Stardom

The Platinum Rose

Ross had sounded so proud of me when I told him that I was going to secure a job and balance my auditions around the hours. But now, I had to actually do it. The nightclub was a promising idea, in theory, I'd worked in bars before, and clubs couldn't be much different. Not to mention the hours would be evening based which would leave me with the freedom to audition during the day. I balanced the idea of how tired I was going to be with the necessity of bringing some money into my bank account. I didn't really have a choice. Especially if I wanted to make this place a home for me and Ross. Needing to make a move if I wanted this job, I quickly located the number for the club on my phone and gave it a call.

"Platinum Rose," A man answered gruffly on the other end.

"Hi, I saw your billboard and was wondering if you still have any positions open?"

"Let me check."

I held my breath and waited as I listened to the rustle of papers.

"Yeah, I've got two left, few interested parties stopping by tonight and tomorrow."

"I can come tonight," I replied quickly, desperate not to miss out on the opportunity like I had every other. "I can be there in half in half an hour?"

"I can make that work. Give me your name and I'll pass it along to the doorman," He said with a brighter tone of professionalism than moments before.

Passing on my name, I jotted down the address which I found online, then dove out of the door, leaping into my car and hoping that the late evening traffic in this neighbourhood wasn't going to be as much of a pain as it was in the day.

I parked up in the darkened lot at the rear of the club, then made my way to the front. There was no huge queue outside the doors here, instead, a steady flow of classily dressed men and a few glammed up women were being shown through the glass doors every so often by two burly men dressed in black. I glanced down at my clothes which I'd been wearing all day. It definitely didn't meet the standards of the clientele, but at least the black skinny jeans and white, floral bustier gave off a sense of understated elegance rather than lazily casual. I quickly straightened out the wrinkles from driving over, and swung my head upside down, fluffing my hair from underneath to give it some renewed volume. Straightening back up, I adjusted my necklace and swung my hair back over my shoulders again, then stood tall and approached the doors.

"How can we help you, Miss?" The nearest man said sternly, eyeing me up with intrigue.

"Selena McCall, I'm here about a job?" I said with a confident smile, adopting the same charm and professionalism that I used at each of my auditions.

The other man gave a curious look at my outfit as the one I'd spoken to consulted his list.

"No time to change," I whispered to the one who was looking at me, making a small attempt to thaw out the tension.

I saw the briefest chink in his icy demeanour as he smiled, trying not to laugh.

"You're good to go," The other man announced, opening the door to allow me inside. "The boss'll meet ya at the bar."

"Thank you," I smiled, stepping inside.

The stairway was dark, the only lighting coming from the spotlights embedded in each level of the carpeted staircase, glowing just enough for you to see where you were putting your feet. The music grew louder with each step I took, upbeat music that pounded through the foundation of the building. As I reached the bottom of the level, I turned to continue down the next, and nearly fell down the following steps at the sight which reached my eyes.