Children of Fire (Complete)

thirty-seven

Emerson

The next two weeks passed by quickly, as most of my days were spent training and barking out orders to people. I had learned everything there was to know about running a strip club, and I had gotten to know most of the new employees very well. Most of the dancers were sweet girls from surrounding towns, a few of them just wanted a way to make quick money to get themselves through college or to buy their own apartment or whatever, whereas the rest of them just reveled in the thought of having mens attention on them at all times-- but who was I to judge, really?

Before I knew it, it was opening night. I was honestly amazed at how quickly the club managed to set everything up-- most businesses took months to establish and get ready for opening, whereas the club had this place ready to go almost a week after purchasing the building. I didn't even want to know how much it cost to have something ready to go so quickly, and for it to look so nice. It wasn't a sleazy strip club like you'd expect to be owned by a motorcycle club, no, it was quite sophisticated actually. They had decided to name it Tilly's, and I had learned not to ask too many questions when it came to club business, so I kept my mouth shut.

I found myself standing behind the bar, fifteen minutes left until we opened our doors for the first time, and I looked at my full staff. Much to my disappointment, it seemed like we would need all of our girls tonight, so Crystal and Tasha were included in the staff that was present. "Okay, ladies, it's our first night. If you feel uncomfortable at any given time, please let me know. My main priority is to keep all you ladies safe, so please let me know if something suspicious is going on. There will be guys from the club here all night, be sure to show them extra attention." I told them before zeroing in on Crystal and narrowing my eyes. "Crystal, if you even breathe in Gideon's direction, I won't hesitate to beat your ass. Or fire you." I warned her. And I fucking meant it, too.

Kya laughed loudly behind me as I turned to face her. She was my friend, sure, but I had to keep our friendship out of work. She straightened her face and started pulling out the shot glasses, pouring one for each girl here-- our small security team wasn't allowed to drink on the job, those weren't even my rules, they were Gideon's. I held my glass up and saw everyone else follow suit, "To a great first night, may it be drama free!" The girls repeated after me and each one of us took a shot, setting it down on the bar. Kya instructed one of her other bartenders to clean up as I made my way to the front door.

I paused for a second before unlocking the doors, just to take a breath before the chaos ensued, and took in my appearance. I needed to be sexy and professional, yet be able to look intimidating at the same time, so I had chosen a little black dress and paired it with a pair of red pumps. My lips matched my shoes perfectly, and I had allowed my hair to flow down my back in loose waves. I looked good, if I had to brag on myself, and I knew Gideon would approve of my look. I had changed into this outfit once I got here-- thankful for the dressing rooms that allowed our girls to change and get ready somewhere safe. I took another deep breath before unlocking the doors and opening them, shocked at the amount of patrons that were waiting for us to open already.

The night was going smoothly, each girl had plenty of time on the stage by themselves, and the group dances seemed to be going better than I had expected-- but what was better than one half naked woman dancing on a platform? Three half naked women dancing on a platform, of course. Kya had everything behind the bar going smoothly, and even Crystal and Tasha had impressed me with the amount of money they were making. But, I couldn't let their heads get too big now, could I?

"Crystal, Tasha!" I called for them as I walked into the dressing room after their performance together. They were whispering excitedly among themselves, and finally grew quiet when I got near them. "I need you both to walk around and take drink orders and serve the guys that are out there." I told them, crossing my arms in front of me. Tasha rolled her eyes and stood up, adjusting her corset. Crystal scoffed and stood in front of me before shoving past me with her shoulder. I let it go, though, she was just jealous and that made me happy-- I had what she wanted, and I wouldn't let her get in the way of it.