“Psst. Danielle. Over here.” I waved to Danielle the moment I spotted her. She waved wearily at me and carried on working. I had rushed all the way to Palms Casino to see her with my big news. I’d been a waitress before and I knew that any distraction was normally welcomed, but it seemed that things were very different when you waitressed in a casino. For a while Danielle completely ignored the fact that I was even there. She carried on with her work and focused on the job at hand and didn’t once look my way. I had to admire her for that. I took a seat at one of the empty chairs and watched her. She was wearing a very short, very tight and very revealing dress which I’m sure was part of the reason why she was tipped so well. I noticed all the men looking at her – the way her legs looked as if they went on forever and ever. She might not have big breasts, but she certainly made up for it with those legs. Most of the time she was delivering drinks to the black jack players, who played in a separate room to the rest of the casino. I couldn’t see what was going on but from what Danielle had told me in the past I knew that these were the high rollers who played with a minimum bet of $500. I couldn’t imagine ever taking a chance with that much money but I knew the deal – in order to win big you had to bet big. Every time I saw her coming out of the room I hoped that they treated her well in there and that they appreciated her hard work. But she always came out with a smile on her face and I knew that she loved what she did. She was good at it too. It was clear to see that. And after watching some of the other waitresses I knew that she was the best at what she did. She had a no-nonsense attitude, a bit of sass, and enough flirtation to get her what she wanted. I made a mental note to remind her that drinks were on her that night.

I spent some time watching the rest of the people. Some looked ecstatic, winning wads of cash at a time. Others looked despondent and I could see them doing calculations in their head and trying to figure out if they could still carry on playing. It was both an exciting and depressing place to be in and I was fascinated by the different characters that milled around. I’d always been a bit of a people watcher and this was probably one of the best places to do it in. Mostly because people didn’t seem to worry about anyone other than themselves and it was easy to just sit and stare.

“How you doing lovely lady?” I looked up and saw an elderly gentleman leering down on me. That’s when I noticed one of my buttons had come undone and a good portion of my cleavage was showing. I wanted to quickly do up the button but I didn’t want to make it obvious so I just left it.

“I’m doing great. How about you? Making lots of money today?” I knew I had to be polite. This was where Danielle worked after all and it was not fair on me to make a scene. Plus, he seemed like a nice enough man.

“Oh yes. Today is a good day. A great day in fact. Yesterday, not so much. But you know how it goes – you win some and then you lose some.” I wanted to ask him what the point was then but I decided against it. These casino people did not want anyone telling them what to do with their lives. This was their little escape from the world and in a way I did understand it. Sometimes all you needed was a bit of a break and if the casino was the place for them then who was I to tell them otherwise.

“Well, I’m glad today is good.” I wasn’t in the mood to talk but he certainly was as he made himself comfortable next to me.

“You’re not playing?” he asked.

“Oh no, not me. I’m actually here to see a friend. She’s working so I’m just waiting for her to take a break.”

“Oh, which friend? I come here often, I probably know her.” I wanted to say that it was obvious that he came here often – from the bloodshot eyes and the pale skin. This was a man who didn’t spend a lot of time outdoors.

“That one over there. Danielle.” I pointed to her. At that precise moment she was bending down to give a seated customer a drink. She is all legs.

“Danielle. Of course. The pretty one. She’s a doll.”

“She certainly is.” Danielle would hate hearing someone call her a doll and I tried not to laugh, putting it in my mental notebook to tell her later.

“Can I get you a drink?” His attention was back to me, although I noticed how he had stared at Danielle’s legs.

“Oh no, that’s okay. Thank you though, that’s very kind of you.” A drink from him would only make him stay longer and I was never one to take drinks from people that I didn’t know.

“Nonsense. I will not take no for an answer. If you’re going to sit here and wait you might as well get a drink. I could do with a few moments more of rest anyway. Excuse me Michelle, can you please get the two of us a glass of champagne. You can put it to my account. Thanks my darling.” He said to a waitress that had walked past. She grinned at him and told him that it would be her pleasure. He wasn’t lying when he said he came here often. When Michelle got back she handed us each a glass.

“Thank you.” I said and took a sip. And I had to admit, it tasted good. It tasted far better than the bottles that I bought myself. But that could very well be because of the environment I was in now. Everything just seemed expensive. Even my taste buds.

“No, thank you. It’s lovely to take a break. I’ve been on my feet forever.” The man continued to talk without rest and I found myself getting agitated. I wanted to sit in peace with my drink and watch the rest of the people. But he had given me a drink and I felt bad just getting up and leaving him. Thankfully I saw Danielle coming my way and I shot her a grateful smile.

“Hi Peter. I see you’ve met my friend Jane. Thank you so much for keeping her company while I worked. I have a small break so I’m going to steal her away from you. But I’ll see you in a bit, okay?” She looked at him with so much sincerity that I even believed it.

“Absolutely, have a good break my lovely. You deserve it. And Jane, it was a pleasure to meet you.”

When we walked away I noticed that Danielle was laughing. She looked at me, “Well I saved you there. You looked like you wanted to run away. Oh well, at least you got a drink out of it. Peter is harmless though. He loves having someone to talk to. He’s here every day and has never tried anything with any of the waitresses. Trust me, when you’re here long enough you get to figure out the nice guys from the creeps. And he’s definitely a nice guy.”

“He was certainly looking at you like he liked you though. He was staring at those long legs of yours like he wanted to take a bite.” I told her.

“Yeah, but he never does anything more than look. Trust me. But anyway, listen, I’m sorry about ignoring you when you came in. They are very strict here about taking breaks or even talking to friends or family. And the big boss was walking around today so I couldn’t even try my luck. I’ve only got a little bit of time and then I need to go back out there again. What’s going on? Why are you here? Oh! Have you come for a job?” Her eyes widened at the prospect. I’m not sure why because she should know that I’d be terrible at the job.

“No, no. I haven’t. But I have come to tell you some news.”

“Yes?”

“I won the contest!” I declared and raised my arms in the air. As I did some of the champagne spilled on me. “You see,” I said, wiping it up, “I told you I’d be a bad waitress.”

“What? Oh Jane, that’s brilliant news.” Danielle came in for a hug and squeezed me tightly. “So what does this mean?”

“It means I have to start on Monday morning. They phoned me and gave me the news today.”

“Wow, Monday already!”

“I know. But I’m glad. I’d rather just get right into it. If it was any longer I’d just get more nervous than I am right now.”

“So what exactly are you going to be doing?”

“Well, I’m going to be heading this big social media campaign based on my own ideas and collaborating with the rest of the marketing team. Sounds like they have no intention of me leaving anytime soon either so there’s a chance this might be a permanent thing. But either way it means that I actually have a job! A real job!”

“So you can stay! You don’t have to go back to Arizona and you don’t have to bump into Justin the Idiot and Amy the Other Idiot.”

I laughed at that. “Exactly! I can stay!”

“I’m so happy for you Jane. You deserve this. And… you can start the job with a lovely tan now and a sexy Brazilian wax.”

I shushed her and giggled, “Danielle! Don’t say that out loud!” She laughed and then I laughed too. I felt on top of the world. Just then I heard someone yell “JACKPOT!” and for a brief moment I thought they were talking about me!