Chapter Twenty-One
They Like the ‘Scared Kitten’ Look
Lake pulled back the see-through pink curtain, unable to walk into the casino. The instant the curtain went back, all heads turned to see who would come out next. Nope, nope, nope—
Sadie slapped Lake’s ass. “Let’s go. Time to make that money, honey.”
Oh, my God, could my life get any worse?
Keeping her eyes on the floor, she followed Sadie to the bar. There was no way in hell she wanted to look the lions in the eyes.
“Okay, honey, this is how the game works.” Sadie pointed to a section closest to the bar. “It’s your first night in heels, so I’m going to give you those tables. It’s easy. Ask them what they want, write it down, come to the bar, and give the bartender the order. Then bring their drink back. Everyone has their own system, and you’ll eventually get yours. In no time, it will be wham-bam-thank-you-ma’am.” Sadie handed her a pad and pen. “If you mess up, that’s okay. Just push out those tits and play the dumb card. Remember, winking, flirting, and hair flipping will get you those extra points.”
Lake nervously nodded over and over again, attempting to retain all the information while she tried to avoid rattling in her stilettos.
Sadie gave a little push to Lake’s hair. “They like the ‘scared kitten’ look, so keep that going. If you need anything, let me know, and don’t worry. They are not allowed to touch you because we charge extra for that,” she finished with a wink before she headed off to the tables.
Because that was what I was totally worried about.
Squeezing the pad of paper and pen like it was her favorite hoodie, she walked up to her first table. “H-Hi. What can—”
“You’re new.” An older red-headed gentleman in a suit smiled.
Looking around the card table, she noticed all the men were getting a good look at her.
She tried her best to smile. “Yes, this is my first night.”
“Well then, let’s celebrate. Give us your best bottle of scotch,” he said, handing her a gold, plastic card.
Lake smiled, taking the card before heading to the bar. Even though she didn’t have eyes at the back of her head, she could feel their gazes on her ruffled ass.
Quickly, she told the bartender his request.
She was happy the bartender explained how to deliver it to the table, but she had to admit it was a little hard to focus on the drinks and not the huge fake melons the woman had. She’d had no idea boobs could even get that big.
Lake grabbed the tray and walked extra slow, careful not to trip over her heels. It took her a while to manage setting down a glass in front of them while balancing the tray. Then she began to fill each glass with liquid from the expensive bottle, and while she poured, they took their time to check her out. Finally, she set the bottle down on the table closest to the man who had purchased it.
“What’s your name?” the ginger-haired man asked with another smile.
She could sense the thoughts behind his eyes, so she had to drop eye contact. “Lake.”
The man raised his glass in the air. “Thank you for that new, sweet ass of yours. To Lake!”
“To Lake!” the other men yelled, clinking their glasses.
She had to literally bite the end of her tongue to force herself to put a smile on her face as she left the table.
Lake continued on through the night, serving the drinks. She was a little slow, considering it was her first night, but Sadie had been right about her a few quick notes. The men had clearly been there so often they knew how everything worked to a T; therefore, all she had to do was follow their orders.
The bartender was super-friendly in teaching Lake what drinks were what and how to handle special requests. Lake had even picked up a few tips here and there. At first, she didn’t know where to put the money until Sadie had told her, “Our tits are like purses. That’s the fucking greatest thing about them.” She then proceeded to show her how to shove it down there using her own tips. She explained it was like a mini-show for the men, and Lake figured that was why they had introduced it—to get more tips. Give me more money, and I’ll shove it down between my boobs. Thinking back, she finally understood the long faces when she had only replied thank you to them.
She also understood why it was an underground casino as the night went on. Without a doubt, she knew Dante made most of his money not from the casino hotel, but from down there. The cash drops were so high at one table, Lake could have paid her father’s debt a thousand times over in one night.
She was certain very illegal stuff happened down there, even after only a few hours, because no way was she the only girl under twenty-one. There were also side rooms men exited from throughout the night, most of them coming out drugged up on something. Not to mention, they continued to serve alcohol to some very inebriated people.
Dante was clearly not reporting most of the income, if any of it, or he was funneling in some of the illegal money to the legitimate business upstairs. The boss was clearly ticking some highly illegal boxes of tax evasion and money laundering, and Lake didn’t need to know more or understand how he did it.
She had to give Dante credit, though. The best way to hide an underground casino is to put a legal casino on top of it.
It wasn’t as bad as she thought it was going to be when she had started her first table. Most of the men were concerned about winning or her various co-workers who weren’t as shy as her.
As a matter of fact, the only guy who really creeped her out throughout the night was the red-headed one. Thankfully, he didn’t try to touch her, but she figured it would take a big man with a huge set of balls to try with the security around there. There were suits lined up against the walls everywhere. It’s like the Great Wall of China.
She had seen a few drunken men try to cop a feel, but the suits always managed to escort them out. Like Sadie had said, touching cost extra. The rest of the men must have been too scared to try, seeing they all had to leave if they did. Apparently, they didn’t want to risk going home to their wives and children.
Lake was happy when the red-headed man asked to pay his tab. Going to the bar, she grabbed his card and receipt then headed back to his table.
The man quickly jotted a few things down on his receipt. “When’s the next time you work?”
“I haven’t been added to the schedule, but it will probably be all week.” Lake managed another smile.
“I can’t wait,” he said slimily, handing over the black book which held the receipt and pen.
She didn’t know what it was about him, but he seriously rubbed her the wrong way. Most of the men traveled a bit to other sections and games; however, that man strictly stayed in her work area, constantly eyeing her.
Taking the book, she hoped it was the last smile he would get. “Thank you.”
Lake didn’t linger, quickly going back to the bar. She only hoped that, by looking at his wedding band all night, he wouldn’t be able to make it out the rest of the week. Although, something about the “I can’t wait” told her otherwise.
Her feet screamed in pain from the pumps and walking back and forth. She was going to have to go to the store to buy Band-Aids for all the blisters she was sure to have.
Looking at the clock, she realized she had finally reached the end of her shift. Quickly she counted her tips, seeing she had made quite a bit of money. Certainly more than she would have expected a cocktail waitress to have made. Her largest tip had been from the slime ball, and even though the amount was big, she felt dirty taking it.
Sadie came up behind her and gave her another slap on her butt. “I told you everyone would love you. I’ve received many compliments on you. They just can’t get enough of the new girl. Besides your feet hurting like a bitch, how bad was it?”
All in all, Lake had to admit it hadn’t been that bad. Only one customer had affected her night, and truthfully, she was used to all the waiting around. John treated her much worse than all the men there combined.
“Okay, it wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be,” she admitted. “But I am so ready to get the hell out of here and crash.” It had been a hard day for her with all the emotional ups and downs. She was practically dreaming of her pillow and mattress and blanket…
“You didn’t forget your wax, did you? Trust me, you are going to shit a brick when you see all the nooks and crannies which stash hair like a squirrel during hibernation.”
Lake turned ghostly white. “So … I have to get that … today?”
Sadie tried to coax her. “Oh, honey, don’t worry; I’ll hold you down.”