Behind The Scene

CHAPTER 12

"Ballsy move," Crystal said in admiration, the following night at work, as I informed them of what had happened at my audition.
"Definitely," Aria added with a smile.
"Thankfully it paid off, this time anyway," I sighed, "I'm gonna need every penny I can get at this rate. Just had word back from the auto shop, and it's not good."
Stacey patted me on the shoulder, giving me a sympathetic smile.
"Sorry love," She said.
"Me too."
The job had gone okay, all things considered, but that was the pique of that day. After I'd finished up at the studio, I'd returned to my traitor of a car and found a ticket on the windshield. As if it could only have gone up from there... it didn't. I'd had to get someone out to pick up my car from its place on the side of the road, adding to my bills even more, and now, their estimate was purely sickening in expense. I'd originally have been able to cover a small portion of it with the money from the advertising job, but now, with that being cut due to my late arrival, I knew I'd be lucky if it would even cover the tow.
"Selena? Table thirteen's just sat down, they'll be needing drinks," Marisol called from the doorway, redrawing my attention back to the present.
"I better get back," I said quickly, gathering up the glasses that the girls had just emptied, and heading back to the bar.
I deposited the tray on the bar, thanking Malachy as he waved me off and began clearing the glasses away. I straightened my uniform and wove my way through the building crowd by the main stage, where Asa performing an impressive spin high up the pole. I could see the smartly dressed businessmen who were watching the show from the large booth that surrounded table thirteen, and closed in, putting on a bright smile.
"Welcome to Platinum Rose this evening gentlemen, I'm Selena and I'll be your server," I said happily.
"And are you serving yourself tonight, Selena?" One of them asked in a sugary tone.
I fought not to roll my eyes at the all too familiar line. Managing a slightly forced laugh, I shook my head playfully.
"Sorry, Sir, but I just didn't make it onto the menu."
There was a rumbling laugh around most of the table, all except the man at the centre. He was a large man, somewhat foreboding, with longish, dark blonde hair, icy blue eyes and a short but shabby beard and moustache. He stood out among the others mostly due to his burgundy tailored suit, but as my eyes honed in on him, I could tell that he was far sharper than the practically drooling men on either side of him. Whilst their focus was solely on the women's assets and childishly making predictable passes and comments, his focus was on me, and he didn't look to change that anytime soon.
"What can I get you?" I asked the group at large, attempting to keep the tremor out of my voice as I escaped his piercing gaze.
"Champagne, two bottles," One of the men announced with a flourish.
"Of course," I said courteously, "Anything else?"
"Whiskey, neat," The man in the middle asked calmly.
It was hard to tell over the music, but I could have sworn there was something familiar about the man's voice like I'd heard it somewhere before.
"I'll bring it right over," I said swiftly, stepping away and heading back to the bar.
The entire way across the room, I could feel someone watching me like their eyes were burning through my back. I rubbed at my neck nervously as I passed on the drinks order to Davey and waited patiently for him to set them up, then returned to the table to hand them over. A hand brushed my thigh whilst I placed the glasses on the table, it wasn't the first time that it had happened since I'd been here, and yet I still had the urge to slap them away.
"No hands please, Sir," I said sweetly, sidestepping him and attempting to mask my desire to break his wandering hand behind a smile.
"Does that mean that I can touch you with something else?" He chimed up, smirking suggestively as he shifted forward, tilting his hips toward me.
"You know," I said, lowering my voice a little, "I really don't think it'll reach, do you?"
The man's friends all jeered as he shrunk back into his chair, his pride wounded by my remark.
"My apologies, Selena," The man in burgundy said over the noise of his companions. "Thank you for the drinks."
"You're welcome."
Making a quick exit, I returned to work, keeping a somewhat wide berth of that table.
A couple of hours later, I was leaving the bathroom and making my way back out to the floor, when a man stepped out in front of me at the last second. I jumped back a step, barely avoiding a collision, before looking up. The burgundy suit was an instant giveaway and looking up, I found the piercing gaze of the intimidating man from table thirteen. His lips now curled into an admiring smile that didn't reach the iciness of his eyes.
"My apologies for startling you," He said calmly.
"It's okay," I replied simply, moving to pass him and re-enter the bar area.
"I was hoping to approach you with a request," He continued, blocking my path.
"A request?"
He nodded once.
"A private dance."
Something jarred in my memory, and I tipped my head in curiosity, examining his features a little closer now. There was a definite similarity there. He mirrored my reaction, smirking wider this time as his chest shook with a laugh.
"You know who I am," He said after a momentary pause.
It wasn't a question, it was a statement. And with him not denying it, I was assured that he was right.
"I think so," I replied coldly.
"Such animosity in a stranger," He gasped dramatically. "My brother must have shared some secrets with you."
At the mention of Charlie, I felt my cheeks flush. He'd trusted me with his story, and I'd given it away to his brother so easily.
"And he said nothing was going on between you two," Dalton taunted.
"Nothing is," I said firmly.
"Of course."
It was clear from his tone that he didn't believe that in the slightest, nevertheless, he shook it off with a shrug and leant against the wall.
"So what do you say?"
"I'm a waitress, Sir," I replied sternly, emphasising the word, "I can arrange for a private dance with one of the girls if you like, but other than that, I really should get back to work."
"That is a shame," He sighed, "I would have considered myself incredibly privileged to have had a dance from someone as beautiful as you," He straightened up again, and shrugged his shoulders, "Nevermind, I'm sure you'll change your mind one day."
One day?
I swallowed a building lump in the back of my throat. He really wasn't sounding like a man who was about to take no for an answer. Was this going to be the start of some creepy determination strategy? How many times was I going to end up cornered by this man? How many times could I turn him down before he took the hint. He drew closer to me, raising a finger and brushing it gently over my cheek.
"Now, are you sure you don't want to dance for me?" He breathed. "It's just one little dance."
I stood my ground, tipping my face away as he trailed a long, thin finger down to my jaw.
"I've never done it before," I muttered bitterly, "You'd be better off asking another girl."
"But I want you," He said playfully, "And I always get what I want."
I thought about the story Charlie had told me. He'd gotten what he wanted then. He'd stolen his own brother's fiance, stolen her, broken her and killed her. What chance did I have to resist him if even Charlie was powerless against him?
It's just another role, another audition, another part to play.
It wasn't like I'd never felt uncomfortable on an audition before. It always passed, and what's more, they made me stronger coming out the other side. A part of me couldn't believe that I was seriously considering this, but somewhere, I also knew that it was the only way to put an end to it before it got worse. At least, this way, it would be on my terms.
"You know what?" I said boldly, mastering a false bravado, "I'll do it."
He beamed a slick and cold smile, pride shimmering in his deadened eyes.
"What a pleasant surprise," He jeered.
"On one condition," I added clearly.
"Oh?"
"This is the only time, and once we're done, you leave me alone."
He considered me, and I could tell he was weighing up the idea of whether that was reasonable enough for him to agree. I continued to stare him down, refusing to give in. And when he saw there was no chink in my armour, he shrugged.
"Okay, you have a deal. But I want the full show," He added, looking past the wall to the stage.
I followed his line of sight, watching as Aria stepped forward, stripping her top off slowly before gripping the pole and throwing her head back, running a hand over the sexy lace bra that barely contained her breasts.
When he looked back at me, there was an even smugger look on his face, his eyes dropping to my cleavage which was about to be even more showcased than it was in this skimpy uniform.