no time to hold nobody’s hand.”

“But Princess, she need to take it slow.”

“There’s no taking it slow to stripping. You got to be all in. This ain’t like folding shirts at the Gap, this is real shit.” Diamond walked over to the mirror. She pulled out some lip gloss and applied it to her lips. “So when are you going to answer my question?” She looked at Giselle through the mirror.

Giselle sighed. She closed her eyes briefly. She had to take it all in. She couldn’t cower or act like she was afraid. Lionel told her time and time again, “Be brave.” So if she was going to do this, it all had to be all or nothing.

“Well I’m here to make money like the rest of ya’ll.” She smiled.

“Where are you from?” Diamond asked. “You have a little bit of an accent.”

“I’m originally from North Carolina.”

“You came to New York to strip? Usually the girls down south stay because stripping makes more money out there.” Diamond pointed out. “Whatever. We’ll talk more when it’s your first day.”

“When is that?” Tarah rolled her eyes. “There’s nothing I love to see more than the newbies fucking up on their routine.”

“Be nice.” Diamond scolded Tarah. “Maybe she won’t fuck up completely.” They both laughed.

Giselle awkwardly smiled and started to exit.

“What are you two bitches in here cackling about?” Someone walked in. She was shaped with long black straight hair. She turned and saw Giselle. “Let me guess, you’re the new girl. Don’t mind me, but I’m a hugger.” She wrapped her arms around Giselle. “Don’t let these hoes get to you, the first day is kind of scary, but if it’s that bad for you; I’ll help you out.”

“Thanks.” Giselle smiled. The new dancer’s attitude made her feel welcomed. She wasn’t scared at all. She still hadn’t found the dancer with natural hair, but this new girl was making it a bit easier.

“My name is Janine, but my stage name is Bianca.” She smiled.

“I’d hate to cut this short.” Diamond broke them up, but Janine, you need to get ready. You have to take the stage soon. Let the newbie go.” Tarah pushed through them.

“Don’t mind them.” Janine stripped down right in front of her. Giselle looked away.

“I got to go.” Giselle started walking away.

“What’s your name?”

“G-” She coughed to cover up her slip up. “My name is Eva.”

“Well if you come back on a day that I’m here, I’ll teach you the rules of the trade.” She made her way out.

Giselle left the locker room and made her way back to Lionel. He was nursing a beer. He saw Giselle and paid for his beer. He left first and minutes later Giselle came behind him.

“So how was it?”

“I didn’t see any girls with huge natural hair.”

“Maybe she doesn’t work here.”

“Well, I think that there are more girls that work there, but I don’t know.”

“You don’t know what.”

“How far am I going to go with this? Am I expected to strip?”

“No, of course not. Once you spot the girl with natural hair, we’ll take it from there.”

“And what happens there?”

Lionel didn’t answer her. To be honest, he never really thought about it. This was really Antwon’s plan. Once Antwon put two and two together about his robbery and the robbery of the club, he just ran with it. He wanted to find out who the dancer was and then ask her why did she choose him as a target. Lionel tried to tell him that it was probably all a coincidence, but here he was at a strip club trying to find her.