AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Would you like a dance?”
“No, no thank you.”
Somebody at my table groaned with exasperation, and the dancer climbed down from the table, appearing confused but otherwise unaffected.
“You’re crazy, man,” Shane grumbled. “Did you see that chick? I mean, fuck!”
“Yeah, she was nice.”
“Nice?!”
I lapsed into silence, uninterested in a discussion of her anatomy. I had eyes. I knew the dancer was hot. I also knew that when I looked at her, I didn’t feel excited. No part of me jumped at the sight of a simply attractive girl. At this age, there needed to be something else in the mix to really draw my attention.
She needed to be…
Kiki.
Speaking of which, where was she?
I cast about the club for an answer, and soon saw her rushing from table to table, frazzled by the sheer number of orders. Though frustrated, I resolved to sit back and wait until she came over again, in the interest of not appearing quite so desperate for her attention.
Then I saw a male patron at another table reach out and try to grab her ass.
“Knock it off, pal!” I shouted, standing up from the table before I knew what had gotten into me.
People’s heads rotated away from the stage and to me. Fuck.
I gulped, and continued, “Nobody touches the waitresses in Dazzlers. House rule. Apologize and then tip her.”
The man sneered at me but did as he was told, passing over a bill to Kiki, who threw a grateful expression in my direction. I made a ‘come hither’ motion with my palm, and she obliged, tucking the money into her waistband and returning to our table.
“You can sit down,” she giggled, holding her tray against her hip. “And, for the record, I can take care of myself.”
I wanted to reply, but knew that we couldn’t have a real conversation with a group of horndogs watching our every move.
“Gentleman, scram,” I told my table.
They looked fairly peeved, but stood up all the same.
“Come in,” I said to Kiki, patting the seat next to me. “I just decided your shift is over.”
She eyeballed my hand. “Does that mean I’ve made my penance?”
“Yup, you’re off the hook.”
“Well… okay. But I’m only sitting down because I’m fucking exhausted and my feet hurt.”
“Fair enough.”
She slid into the booth, stopping a few feet short of me, careful to leave room between us.
I flagged down another waitress, and shouted over the music, “Please get my friend a water and some aspirin. And the section needs a new server immediately.”
The woman nodded and hastened away in search of the goods.
Kiki watched the whole exchange in silence, then said, “You know, ordering people around, using your money and all that — it’s not endearing. I’ve been on the other side of that, not even five minutes ago. Money isn’t impressive. It’s just a thing you have.”
This was gonna be a tough nut to crack. Usually, I had to make a few gestures of interest and a woman fell for me. This was proving to be a bit trickier.
“Okay, how does one impress you, Kiki?”
She shrugged. “I doubt a guy like you can. You’ve been given everything all your life. You don’t know how to work for shit, even a girl’s attention.”
“Well then, allow me to try.”
Scratch “tough” and “tricky.” This would be downright fun.
CHAPTER 9
Kiki
OKAY, CONFESSION time. I was fully, totally aware that Tate was a pompous asshole whose family had basically caused the demise of my own, that he had more money than Croesus, that he didn’t know the word ‘no.’
And I was still kinda loving the moment, loving all the attention he was lavishing on me.
Is that wrong?
Nobody ever paid attention to me, and here was this billionaire, looking at me, in a room full of beautiful women, as though I was the only one there.
“How’s work been tonight?” he asked, fingers skimming across the table.
“I’d rather have been in bed.”
“Oh yeah? Doing what, exactly?”
I scowled, but answered honestly. “Reading or journaling.”
“Are you a writer?”
Why was he so interested? “No, it just helps me figure things out. It’s where I make plans for the future, and think through ideas.”
“What kind of plans?”
“Never mind, it’s stupid.”
He moved an inch closer to me, and his dark blond hair was turned bronze under the red lights.
“Why do you have up so many defenses?”
I scoffed. “Why do you?”
He laughed without making a sound, and replied, “Touché.”
What the fuck was going on? I was sitting next to the hottest, richest guy in town, and we were, like, having banter. I wasn’t a girl who bantered. Why did Tate, owner of Dazzlers, care about my silly little dreams?
He’s a conman, a sage voice in my head reminded me. This is his game.
That was true enough. Casinos are designed to get people to lower their guard. That’s why they pump in fresh oxygen, keep bright lights on twenty-four hours, seven days a week and never install any clocks or have windows to the outside world. It’s a maze meant to keep you running and running until you realize you’re either broke or dead.
