Strictly Business

Scarlett had begun to thoroughly enjoy her job. Of course she didn't absolutely hate her life back in Las Vegas, but the atmosphere was so much different in small town Sterling. She liked having only two or three customers per week as opposed to the much larger number she had before. On top of that, one of those customers was her favorite customer she'd ever had.

He'd started coming once a week. It was never on the same day so she was kept on her toes, but he walked through that door every week without fail. She'd even broken one of her rules with him. Personal conversation was supposed to be strictly off limits but he'd absentmindedly asked a question and she'd answered it without hesitation. From then on, that rule had be stricken off her list.

She'd also bought herself a car. She figured now that she wasn't living in a big city where she could walk wherever she wanted to go, a car would be a good thing for her to have. She and the girls usually went into town nearly every day to eat lunch or get pedicures or something else.

It was Wednesday night. Business was always slow on Wednesdays; it was nearing eleven and they had only had about ten customers. Felix came into the great room where all the girls were lounging, waiting for customers to come in. "Scarlett, come here," he said seriously, crossing his arms over his broad chest.

Scarlett exchanged looks with Kimberly, who was sitting next to her, and got up from her chair to walk over to where Felix was standing in the doorway. "Sir?"

"You can go. It's dead tonight. There's no need for you to stick around."

"Are you sure? I don't mind staying."

"Go," he replied, almost with a growl. She quickly got out of his way and went upstairs to her room to change out of her dress, content with being able to get off of work early.

Since the rest of her night was free, she decided to go out and try her luck at finding a bar in the area. She pulled her dress back over her head and went over to her closet to pick out something else to wear. Once she was dressed in some jeans and a black top, she slipped her feet into a pair of black stilettos and grabbed her clutch bag and the key to her car.

She said goodbye to all the girls on the way out and she jumped into her car, taking off in the direction of town. She drove around for a little while but was unable to find a bar anywhere in town. Sterling really was the perfect little small town.

Eventually, she found a somewhat run-down little bar on the outskirts of Sterling, just this side of a large wooden sign that read "Welcome to Charming." There weren't many cars in the parking lot, but it was a Wednesday. Scarlett pushed the door open and looked around the smoky room, walking over to the bar as the other four customers watched her carefully.

As she approached the bar, the bartender immediately walked over with a smirk. She ordered a Jack and Coke as she slid onto the barstool in front of him and he made her drink, setting it up on the bar in front of her. She spent most of the night making small talk with the very attractive man behind the counter, but she kept it impersonal. She'd learned not to share personal conversation with anyone. Of course that one customer of hers seemed to be the exception to that rule.

She had just lit a cigarette when she felt someone slide onto the stool next to hers. "You love to smoke, don't you?" At the sight of the man, the bartender's smirk disappeared and he backed away from her to go talk to some women on the other end of the bar.

Scarlett turned her head and found herself face to face with the tattooed, leather-wearing customer she'd come to like so much. She shook her head with a smirk. "You're breaking the rules again," she told him, putting the cigarette to her lips.

"What, personal conversation?"

"No, ignoring me in public. It's supposed to protect the customers."

"Do I look like I give a fuck if someone sees me talkin' to you?"

"Good point," she sighed, taking a sip of her drink. "I guess that's mostly for senators, or CEOs, or married men who don't want people to know they pay for sex."

"I don't have to pay for it, you know," he said, sitting up straighter. The tone of her voice was enough to make him suddenly insecure.

She looked over at him, her eyes roaming over his body before finally finding his dark eyes. "I know," she replied with a smirk. "You could get any woman you want, huh?"

"Well what about you?" he asked, quickly taking the focus off himself. "You could get any guy you want. Why ya in this business?"

She held a finger up as she took another drag from her cigarette. "Personal conversation. You just broke another rule."

"Well, since I've already broken it, I guess it won't matter if I ask why you're not working tonight."

She shrugged her shoulders and blew out the smoke from her lungs. "Wednesdays aren't very busy. I got the night off."

"That's too bad. I was gonna go see you later."

"Oh really?" Her eyebrows rose as she turned her head to look at him.

He called the bartender back over and ordered a shot before he looked back at her. "Got a grand burnin' a hole in my pocket."

"A grand, huh? You sure you're up for that?"

"Hey, two hours is nothing. We've done it before," he pointed out, downing the shot that had been set in front of him.

She gave him a smirk and picked up the glass in front of her. "Just let me finish my drink." He just sat there watching her as she took turns sipping her drink and taking drags from the cigarette between her fingers. Eventually she put out what was left of her cigarette and downed the last bit of her drink before rising from the barstool she was sitting on. She reached into her bag for some money but he had already laid out some bills on the bar. "You don't have to do that."

"It's for working on your night off."

Scarlett shook her head with a smile and allowed him to lead her out of the bar to the parking lot. She got into her car and he jumped on his motorcycle to follow her back to the house. It only took about ten minutes to get back; there was no traffic since it was so late.

She had just gotten her seatbelt off her body when he opened the car door for her. She politely thanked him as she got out and they walked to the door together. He reached out to open the door, but she put her hand on his arm to stop him. " It probably wouldn't be so good if my boss found out we were together before. Just go with it, okay?"

"Sure. Whatever you say," he agreed, nodding his head.

Scarlett opened the door and went inside first, going straight for the counter where Angel and Tiffany were chatting away, obviously not very busy. "Look who I found outside," she said casually as she set her bag down on the counter. Angel just grinned at her while Tiffany focused on the man behind her. He took out the stack of bills and handed it to Scarlett, who handed it over to Angel. "Alright, girls. See you later." She turned back to him, a slight smirk on her face. "Follow me."

He followed her downstairs to room 7 and she opened the door to go inside. He immediately shut the door behind her and put his hands on both sides of her body, pinning her against the door. He leaned down closer, his face only inches from hers, and his eyes caught the dainty gold chain that hung around her neck. "Nice necklace," he chuckled. "Sure you should be wearin' crosses?"

She automatically reached up to run her fingers over the gold cross that hung from the chain. A smirk hit her lips as she snaked her hands up his shoulders to the back of his neck and leaned in close to whisper in his ear. "Don't you worry about it."

He grinned as his hands wrapped around the backs of her thighs and lifted her up, making her yelp in surprise as he carried her over to the bed.