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Walter frowned at him.
“Selene is my best friend. If you let anyone hurt her, you’re hurting me too. I know you’re better than that.”
“How soon can you get everything implemented?” I asked.
“I’m not sure. This is a lot of steps to coordinate, but I’ll get started on it right away.”
“See that you do.” Arthur lounged in his chair, exuding every bit of power he got from owning this place. “Your ban doesn’t go away until Selene is satisfied. Security, escort Walter off the premises, please.”
The look in Walter’s eyes told us how much he wanted to protest, but Auggie slinked away and security boxed Walter in, forcing him to stand and vacate Arthur’s office.
When the door closed, Auggie turned to me. “I think that went well, don’t you?”
“I’m certainly a hell of a lot more hopeful now than I was before.”
“I don’t mind taking him back as a client if he gets reinstated. He’s good pay and a decent lay, just boring as fuck when he tries to talk.”
Arthur stood and moved to my side. “Are you satisfied with the steps being taken?”
“Very. Thank you.”
“You’re more than welcome.” Arthur surprised me with a hug. “I’ve grown pretty fond of you over the years, kid. No one fucks with what’s mine. Even when you’re done with this place one day, as long as it’s open and I’m involved, we’ve got your back.”
I returned the hug tightly. Arthur had been a staunch supporter of everyone within these walls for as long as I could remember. He was already the owner when I had started, and was protective as a pit bull over all of us. I knew businesses like this weren’t always scrupulous, didn’t always take care of the people who worked there, and I had always wondered if part of the reason Arthur fought so hard was that someone had failed him before he’d had the power to protect himself.
“I won’t forget anything you’ve done for me. You’re literally the best boss on the planet.”
Arthur’s seriousness was replaced with a grin. “You bet your ass I am. You should go get ready for performing. Are you taking clients or just tips tonight?”
“Clients for me,” replied Auggie.
“They can try bidding,” I said. “I’ll see if anyone impresses me with their generosity.”
“You’ve got it.”
“How much longer do you think you’ll stay here?” Auggie asked as the two of us went to our lockers.
“I don’t know. As long as I feel like being here. When the place where my new studio is going to be is all finished, I might talk to Arthur about offering training programs to the performers. When I get tired of bruising the shit out of my body on the hoop, we’ll need people who are ready to take over.”
“You’re giving me FOMO. I absolutely don’t want to run my own business, but the thought of having a pole studio next door to you sounds so good.”
“Maybe in the future. I’m sure not everything that opens will make it. Space could open up and you could change your mind about being a business owner.”
“Can’t you just add poles to it and then you can be my boss bestie?”
I let out a laugh. “Let me see if I can make it work with the basics before I start adding extras, okay?”
Auggie pouted. “You’re no fun.”
“Rude. I’m plenty of fun.”
“You’d better get out there and show those alphas just how much.”
I was on pole tonight, just a few simple performances. Not having to perform for Luca was making me lazy. Tomorrow he was going to meet Stella and the girls as my partner instead of Stella’s tenant. I needed as much mental capacity for that as I could manage, and not wasting it pretending for customers was tempting.
When it was my turn on the stage, I slipped into the spotlight, doing some simple spins on the pole nearest me, sashaying across the stage to the furthest one, before finally settling on the middle one.
Nothing compared to being on stage, feeling all of those eyes admiring me, and being able to display my strength in a way that was beautiful and enticing.
