“Hi,” I say, already feeling a bit better. “Yeah, I think so.”
“All right!” Sadie lifts her hand, and I instinctively give her a high-five. “Nice skirt, by the way. Your legs look sexy as hell. You’re gonna clean up tonight.”
“Uh…thanks.” I want to say something to tell her I think she looks nice in her black leather skirt, too, but I’m still hesitant, and now she’s headed out to the floor, too.
“Don’t forget to clock in!” Lexi says with a sweet smile, and then she’s gone.
Allie arches her eyebrows at me. “You okay?”
“I’m okay,” I say, but the words come out slowly. “I’m just…I’m fine.” I see no reason to go over what happened last night with her. “The incident” is over now—I may as well just see how things go.
“I’ll shadow you for a bit, but I really don’t think you need me that much longer, do you?” Allie asks as I walk over to clock in and put my purse in a locker. I’ll take my tip bag with me.
“No,” I tell her as I punch in my numbers. “I think I’ll be all right.”
As we walk out to the dance floor, I have to wonder why I suddenly think I’ll be all right. I saw a dead body, a guy murdered by my boss, something he openly admitted to doing, and then I was told if I was loyal, I wouldn’t say anything to anyone.
And now…here I am…being loyal. But why?
It has nothing to do with how hot Hunter Stone is, that’s for damn sure! But then…everyone here is so nice. I would really hate to see anyone else get in trouble. I don’t even know if Allie, Lexi, Sadie, or Carter really know what happens here.
I decide to just do my job. Putting my head down, I move quickly from one table to the next, getting orders, bringing drinks, flirting enough to get some tips. I lose myself in the music, the dancing, and the laughter, and whenever I think I feel eyes on the back of my head, I refuse to look around.
What good could come of it anyway?
I also avoid looking at the hallway that leads to the private rooms. I have no reason to be down there. I don’t serve the people who occupy them. So I may as well focus on what I can do.
After a couple of hours, Allie goes off on her own, wishing me luck and telling me that I can holler at her if I need anything. I go back to the bar for a refill for a table of basketball players and notice that Carter is talking to that woman I saw in the private room the night before.
The conversation seems hurried, and then she pats his arm and heads back down the hall to where we punch in and store our things. I’ve seen some other rooms down a hall there and think they might be offices. Carter makes more drinks, but I can’t help but wonder who she is and what she does here. I’d never seen her before last night.
A pang of jealousy hits me in the gut as I wonder if maybe she’s Hunter’s girlfriend. That would make sense, right? She was back there with him. They seemed close. And she clearly has some sort of important job here, or at least it looked like it when she was talking to Carter.
I decide not to ask him, though, as I give him my order and wait. He arches an eyebrow at me. “Are you all right, Meghan?” he asks. “You look like you’ve got a lot on your mind.”
I manage a grin. “Just trying to remember which table ordered what drinks,” I tell him, and he nods, but I wonder if he can see right through me.
The night ends in a whirlwind, as predicted by the bartender when I came in, and by the time I reach my apartment, I’m ready to fall into my bed. But at least I didn’t see anyone with their cranium inside out tonight.
Over the next few days, I continue to go to work and do my job, joking around with the other waitresses and the rest of the staff. Ethan even gives me a friendly nod from across the room a time or two, and I have to wonder if he’s already decided I’m trustworthy.
I like being trustworthy…
I like my job. I’m not sure why I decided to stay, but by the end of the week, I think I’ve made the right decision. I’ve made a lot of money, I’m starting to make some real friends, and I haven’t seen anything else creepy.
I have seen that woman a few more times, though, and as I start to pack up for home a few nights after “the incident,” I see her again. As I pull my bag out of the locker where I stashed it earlier, she comes down the hallway, a serious look on her face as she says something in a hushed tone to a man I have only seen around a time or two but can’t remember where.
Was he one of the guys with the rug? Maybe…
“Have a good night, Meghan,” she says, smiling at me and giving me a little wave.
I lift my hand and wave back at her. “You, too!” I call, even though I don’t know her name. Even the guy waves at me and smiles.
That’s when it hits me. I fucking love my job. I love the atmosphere here, I love the money, but most of all, I love the people. These guys are becoming my family, and even if I haven’t met all of them yet, it’s worth keeping my mouth shut to protect this place. Because Club Limelight isn’t just a place to work—it’s a place to find one’s family.
Still grinning, I wave goodbye to the other waitresses and head out to my car. It’s a shitty Ford Focus I got off a used car lot right before I moved here, but it does the job for now. If I keep making tips like this, soon enough, I’ll be able to buy a new car.
Maybe I can even get something really nice. I dream of leather interiors and high-end speakers as I make my way to my equally shitty apartment. As I pull out of the parking lot, I see the Silver Towers and remember Allie telling me that Hunter owns them.