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A tension-filled silence followed his statement, and then one by one the group disbanded, forming a line in front of the counter. Cathie stepped up and began ringing them up. Terri relaxed a little and picked up her tray with shaking hands, prepared to deliver her order now that things seemed to be dying down.
Luke waited a minute longer to be sure everything was under control, then disappeared outside. In the brief moment that the door opened, Terri’s ears captured the frantic sounds of something terribly wrong happening. Just as fast, it was shut out again, the hollow sounds of rock ‘n’ roll vibrating the club walls.
“Here you are, gentlemen.” Glasses were passed around the table. Terri used the full pitcher to get the men started, then placed it down between them. “Is there anything else I can get you?”
“No thanks,” the man with the green bandana and rough southern voice responded.
Effectively dismissed, Terri checked on her remaining customers then found her way back to the bar.
“What’s he doing?” she asked Sara, pointing to Luke. He now stood with his back to the bar, the phone pressed firmly to his ear and one arm resting high on the wall in front of him.
“Calling the cops, which is just what we need around here.” Sara popped her bubble gum while she finished preparing a margarita.
Terri knew the last thing Luke wanted was police showing up and tromping around. They might ask questions, and Luke tried to avoid being in situations where he had to answer them. This wasn’t the kind of business that welcomed inquiries of any kind. Customers came here because they got good service and were guaranteed anonymity. If cops started crawling around, the waitresses could lose clients, and at worst Luke could lose his club.
It was best if people kept to themselves, and problems were handled quietly. That was why Luke ran such a tight ship. So it must have been bad if he was the one calling the police.
Terri hung around until Luke was finished making his call.
She propped her hip against the counter, resting on her elbow, and addressed his profile. “Everything okay?” she asked. She knew it wasn’t, obviously, but it was the only thing she could think to say at the moment.
A tick started in his jaw. “If your definition of okay is having one of my customers get mowed down in my parking lot, then yeah, everything is just peachy.”
Terri gasped at the news.
Damn it!” Luke’s fist slammed down on the bar. He knew an incident like this could ruin everything he had worked for.
Terri placed a hand meant to reassure him over his fist and squeezed it lightly. “It will be alright, Luke.”
Eyes blazing with anger and irritation turned on her. “How the hell would you know.”
“I…”
Turning his back on her, Luke tore down the hall and out of sight. Moments later she heard the door to his office slam shut, even over the deafening pulse of music.
“Sorry,” she muttered. Picking up a damp cloth, she began wiping down the bar.
Cathie was talking to a few of the waitresses who had been attending to some side business earlier as she came to sit at one of the stools.
She knew better.
The stools were reserved for paying customers only. Luke didn’t allow the women to sit down at the bar unless it was after hours, or the club was dead, in which case it wouldn’t matter anyway.
Terri looked around, performing a brief head count. Despite those who had left when the commotion began, the place was still operating at half full. She turned narrowed eyes on the women, but didn’t voice her objection. She was still relatively new here and had no wish to start making enemies.
Marianne, an attractive woman with straight, golden-brown hair and wide, piercing blue eyes talked animatedly, her hands gesticulating as she spun her tale.
“He was gorgeous,” she said. “Had hair the color of sun-bleached wheat and eyes of the deepest brown with flecks of gold in them. Seated at table fifteen, he didn’t see me coming.”
Terri listened intently, swirling the rag in circles on the bar counter. Her imagination had already crafted a vision of this man, and she didn’t like was she saw. He reminded her of her ex. She shivered, but kept listening. She hadn’t heard a good story in a while, and these women always had something spicy to share, even if most of it was embellished.
“So I walked up behind him intending to offer him another drink.” She dropped her voice and leaned in conspiratorially.
Terri had to strain to hear her.
“And maybe something more.” She winked, and the women giggled.
Terri pursed her lips and set back to work cleaning. She never could understand the appeal of selling your body. Was money really that important? It didn’t seem that way to her. She would rather be poor any day than sacrifice her morals and reputation over a few extra dollars.
