Isabella pulled into a stop in the back parking lot unlike yesterday when she had been allowed to come much later at around 7:30. Tonight she was starting her actual work shift of 6:00 pm to 12pm. The club opened at 8:00pm but there were still a lot of tasks that the girls helped with. From cleaning and reorganizing the floor, getting the bar ready and helping to weigh each bottle. A lot of tasks were involved in making sure the most popular sport in New Orleans stayed running perfectly. “Isabella!” The young woman in question looked over to her right as her trainer for the week Alice was just stepping out of a large blue van. She was wearing tight jean shorts, her white work shoes held in her hand while she was wearing sandals on her feet. Her silky blond hair done up in a messy bun that looked seconds away from coming undone and she did not have the same color on her face as Isabella had seen before.
Isabella waited for the girl to be closer before greeting her with a friendly smile. “How are you today?”
Alice let out a tired sigh. “Exhausted if I am being honest. I had a lot of things to do that I didn’t do yesterday, my hairdresser had an emergency so I couldn’t get my haircut today. I was late coming out of the house so I am hoping that Mrs. Simmons either lets me just keep these shorts on or let me drive back to my house.”
“Why didn’t you just go back home, and get your work pants once you realized that you didn’t have them?”
“And risk being late,” Alice said, shaking her head a few times, that being the last straw before her bun of hair came undone and fell over her shoulders and face. “Oh for the love of.”
“Here,” Isabella held her hands out so she could take the woman’s purse and shoes.
“Thank you, Isabella.” They walked over to the back entrance, and as they walked Alice put her hair into a long ponytail this time before adding. “And you answer your question more properly, I am not gonna risk being late when Mrs. Simmons is in charge. We start right at 6 o'clock for those helping with set up, and if you are late for that than you deal with that damned hairbrush of hers.”
“Is it that bad?” Isabella asked, feeling that same heat and excitement starting to spread through her body just at the thought.
“Let’s try not to find out.” Alice stopped at what looked to be a card reader and slid her work id into the slot. “Also you get your work ID today.”
“Why didn’t I get it yesterday?”
Alice responded. “We always give it till the second or third day to make sure our new girls come back. It’s not just the worry of being spanked if you do wrong that chases girls away. We are pretty busy and after the first night it might be overwhelming.” The duo went down the hallway towards the locker room, and making her way towards the locker room was Mrs. Simmons. Tonight the woman looked excellent, she was wearing a nice looking and snug white dress with the club’s logo being held over her chest. “Speak of the devil, good afternoon Mama Tati.” Isabella was a bit surprised that Alice used that little nickname for the older woman as well.
The woman smiled at them as she approached. She didn’t wear heels, just a nice pair of dress shoes, she didn’t need to make herself look taller. She had a very powerful presence to her. “It is always nice to see you, Alice, and Isabella. I am glad to see you survive your first shift, sugar.”
“It takes a bit more than a busy service to chase me away ma’am.”
“So Mama Tati, can I ask a small favor?” Alice put her hands together in a sort of begging way. “Can I either keep these jean shorts on for service tonight, and or go and get my work pants before we need to be on the floor?”
Mrs. Simons rolled her eyes for a moment. “Because Isabella is here I will let this one slide and you can keep those jeans of yours on, but if this happens again cause you keep trying to do everything at the last second, we will have a different sort of conversation, am I understood?”
Isabella held back a smile as the older girl looked truly relieved by this new. “Yes ma;am.”
“Isabella, do you need to drop anything off in the locker room or do you want to come with me and get your work ID?”
“Can I come and get my ID?”
Mrs. Simmon motioned to her to come and follow me. “Come on, child.” As they walked towards the woman’s office. “Also Alice if you don’t mind, I am gonna have you and Isabella do her training on the second floor tonight instead of the first floor.”
“It’s fine with me, Mama Tati.”
As Isabella stepped inside of Mrs. Simmon’s office. The inside of the woman’s office was a bit more warm, and comfy looking that Mrs. Carter did. Her large desk held pictures of what Isabella could only guess were the woman’s family. The walls surrounding them had different pieces of paintings. Her floor was protected by a soft looking gray carpet, so soft that Isabella thought she might sink into the floor. There was a rack where three other dresses were held, a stack of blue boxes, each having a different letter on them. S. M. L. XL. The prized thing being in this office was resting on a table near the wall, a bright gold and bronze saxophone that looked freshly polished. She had an old record player and a small stack of records resting underneath it.
“I like your office,” Isabella said, her eyes being drawn towards a similar looking large paddle like the one that was in Mrs. Carter’s office. Not wanting to get caught staring at her she turned her attention back to the saxophone. “Do you play?”
Mrs. Simmon stepped over to the almost perfect looking instrument and ran a hand down it for a moment. “I used to play a lot back in the day, wanted to be a jazz player and even played in a few clubs here and there.” She took her eyes off the beautiful instrument and gave Isabella a kind smile. “When was the last time you played?”
“It has been a while, and I don’t think I ever had the honor of playing such an amazing instrument like this one.”
Mrs. Simmon walked over to her desk and began to rummage through one of the six drawers on it. “Well open mic night is tomorrow, and Thursday, for the first hour to an hour and a half of the club being open. If you want you can borrow Kiara.”
“Kiara?”
Mrs. Simmon placed a dark red and black id card on the table. “My mother told me that was its name, she spent a pretty penny getting it repaired. She had that name inscribed on it once it was ready, a proper name for the former lioness of New Orleans.”
Isabella took her new ID card on it, finding that it had the basics of who she was, her name in cursive letters that looked like it was written with flames. “I would be honored if you ever let me use that instrument but it might be a while till I ever perform here.”
“The honor would be all mine, dear.” She replied kindly. “Now do not lose that card cause then we have to reset our system if you do. That is your key to the building if the back door is locked, it is your key to clock in and out, and it is the key you need to get to our liquor storage room. Also do not let anyone else use your ID to get into the building or into the liquor storage, if something comes up missing afterwards it is your ass that is gonna pay the price.”
“Kinda strict if you ask me.”
“Well considering that we have some bottles in there that cost more than you can imagine, we have to take a few precautions just in case.” The older woman's eyes held a firmness in them that told Isabella that she should not attempt anything when it came to that room. Her entire demeanor and the way she held herself even in her older years just reminded Isabella of a firm mother. “Come on, I will show you the room in question.”
Isabella slipped her ID into her pocket before following the woman to a nearby staircase that was just to the side of the kitchen. She counted about 120 steps in total before they were greeted by a dark gray door. Mrs. Simmons scanned her own ID card against the senor changing it from dark red to bright green. There was a quiet clicking noise as Mrs. Simmon’s opened the door, sending a wave of cool air spreading through Isabella's body. “Jesus Christ…” Isabella looked over the almost sparkling looking room that went back farther than she thought it was. Shelves upon shelves that held all types of alcohol. From cherry and blood red wines, to clear looking vodka and gin, dark brown whisky. One side had cases of both canned and bottled beer, and a few large kegs that had hoses running from the into the walls. “How much does all of this cost?”
“Not as much as you might think, but still too much not to drive Mrs. Carter crazy with costs every month. That is why she doesn’t want a single drop wasted without a proper explanation.”
“I can see why,” Isabella lowered herself down so she could read the label of a few lower bottles of wine. “I am guessing the cheap stuff is on the bottom and the more expensive ones are on the top?”
“Yep, and don’t worry if you notice a problem with the beer taps upstairs let one of the guys know and they can come replace it down here. I am not gonna have some of my girl’s break their backs trying to move some of this stuff. That reminds me of one other thing.” Isabella froze as the woman suddenly asked her. “Do you have any problem now, or in the past with alcohol?”
“Why do you ask?” Isabella hated how quickly she answered that question.
Mrs. Simmons didn’t answer her question at first instead her voice was almost as chilly as the air keeping these bottles cold. “Can you look at me, Isabella. I’m not a fan of asking this question to someone who’s back is turned to me.”
Isabella didn’t move for a second as she summoned up the mask of lies and half truths that she had worn for the better part of three years onto her face. Isabella stood back to her feet and faced the woman who had crossed the distance between them in silence. Even though Isabella was taller than the woman that aura around her made her seem so much bigger. “Do you have a problem when it comes to alcohol?” She repeated much slower those gentle eyes staring right into Isabella’s own.
Isabella held strong as she decided instead of telling a lie she told one of the many half truths that she had made over the years. “I had a problem when I was in high school, but other than that I have been pretty clean since then. I drink every now and then, maybe a glass after work somedays, but I don’t have a problem. This won’t be a problem.”
Mrs. Simmons' look did not change nor did she break eye contact throughout Isabella's entire statement. “Okay then,” there was something about how the woman said those words that told Isabella everything she needed to know. The woman did not believe her fully. “Just let me know if any bad habits rear their ugly heads again-”
“I will Mrs. Simmons I promise.”
Mrs. Simmon's eyes grow a bit firmer at Isabella’s attempt to change the subject. “Let me tell you something, young lady.” She began much firmer than Isabella had heard from the woman up to this point. “I have a small list of things that piss me off to no end. One of those things is a problem that a lot of people have issues with admitting until it is too late. Cause that demon is one that takes more than the slight relief it gives. I have had too many people give in to that demon when all they needed was a tiny bit of help, and that starts by just admitting you have a problem. I will not open doors that you do not want opened, but I will tear them down before I let you suffer in silence.”
“Y-Yes ma’am.” Isabella lowered her head for a moment, mostly from the shame of being scolded like she was a little girl again. “I am sorry if I said something to offend you.”
“It is what you don’t want to say that made me mad more than anything, child.” A pair of wrinkled but strong fingers were placed on her chin as Isabella’s head was tilted back up. Mrs. Simmon’s eyes much warmer and kinder than they had been in the last few seconds. “So like I saying, if perhaps bad habits start to rear their ugly heads again, my door is always open.”
As Isabella followed the old woman out of the basement of this nightclub. She could feel that mask she had put on starting to crumble and break. “I don’t have a problem.” Isabella thought to herself as the door closed behind her and as she was ready to get started to set up the nightclub before the busy crowds came in. For the first time in a while, even she didn’t believe that slight lie she carried on her shoulders.
121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEhrIY9zIJM
121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡk0Y5RguJAn
After her slight scolding from Mrs. Simmons. Isabella worked like she was a machine for the next hour and a half. She helped cut up the fruit for the drinks, she made sure the downstairs and upstairs bars were spotless, the floors swept and mopped. She learned quickly how to properly weigh each bottle that they had for the night. She even found herself beaming a bit with pride at some of Mrs. Simmons’ compliments of her work. At 7:30 all of the side work had been finished by the six of them that were in charge of it. It seemed that six girls would be in charge of helping set this stuff up and would leave early at 12, while the other six girls that arrived before the nightclub truly opened would stay later. Those girls mostly being servers for the night.
After one last pep talk from the floor manager in charge, a dark brown skinned with long long braids and a more mean but friendly attitude named Fortune, and Mrs. Simmons. Isabella climbed one of the staircases back to the second floor of the Crimson Hide. The bar being a bit smaller but she could tell that this floor was for more expensive and VIP customers. All the bottles were some of the most expensive kinds of alcohol they had, so expensive that they took the weight of each one twice just to be sure. This floor had a nice few of the dance floor and a few separate rooms with more comfy types of seating. Mrs. Simmons was the manager in charge of this floor tonight, alongside Alice there were two other girls joining them upstairs. “I’m sorry,” Isabella said as she approached a lighter skinned girl with dark raven black hair. “What is your name again?”
The girl looked up from the book she was reading and smiled at her. Her accent filled to the brim with a Spanish sounding accent. “Miah,” she greeted warmly. “And you are the new girl, Isabella Shields.” There was something about how the older sounding girl said her name that made Isabella blush a tiny bit. She had a nice looking figure, and the way she held herself was like a cat ready to pouch. “Welcome to our little home.”
“How long have you been here?”
“About five or so years,” she snapped her small book closed and stood up to full height. She was just a tiny bit shorter than Isabella was, she had a smaller chest but she made up for it with what she had in the back. The tight black pants she was wearing doing a service to her in showing her very round hips. “Pretty nice place to work if I do say so myself.”
“What do you like most about working here?”
Miah looked away from Isabella for a moment and she rested her head against her cheek for a moment. “Personally speaking, that is my favorite part of working here.” Isabella followed her gaze as Jakobe came walking up the steps with Mrs. Simmons in toe. Tonight he was wearing a dark black suit with a red trim, he adjusted his dark red tie and tonight he was sporting a black and silver cane, this one having the head of a lion. He looked over their way and gave them a small nod and a wave before giving his full attention back on Mrs. Simmons. “He is the prize that no one has seemed to win yet, at least not since I started working here at least.”
Isabella remembered the sea of hungry looks that appeared in most of the girl’s eyes last night when he came down the steps. A look that filled her eyes as well that same night and only grew when he had driven her to where she parked and when he paid her parking ticket as well. “Can I ask you a question?”
“Of course.”
Isabella lowered her voice to a whisper. “Have you ever been, you know, by him?”
“More times than I count, I used to be a bit of a bad egg but he kept giving me chance after chance. I think I am the only girl here that he almost fired.”
“How come?”
Miah let out a small sigh. “I was once caught stealing from the registers we have, just a few dollars here and there. That was some of the dumbest things I could have done. I can tell you that behind his office door, that cuddly tiger becomes a firm beast. Although I can’t stand it, there is something about it that draws you to him more than you can imagine. I have tried to shoot my shot as they say, but it never works. I am not sure what it is but he is not gonna let anyone in that close, which only makes me want him more.”
The woman’s words only made her more excited to maybe one day see. Just what Miah had been talking about.
And that day would come sooner than she would think.
121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSfLQFIKvwj
121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDVVzG6b1qg
121Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQiu37ZxsJI
