The Strip - Max

23 / A Date With My Boss

I woke up in the morning with a dry pillow under my head, thanks to the evening spent with my less-than-desirable regulars. Despite having showered at the club before heading home, I stripped down and stepped into flowing water for almost thirty minutes, scrubbing my flesh and shampooing my hair countless times. I wiped the steam off the bathroom mirror to apply makeup and make sure my hair was right. I went about my daily routine right through getting ready for work. Then it hit me; I wasn't going to work. I had a date with my boss.

I typed up a quick message to Tyler asking about the dress code for the party. Was I to dress like a slutty whore or a slutty nun? I didn't have any items in my wardrobe that weren't a reflection of my work persona. I was sure that 'barbeque and firepit' meant casual. Could painted on ultra-low-rise jeans count as casual? Perhaps not.

I typed a second message. I was going shopping.

A few hours later, Tyler picked me up at Radcliff Mall. His house was on the way to the party, and he needed to stop in to pick up a few things, so I decided to take the opportunity to freshen up and change into the new items I had purchased in the comfort. It was preferable to my original plan, a toilet stall in the mall bathroom.

Tyler's house wasn't nearly what I expected. He lived in a quiet looking suburban neighborhood in a well-maintained house with a nice garden in front. A young girl, a couple houses down, smiled and waved as I stepped out of the car. Her mother paused her efforts to retrieve bags of groceries from the back of her minivan. It was subtle and brief, but I noticed a connection between the woman and Tyler. Her eyes found him and held his gaze for a few seconds before she returned to her task. It was more than just a neighborly acknowledgment. There was history there.

His house was nicely furnished and tidy. I began to wonder if he had a wife or girlfriend or maid. "Wow, your house is nice. And not at all what I expected."

"Shocking, isn't it? There's a guest room to the right at the top of the stairs. You can get dressed there. You'll find face cloths and towels in the bathroom across the hall if you need," he said as he nodded his head towards the second floor.

"So, the neighbor is pretty. Do I detect a little something there?" I asked as I paused at the first step.

"What? Mia, she's twelve! That's sick!"

I turned back and slapped his shoulder then scowled. "Shut up! You know what I mean. The mom. That look between the two of you. That wasn't a 'who's the bimbo' thing, it was definitely a 'we have history' kind of look."

Tyler looked down at his feet and hesitated before responding. "She has some secrets, but they aren't mine to tell. But no, she's not stepping out on her husband. Especially with me."

I had never fully trusted any of my bosses before. Bunny was an exception, but even that had been tarnished with the sale of her bar. They were employers, not friends, and Tyler was no different. I worked for them and made them a lot of money, but on the advice of my aunt Megan, I never confided much in them; never trusted them with intimate details of my life. With those few words I felt a little safer with him. He had the goods on this woman, someone I wasn't likely to see again, someone I knew nothing about, but he didn't reveal any details about a secret he seemed privy to. I was still curious but didn't press for more details, confident I wouldn't get any.

I nodded and smiled, then made my way up the stairs to change and get ready for the party. Forty-five minutes later we were back in the car and driving out to a semi-rural area at the edge of the city. As the car slowed to make the turn into a driveway, I asked, "Whose place is this?"

"Greg Anders. You met him that day Megan got her job at Blue Ball. He doesn't work for them. He was the investor that was at the club with them," he replied as we started the drive onto the property.