AllFreeNovel
Share Us
The blonde’s expression got darker, and she touched her neck. The little piece of metal was pulsating under her skin, about the size of a coin. Eden scratched her skin nervously, but the device wouldn’t suffer for this much. She hated this. The SINs regulated their whole lives. All of their personal data was entered within a system they had no control over. Eden hated having to scan this thing to be reminded of how penniless she was. The same device that wouldn’t even let her work more.
“...I’ll manage,” she whispered.
Jack’s black eyes got worried all of a sudden, and he leaned in closer.
“...You’re not going to do the thing I’m not supposed to know about, right?”
Eden smiled a bit bitterly.
“You don’t know anything, Jack–I mean, Jacquie. Don’t worry.”
Jack bit his lower lip. He could pretend not to know, but he knew enough to be worried about her, even if he couldn’t say anything. He had his principles, and one included that the less he knew, the better it was. Which was true for his own safety, but it wouldn’t prevent him from worrying about the young woman.
The truth was, even if he had agreed to let her work more, Eden wouldn’t have earned much more than what she did as a hostess and bodyguard. She wasn’t popular among their customers, despite her pretty face. Plus, it would create more tension between the girls as none could afford to share their customers. Every credit won was a little victory these days...
Eden grabbed her glass and finished her whisky in one shot, her hazel eyes shining again.
“Come on, Jacquie, showtime; let’s get ready for those assholes.”
Behind the bar, the man smiled and turned on the whole system.
The bar’s lights lit up all at once and holograms of all the ladies appeared, either pole-dancing or simply moving around in short outfits. The digital doppelgangers all looked very real. Jack had invested a lot in this. It would have been hard to distinguish that those were fake just from sight. Yet, Eden knew their choreographies by heart. She had seen them dozens of times already. She could tell when Rose would send a wink across the room, or Xixi would split her legs around the pole.
She ignored all those fake ladies, there to keep the eye busy and add to the illusion of a crowded place, and walked to the little stand where an elegant gramophone was. Eden smiled, her finger dancing between the pieces of vinyl until she picked one and put it on. The jazz song resonated on the gramophone and throughout the bar’s speakers.
“Now that’s Chicago,” said Jacquie with a little smile.
One by one, the girls came up to the floor, dressed up and ready for their customers. Rose sighed, grabbing her favorite bottle over the counter despite Jack’s glare.
“Let’s get the party started,” she sighed, taking it in one shot.
The doors of the bar opened, letting a bunch of gentlemen in.
Most were familiar faces, the patrons that would come often. Immediately, the girls began smiling and chatting, each going toward their targets for the night. They all had their favorite customers and, moreover, no one liked to share a patron. Slowly, they took their seats on the pink and purple semi-circle sofas across the floor, each facing their own table. Putting on her business smile as well, Eden walked toward an older man.
“Evening, Mr. Charles,” she said, putting her arm around him with a gentle smile.
“Evening, Miss Eden. What shall we drink tonight?”
“Isn’t your doctor going to scold you?” she asked, tilting her head.
“What for! I’ll order a new liver next week if I need to.”
Eden chuckled.
“Alright then, how about your favorite: a good old brandy?”
“Ah, now you know how to make an old man happy. A brandy it is!”
She gently took him to one of the sofas to watch the scene and glanced at Jack for him to start preparing the drinks. Actually, the bar was preparing them as well. Half of what was really being prepared was automatized under the counter, but the customers couldn’t see that. It simply looked like Jack was incredibly efficient and made some impressive bartender moves before putting the final touches and putting it up for the girls to collect. It maintained the illusion of a jazz bar stuck in the past, somewhere in the nineteenth century...
Eden left her customer for a minute to get their glasses and returned just in time to light his cigar. He opened a little box to offer her one.
“Oh, thank you, Mr. Charles, but I don’t smoke.”
“Oh, maybe in a few years, then!”
Eden smiled and watched him relax and glance at the fake dancers on stage. She liked Mr. Charles. She didn’t know if it was his real name, but she didn’t really care. He was a nice customer with a lot of money. From his way of speech and mannerisms, she could tell he was probably older than seventy, although he didn’t look like he was over fifty, as expected from someone who came from the Core...
