Jake rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “What are your long-term goals regarding employment with us?”
No one had ever asked me that question before, other than Stew when he promoted me to bartender after I had been serving for a few months.
“I’ve really enjoyed bartending. To be honest with you it’s the thing that I’m doing to pay for my college tuition. It’s been great for that. The tips are wonderful and I’ve been able to pay for everything myself so far, without any help from my parents.”
Something seemed to flash across Jake’s face. “How old are you?”
“Nineteen,” I answered, not missing a beat.
“Wow…I guess I just assumed you were a little older than that. Oh well, still legal.”
The phrase jarred me and I was sure my eyes went wide.
“I mean…legal to bartend in both New Jersey and New York,” he added with a laugh. “But seriously, did you ever want to move beyond that here?”
It was dawning on me what Jake, one of the co-owners of Club V, was asking me. This guy not only owned this club, he was part owner in all the clubs across the United States and now there was one in every state.
Calm yourself, Samara. He asks every single woman who darkens this door the same question. Now answer him.
“You mean…am I interested in working the floor?”
Working the floor. It was what we called it. It was what the women who did it called it, rather than being too blunt about it. ‘I work the floor at Club V’ was something you could say in public and sound respectable, when the truth was that working the floor meant that you were paid for sex with one or many men, with varying degrees of BDSM and other acts mixed in.
“That’s what I’m asking you, yes.”
I would be lying if I said that I hadn’t considered working the floor before. I knew the kind of money the girls made and it was so tempting. While they had contracts with the club, they were also allowed to carry on ‘professional relationships’ with the most elite club members outside of the club, with Club V acting as a sort of intermediary or broker in the dealings. That part was all hush-hush. What went on in the club was private and everyone knew it. No one spoke of it outside of the club. Members paid high prices to keep this out of the news.
What all the employees knew was that it was something skirting several different legal lines and that all it would take was one single bust and the wrong thing on the books and the entire thing would be up in smoke. It was organized prostitution on a massive scale, or at least that was how law enforcement and the government would see it if they ever decided to dive deep enough. My guess had always been that Club V had its hooks deep enough in some big fish and that was what prevented any of the locations from being raided.
But was I interested in doing that sort of work myself? I knew we were allowed to set our own comfort levels. I could have been out there on the floor doing nothing but sitting on laps, a few kisses here and there, maybe a hand job from time to time. But I knew that the women who got into it planning only to go so far rarely maintained their boundaries. It was tempting once you got out there, especially when you were being wined and dined by one of the finest men you had ever laid eyes on. When he was telling you over and over again how much he wanted you. That he wanted to take you back to one of the rooms, spread your legs, and dive head first into your pussy. It made me tingle just thinking about it.
Of course I had considered it. And I might have done it if I wasn’t still a virgin. For me that had been the linchpin. I wasn’t going to give myself up just for that. The money was good, but it wasn’t that good. I didn’t need that cash that badly.
I shook my head at Jake. “No, I’m not interested in working the floor right now.”
He raised an eyebrow. “Not right now, so perhaps in the future?”
I smiled and lowered my eyes slightly. “There are a few things in my personal life I’d like to get sorted before I consider something like that.”
Jake nodded and regarded me thoughtfully, moving closer to me. I breathed in sharply, realizing we were only inches apart. I wasn’t sure if it was the effect of the club or if I was truly attracted to this man or some combination of the two. He reached out a hand and brushed my hair away from my face.
“Well, keep it in mind if you are ever interested. As far as I’m concerned, there is a standing offer here for you.”
“I appreciate that.” His hand rested lightly on my shoulder and I could feel my heart racing.
“There’s only one thing,” he said, frowning and looking down at my blouse. “Your buttons. Do you mind?”
Oh god, had I forgotten to button one of the buttons on my shirt? Was that why I had been getting all the attention on the train? Maybe I had been putting on a peep show for all the riders.
“N-no…” I stammered.
Deftly, Jake unbuttoned two of the buttons on my blouse, opening it up to reveal an ample amount of cleavage and a hint of the scarlet lace of my bra. Then he removed his hand and backed away politely.
“Club V NYC standards—top four buttons must be unbuttoned. You can head back down the hall and to your right. Celeste will be there to show you around the bar and get you settled.”
I left Jake’s office stunned. I wasn’t sure what I had thought was going to happen, but him unbuttoning my blouse hadn’t been it. I didn’t think there had been anything truly sexual or inappropriate about it. Honestly, brushing my hair back away from my face was probably worse than the unbuttoning itself. The guy had given me no indication he was attracted to me. The more I thought about it as I walked back down the dimly lit hallway, the more I started to believe that this was probably the line that every girl who walked through the doors of this club to work was fed. Of course they would rather have a young woman on the floor rather than behind the bar.
And my age. That was the kicker. I looked older, so I would not have pulled in the crowd that are looking for the younger ones, but knowing that I was only 19 would really do it for some of these guys. Plus the virgin thing…I made a mental note to keep that to myself. Suzy knew, but Suzy was my best friend and she was back home. There was no need for anyone at this particular establishment to know that small detail about my personal life.