Hidden (New Orleans Temptation Series Book 2) Page 4

  Chapter 5

  Sunny - Present day

  My heart warms as I remember the events of the last few days. I shake my head in efforts to bring myself out of my daydream. The sound of a jazz band coming up the street pulls me out of the past. I look down at the watch Ms. Annabelle gave me to help keep me on time and realize I have been standing here daydreaming for the last twenty minutes.

  What in the hell am I doing here? Working in a strip club put me in the position I’m in today. I would have never been introduced to the likes of anyone in an MC had I not worked there. I turned to run as far and as fast as I could in the opposite direction. With one swift movement away from the club, I hit a brick wall, a wall of muscle. The force knocks me off my feet but I don’t hit the ground. I hear a voice that belongs to the man now holding me in his arms.

  “Sorry, ma’am, I was coming out to make sure you were okay?”

  His hands hold tightly around my waist and over my bruised ribs. I squirm in pain as he lets go noticing my wincing.

  “Did I hurt you? I’m sorry, I had no idea you were bolting,” he says, trying to smooth things over. He looks kind of scary in a sexy uncover cop way.

  “No, you didn’t hurt me. I’m fine,” I say while smoothing my clothes back into place.

  “You are clearly not fine, you seem to be in a lot of pain.”

  “I am hurt, but you didn’t cause it. I had a bit of an accident last week and I have bruised ribs. I’ll be fine. Thanks for catching me but I have to run.” I try to turn and walk away. He gives me a knowing glance as he gently puts his hand on my arm, which makes me freeze in fear. What is he going to do, who is this man? Looking up at him, I know he could really hurt me if he wanted. He is a large man appearing to be a few inches over six foot with the most amazing, sexy, muscular build which tells me he works out daily. He has a short military haircut that exposes his defined jawline. His face is so perfect and squared it appears to have been chiseled from stone. He is perfect in every way if you were going to mold a man, strong cheekbones, defined brows, and the most piercing blue eyes I have ever seen. He seems safe but not welcoming.

  He puts his hands up to assure me he didn’t mean to scare me. I blush in horror that I’m so messed up and scared of everything. I hate Rex and all he has done to me. The perfect male specimen puts his hand out to me introducing himself. “I’m Jackson and I’m sorry I scared you. Are you Sunny?”

  I just stare up at him. I’m still not used to going by that name yet, and I shouldn’t trust anyone. “How do you know my name?” I mutter not giving him my hand.

  “Samantha said a stunning woman named Sunny was coming by at eleven hundred hours. She mentioned you were a bit hesitant about going back to stripping. I’ve been watching you stand at the door for the last twenty minutes. When you didn’t move, I thought I would come out and make sure you were okay, which was at the exact moment you decided to run.”

  “Sorry, I don’t think I can go in.” I blush and look down at my feet on the cobblestone street.

  “I understand if you don’t want to strip, but if you are going to strip, this is the place to do it.”

  He is serious because I have never met this man and he thinks he is going to tell me where he thinks I should work. I stiffen in annoyance standing tall, as tall as I can with my 5’5” frame. “Oh yeah? And how many strip clubs have you stripped in?” I don’t even know where that tone came from. I almost don’t recognize my own voice as it passes my ears. I’m tired of taking shit from people, and I will be Goddamned if this stranger is going to tell me where I should work just because he is gorgeous.

  He gives me a small smile breaking from his tough man demeanor, and with a kind voice, he says, “I have never worked as a stripper, but I have worked security in quite a few. All the clubs I have worked for in the past have been dumps with sleaze balls for owners. But not this place, sunshine, this place has a woman for an owner, and she has deep pockets with the intent of making it more than a strip club. She cares about her girls. There’s a high cover for the purpose of not letting in the clientele you are accustomed to seeing.”

  What the heck is he talking about? I have never worked in a club with a cover. Who goes to a high-class strip joint? I look up at him and narrow my eyes. “Really, what type of customers will I see here?” I ask with the same defensive tone.

  “You will see businessmen that make six figures or more per hour. Samantha has the club set up as three separate clubs. The cover to the dance club is fifty dollars with another fifty dollars to enter the strip section.” His voice changes to a lower note when he says, “Only members are allowed to enter the sex club.” Shoving his hands in his pocket, he looks down at me. “There’s a hefty annual fee they pay which makes them VIP members and gets them into all the clubs for that flat rate.”

  I blush a deeper shade of red when he mentions the sex club. Shelby told me about that part but insisted we would only be dancing in it. I push away my anxiety about the sex floor and try to appear unfazed by the mention of it. “Get out of here! What do you mean a dance club?” I ask with a nicer tone, trying to change the subject.

  “Come on in,” he says, holding his hand out of for me. “Talk to Samantha. She will give you all the details. Like I said earlier, if you are going to strip, this is the place to do it. You are too beautiful to work at the other nasty joints up the street,” he says with a wink.

  I look down at my hands when I hear the compliment. It has been awhile since someone has called me beautiful. And just like that, I have fallen under his spell for the moment. “Okay, lead the way.” I smile up at his crystal clear blue eyes that dance in his olive-skinned face. I know this is not a pattern I want to start, so I will go straight to the counseling room at the shelter when I get back to work on this.

  Samantha

  I sit at my desk very annoyed as it’s 11:30 and Shelby’s girl is a no show. I hear a firm knock at my door and look up to find Jackson standing there with a small woman standing behind him.

  “I found your 11:00 lost outside.” He gives me a pleading look knowing I’m fuming. I give him a confused look raising my eyebrows up at him. Jackson does not give a shit about anyone. He’s tough as nails and only cares about his job. I roll my eyes at him and soften my angry look letting him know I will give her a break. He gives Sunny a wink as he moves from in front of her and stands to the side at the door. Mental note to self: Question Jackson about that later. I try to push away my annoyance of her being late and give her a shot.

  “Hi, Sunny, my name is Samantha, and Shelby has told me you are looking for a job?” I say, standing and extending my hand to her.

  “I’m going to head out if you don’t need me,” Jackson interrupts, trying to escape my wrath.

  “Sure, you go ahead and eat lunch without me, never mind I’m starving,” I say jokingly.

  “I’m sorry I was late. I can come back another day if you like,” Sunny says wearily.

  I pat her on the arm and lead her into a chair. “No, honey, I was just messing with the big guy.” I tell Jackson to get lost with a shooing motion of my hand.

  “I have to be honest with you. I’m not sure I can do this,” she says, wringing her hands in her lap very nervously. “I was here on time but frozen in place at the front of the club chasing demons. I can’t hide what he has done my face so I might as well tell you. I’m on the run from a guy who did this to me.” She points to the obvious bruises on her face and her split lip. “I had a meltdown out there, and your man convinced me to come in,” she whispers, finally looking up at me and making eye contact with a small smile.

  “Yeah, that’s why I keep him around, and he’s pretty damn hot. I have to admit, I have this don’t sleep with my employees rule that I regret every damn day of my life.”

  We both chuckle, and I’m glad to see I’m starting to break the ice with her. Before we go any further, there’s another knock at the door. “What? Doesn’t anyone care that I’m trying to do a freaking
interview?” I fuss, yanking open the door. In walks Parke. Speak of the devil, the number one reason I hate the damn don’t sleep with my employees rule.

  “Hey, I’m sorry to interrupt. I just wanted to see if you were almost done and wanted to catch lunch?” he says with a sexy as hell smile.

  Did he just ask me to lunch, in front of a possible employee? He hasn’t spoken to me about anything other than business the last two weeks he’s been employed here.

  “Sorry, Parke, I will have to catch you another time. We are just starting here,” I say, looking annoyed with him.

  “Dinner?” he pleads. That sexy smile he has spreads across his face letting me know he will not leave the room until I agree to eat with him.

  “Parke, I’m in the middle of an interview in case you have not noticed.” I wave my hand toward Sunny.

  “Oh yeah, sorry about that. Hi, my name is obviously Parke, nice to meet you.” He extends his hand to Sunny but keeps his attention and eyes trained on me as they shake hands.

  “I will get out of your way, Samantha, as soon as you agree to have dinner with me.” He crosses his arms and props his lean body against the doorframe like he has all the time in the world.

  “Oh geez, you are a pain in the ass, do you know that? Okay, I will go to dinner with you if you leave the room now!” He smiles a devilish grin and walks out the door. Halfway down the hall, he yells, “Nice meeting you, Sunny.”

  Sunny looks up at me with a humorous grin. “You sure do have a lot of eye candy around here. I can see why you hate that rule.”

  “I only agreed to go so he would leave us alone. And apparently we need to have a discussion about proper office etiquette during dinner this evening. That will be the topic of discussion,” I say with a wink.

  Sunny laughs a genuine laugh, which gives me a glimpse of her true beauty. She is stunning. Even with the shiner and a split lit, I can she is truly gorgeous. She has porcelain white skin with broad cheekbones and wide, sexy almond-shaped emerald green eyes. Her hair is long with the right amount of curl without being kinky. It is dyed an awful blonde color, but Carmella can fix that. And her body, it’s hard to tell with the baggy clothes she’s wearing, but from what I can see, she will work out well.

  “So, Sunny, before we discuss anything, let’s take a tour of the club so you can get a feel for what type of establishment I’m running here,” I say, leading her out of my office.

  I’m happy to see Sunny’s expression change from guarded to amazed and then excited as we walk around the club. She turns to me when the tour is done.

  “This is like nothing I have ever seen in a strip club,” she says with an excited voice and wide eyes.

  “Because this is more than a strip club. It’s a burlesque club. You are not a stripper. You are a performer. If you decide to work here, you will not strip every night.”

  “Are you kidding me? What would I do on the other nights?” she gasps in surprise.

  “Each performer will dance four days a week. Two days in the strip club, one day in the dance club on the boxes, and one day in the sex room.

  Sunny’s eyes shift to the floor looking away from me at the mention of the sex room. “Is that going to be a problem?” I ask. “Because I can’t bend on that. I have to be fair across the board with all my girls,” I state with an even, unwavering tone.

  “No, that’s fine. My only problem is costumes and makeup. I don’t have money yet. I came to New Orleans with nothing,” she says softly, looking embarrassed.

  I see why Shelby gravitated to her. It’s so sad to see such a beautiful woman so broken. If I find the guy that did this to her, I may beat the shit out of him myself or at least punch him in the throat one good time. “Don’t worry with that. You are not responsible for makeup and costumes just yet. I want a certain look in each room so all costumes will be provided by me. I have also hired a makeup artist that will be on my payroll for the first six months. After that, ya'll are on your own, girlfriend.”

  With a bright smile, she says, “Where do I sign up?”

  “That’s what I’m talking about. Be back here tomorrow at 9:00 a.m. to start training and costume fittings. Oh geez, I sure hope you can dance. I suck at this interview stuff. You can dance, right?”

  She is now looking at me like I’m nuts. “Yes, I can dance,” she says with a giggle.

  I show her out and walk back to my office to find Parke sitting at my desk with two Po-boy sandwiches. He looks up at me with a full mouth. “Come eat,” he mumbles, as French bread pieces fall from his mouth.

  “You brought me lunch?” I ask in surprise.

  He swallows and wipes that sexy mouth of his clean to give me his award-winning smile. “Yeah, I couldn’t wait ‘til dinner, and I figured you must be starving since your interview ran past 12:30. Did you hire her? She was pretty hot.”

  I try to temper the annoyance I feel when he calls Sunny hot. I’m not sure why it bugged me, but it did. “Yes, I did hire her. And thanks, I’m starving.” I pick up the wrapped sandwich sitting next to him. As I unroll it from the white paper, I see it’s a plain shrimp sandwich. Looking up at him in confusion, I ask, “How did you know this is what I eat?”

  He shrugs his shoulders and replies quickly before taking another bite of his sandwich. “I saw you order it when you took all the employees out for lunch last week.”

  That was thoughtful of him, especially since I don’t even recall what I ordered last week. Ugh, this is getting too nice and mushy for me.

  “So tell me, what did you want to discuss because I want to discuss why you think nothing of barging into my office when I have company.” I look up at him over my sandwich, taking a bite of the most delicious fried shrimp sandwich ever. I wait for him to finish his bite while I take him in. I typically go for men who are older than myself, never three years younger. I feel pulled to him and I can’t quite explain it. Here it goes again, that needy feeling keeps rearing its ugly head and making my heart skip a beat. My thoughts are interrupted by his velvet voice. Ughhh!

  “Nothing much, we got off on the wrong foot during my interview, and I wanted to start over, as friends and co-workers. Is that okay?”

  Friends, co-workers. No, that’s not okay. I want to ride him on this desk. He wants to be fucking friends. I should throw my drink at him. Damn you, Samantha, you are the one with the stupid fucking rule.

  I try to push away those thoughts and use Shelby’s suggested “get out of jail free” card. “Sure, Parke, and I really do apologize for that. I have not been myself since I lost my husband, so please forgive me for my out of character behavior during your interview.”

  “You’re forgiven. And no worries. I know I’m pretty hard to resist,” he says with a sly smirk.

  “Oh really, you think so?” I ask, almost spitting out my food as I chuckle at him.

  “That’s what all the ladies tell me anyway. But enough about me. Tell me more about the club. I feel like I’m missing something here?”

  “Yeah, like what?” I say, shifting my head to the side.

  “I don’t know? I find it odd that members”—he uses his fingers to make quotes—“Well, you know, why would they pay an annual fee of ten thousand dollars just to show up? And to top that off, they have to bring their own sex partner? I don’t get that. Is there something else I’m missing?”

  I give him a glare that may turn him to dust at any moment. Putting my sandwich down, I feel my blood start to boil to the surface. I take a gulp of water trying to wash my food down before speaking. I don’t take my eyes off his. Clearly he knows I’m pissed. “Are you insinuating this is not a sex club but a whorehouse?” I say this with venom on my tongue.

  He puts his hands up. “Whoa, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to offend you. This is not a good second start, is it?”

  “No, it’s not, and how in the hell can I not be offended by that comment? I mean, look around, do you see the money I have been putting into this place? This is not just a club, it’s an
experience. An experience like no other for most customers. You see that sex club down the street? It’s for members only, and from what I hear, it’s dingy and dirty. It’s missing the WOW factor that I have created here. My club has an atmosphere for everyone. Have you ever seen a club like this before? Or have you ever been to a sex club in general?” I ask him in a louder than probably required voice.

  “No, I have not, so please excuse my ignorance on this. I must live under a rock because I had no idea sex clubs even existed until now. So really, I didn’t intend to offend you. I just don’t get the concept.”

  I take a deep breath and try to calm myself. Aunt Gertrude did say most people would not understand so they will be quick to judge.

  I rub my temples and respond to him. “It’s okay. I’m sorry to blow a gasket. It’s just my great aunt Gertrude ran this place in the 40s until it was shut down by the DA. He insisted it was a whorehouse. She told me people would be on a witch hunt even if I did it by the law.”

  “So let me get this straight, people are going to pay you to go into an open room and have sex with their date and anyone else in the room that is willing. But there are no paid workers that will have sex with them?”

  “Yes, I will fire anyone that works for me that has sex in that room with a customer.”

  “That simply blows my mind. Have you ever been to a place like that before?” he asks, shaking his head in amazement.

  All of a sudden, I feel shy about answering him. Why does he care? I dismiss the feeling that something is off and answer the question anyway. “Yes, I have a few times actually,” I say, looking directly into his eyes showing no shame.