Strictly Business

Thank fuck for Mondays, she thought as she rolled over in her bed, hugging her pillow to her chest and burying her face in it. Every Monday, Scarlett was given the day off to do whatever she wanted. Mostly she ate, slept, and watched tv, but sometimes she would go shopping. None of the others ever got a day off, but that was probably because she made more on a Saturday night than they did all week.

She finally rolled out of bed around noon to order some room service and fifteen minutes later it had arrived at her door. The young man who'd brought it could barely function for staring and it was obvious his manager had let him know the truth. She cleared her throat and handed him a twenty dollar bill. "Thanks. That'll be all."

He snapped out of it just long enough to grab the money before he was staring again while she subtly pushed him out the door. Once he was gone, she turned back to the cart of food she'd just been brought. A silver lid covered the double cheeseburger and fries she'd ordered, along with the hot fudge sundae on the side. Trish had told the kitchen that her girls weren't allowed anything but boiled chicken and salads but Scarlett had charmed the staff into allowing her to get real food without Trish knowing.

Once she had eaten, she fell back into her bed to watch and laugh at some horrible midday television. She'd almost drifted back to sleep when there was a sharp, forceful knock on her door. She ocnsidered not answering it and telling Trish later that she had gone out for the day, but then she thought better of lying.

"I know it's Monday, but we got a new guy and he's eager to meet you," she said as soon as Scarlett had opened the door.

"Tonight?"

"Right now."

"But I haven't even showered yet," she protested in hopes that she could get out of it.

"Then you better be damn quick. You've got thirty minutes to get downstairs."

Trish shut the door roughly behind her as she left the room and Scarlett groaned as she unwillingly headed to her bathroom to take a speed shower. The routine she usually had to get ready took around two hours but now, here she was with only twenty-nine minutes to shower, shave, moisturize, get dressed, apply makeup, and get downstairs.

Her signature red lipstick was one of the most important things she had to do because Trish insisted that it accentuated her full lips. Once that was done, she quickly pulled on her best dress and highest heels before hurrying to the elevator.

Trish and Celeste were waiting in the lobby and when she reached them with exactly thirty-nine seconds to spare, Trish smirked proudly. "Good. Let's go then." As she followed Trish out to the black car that was waiting by the curb, she wondered why Celeste was tagging along. She had said that this new man wanted to meet her so she didn't know why Trish has brought the other woman along.

The car pulled up to Trish's club and the three women got out. Just before they reached the door, Trish spun around on her expensive heels and stared hard at Celeste. "You are here to observe tonight. You still need a lot of work before I put you out there and you can learn everything you need to know from Scarlett. You stay in the corner, out of sight, you got it?"

"Yes ma'am," she muttered quietly.

"Good." Scarlett followed the two women into the club, which was relatively empty considering it was Monday. The club was never extremely busy throughout the week; Thursday through Sunday however were HUGE for business. Trish was even beginning to recruit more girls to keep up with the boost in customers.

She instructed Scarlett to have a seat at the bar while she went to retrieve this new man. Scarlett and Celeste occupied themselves by having some drinks while they waited. The male bartender was extremely flirty with Celeste while Trish was out of sight, but as soon as she appeared, he shut his mouth and turned his back to her.

Celeste was still new, which meant she was still immature about the whole business. She quickly turned on her bar stool to see what was going on and who the new man was. "Oooh, he's sexy," she whispered, elbowing Scarlett in the side. "He shouldn't be having trouble getting women."

Scarlett turned to see the man who was standing by the door chatting with Trish. He didn't look a day over thirty and he was very tall and well built. The gray suit he was wearing looked extremely expensive, as did the silver watch on his wrist. "Yeah, that just means he's into something really kinky. Otherwise, he wouldn't be here, having to pay for it."

The man's bright green eyes met hers and he smiled, showing off a set of perfectly straight white teeth. He handed Trish a thick roll of money and she motioned for him to follow her as she walked briskly over to the two women. Celeste jumped up and scurried into the corner like she'd been told, while Scarlett rose to her feet and put on her most flirtatious smile, preparing herself to act in the exact manner that Trish had trained her to.

"Scarlett, this is Derek. Derek, this is the one I was telling you about."

The man nodded, taking her hand and raising it to his lips to kiss. "Very nice to meet you, Scarlett. I've heard very very good things about you."

Trish laid a heavy hand on Scarlett's shoulder and plastered a fake smile on her face. She was counting on her to make this man a permanent client and she would have Scarlett's head if things didn't go perfectly. "Scarlett, why don't you show Derek to room 2C?" Trish's tone seemed friendly enough but Scarlett knew the pressure she was being put under.

It was up to her to secure this very rich client. Scarlett smirked as she laced her arm through his.

"It would be my pleasure."