Depths of Depravity (10 page)

Jade was a petite girl. She was dressed in all black. Her body was tight and tiny. As she scrunched her body up on the couch and against Luther, she seemed even smaller. While the petite brunette did her best to get a rise out of L
uther, I sat in the chair and patiently waited.

I watched and observed everything that was going on. I wanted to ask Luther what he wanted me to do but thought better of it. Then he looked at me. Our eyes locked upon one another. I saw a devious smile deve
loping on his face. I stared at him, trying to remain focused.

Is this what he wants? Just to look at me while some other woman tries to please him?

I found myself slowly starting to enjoy the show in front of me. Luther continued to stare back at me. Jade started to increase her intensity. I could see how hard she was grinding against him. She began thrusting her body on top of him, mimicking what it would look like if she was actually riding him. I looked down underneath her and could see a thickness extending in his pants. It was restrained against the side of his leg. There were strange sensations beginning to stir around in my stomach. They were the same feelings I had when he had whispered into my ear.

It was beginning to turn me on. I started shifting
around in my chair. Jade began to ride him even harder and I imagined it was me that was on top of him. Even though she was the one that was doing all of the work, Luther continued to stare at me. The light pupils of his eyes seemed to stick out from the darkness of the room. They were looking back at me, spurning all of the emotions that were turning my insides in knots.

I coughed and re-positioned myself in the chair. Jade turned around and began to bounce on top of him. Her ass bounced against his lengt
h. Every now and then she would set herself upon him and grind up against him. The intensity on Luther’s face remained as he paid little attention to her. I stared back at him, trying my best not to let him know what I was feeling. But it was pointless. It was obvious that I was enjoying the show just as much as he was. My body was beginning to act upon its own. The erotic scene in front of me was too sensual not to let it get to me.

Jade was working tremendously hard. I could see all of the muscles on her
tiny body flexing. A layer of perspiration was now covering her. She rested her arms on the side of the couch as she continued to grind up against Luther. She turned back around and started to ride him once again. Luther grabbed her short brown hair and jerked her head back. She gasped and I nearly did the same. Despite how hard he was pulling on her, she didn’t protest. It seemed to make Jade work even harder. She was now grinding against him with greater force. Her mouth was open as she took in heavy breaths. Luther started to raise his hips up off of the couch. He was now banging his body hard against the petite girl. Even though she was wearing panties, I could tell that his length had still managed to stimulate her. I shifted in my chair once again, my hands now gripping the bottom of my seat. I was captivated and no longer able to focus on keeping my composure. My mouth hung open the same as Jade’s, anticipating a climax that was just as good as any kind of sex.

Suddenly, Luther stopped. He sank back in
to his couch and let go of Jade’s hair. He grabbed her arms and slowed her down.

“
That’s enough,” he said.

“
All right,” Jade replied, out of breath and sweating.

The music continued to blare through the speakers and the orgy around us proceeded. But Luther
had pulled the plug on the scene so abruptly that I found myself frustrated. I slowly stood up from my chair as the two of them got out of their private little booth. Luther straightened his tie then reached into this pocket. He pulled out a roll of money then counted out what he promised.

“
Here’s your share,” he said to Jade.

“
Thank you. We should do this again sometime.”

“
We’ll see about that.”

Jade took the money and skipped her way back into the club. I
watched her for a moment then turned my attention back to Luther. He was looking at me with that same deceptive smile on his face.

“
Now is it my turn?” I asked.

“
Your turn? You already had your turn.”

He counted out the money and then held it out to me. I
looked at him confused.

“
Wait a minute. I didn’t even do anything.”

“
Oh, but you did, Harley. You did more than you realize.”

“
I thought you said you wanted me.”

“
I do. And I said you’re not going to dance for any other man at the club except for me. That’s still the case. Go on. Take it.”

He continued to hold the money out to me. It was definitely suspicious. This was too easy.

“There’s nothing wrong with this money, is there? You’re not some drug dealer or something, are you?”

“
No,” he laughed. “I assure you that all of my money is from legitimate business.”

“
Okay… Then what was this all about.”

“
We should probably discuss this somewhere else.”

“
Oh. Right.”

I walked with Luther out of Paradise and headed back to the main floor of the club. I leaned up aga
inst the bar and looked at all of the money in my hand. It was seven grand, just like he promised. The bartender placed a drink in front of Luther and he took a moment to enjoy it after his rigorous experience with Jade.

“
That was a test,” I said to him.

“
What?”

“
You were testing me. You didn’t pay me just to watch. There was something else you wanted to see.”

He smiled then took another sip of his drink.

“You’re very perceptive,” he said to me. “But you’re asking the wrong question. The test was obvious. But what exactly am I testing?”

I looked at the ground and thought about it. Nothing immediately sprang to mind. I found myself unable to come up with an answer. None of it made sense. When I looked back up at him, he was staring back at me, waiting for my
response.

“
What do you want?” I asked him.

“
Honestly? I want to take you out. What do you say, Harley? Go out with me on a date.”

“
What? I’m not a hooker.”

“
You’re only a hooker if I pay you for sex. That money is for your services here in Platinum. I’m asking to take you out. Whatever happens after that is up to you. I won’t give you a single dollar outside of this club.”

It had come so suddenly. He went from handing me a wad of bills to asking me out on a date. It wasn
’t an offer I could easily turn down. There was no denying that I was drawn to him in some way. And when I realized that I had a bit of an attraction to him, it finally hit me. I was able to regain my focus and my original objective.

You
’re not a stripper. You’re a reporter. You’re here for a story.

An opportunity had once again presented itself. I had targeted a man named Landon Schrader. Maybe Luther was actually the one who had all of the answers I was looking for. A date would give me the perfect opportunity to see if I had a lead.

“Okay,” I told him. “One date. No promises. No guarantees. If you’re so intent on taking me out, I suppose I could oblige.”

“
Thank you, Harley. How does Saturday night sound?”

“
I suppose I could fit you into my schedule,” I winked at him.

“
Then I’ll meet you here Saturday night. I’ll pick you up and take you somewhere nice. Don’t worry. I’m sure you’ll have a good time.”

“
The pressure’s not on me, Luther.”

Luther winked at me then took a sip of his drink.

“Remember, Harley. You only dance for me. So take the rest of the night off.”

Before I could respond, he turned around and made his way back to his spot in the VIP section.

“That’s a lot of money.”

I whipped my head around as I heard the voice. Sage was standing right next to me with a big smile on her face.

“You seem to be doing pretty well,” she smiled at me.

“
Yeah,” I said, remembering how much money I was holding. “I think I’m done for the night.”

“
You’ve had a good night. Might as well enjoy the rest of it.”

I smiled at her and headed back to my locker. I chan
ged back into my street clothes and thought about everything that just happened. I didn’t have a concrete idea but I was on the right track. Luther was pointing me in the right direction. Now all I had to do was keep digging.

Chapter 10

It wasn’t a regular thing for me to stop by the office before I got my assignment done. There was no need for me to lock myself into a cubicle when there was a story out there for me to find.

As I sat there in my boss
’s office, I wondered exactly why he had called me in. He didn’t waste any time with me and cut right to the chase.

“
I talked to Jennifer in Features,” he said to me, an unlit cigarette dangling at the corner of his mouth. “She said that you were looking into Landon Schrader.”

“
Yes, that’s right, boss,” I said to him. “I wasn’t looking into
just
him but that was the general idea.”

“
Jennifer didn’t tell you, did she?”

“
Tell me what?”

Mr. Kelsey held his lighter up to his mouth and lit the cigarette. He inhaled a long and slow puff. I was confused as to w
hat he was going to say to me. I thought Jennifer had given me all of the details.

“
She dropped the story because I told her to,” he said.

“
What?”

“
Landon Schrader is a powerful man. I didn’t need someone like Jennifer snooping around. Whatever it is she might find… Schrader’s got enough money to shut us down if we mention anything… unsavory about him.”

“
Wait a minute,” I said. “You told her
not
to report on him? But if there’s something here, we’re obligated to—”

“
Hold on, Victoria. I told Jennifer to drop the story. I’m not telling
you
to.”

“
Then what are you telling me?”

“
I’m letting you do this story because I know that I can trust you. I know that whatever you might find, if there’s anything at all, it’s going to be factual and accurate.”

“
That goes without saying.”

“
I just wanted to tell you to be real careful with this.”

“
Boss, you know that I’m not careless with what I write. If there’s something for me to find, I’m going to have all the evidence in the world to back it up. I don’t write about gossip or innuendo.”

Mr. Kelsey smiled at me, his brow still furrowed as he took another long puff of his cigarette. I didn
’t understand why he needed to reiterate how important this was. It was always necessary for me to tread on dangerous ground.

“
Boss, do you know anything about Landon Schrader? This isn’t the first time I’ve dealt with someone who’s high-profile. Why would you call me into your office now?”

“
No, I don’t know anything about the guy, Victoria. For all I know, he could be the nicest fella in the world. That’s not the point though. What I do know is that Jennifer met some resistance when she was trying to get in touch with him. All of your other subjects, they’re not like this. Money is the key to solving all kinds of problems that the media might pose. If he has a problem, he has everything he needs to launch a campaign against The High Standard. We could lose our credibility even if you’re telling the truth.”

“
Boss—”

“
I’m not telling you to stop, Victoria. I already said that. But whomever it is you’re dealing with, whether it’s Schrader or any of his associates… Just remember to be careful. A man with a lot of money can buy a lot of power. Make sure you know exactly what you’re going to say about him or anybody else you write about.”

Despite the serious tone of the conversation, he wasn
’t telling me anything that I didn’t already know. I was taking every precaution I could. There was no telling what I would find if I dug any deeper at Platinum.

“
So how’s it coming along?” he asked me. “I might as well ask you while you’re here. I figure you’re making more progress than Jennifer.”

“
I have an idea.”

“
An idea?”

“
Well, more than an idea. I have some sources and I just need to figure out what exactly my angle is.”

“
Are we still talking about Schrader here, Victoria?”

“
Schrader and maybe some of his associates. A man with that much money who’s trying to remain out of the public eye… There has to be something interesting behind all of it.”

“
You’ve got a good eye, Victoria. That’s why I trust you.”

“
Thanks, boss. Can I go now?”

“
Yeah, yeah. Get to work. And make sure you have that piece in by the end of the month.”

“
Of course.”

I left Mr. Kelsey
’s office with a bit more focus than I already had. Hearing that he wanted me to be cautious about reporting on Landon Schrader only made me curious to find out if there was anything worth writing about. I left the office of The High Standard and hopped into my car when I suddenly got another phone call.

“
Now who is it…”

I looked at the phone number. It didn
’t look familiar but I answered it anyway.

“
Hello?”

“
Harley.”

“
Um, who is this?”

“
Hello, Harley. This is Sage.”

“
Oh, hi, Sage. Um, how did you—”

“
Your number is in your profile. The same profile that’s on the computer when you check-in.”

“
Oh, right,” I suddenly remembered. “What can I do for you?”

“
You’re not busy at the moment, are you?”

“
Um, not particularly no. Why?”

“
Is there any chance you can stop by the club? There’s something I’d like you to see.”

“
Sure. I can stop by for a bit.”

“
Don’t worry. I’m not asking you to work or anything. But I might need you for some time.”

“
Hey, it’s not a problem. I can be right there in just a little bit.”

“
Great. I’ll see you then.”

I hung the phone up, curious as to what Sage had in store for me. There was no way I could refuse her offer though. I was still searching for some kind of story to write about. Anything she could show me would just give me more mate
rial to work with. I headed toward Platinum as quickly as I could, my mind racing with the possibilities of what she had planned. Maybe she would tell me all about what she whispered into my ear only a few days ago.

* * *

When I got to Platinum, it was still the middle of the day, so there wasn’t much of a crowd. I made my way inside and Sage was waiting at her familiar spot near the bar, chatting it up with the bartender. She was dressed in a black skirt and a tiny white t-shirt that was strained against her breasts. There were some other women working but there was only a small crowd of men for them to deal with.

“
Harley!” she smiled at me with enthusiasm. “I’m so glad you could make it.”

“
Hi, Sage. What’s this all about?”

“
Since you’ve got some time to spare, I was wondering if you wanted to get some practice in.”

“
Practice?”

“
On the pole.”

“
Oh, no!” I exclaimed. “No, no, no. I’m not interested in working the pole. Not right now.”

“
Harley? What’s wrong? Why are you being so bashful?”

“
I… I can’t work the pole. Dancing on stage in front of all of those men… It’s…”

“
It’s what? You’re a stripper, Harley. You don’t
have
to pole dance but it’s kind of expected of you.”

“
I just…”

I was searching for any excuse not to do it. I wasn
’t a stripper. I wasn’t that kind of girl. Hell, I had trouble taking my clothes off in front my boyfriends when the lights were on. I didn’t want to imagine what I looked like completely naked and trying to move to the beat of the music in front of a bunch of complete strangers.

“
I don’t want to embarrass myself,” I said. “There are plenty of other good-looking women in the club. I don’t want to take their spot away.”

“
What are you talking about? There are plenty of spots available. That’s why there are three poles.”

“
Yeah but I’ll probably just look really awkward. I don’t—”

“
That’s why you’re here. To practice. There isn’t anybody her to see you make a fool of yourself. Nobody cares if you’re barely starting out. Come on…”

Sage smiled at me, continuing to try and urge me to d
o it. I looked over at the woman near the front of the club who was dancing for all of the men. She looked graceful as she held onto the pole. She was able to display her nude body in a way that accentuated all of her good features. But more than that, I noticed the small group of men that were staring at her. I remembered what Luther said about women who dance on a pole. He said that they have all the power in the world when they’re on stage. They’re nude and completely vulnerable. Everybody can see everything. But they’re still in control. And it was that control that made me curious. I wanted to see if even someone like me could possess that kind of ability.

“
Okay,” I sighed. “I guess it wouldn’t hurt to give it a try.”

“
Great!” Sage squealed. “That’s all you really need. Just give it a try. If it’s not your thing then it’s not your thing. But who knows what you’ll feel when you’re up there on the pole.”

“
I’m not really dressed…”

“
Don’t worry about it. We’ll go real slow. What you’re wearing is just fine. There’s no need for you to win a gold medal. You’re just going through the basics.”

I was wearing a pair of spandex and an old college sweater. Mr. Kelsey called me into the office and I hadn
’t planned on actually making a trip to Platinum, let alone dancing on stage. Even if Sage was the only one watching, I still felt self-conscious about everything.

“
Just watch for a moment,” Sage said to me as she stepped up onto the stage. “The first thing you want to do is hold onto the pole. Get a feel for it. Get comfortable around it.”

“
Right.”

I wish I had my recorder so I could get all of this down. I don
’t think I’m going to remember any of this…

I watched as Sage gripped the pole and slowly started to walk around the stage. Even just wal
king around the pole, she managed to do it with a kind of elegance that I couldn’t explain. I had no idea how I was going to pull this off myself. Sage I could understand. Not only was she beautiful but she had a look that was different from everybody else. I couldn’t mimic that kind of confidence.

“
The pole is stationary,” she explained. “It’s not going to move from its spot. Even with all of the wear and tear from getting twirled and spun upon, even if you were three times your size, it’s not going anywhere. Always make sure that you’re in contact with the pole. You don’t have to hold it. Use your back, your legs, your arms, even your head.”

Sage put her back up against the pole and leaned hard into it. She then turned around and braced herself against it
with her shoulder. I watched her bend over to give me a different view of her body. She turned back around and bent her body backward, the top of her head resting against the pole. She spread her legs as she bent herself in the opposite direction. She grabbed the pole once again to show me all of the different positions she could bend her body.

“
I wouldn’t be able to do that usually,” she said. “The pole is there to keep my balance. That’s all you need to know about the basics.”

“
That’s it?”

“
I know that you might have some other image in your head about what it takes to be a pole dancer. But it’s not about having fancy moves or doing acrobatics. Like I said, you’re not getting judged on a scorecard. All you’re trying to do is show these men how sexy you can be. You’re already sexy, Harley. The pole is there just to help.”

“
You make it sound easier than it looks.”

“
That’s because it is. It’s… It’s hard to explain. I can’t tell you exactly what to do. Being up here is all about showing men what they want. But that’s the thing. Men don’t know what they want until you show it to them. Even if a man thinks some other girl is better looking than you, you have to show him that you’re more attractive than her. You’re hot. You’re sexy. Use the pole to show that off. Here…”

Sage slowly worked her way off the stage. She held her hand out to the pole as if to make way for me.

“Give it a try,” she smiled at me.