Saved Mafia Bride by Mae Doyle
Clara
“You strip?” The man leering at me right now is looking at me like I’m a piece of meat for sale at the market, which I guess really isn’t that far from the truth. How the hell I fell this far when I thought that I was going to be baking and finally be legit, I’m not sure, but I do my best to keep my chin from wobbling.
It doesn’t matter. It wobbles anyway.
“I can,” I say, purposely leaving out the fact that I never have and that I promised myself a long time ago that I never would. We can promise ourselves things all the time, but when it all comes down to needing money, then we don’t have much choice in the matter.
“Let me see.” He crosses his meaty arms on his chest and takes a step back, giving me a bit more room.
“See?” I ask, even though it’s clear from his body language and from how he stepped back from me to give me space exactly what he wants me to do. “What do you want to see?”
“Your body. You don’t think that we can have girls up there that the guys don’t want, do you? I’m a good judge of what girl will look good and which ones will make the guys leave.” He leers at me.
Leers.
“You can see what I look like,” I say, not wanting to take off my clothes for this guy. “Do you really need me to strip right now?”
A loud knock on the door almost makes me jump. I’m fingering the hem of my shirt, the soft fabric running back and forth between my fingers, but when the knock sounds in the room, I drop the fabric.
“Ivan! If that girl wants to strip then you better leave her alone! We need someone on stage in just a few minutes and I’m fucking exhausted! If I have to take off my clothes one more time today then I’m going to lose my shit.” The doorknob rattles and the door swings open, a blonde with teased hair and too much makeup appearing like a ghost.
She stares at me, her eyes flicking up and down my body and I’m convinced that she can tell more about what I look like than Ivan could even if I was standing in front of him naked. He scowls and rolls his eyes, but when she stalks into the room and grabs me by the hand to pull me out with her, he doesn’t make any movement to stop her.
“Sorry about him,” she says, walking quickly in heels that are so high I’m sure I’d break an ankle just putting them on. “He’s a dumbass but he keeps guys from harassing the girls, so we keep him on. I’m Chantelle.”
“Clara,” I say, right as she pulls me into a small room and spins to look at me.
“Not Clara,” she says, shaking her head. “Something else. Lexus? Mercedes?” I frown and she laughs. “Not a car girl, huh?”
I shake my head. “Not really. I guess that I never considered a stage name before.” Because I’ve never considered stripping before, but I need cash, and fast, and the bank doesn’t exactly hand it out to people who don’t have any form of ID because they don’t officially exist.
“Okay. Destiny. Dallas. No. Lola. There you go, Lola.” She grins at me like we just unlocked some secret code and gives a slight squeal. “Now, I have an outfit for you and then I’m going to take your picture, okay?”
“My picture?” She presses some clothes into my hands and I take them without really thinking about what I’m doing. “Why do you need to take my picture?”
“You’re new.” Chantelle tilts her head a little and looks at me. “I’m going to put up a poster right outside and I guarantee you that you’ll have a huge crowd in no time.”
My hands feel sweaty but I nod, swallowing hard. This feels like a rollercoaster. I’ve gotten on and been strapped in and now, no matter how much I scream and beg, I’m not sure that there’s a way off of it. Just once, I tell myself. Just to get enough to buy some more time.
“Okay. Change. Fast.” She turns around and starts digging through stuff on a table. I see cell phones, a camera, and a huge bag of makeup.
Swallowing my pride, I turn from her and strip out of my clothes as quickly as possible, leaving them puddled on the floor while I pull on the outfit she gave me. It’s skimpy, and bright red, and I adjust the top to make sure that my nipples are covered before turning back around.
“Yowza,” she remarks, handing me a matching bright red lipstick. “Put some of this on and then you’re good to go. The guys are going to eat you up. How are you in heels?” She grabs a pair from the floor and lets them dangle from her fingers.
Leaning over to a dirty mirror on the wall, I slick on some lipstick and then shake my head at the shoes. “I’ll break an ankle,” I tell her, making her laugh.
“Okay, Lola, you can go barefoot this time but we’re going to have to practice walking in heels if you want to really make a lot of cash. But you’re new, and new gets money. Smile.” A quick snap of the camera and she grins down at the screen. “It’s pretty cool, actually, we have this screen outside and I can upload it straight to there. Everyone will see you and I’m sure that you’ll get a huge crowd.” She shrugs and then turns to leave the room.
“Wait.” I grab her arm, panic coursing through me.
Am I really doing this? Am I really going to go out on stage in front of men wearing something the size of a kitchen rag?
“How much can I make? And will I get the cash right now?”
“You’re desperate, aren’t you?” I nod and she grins. “So are we, we need new blood. I can’t tell you how much you’ll make, but I can tell you that you get the cash right away, okay? There’s the house fee, of course, and you’ll want to tip the DJ so that they don’t play you shit songs the next time you’re up there, but you’ll be fine. I’ll help you out with all of that. I’m just grateful to get a bit of a break, to be honest.”
“Do I have to get completely naked?” The words come out in a rush and I almost expect her to laugh at me, but she doesn’t. She smiles and takes my hand, squeezing it hard.
“You don’t want to?”
I shake my head.
“Then don’t. Not today, anyway. You can get more going fully nude, of course, and you can make a ton if you get invited into a private room for a dance. You want my advice, start out in this,” she hands me a coat, “and go slow at first. You’ll be fine. I’ll be cheering you on unless I get taken to a room. Trust me, Lola, you’ve got this.”
Trust her. I want to, but only because I don’t know what else to do. It’s stupid to think that I’m really going to do this, but I have to have the cash. Scott had promised me as a condition of me working for him that he’d pay me upfront for the first week of work. He must have been desperate for help, because I’ve never had anyone offer to do that for me before.
This is my only option. By this time tomorrow I need to have the money in hand, and I honestly can’t think of another way to make it happen.
“Lola, are you ready?” Chantelle peers at me like she’s making sure that I’m not going to pass out.
“I’m good.” I nod at her, ignoring the way butterflies are throwing themselves around in my stomach. “I got this. I can do this.”
“Hell yeah, you can. Let me show you to the stage. Your picture is up outside and we don’t want to keep the guys waiting.”
