To Die For - Davidson King Page 0,26

price to come in tonight, and I had a feeling it would be worth every penny.

“I want to thank you all for volunteering your time for charity. I know it’s going to be one hell of a night, and I can’t wait to see how you all rock the house,” Atlas said, and everyone cheered. “So, head to the back and finish getting ready. Toby will inform you when we open the doors and let you all know when you’re up.”

I watched from the bar as they all trekked away to where the break room had been transformed into a dressing room. Sparkles was talking with a few people I knew he got to sign up to participate tonight, so I simply gave him a small wave when he looked over, happy when he returned it.

I was dying to see Sparkles perform. As amazing as I knew they’d all be, he was the one I would watch from beginning to end.

I had a full staff tonight, and the floor had tons of servers. It was going to be a busy and wonderful night for sure. I wore a deep red button-down and black pants. Each bartender also had a solid color shirt on and black pants. Servers looked similar but with sequined bow ties. Ciro and the security were in all black as they often liked to hide in the shadows. Ledger was in white, on stage, ready to make sure the show went on flawlessly.

I heard Ciro say through my earpiece that he was opening the door in one minute, and Ledger started the music. My staff was ready, and the second the doors opened, people flowed in. A lot of the same people I was used to, who were willing to spend the money knowing the show would be grand. There were a lot of new faces too. It was always easy to spot someone who was seeing the place for the first time. They walked through the club, looking up and around at everything.

We were handing out drinks within seconds. So many orders and I laughed as I thought of the proceeds the LGBT Center would be getting for tonight. I’d just handed a cosmopolitan to a patron and moved to the next person waiting. My face must have shown my disdain for Dorian since he grinned and said, “I see you remember me.”

“What can I get you?” I had no time or want to speak with this man.

“So much for customer service, huh?” He narrowed his eyes. I could hear people around me shouting out orders.

“Do you want anything or not? I got a lot of thirsty people here.” I waved at the people all waiting to be served.

“Okay, I’ll have a Blood and Sand.” He smirked. It wasn’t a typical drink, and I could count probably on one hand how many times I’d made it, and from the way he smirked it was clear he didn’t think I knew how to make one.

“Sure thing.” I grabbed a cocktail shaker and if he was shocked, he didn’t show it. I mixed it and poured it into a glass. I cut a round piece of the orange and grabbed a book of matches. I placed the drink on the countertop in front of me, and Dorian watched every move I made. I lit the match and held it several inches above the cocktail. With the orange peel colored-side down, I waved it over the flame, letting the oils gather. This wasn’t necessary, but it added a little flair to the drink. It wasn’t that I wanted to impress Dorian; I wanted him to realize he shouldn’t misjudge people. Once the oils were gathered, I twisted and squeezed the orange over the flame and blew it out. I rubbed the peel around the glass, dropped it in, and handed it to him.

“Impressive,” he said. He took a sip. “Delicious.”

“So glad you like it.” I was about to tell him the price, but he tossed me a fifty.

“Keep the change.” He winked and walked away. I didn’t have time to react—another person was in front of me asking for a drink.

I served for an hour before the music changed, and I knew the show was about to begin.

“Welcome one and all to an event like no other here at Joker’s Sin!” Atlas stood center stage, dressed in a bright-red shimmering suit, his golden microphone in his hand. “The best queens are drag queens, in my opinion. They are the