The Set Up

Too Much Attention

I stood there, jaw slightly dropped, frozen in time at the simple fact that one of Gotham's biggest crime bosses was addressing me directly. He basically skipped having his goon from earlier just force me over there to VIP and instead came to me directly on his own.

I took him in fully, looking at him from his torso up. He was dressed in a black dress shirt with a few buttons at the top undone and a dark purple suit jacket, the basic crime lord clothing with splashes of gold and diamond jewelry scattered along his person. Looking at his face, I took in the details. He had extremely pale skin, making the scars he's received in that area very prominent. I spotted 3 tattoos, the letter 'J' under his left eye,  the word 'Damaged'delicately inked across his forehead, and a star on his right temple. Even with the pale completion I could see he had strong features, especially his jaw line, and his lips looked like blood staining a patch of snow. Meeting his gaze, I held back a gasp at his piercing and cold gray eyes boring into mine.

"Oh, please don't make me repeat myself, darling. I get very upset when I have to repeat myself." He stated, still staring at me hard.

Blinking a bit to clear my brain from the initial shock, I started wiping off the bar top with the rag in my hand before meeting the eyes of the criminal again.

"I'm working, I told your lackey that. Did he not relay the message?"

"He did. I just thought maybe you didn't know who I was and how upset I get when people don't do what I request." The Joker replied, suddenly setting a gun on the bar top.

I stared down at gold and purple pistol, feeling everyone's eyes on us. I swallowed gently, knowing that keeping my head was important. Processing the weapon in front of me, I looked up into those cold gray eyes and said what first came to mind.

"I'm not afraid of you." I said quietly.

"I know!" Joker then let out a laugh that had everyone sweating and nervous, "I could tell from the turned down invitation!" He leaned over the bar while placing the pistol back on his person, getting closer to my face but not to the point of discomfort and almost whispered, "I love it. Someone with a fiery spirit and balls of steel is something certainly new and exciting."

We stared at each other as moments dragged by, him with a calculating look and me trying not to fidget too much. Finally, he stepped back and grinned wide.

"I'll be seeing you, Sam." He purred out before turning around.

"Wait! How did you know my-"

He'd already left, his goon and the other man from the VIP lounge following after him at he walked through the back exit. I was left with unanswered questions and my life. Why didn't he kill me? What did he mean he'll be seeing me? How the hell did he know my name?

The rest of the night seemed to pass by, people avoiding me like a plague and whispering and pointing at me. Finally, I got fed up with it and walked into the back where the store room was along with my boss's office. I barge in, the door already being open, and crossed my arms. My boss, Carl, was filling out paperwork. I coughed to get the older Italian man's attention. When he looked up, his brown eyes meeting mine, I huffed.

"Can I go home, Carl? Everyone is avoiding me like a disease." I stated bluntly, my grouchy mood bleeding through my voice tone.

The man laughed, already seeming to know why I was recieving the silent treatment from the whole entirety of the club, "Maybe if you didn't get the Joker's attention you wouldn't be in this situation."

"I didn't get his attention! He came to me!" I barked back defensively.

"Because you grabbed his attention. You don't exactly keep your head down and to yourself."

I sighed in annoyance, "Whatever, Carl. Can I go or what?"

"Yeah, we'll be fine."

I turned and left the office only to hear Carl yell out at me halfway down the hall.

"Take Leah with you! And try not to grab anymore attention! I don't need the cops or Batman in my damn bar!" He called out, laughing afterwards.

I grumbled. Thoughts flying through my head. How did Joker know my name? And why would he being seeing me soon? Sighing, I grabbed my jacket from under the bar while calling out to Leah. The blond looked at me from a group of people she was taking orders from and held up a finger, signaling me to wait. Rolling my eyes, I start to clock out and shove my tips in my inside jacket pockets when my best friend approached me.

"What's up?" She asked.

I pull my hair out from under my coat collar, "Carl's sending us home. Grab your stuff and give Jessica your orders."

Nodding, I watched as Leah walked about, handing over her orders to Jessica (another waitress) before introducing her to the table. Finally, after clocking out and grabbing her tips, we were heading out the club into the Gotham night air.