Song: Daddy Issues- The Neighbourhood

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Luscious

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"It's my job," I stated blankly before turning back to the cleaners, hoping he would get the hint that I wasn't nearly finished ironing out the wrinkles.

"Piccola, I actually have a special job for you tonight."

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That piqued my interest.

I quickly turned back to him, slightly startled by the grin tugging at his lips.

"And what would that job be?" I asked, intrigued at what could possibly be more important than starting out his mess.

He sauntered past me and over to the piano sitting innocently in the middle of the room causing dread to sink in my stomach as I watched him trail his fingers over the keys.

"Tonight," he started, his voice commanding attention, "and every night after, you will play for our guests."

He finally looked up from the piano and towards me, his words taking me completely off guard.

He wanted me to play the piano?

In a strip joint?

I barely held back my scoff, only capable of doing so by the deadly serious look painted on his face which quickly sobered me.

I gave out a small cough, my clipboard falling to my side.

"You want me to play the piano in a strip joint?" I asked, unable to mask the disbelief interlaced between my words.

"I'd prefer gentleman's club to strip joint."

I hummed at his answer, why disguise what it so clearly was under pretty words?

I glanced between the piano and the exit, knowing that I had far too much to correct in the 'gentleman's club' to sit idly by and play the piano. 

"Well I'm pretty sure Brandi can play, I'll go check." 

I turned to leave, noticing that the girls had started to get into their places for the day, some picking up trays and others flapping around backstage.

I scanned the room for Brandi interrupted by a large hand which wrapped itself around my wrist causing me to turn to the man himself.

"I didn't tell Brandi, I told you," he said, his body towering over mine.

"There will be consequences if you're not sitting on that bench in five minutes and trust me, you're not going to like them," he scowled, taking a beat to scan his eyes over my lacy attire, his eyes cold as ever.

He met my eyes once more before storming out of the room into the hallway.

I took a quick breath in, warily eyeing the piano as I made my way over to the bar, his words were daunting and absolute, there was no room for argument. 

Probably just as he liked it.

The room that seemed to have been verging on near silence when he was in the room had returned to its bustling self, everyone trying their best to get ready for tonight.

Some of the girls eyed me up and down, a mixture of jealousy and pity mingling there but I paid no attention, there were more pressing things to worry about.

"Jeez what was that about?" Ginger asked from across the bar as she washed the glasses for tonight.

She flipped her strikingly red hair over her shoulder, her defining feature that got her consequently named Ginger.

The old boss wasn't a very inventive person. 

I sighed, handing her my clipboard to stash in the bar.

I watched the bouncer let in the first few people, all clad in classy attire, a stark change to our usual greasy customers.

How many ways had he changed the club?

"Maybe the stick up his ass has started to splinter," I snarkily whispered, earning a quick chuckle.

"Seriously though, what's he like?"

I ran my hand through my thick dark hair, glancing at the clock and realizing I only had three minutes until I had to sit in the middle of the room, hands on the keys.

"I don't know where to start," I admitted, not interested in starting a pointless conversation which would be relayed to all the others in less than a minute.

Thankfully, a customer with an air of elegance had come up to the bar, his eyes not leaving the red headed beauty.

"Whiskey on the rocks please, sugar," he politely ordered, a tinge of an almost undetectable accent heard under his otherwise smooth voice.

"Ginger actually, Sugar is over there," she reciprocated his flirting, pointing to Sugar who was picking up a notepad but he didn't take his eyes off her.

I didn't bother listening any further, she would most likely be getting plenty tips from him throughout the night.

One minute.

I took a deep breath to prepare myself for the piano, because no matter what, I couldn't lose this job.

Too many people relied on me.

As soon as I sat at the instrument, the lights changed to a low red, complimenting the elegant look he was obviously going for.

I ran my hands over the keys mulling over what I could play that would fit the scene.

Not much came to mind so I went with a personal favourite, 'Plus tôt' by Alexandra Streliski.

As the first few notes rang through the room, I could feel the atmosphere grow quieter and instead of hide away from the attention, I revelled in it, letting my body and mind alike get lost in the music.

As the piece neared to a close, voices began to pick up again realizing that the piano itself was supposed to be the background music for now.

The piece I chose was quiet and blurred into the background, not too flashy but not too quiet which was exactly what the place needed.

I found myself hunched over the piano, my head craned downwards as the last few notes rang through the room. I looked upwards to see if I had gained any attention but it seemed as if nobody noticed  the ending. 

Nobody except for him.

I made eye contact as he listened to someone chat away, neither one of us choosing to break away.

He gave a semblance of a nod and without a word between us I knew it meant to keep going, and so I tore my eyes away from his and dove straight into the next piece.

Only after an hour had passed did he give me the signal to stop playing.

Once away from the middle of the room and into the safety of the bar, I took in the club.

What was once a sleazy strip joint had been turned into a somewhat classy 'gentleman's club.' Girls still flit from table to table, waitressing and shaking a little here and there in hopes of a private dance, where the real money came in.

Now that I had come away from the piano, music filled through the overhead speakers, letting the dancers of the night find their spots on the poles, spinning and twirling away.

"You play beautifully," his sultry voice interrupted my observations.

He leaned on the bar, letting me take in his muscular physique, so exquisite that I nearly gulped at the sight.

No man had ever had this kind of effect on me before.

I forced my eyes away from his delectable figure and reached over the bar to get my clipboard back, interrupted by a hand on my lower back and a strong body reaching over me, his chest grazing my back and snatching the board before my fingers even touched it.

A blush creeped up my neck at the tease of his body pressed against mine and I quickly whipped around, attempting to return my clipboard to its rightful owner but he just lifted it higher so that I could no longer reach it.

"Interesting observations, I hadn't thought of these," he muttered to himself, flipping through the pages as I impatiently waited for him.

I waited a few more seconds before I snatched it back, smiling in triumph.

"You prove to be more useful than I previously thought."

I scoffed at his words, was that supposed to be a compliment?

"You're not very good at compliments," I deadpanned, scanning my list and deciding a plan of action that wouldn't disrupt the ambience too much.

"It wasn't a compliment, tomorrow you will do the same as today," he said, turning his eyes away from me and taking in the club as if to say it was the end of the conversation.

"No can do, unfortunately," I said before turning to Ginger who had obviously been listening in, "Ginger, I need a list of all the spirits and liquor you need restocking by the end of the night."

She nodded, glancing warily between the two of us before she left to serve another customer.

The man from earlier hadn't seemed to have left her side, lingering by the bar the entire night in hopes to gain her attention.

"What do you mean, no can do?" He asked, taking a step closer to me.

I refused to turn his way, keeping my attention on safety of the clipboard.

"I'm on poles tomorrow, I need to make my money somewhere."

A finger curled its way onto the top of my clipboard, pushing it downwards and away from my eyes.

"What did I tell you the first time we met?"

My breath caught as his forefinger and thumb captured my chin and forced my face upwards to meet his stare and pry my gaze away from the clipboard. 

"Look at me when you speak."

The proximity between us had closed in record time, my lacy chest almost meeting his suited one, but I didn't dare look away from his gaze which seemed to somehow grow more intense by the minute.

"Yes, sir," I replied a little breathlessly, still unaware of his name.

His gaze scanned my face, searching for something before he finally nodded, releasing my chin and letting me breathe a sigh of relief.

I clutched my shaky hands harder over the clipboard, hoping not to show him my weakness, he was still a possible danger to me and my girls and could possibly throw us out at anytime.

A fact I couldn't forget. 

"I pay you, what do you mean you need to make money?"

I sighed, finally realizing how little he knew about how this kind of business worked.

"Yeah but the pay is, no offense, shit, we make money from tips which usually comes from dancing and we get even more from private dances." I informed, not taking my eyes from his all encapsulating grey ones. 

He took in the information, and looked around the room at the girls dancing and the tips they were getting.

I felt a pit open up in my stomach at the way he looked at a few of the girls. 

"Private dances?"

I nodded, "Basically, if you wow someone enough, and they're desperate enough, they'll pay to buy a private room. The price range changes depending on which room they pay for, each one having specific limits. Some girls have regulars, some don't, and we get half of the amount the customers pay for the room."

I halted my rambling before I got into too much detail, aware of the amount of girls that were starting to eye us up, distracted from their pursuit of tips. 

What were their problem?

"Do you have any regulars?" He prodded, clearly not wanting to let the conversation up.

I let out a small laugh at his question.

"I used to but I had to cut them off when I got promoted, the old boss made me basically do his entire job while he sat back every night but I'm hoping I can start making real money again."

He hummed to himself, seemingly lost in his own thoughts as a comfortable silence wrapped itself around the two of us. 

A good time to leave. 

Just as I was about to escape from his overbearing presence, he leaned forward catching me off guard again as his mouth found its way next to my ear.

"I'm sure you'll have a regular in no time," he whispered, his sultry voice low and inviting, heating my core in ways I wished it didn't.

I swallowed at his statement, not missing the hidden meaning residing beneath it.

"Hopefully," was all that I could come up with, still under his enchanting spell.

All too soon, he backed away and I took a step back, waiting for a beat before walking away without a second thought.

I rushed into the dressing room, hoping for a reprise from his heated stare and damningly inviting lips, but was interrupted by a girl rushing into the room, her eyes wide.

Couldn't I get a moment of peace?

Taking a moment to catch her breath she managed to speak,

"Lush, we have a problem." 

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Do you guys like Luscious?

Publishing this earlier as gift for 500 reads on May 9th 2021 ! 

2155 words, damn these chapters are longer than a dangerous captive

love you all <3

Okay bye