Chapter Eleven
Willow
Glancing at the clock, Willow gives a deep, tired sigh. It’s almost four in the morning. Her feet are throbbing and her back is aching but it was busy tonight and she made excellent money. She’s happy she’ll be able to catch up on a few bills. It’s almost worth wearing this ridiculous outfit. She looks down at the too-small plaid skirt and low-cut blouse her manager makes all the female bartenders and waitresses wear. He’s really such a creepy sleaze.
Shouts of “Later, Willow” echo across the club. She waves goodbye to the other girls walking out the staff door and turns back to cleaning the pile of glassware stacked behind the bar. She looks around, taking stock of everything that has to be done and realizes she won’t get be able to leave for at least another hour. She’s the only person left in the bar now and the quiet settles uneasily around her. Then, she realizes she’s not the only person left and the unease caused by the man standing in the office doorway, staring at her from across the club.
“Hey, Willow. Come on over, we need to talk.” Luke, her sleazy manager, waves her over.
Willow gets a greasy, slick feeling of dread in her stomach. She’s been working at the same place for three months and has been pretty happy with the work but she knows about Luke from listening to the other girls talk. He has a reputation for trying to sleep with all the girls and sacking the ones who refused. He is short, fat, and sexually frustrated and takes it out on all the girls who worked for him. Willow knows she’s been lucky so far. She’s never had to close the bar down before; she’s normally worked an earlier shift and left before she got stuck in building alone with Luke. It looks like her luck may have run out on her tonight.
Willow’s not sure what she should do. She’s knows she’s going to get fired if she refuses whatever it is Luke wants but she knows she won’t be able to bring herself to doing anything sexual with him. Thoughts of Liam flit quickly across her mind. Not that they’re a couple or anything but she’d never sleep with one guy when she was sleeping with another. Especially not a creep like Luke.
Slapping the towel in hervhand onto the bar, she tugs at her skirt, trying to pull it down to cover more of her exposed thighs. She purses her lips in aggravation as she studies her cleavage. There’s not even enough material in the blouse to pull together across her chest.
“Now, Willow.”
“Okay, I’m coming,” Willow says, her voice high and fake with cheer.
She rounds the bar and picks her away through the tables, heels clicking on the shiny dance floor in the center as she makes her way across the club to the office on the far side.
Luke doesn’t step aside when she reaches him, just waves her inside, forcing her squeeze past him in the doorway. She sucks in her breath in, trying to make herself small enough that none of her body touches any of his when she passes him. He leans forward and her breasts brush across his elbow. She shudders, revulsion pooling in her gut.
Willow turns to face Luke, her arms clasped tightly in front of her, legs stiff, her smile tight. “What can I help you with, Luke? I’m trying to finish closing up so if we could make this quick…”
“Willow, Willow, Pussy Willow. Slow down. Have a seat.” Luke walks around her and grabs her by the shoulders, steering her toward a red velvet club chair in front of his desk. Willow doesn’t want to know what the stains on the seat are.
She shudders when he pushes her into the chair and lays his thick fingers on her shoulders. She can hear his breath whistling over the top of her head. It’s a thick sound that turns her stomach.
“So, Willow,” Luke starts, “you’ve been here a few months, how do you like it?”
“It’s fine,” she says, shrugging as she tries to dislodge his fingers from her shoulders.
He digs his fingers in and starts giving her shoulders a clumsy massage that verges on painful. “Relax, Pussy Willow. We’re just talking about work.”
“It’s fine, I mean, I like it fine. The other girls are nice. And thanks for being understanding that I had to take some time off to find a sitter.”
“Good, good, that’s good. I did want to talk about that…your time off.”
“Okay.” Willow shrugs again as his fingers dig deeper into her shoulders.
“See, I know you need the money, because you’ve got a kid. I don’t get it, because you can’t really afford to take off more time. But, I can help you. I can schedule you for the best shifts, the ones that make the most money. You made good money tonight, right? I can let you have all the late shifts, that’s when people drink the most and when their wallets get looser.”
“I don’t know…” Willow starts.
Luke runs his fingers down Willow’s arms. “And it would mean you and I would be working, ah, more closely together.”
Willow jumps up, the chair pushing back into Luke, sending him stumbling away from her. She edges around the room, stepping toward the door.
“That’s okay, Luke. I really can’t work this late often, it’s hard to find a sitter to stay all night. Thanks so much for offering though. It was really nice of you.” She’s hoping if she’s polite with her refusal that he’ll just let her go, that she won’t get fired. She really needs to keep her job but she’s not going to sleep with her greasy boss just do it.
Luke sidesteps and plants himself in front of the door, blocking her exit. “I don’t think we’ve come to an understanding just yet.”
“C’mon, Luke, let me get back to work. Please?” Willow begs.
“You want to keep working here, Willow?” He snarls at her.
“Please, let me get back to work.”
“Be a good kitty, Willow.” He grins at her, his smile oily and yellow.
“I can’t work the late shift, Luke. Let Maria have it.”
“Only person I’m going to let have it is you, Willow.” Luke lunges for her and grabs at her arm, his nails leaving angry red welts scratched into her skin.
Willow screams, terrified by what might happen to her if she doesn’t get out of the office and the building. Without thinking, she brings her knee up, driving it hard into Luke’s nuts. He grunts and she swings her knee again, bringing him to the floor. He’s doubled over and groaning, his face red and his breathing hard, hands clutching at his crotch, when Willow runs out of the office and across the club to the staff door. When she grabs her bag, she turns to see Luke hanging onto the doorframe, still bent over and huffing.
“Don’t come back, bitch,” he wheezes at her, “you don’t fucking work here anymore.”
Running across the empty back parking lot, Willow clutches her bag to her chest and glances over her shoulder to make sure Luke isn’t following. She heads to the nearest bus stop, too nervous to sit on the bench. Her heart is thudding triple time in her chest and she can hear the blood rushing in her ears.
“Come on, come on, come on”, she wills the bus. She glances down the block at the club and wonders if she should just walk home. Finally, she sees the city bus rumbling down the street. She’s just dropped into the seat when a tiny red sports car blasts out of the club parking lot and fishtails toward the bus. She holds her breath as the car shoots past the bus, Luke hunched behind the wheel, one finger waving at her, his face purple with rage. She slides down into the seat and hugs her bag to her chest.
When Willow finally trudges up the stairs to her apartment, the sky is already beginning to lighten to an orange glow. Opening her door, she realizes she can’t face Frank or Liam just yet. She’s still shaken from her encounter with Luke and the crushing knowledge that’s she out of a job. They’ll have to move. Again.
Throwing herself onto her bed, Willow stifles a sob into her pillow. She feels like such a failure. She can’t provide for her son properly and she doesn’t know how long she can protect him from his father. Her world is crushing down on her and she doesn’t know what to do anymore. Maybe she should let Frank’s dad take him At least then he would have the kind of financial stability she couldn’t provide for him. But the thought of her sweet little baby growing up in a world of drugs, hookers, illegal gambling, and murder is too much for Willow. Her sobs come harder until her pillow is soaked through with her tears and she finally drops off into a deep sleep haunted with dreams of men like Luke and Carlo.