be worth more than all the money in the world. But the thought of making twenty dollars just for walking some beers over from the bar was kind of blowing my mind, especially when I currently had eight dollars to my name.
“Go ahead, take it,” the guy said, pushing the bill into my hand. “It’ll make me feel better.”
“Thanks.” I took the money and slid it into the tip cup that was sitting on my tray.
“What’s your name?” the guy asked.
“Olivia,” I replied, before realizing it probably wasn’t a good idea to use your real name when you worked at a strip club. Wasn’t that why all the girls here used names like Diamond and Kat?
“Olivia,” the guy said. “That’s my sister’s name.” He gave me a smile, and suddenly, the hairs on the back of my neck stood up and my internal radar started going off. It wasn’t anything his tone or anything he’d done -- he sounded genuine and his smile didn’t seem fake. He was dressed in an expensive suit and had the semi-uninterested look of a guy who’d been dragged along on a work trip and didn’t necessarily even want to be spending his night in a strip club. I had no reason to think he was lying. His sister’s name probably was Olivia.
But I’d had enough experience with predators to know how this was one of their tactics. If a man wanted you to trust him, he’d find a way to connect with you. Something unassuming and innocent, something that would make you think he wasn’t a threat. It was how abusers were able to keep their victims close. They gave you a reason to connect with them and make you think you could trust them before exploiting that trust and confusing you about whether or not what they were doing was wrong.
“That’s nice,” I said vaguely.
“I’m Caleb,” he said, holding his hand out.
I took it and shook it. His grip was strong, his hand warm. Nothing about him on the surface seemed off – but my instinct was still telling me there was something more going on. It wasn’t even necessarily something nefarious. It wasn’t like I thought he was going to try to pay me to sleep with him or anything. It was just… I felt like there was more to him what I was seeing.
“Thanks for the drinks,” he said, holding up his beer and taking a swig. “And for putting up with my friends.” He rolled his eyes and I smiled.
“Have a good night,” I said.
“Yeah, you too.”
My heart was pounding as I walked away from him.
Relax, Olivia, I told myself. You’re being crazy. Just because you have the same name as some guy’s sister doesn’t mean something shady is going on. Stop acting like a victim. Stop being so suspicious of every single person you meet.
I got back to work and was just about to put in a special order for a bunch of frat guys when Jessa called me over to the bar. “Olivia,” she said. “You need to bring this to the VIP.” She pushed a bottle of champagne across the bar. “There’s a bachelor party back there, and they want bottle service.”
“Okay,” I said. “Um, where’s the VIP?”
“Straight through there,” she said, pointing to a red crushed velvet curtain with a textured square pattern imprinted into the fabric. “It’s the second door on the left. They’re waiting for you.”
I grabbed the bottle of champagne and slipped through the curtain. At the end of the hall was a full-length wall-sized mirror, and I almost didn’t recognize myself as I walked. My breasts were pushed up, my hair loose around my shoulders. My skin looked luminous from the makeup Jessa had put on me, and my cheeks were flushed from running around the club all night. My lips were pouty with lip gloss.
I looked pretty. Or at least, as close to pretty as I could get.
When I got to the second door on the left, I stopped, wondering if I was supposed to knock or just walk in.
Finally, I knocked.
I heard a bunch of hooting and hollering coming from the room, which I guess meant the men were ready for their drinks. I turned the knob and pushed open the door.
When I got inside, I frowned.
It didn’t look like a bachelor party.
At least, they didn’t look like bachelors.
There were four men, all of them middle-aged, all of them dressed in jeans and flannel shirts. There was another bachelor party