TWO

Amber straightened herself, pulling at her light blue cotton blouse and gave her bravest smile, “Thank you, I’ll take the waitressing job.”

Cecil raised an eyebrow, impressed by the redhead’s determination, “Alright then.”

She handed Amber’s blue and black polka-dotted scrunchie back and shouted at a raven-haired beauty who was lounging on a leather-covered sofa in the corner of the room, “Lola!”

“Yeah?” Lola called out even as she got up with swanlike grace.

“Give our new staff …. Annie?”

“I’m Amber.”

“Ah yes, Amber the redhead, I’ll remember the name from now on. Give Amber her waitressing uniform. And don’t forget the pumps!”

Cecil’s eyes narrowed, “Thirty-four, twenty-three, thirty-four…hmmm, give her a size one. She’s starting right away. Oh, and Lola? I don’t want you smoking at the back alley you hear? Williams and Smith will be here tonight.”

Lola nodded nonchalantly as she strutted to the back of the dressing room before emerging with a brand new outfit wrapped in a gigantic clear plastic bag in one hand, an incredibly high pair of heels in another.

With that, Cecil sashayed off, clapping her hands and rousing the hostesses, “Hurry up! Hurry up! We haven’t got all night!”

Lola looked at Amber from head to toe before a catlike smile appeared on her face, “You’re a beauty you know that? With a face and body like that, you should be modelling instead.”

Amber shook her head, the mentioning of modelling starting to raise her ire. Once bitten, twice shy. Back when she was younger, a stranger had suddenly approached her, promising her easy money in the form of modelling– but only if she gave him a deposit to secure her contract. So at just sixteen, Amber lost all her life savings to the stranger who took the money and left for the unknown.

“How about you?” Amber changed the subject as she accepted the waitressing uniform from Lola. Lola lead the way to the back of the dressing room, allowing Amber some privacy to change.

“Me?” Lola chuckled rather sheepishly as Amber drew a curtain to a close. “I’m just here for the money sweetheart, it’s seeing me through my degree in Accounting.”

Amber popped her head out from the curtain, “Excuse me?” The more she looked, the younger Lola seemed to her. Beneath the façade of a lanky black beauty was actually a struggling student and Amber’s heart immediately went out to her.

“We all have a backstory here. What’s yours?”

Amber was amazed by Lola’s boldness, “It’s similar to yours. I’m helping to pay for my little brother’s education.” Lola nodded and started to pick at her hear as Amber duck her head back behind the curtain. She started to pull out her uniform from its plastic wrap only to stop short when she saw how it looked like.

The uniform, which came in two pieces that looked suspiciously like a cheerleader’s was incredibly tiny. She pulled at it, feeling the material stretch in her hands.

Polyester? she wondered.

 The top was plain white while the flared skirt was maroon; it reminded her of red wine.

“Um, Lola, are you sure this is the correct size?”

“Yeap.”

“Uh…okay, I’ll put it on then.”

She proceeded to unbutton her blouse and wiggled out of her jeans. Cool air from the air-conditioned room washed over her skin, giving her goosebumps. Quickly, she slipped into what looked like a little child’s t-shirt. It came as no surprise that she had to squeeze into her uniform. It was uncomfortably tight and the shirt was cut just low enough to suggest cleavage without revealing anything while the skirt was so short that if she were to bend over, she would have to reveal her bottom to the world. She was glad she had on her black short briefs, and that gave her some relief.

Slipping into the heels made her feel like a little girl playing dress-up. How on earth did people walk in these? She would have to be careful not to rip and fall flat on her face.

She drew the curtain back, stepped out clumsily and smiled at Lola who was still digging her ear, “I’m done.”

Lola looked at her with approval and surprised Amber with a warm hug, “Don’t worry honey. You’ll do just fine.”

“But just in case, Cecil gave you this. We all have one,” Lola pushed a tiny black remote with a round red button in the middle into Amber’s palm. “Anytime someone steps over the line, press this.” Lola pointed to the red round button in the middle of the remote.

Amber’s eyes widened that the panic button. It hadn’t occurred to her that she would need it.

“The bouncers will come within ten seconds.”

Amber sucked in a deep breath and nodded her head, “Thank you, Lola.” She started to tie her hair but Lola stopped her, taking her scrunchie away and flipping it onto a dressing table nearby.

“Leave your hair down, it looks much better that way.”

***

Fabian Williams was having a bad day, and to make matters worse, he just had to bump into Liam Smith -  of all places, at the La Fire Club.

Strobes of blueish red light swirled above him as he made his way through the sea of dancers on the floor as the deejay rocked the crowd to ‘Uptown Funk’.

From the corner of his ocean blue eyes, he could see Liam Smith on the first floor waving a hand frantically at him.

“Look who’s here! It’s Fabian Williams!”

Liam Smith’s unwelcomed announcement turned Fabian’s already sour mood even worse. He contemplated leaving but thought better of it. Instead, he ignored the greetings from all who came near, wanting a piece of him and headed to his private room, where he hoped to get some peace and quiet. Cecil had better serve him something good tonight.

On the way to his room, he passed by Lola, who blew him a kiss, “Fabian! You’re early. What would you like for a drink?”

The redhead who stood timidly behind Lola caught his eyes. She had her head bowed down and her hair had fallen in waves, obscuring her face.

“Who’s that?” he motioned to Amber whose head seemed to drop down even further every second.

It looked to William as if she was trying to make herself disappear. He found it amusing and felt his mood lighten a notch.

Lola smiled cheekily, “She’s a waitress Fabian. A waitress. So behave.”

He could see that the waitress was uncomfortable in her uniform for she kept tugging at the hem of her skirt. He cocked his head to one side, trying to get a better view of her, but failing to do so. She had piqued his interest.

“Get her to serve me. Vodka on the rocks,” he commanded and marched off into his room before Lola could even reply.

Only a selected few had private rooms at the La Fire Club and Fabian’s status allowed him to keep one for a five-figure fee on a monthly basis. But the amount meant nothing to Fabian as he headed straight towards a plush L shaped sofa and sat himself down, sinking into the padded cushion. A full wall of glass window opposite the sofa opened up to a magnificent view of a private landscaped backyard illuminated by soft yellow lights. A luxurious mini jacuzzi was bubbling outside, inviting him for a dip but he was not in the mood for it. Instead, Fabian picked up the remote which lay on the sofa and automatically brought the blackout curtains to a close.

Like a man weary from battle, he leaned back into the welcoming arms of the sofa and loosened his blueish grey tie. A tired sigh escaped his lips as placed an arm over his forehead and closed his eyes - outside, the muffled music continued to soar as the crowds grew even rowdier.