Strip Tease

Chapter 27

The first thing I heard when I walked through the back entrance of Temps, was a shrill screech. Followed by the sounds of crashing furniture. And then the screaming curse words.

"HOW FUCKING DARE YOU ACCUSE ME OF THAT?"

"FUCK YOU! I DON'T NEED YOU OR THIS JOB!"

I quickly found Lucy huddled around a group of the other girls. "What the hell is going on in there?" I whispered so I didn't draw attention to myself.

"Everyone had their suspicions about Trish, but I guess Sandy confirmed it a few hours ago." Lucy whispers to me, too focused on Sandy's door to pay me any real attention.

"I heard there are pictures." One girl gossiped.

"I heard she found video footage." Another gasped.

"I heard she caught her in the act." Kristy deadpanned, her arms folded across her chest with a disproving scowl on her face. 

"Suspicions about what? Caught her doing what? Stop being so cryptic and just tell me what's going on!" I demanded but tried to stay as quiet as possible.

"Trish has been whoring on the side." Candy, one of the other stage dancers filled in before turning back to watch the train wreck that was unfolding before our eyes. Even through closed doors, we could still hear every word Trish was saying. And even though we couldn't hear Sandy, it didn't take a genius to fill in the blanks. 

Sandy did not have too many rules. Don't show up late, don't use real names on the floor, don't stiff the bartenders, bouncers or her, and don't sell on the side. She ran a pretty clean business. No grungy champagne rooms, no minors, no drugs, no prostitution. If you were caught with any of the following, you were fired. She wouldn't call the police, she felt like that was doing you a favor. Instead she fired you and sent you packing.

Suddenly, Trish stormed out of the office and sent death glares to all of the girls in the back. "WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE LOOKING AT?" He roared viciously. 

No one dared to answer her, we all knew the rules. We even had one of our own. No one disobeys Sandy. She would lay down her life for her girls, all of us knew it. If you need a day off, she would cover it. If you needed to leave early, she would cover it. If you got pregnant, she would cover it. She had helped me so much already with my school schedule and taking a chance on me to let me perform, I would stand beside Sandy like I would stand beside Lucy. Trish went behind her back, no one in this room felt any pity for her. 

But damn did we all love a good show.

It was then as I actually took a closer look at Trish did I realize something was different about her. Before she was too far away for me to really notice and I was standing behind the group of girls.

Trish had dyed her hair. Fiery, red locks now hung from her head and down her back. Her decent sized B-cup breasts were pushed so far up that she could use her own chest as a pillow. They almost looked like D's. Her usual tan was gone now, like she had stopped going to the salon every few days and her skin looked a pale white in comparison.

"Oh. My. God." Lucy whispered.

"Did she...?"

"Is that...?"

"Is she supposed to be me?" I finally said for everyone in the room who was already thinking it.

The back door slammed closed after she stormed out, middle fingers high in the air. No one made a move or dared to speak, we just waited for Sandy to come out.

The door to her office creaked open and she stepped out. Her light brown hair was frizzy and up in a messy bun, her eyes looked red and puffy and everyone knew she was crying. Sandy hated it when she lost a girl. Not because we were short staffed, because we never were, but because it was like she was losing a member of her family. Trish had been here for close to six months, enough time for Sandy and a few other people to get attached. Before everything with Orion, Trish and I, I was one of those people.