Chapter 18
Rex
“Ernest took my sister to the club yesterday. So she knows.”
Charlie looked far more upset than I was about the situation. I knew that she knew, but I also knew that Sherry wasn’t going to say anything. She had promised after all and I trusted her word, even if her brother didn’t. I still didn’t get why even at his age he was still far too worried about what his parents thought of him. I didn’t have that problem because I already knew what it was all about. Sherry would keep her promise to me.
“Oh, yeah I knew about that. I saw her in there and took her home. She promised me that she wouldn’t tell anyone so you are fine. It’s going to be fine Charlie. I know that you are stressed out about them finding out, but I assure you that everything is going to be fine.”
He didn’t want to hear that everything was going to be okay. It was the one thing when we first started out that he worried about and I know that it was because of how conservative his family was. Charlie was almost as much as they were and I know that it was some inner issues he had about. I didn’t have those issues because I knew that as long as we were good bosses, there was nothing wrong. A woman could do what a woman wanted to. There was always going to be a need for it in every city and I didn’t know what the problem was. We provided a service that was literally the oldest one in time.
“What did she say? I am sure she had a lot to say about her brother running such a place. She is never going to look at me the same again.”
“Not much. She was a little surprised I think, but she didn’t really say too much of anything about it. She mainly just wanted confirmation.”
“I wish she wouldn’t have found out. It is a disaster. Now she is going to think I am a pervert like you.”
I had to chuckle at his comment. I of course was going to be pulled into this now.
“You are a pervert Charlie, lest I let you forget it.”
“I know that, but my sister doesn’t need to know that. It was better when she thought I was the good one, honorable one. She is not going to think that after she finds out what I do, what we do for a living.”
“Sherry is twenty one Charlie. I am sure she knows the ways of the world by now. She isn’t a kid anymore and you should remember that.”
I glared at him and told him that he wasn’t helping. “I want her gone and back to Hartford as soon as possible. We are supposed to have that party tomorrow night and I do not want her here for that. You know how those things usually turn out.”
“Just take her home tomorrow in the morning and I am sure it will be fine. She never has to know what kind of life we live here.”
“I can’t. I have meetings with those advertisers. I need you to take her home. Do you mind? I just really hate to send her home on a bus. You know how those things are. The people that ride them are not the best splice of humanity.”
“I think you are too protective of her Charlie. She is almost grown.”
“If you had a sister that looked like her, you would be too. I see how every guy looks at her. Hell you are my best friend and you know I would kill you and you look at her the same way as everyone else. There is no denying that.”
I laughed again, a little more strained this time. But I didn’t answer him one way or another. I wasn’t going to deny it because I didn’t want to lie to him, but I didn’t want to encourage that line of thought either.
“I will take her home tomorrow after I do the deposits then. She will be long gone before we have the party and you can stop freaking out about it. It is all going to be fine Charlie, trust me.”
“It is going to get wild or anything. I would just feel better if she wasn’t around and no more slip-ups happened. I still can’t believe Ernest brought her to the club.”
“He was more or less coerced from what I hear. Your sister really does have a mind of her own. There will be no problems Charlie. I will take care of it.” The man needed to get his mind off of everything. “Are you bringing a date?”
Charlie shook his head that he wasn’t. I could tell that it was most likely the last thing on his mind. “No, I am taking a page out of your book and I am just going to find someone there for the night. I spend too much time worrying about forever that I am wasting the right now.
“It has its perks.”
“Yes, as does getting it on with the staff. I see that you and Ruby are getting close. Are you going to invite her to be your date for the party?”
I gave him a look telling him that I wasn’t. I tried to minimize what went on with me and Ruby, but it was clear now that I had been too open about what I was doing. I shouldn’t have been. She was an employee. It was something that I was going to have to nip in the butt before it became more than that. Things like this had a way or going overboard quickly.
When not long after Charlie and I got to the club, Ruby was upstairs trying to entice me. I hadn’t even been there ten minutes. I told her that I wasn’t going to be seeing her anymore and that what fun we had was over. Ruby’s face screwed up and she had a pissed off look on her face that bothered me. She looked like a woman that was scorned. I didn’t see it that way, but it was clear she did.
After she stormed out, I saw her talking to Charlie and he looked up at me like I had done something wrong. What was that woman telling him? There was no telling, but I was afraid it was going to be about the name I called her from time to time lately. I had used her to make myself feel like I was with Sherry, but now I could see that it was going to bite me in the ass if I let it. Though now I didn’t know how to stop what was happening. How did I stop the train that was already in motion? I stayed there for a moment before going down the stairs, catching a bit of what was said and not liking to hear it at all. She was going to make trouble for me if I didn’t figure something out quickly.
“Are you okay Ruby?”
“Yeah, no, I just don’t understand guys sometimes.”
“There is nothing to understand. We are usually idiots.”
“Yes you are Charlie. Cold one minute and scorching hot the next. The sad thing is that women will do what you ask, even if it is something crazy like calling us another name. We do it to keep you interested and then you give us the cold shoulder the next day. I get sick of trying to figure out what in the world I am supposed to do.”
I knew that they were talking about me, well Ruby was anyways, but I didn’t know if Charlie knew that or not. I was around the corner now and I wanted to see what else she said to him. I needed to know if she was going to let my secrets go or not.
“For starters, don’t let him call you another name Ruby. You are too pretty for that. You don’t deserve to be called by another woman’s name.”
“My name is not actually Ruby, you know that right?”
“No I didn’t know it. It fits so I guess I figured that it was your real name. Some girls have some very strange names and I can tell, but Ruby was always one I thought was legit. What is your real name?”
“Danessa.”
“Then why does everyone call you Ruby?”
I saw the woman gestured to her hair in front of Charlie. “The hair and it was shorter name for the posters and helped the size of the letters to stand out more. I get recognized all of the time and they always call me Ruby. Maybe Rex was right about that part of it. If they knew my real name, I think it would be even more awkward.”
“Would you like me to call you by your real name Danessa?”
She looked down and smiled. “Yes, I would. It helps me to remember that I am not really Ruby, this plaything that works here.”
He told her that he wouldn’t call her anything else. It was about that time that she was being called to the stage and the conversation was over. She hadn’t spilled the beans, but she was thinking about it by the way she was speaking. “I guess it is my turn. I will see you later Charlie.”
I watched her go and stayed a few minutes longer before I went back upstairs to get some work done. My mistake to be with Ruby was going to be a problem, especially if my partner was going to take all of this time and energy to try and see what it was she was bothered by. I don’t know why I was so worried about everything, but I was. I felt like I was at a precipice and I wasn’t going to like what I found at the end of it.