So instead, I decide to meet up with Seth at Club Alias to see if he’s found anything out about the strip club my woman just disappeared inside.Chapter 17AstridThe inside of my new workplace, which I found out from Crystal is actually named A Secret—when I asked her what it was called, she said “It’s A Secret,” and I thought she was being bitchy until she clarified—is like nothing I’ve ever seen. The floors are all white marble, and the ceilings are vaulted with crystal-and-gold chandeliers that scream money. The foyer alone is bigger than the apartment Twyla and I used to have, and I can see there is a window where the coat check probably is. Maybe that’s where they check IDs and memberships? I’m not sure. No one is there and it doesn’t have a sign, everything dim and locked up right now.
I step farther in, and there’s a huge double staircase that leads to a second floor but not a third. Either there’s more stairs somewhere else, or the mansion just seems much taller from the outside. Looking to the left, I see in the distance in the next room a giant bar, the wall behind it made of mirrors, and there are lights shining down from above, alighting all the bottles of liquor. I see the hint of a stage, but the rest is hidden behind the wall. So that must be where the girls dance. I hear laughter coming from the right, and my head turns in that direction. From here it looks like an empty dining room, but since Crystal didn’t specify where I should go once I came in, I figure I should try to find whatever human I can to see what to do.
I make my way out of the foyer and into the right room that’s completely empty of all furniture but has a lighting system and DJ booth at the far end. A dance club area? There’s an open door next to the DJ booth, and as I approach it, I peep my head in. More laughter, this time distinctly female, comes from the depths of this part of the mansion. The hallway is dark, but there are lights on in a room at the end, so I quickly make my way to it.
There’s an eerie feeling here, a shiver crawling up my spine, but I’m sure it’s just because I’m in a place I’ve never been, alone, and in the dark. Yet I can’t shake the feeling that it feels almost… haunted, as if I’m being watched by people who aren’t there.
“Yes, definitely that one. The red is perfect on your complexion with your hair color,” I hear, and I instantly feel relieved. This must be where I’m supposed to be, and as I reach the doorway, I see it’s a giant dressing room. The two walls to the left and right are lined with mirrors and vanity bulbs, with five salon chairs alternating with four regular chairs on each side. Along the back wall is one long-ass rack of clothes ranging from itty-bitty lingerie sets on the left all the way to elaborate ball gowns on the right with everything in between.
There are two women in the room, one sitting in a salon chair on the right while the other holds up a red cocktail dress, checking her reflection in the full-length mirror in the corner.
“Um… hi,” I greet nervously, because neither of these women are in the group that comes to barre. “I’m Astrid.”
The one in the chair turns her head to face me then looks me up and down. She doesn’t say hello or anything, and then she turns to talk to the other girl, who’s still looking at me.
“Hi, Astrid,” the one holding the dress says, and I shift from one foot to the other anxiously when she says nothing else.
“Sooo… it’s my first day. I’m not really sure where to go or where to start, but I assume here, since it’s the dressing room,” I tell her, and she tilts her head to the side, eyeing me closely.
“You look like a scared little rabbit. Ever stripped before?” she asks skeptically, and my eyes widen as I shake my head.
“Oh! No. I’m the new makeup artist. Crystal referred me?” It comes out as a question, because her eyebrows go up and she glances at the other girl, and I send up a silent prayer that Crystal hasn’t been playing some fucked-up, elaborate joke on me.
“Makeup artist.” The woman sounds surprised. “Nice. Crystal should be here any minute, but um… I mean, we’re already here, so you can get started on us if you want.”
I look at the woman in the chair, who is wearing a smirk on her lips but isn’t looking at me, then back to the other one. “Um… is there any paperwork to fill out? Like um… an application, tax stuff or whatever?”