Strictly Business

"So.......?"

Scarlett glanced up from her pancakes to see Angel hopping onto the counter and giving her an impatient look. "What?" she asked between bites.

"What was that last night? You and that guy came in together," the blonde said, whispering the last part as if it were some piece of scandalous news.

The older girl rolled her eyes and took a sip of her orange juice. "It was nothing. He was just getting off his bike when I pulled up. We walked in together."

"You sure?"

"Yes, Angel. He's just a regular customer. No big deal." She knew that it would not be wise to tell any of the girls that they had actually been spending time together at the bar beforehand and that she had broken most some of her rules with him. It would be especially foolish to tell Angel, considering she was young and immature and she was new in the business.

Angel didn't look completely convinced but she nodded unsurely and hopped off of the counter, shrugging her shoulders. "Whatever. Vince wants to see you in the office."

She hadn't seen Vince since his official welcome to the house almost two months ago. It was her understanding that he was the one who managed the financial portion of the business while Felix handled all the women. Scarlett sighed heavily and got up to put her plate into the sink before heading down the back hallway to the office that he shared with Felix.

She straightened out her black tank top before knocking on the door softly and she waited patiently until it opened, revealing an unkempt, unshaven Vince, his eyes heavy and his tie hanging loosely around his neck. "Come in, come in."

She followed him into the office and shut the door behind her before taking a seat in the plush leather chair across from his desk. He sat down behind the desk, scratching the back of his neck and yawning.

"Angel said you wanted to see me?"

"I just wanted to let you know that we have two new girls coming in today. I expect you'll take them under your wing and show them how things are done around here."

"Of course, sir."

"Their flight lands at 3, so you'll have some time to chat beforehand. Felix took the day off and I'm leaving for a business trip to Miami in about an hour so you'll be in charge tonight. Things better run smoothly while we're gone."

"Yes, sir. No problem."

"Good," he affirmed, reading a paper that had been lying on his desk. "You can go."

Scarlett quickly stood up and left the office, shutting the door behind her and going outside to the backyard where Kimberly and Tiffany were tanning in the lounge chairs. "You guys, it's too fucking hot out here for this."

"What'd Vince want?" Kim asked, ignoring her complaint.

"He's leaving for Miami today and we're getting two new girls."

Tiffany groaned and sat up, pushing her sunglasses back off her face. "Where the fuck are they going to live? All the rooms are full since you got here."

"I don't know. I guess we'll have to double up."

"We're gonna have to share?" Angel whined from the doorway. "No way. I'm not sharing my room!"

"Don't be such a brat," Kimberly scolded the young blonde. It was obvious just by the way she acted that Angel was the youngest of all the girls in the house and by far the most inexperienced.

Tiffany looked back at Scarlett, rolling her eyes. "When are they coming?"

"Flight lands at 3 so everyone will have a chance to meet them before work tonight. Now if you need me, I'm going upstairs to shower before all the hot water gets gone."

Scarlett left the three women outside and went upstairs to take a long shower before going to her room to get ready for work. She took her time drying and styling her hair, picking out a dress, and doing her shaving/moisturizing ritual before putting on her makeup.

She glanced at the large, ornate clock on her wall before quickly pulling on her dress and slipping her feet into the black heels sitting by her bed. With one last tousle of her long hair, she turned off the light and headed downstairs. The new girls were expected to arrive at the house any minute. All of the girls had gotten ready for work early and were waiting in the great room as they chatted with each other.

Finally, at a quarter past four, the front door opened and Vince's driver stepped inside first, moving to the side so that the women behind him could enter the house. As soon as the first woman walked inside, Scarlett's lips curled into a smile and she walked around the counter to greet their newest employees.

Celeste squealed when she saw Scarlett coming toward her and she ran across through the foyer to throw her arms around her old friend. "What are you doing here?" Scarlett asked once the younger girl let her go.

"Ah, missed you too much, I guess. Had to come see what kind of trouble you were getting yourself into down here. Oh, and guess who came with me!"

She honestly had no idea who could have come with Celeste to start working for Felix and Vince. All the girls back home were content in working for Trish; the woman was a fair boss. Just about the time Celeste spoke, another woman stepped through the door, dragging a beige suitcase behind her. "Linda?"

Linda Perez was the last person Scarlett ever expected to cross the threshold. She had been one of Trish's associates back in Las Vegas. Scarlett had never been sure what exactly she did, but she was in attendance at all of Trish's parties and she frequently visited the club to have a drink while the girls were working.

The woman crossed the foyer and gingerly hugged Scarlett, giving her a peck on both cheeks. "Linda, I was not expecting you at all!"

The woman smirked, shrugging her shoulders as she looked around, only half paying attention to her old acquaintance. "What else was I going to do? Couldn't stay in Vegas," she replied nonchalantly before walking away to take in her new surroundings.

"What did she mean she couldn't stay in Vegas?"

Celeste's eyes widened. "Oh, Christ, you haven't heard? Come on, I've got tons to tell you."

The other girls gradually went back to doing their own things while keeping an eye on Linda, who was looking around like she owned the place- going into cabinets and drawers, looking through papers, while they went into the great room to talk. Scarlett plopped down onto the sofa, crossing her legs, and turned to her old friend. "Okay, spill."

"Well the truth is I came here because I had nowhere else to go."

"Trish fired you?" she asked surprised.

"No, no, it's much worse." She glanced over her shoulder then leaned in closer to whisper. "The whole place got raided last weekend- hotel and the club. Cops were crawlin' all over the place. All the girls and the customers got arrested, and Trish too. I think she's actually looking at some jail time. But the business is ruined so we all had to find work somewhere."

"Shit," Scarlett muttered, shaking her head. "Why weren't you arrested?"

"Lucky I was doing a house call," she chuckled. "Looks like you left just in time, huh?"

"I can't believe she actually got caught."

"Well, I overheard some guy telling Linda that Trish's business wasn't what attracted the police. It was Ivan that caught some attention."

Ivan was a large Russian man in his mid-forties, with a bald head and a bushy blonde mustache. He was a supplier for any drug one could possibly need. Many of Trish's girls bought prescription drugs from him, but he also sold the harder stuff on the streets. He was a scary character to have around all the time, but to those who were addicted to their painkillers, it was worth the risk. He and Trish had worked out some sort of deal for the girls.

Scarlett rolled her eyes. "I told Trish that was a stupid fucking idea." She never had been one to pop pills, snort, or shoot up. She had seen what drugs could do to people and she had wanted no part of it. She attempted to discourage Trish from making the decision to do business with the drug dealer, but the older woman could not be swayed.

"Well, Ivan went away for awhile. Him and his two lackeys."

"Good. I hated those guys." She shuddered just at the thought of the two greasy, weasel-like young men who followed Ivan around like puppies. Those two had always been particularly disgusting and creepy.

The two women continued to chat until Scarlett realized that it was past time for her to be over at the counter greeting people as they came in. When she finally made it over, Kimberly was flirting with the new customer standing in front of her. He was older, probably fifty, with dark curly hair and and an unsettling look in his clear blue eyes. Scarlett immediately noticed the leather across his back that was identical to the one belonging to another customer of hers.

Kimberly nudged her with her elbow and gave her the five one hundred dollar bills that the man had just handed over. "He said he wants the best woman we've got."

Scarlett quickly counted the money before putting it away and looking up to give the man a flirtatious smile. "Well, I guess that'd be me. Right this way, sir." He smirked as she led him down the hallway to the staircase and down to room six.

She had no idea what she was in for.