Depths of Depravity (13 page)

“
Why is that? What’s so special about Platinum? What’s so special about the women in there? Why am
I
special?”

“
Well, I can’t speak for you specifically. I mean, you’re a lovely young woman Harley. But you’re wondering why my fellow businessmen frequent a place like Platinum, right? You’re wondering why we’re willing spend an exorbitant amount of money for the company of women we can find somewhere else.”

“…
Yes. I want to know why.”

“
Come here.”

He leaned himself over the table. He motioned for me to come closer to him with his index finger. Was this the moment he would finally give me the answer? Would h
e finally tell me the secret I hoped I would find? He shifted his eyes to the side to make sure that nobody was listening then slowly started to whisper.

“
Because there is no woman quite like a Platinum woman.”

He sank back into his seat and smiled at me.
I stared back at him and did my best not to react.

That
’s it? All he has for me is some ridiculous abstraction?

I was disappointed, to say the least. But I wouldn
’t let his answer bother me. I knew that it only meant that I had to keep digging. I just had to get Luther to loosen up so that he would tell me exactly what that meant.

As dinner continued, Luther spilled the rest of the details about his company. Even though my recorder was taking in everything he was saying, it wasn
’t anything interesting or something I could use. I needed something that required some investigating.

“
You work with Landon Schrader,” I said.

“
That’s right.”

“
I spoke to him last night. He seems… cold.”

“
That’s just how he is. There’s no need for you to take it personally.”

“
Is there a reason for that? What kind of man is he really?”

“
Landon is headstrong and confident. Some might call it arrogant. I’ve known him for a long time. I just see a man who knows what he wants. It’s admirable, don’t you think?”

“
When you put it like that, I suppose it is.”

“
You seem bothered by him.”

“
Maybe. It’s just that you and Romeo seemed to have warmed up to me. I don’t understand why he wouldn’t.”

“
Do you
really
care what Landon thinks of you?”

“…
No, I guess not. I just thought it was strange, that’s all.”

“
Don’t think too much about him. Let’s not ruin our night with talk about him. This is
our
time.”

“
Of course. What am I thinking?”

I dropped it for the moment but I wouldn
’t let it go forever. Right now I had to focus on Luther and trying to figure out what his connection was to Platinum.

I suddenly remembered that Romeo said that Luther planned on having a lot of fun with me. I couldn
’t bring it up right now though. I was enjoying Luther’s company too much to try and spoil the mood. I figured I had gotten enough information from him for tonight. There would be plenty of time to figure out whatever cryptic remarks remained.

After dinne
r ended, I got back into the limo with Luther.

“
What’s next?” I asked him.

“
That’s all.”

“
That’s it? Just dinner?”

“
Were you expecting something more, Harley?”

“
No… I guess not.”

“
Shall I take you home?”

“
My car is at the club. I… I have to pick it up.”

“
Right. Well, let’s be on our way.”

Luther didn
’t say anything to me as we were taken back to Platinum. He only smiled at me from across his seat. I was beginning to realize that I was growing more and more comfortable in his company. But I didn’t forget what this evening was all about. I had gotten a lot of information from him. Our relationship had grown. Now it was just matter of figuring out what he and everybody else in the club were up to.

The limo pulled up to the club.

“I suppose I can’t convince you to spend some time with me in the club,” he said to me.

“
No, I… I’m not working tonight. Luther…”

“
Yes?”

“
I just want to let you know something.”

“
Of course.”

“
I had a wonderful time. But I’m not looking for a relationship at the moment. I just got out of one and I need some time to myself. I just wanted you to know that nothing will happen between us. It’s not you. I just need to do this… for me.”

Luther stared at me and exhaled a deep sigh. Then he slowly nodded his head, a slight smile on his face.

“I understand,” he said. “I’m disappointed but I understand. I would never force you to do anything you don’t want to do. But that still doesn’t mean we can’t spend time with one another, does it? I mean, I do enjoy your company.”

I was still trying to get to t
he bottom of this story. I would need more information if I was going to have something to write about. I smiled at Luther then nodded back to him.

“
Yeah,” I said. “I don’t see any harm in that.”

“
When will you be working again?”

“
Tomorrow night.”

“
Then I suppose I’ll be back here tomorrow night. Good night, Harley.”

“
Good night, Luther. And thank you for dinner.”

“
It was my pleasure.”

I stepped out of the limo and
headed back to my car. As I drove back home, I thought about everything Luther and I discussed. I had significantly more notes to transcribe. Now I was sure that there was something going on at the club. Luther said it himself. It was only a matter of time until I finally discovered the answer.

Chapter 13

The next day, I listened to the recorded conversation of my dinner with Luther. I wrote down all the notes on my computer, making sure to highlight all of the important details. I had more information about Luther and his company and his business relationship with both Landon and Romeo. As I wrote down all of the details, I felt a smile come across my face. I knew that there was something behind all of this. I didn’t know what it was but I would get to the bottom of it. Landon Schrader was more than just an eccentric billionaire. The same could be said about his friends. I could only hope that spending more time working at Platinum would eventually present the answers I was looking for.

I listened to the so
und of Luther’s voice coming through the recorder. There was a moment when I found myself getting distracted by the way he spoke. This had happened before. I closed my eyes and remembered the evening I spent with him. It was so calm and peaceful despite the circumstances I had placed upon it. It almost felt like a real date. When I realized that I was getting lost in his voice, I opened my eyes and sighed a deep breath.

No, Victoria. Stay away from him. This is for a story. You can
’t just let yourself fall.

I promised myself that I would give myself some time to breathe. I told Luther that I had no interest in jumping back into a relationship and I was going to stick by that statement. After everything I had been through with John, I wouldn
’t allow another man to try and replace him so quickly. I needed the space. If not for my own personal sanity, I needed to do it to remain focused on my assignment.

* * *

I got into my car and searched for the place that Sage told me about. It was hard to determine if the address was correct because of all the buildings surrounding it but when I got there, there was no question that it was the place I was looking for. I knew that because of how indistinguishable it was from the other places. The windows were tinted and there wasn’t a sign to indicate that it was even open. I slowly opened the door in the hopes that I wouldn’t be too appalled by anything I saw. The store wasn’t as obscene as I imagined.

I guess I had the wrong idea.

The store wasn’t any more risqué than the average lingerie shop. There were several mannequins that displayed some fancy get-ups. To the side were several racks of every kind of brassiere you could imagine. I had no clue where to begin.

The lady at the counter stepped
from behind it and greeted me with a smile. She was a young woman who looked like she was just out of high school. She had a cheerful attitude and a smile on her face that put me at ease.

“
Hello! Is this your first time here?”

“
Yes,” I said. “I was told by a friend of mine.”

“
You’re a dancer, right?’

“
Y-yes…”

“
You’re not embarrassed, are you? It’s not a big deal. Every lady needs something to wear. This is the best place to find it.”

“
Right. Of course.”

I started to laugh at my own timidness. I didn
’t understand why I was being so bashful. Maybe it was just the thought of shopping for lingerie that dozens of men were going to see me in and gawk at. I knew I couldn’t think like that any longer though. I had to be Harley.

“
My name’s Sarah. And you are?”

“
Harley.”

“
Harley, nice to meet you. Did you need any help? Was there anything you were looking for in particular?”

“
Not in particular, no. I was just looking for a few outfits I could work in.”

“
Okay. Well, let me see… You know, I can’t really get a good look at you in that sweater you’re wearing. Would you mind taking it off?”

“
Um, sure.”

I had learned from the last incident at Platinum that it was best to wear something underneath my sweater. I peeled it off and stood in front of Sarah in nothing but a pl
ain t-shirt and a pair of jeans. She examined me up and down, her mouth scrunched to the side. I wondered what exactly she was trying to figure out.

“
You have a nice body,” she said. “I could see it from how your clothes are sitting on you. Let me see what we have for you…”

I followed her toward one of the racks as she shifted through all of the different available outfits.

“I know just what you want,” Sarah said. “You want something classy but not trashy. Something elegant but shows off all of your good features.”

“
Isn’t that what everybody wants?”

“
Sure. But only a few women manage to pull it off. Those who don’t eventually resort to something that’s as revealing as possible. How does this work for you?”

She pulled a sheer black top off the bar. She held i
t out in front of me. It was sexier than anything I had in my current wardrobe.

“
It’s real supportive, so it pushes everything up. The silk around it is a nice touch. It’s see-through, so you’re not hiding anything. But it’s nicer than walking around in just a bra. What do you think about it?”

“
It’s… It’s nice.”

“
It’s more than that. It’ll look real sexy on you. Trust me. Do you want to try it on?”

“
No, I’ll take your word for it.”

“
Okay. And you’ll want the bottoms as well…”

She pulled out a garter belt an
d a matching pair of panties. She held them up to me and I examined them. The lacy silk certainly seemed more comfortable than anything I ever had to wear before.

“
You might not want to wear the garter because it’ll cover your stomach—”

“
No, that’ll work,” I said. “Covering my stomach is probably a good idea.”

“
Okay. But you should try and see what it looks like with and without it. Maybe you can even get some opinions from some of your customers.”

“
Yeah, I’ll think about it.”

“
Do you need another outfit?”

“
No, that will do for now.”

“
Just one thing? You must not work very often.”

“
No… No, I don’t. This will be enough.”

“
Okay, let me ring you up.”

I took the outfit over to the counter without even trying it on. Despite Sarah
’s friendly nature and the relaxed atmosphere of the store, I still felt uncomfortable standing around inside of it. It wasn’t much different from places I usually bought my underwear but I still felt out of place. Maybe I was just thinking about it too much. As I waited for Sarah to finish totaling my order, something caught my eye. I looked over to the side of the store and saw the bevy of heels on a rack. There were all kinds of platform heels that looked just like the shoes I saw all of the other women wearing. I looked down at my ordinary pumps and they looked ridiculous in comparison.

Was I really walk around Platinum in just these?

“Did something catch your eye, Harley? Did you need to pick up some shoes?”

“…
Yeah. I should probably get some shoes, too.”

“
Great! I’ve got just the thing for you.”

* * *

It was still early in the day. I had gotten all of the work done that I could with all of the available information. Instead of sitting around and waiting for night to come around, I decided to head to Platinum and see if I could get some work in for Harley. The club was how it usually was during the day. There was a lone girl dancing on stage with a few ordinary looking patrons paying attention to her. There were some other girls at the bar but it was hard to tell whether they were working or not.

One of the women was dressed in her plain street clothes. I didn
’t think anything about it at first but she was busy talking with a man who didn’t look familiar. He was wearing a suit and looked like one of the usual customers who came here at night. I thought it was strange because neither one of them seemed like they were here for business. I walked by them to listen in on their conversation but they were speaking too softly to pick up anything.

It wasn
’t a big deal to me though. I made my way toward the end of the bar where Sage was sitting at her familiar spot. She almost looked bored as she sat there and watched the bartender take inventory of all of the liquor.

“
Hi, Sage.”

“
Oh, hey, Harley!” she said as she turned to me, the enthusiasm suddenly appearing on her face. “What brings you here today?”

“
I… I thought about what you said. The club was open so I figured I might as well take advantage of it. Maybe I could get some practice in.”

Her eyes lit-up. It was l
ike I had said exactly what she wanted to hear. She spun around in her chair and held out her hand to the stage.

“
The pole is waiting for you,” she said. “Show me what you got. Nobody’s judging you. At least, not yet.”

She winked at me and I slowly made my
way up on stage.

“
Harley!”

“
Yeah?”

“
The sweater.”

“
Oh… Right.”

She chuckled at me as I pulled it over my head. I stood on stage in my shirt and jeans, trying to remember what it was like when I did this last time.

“The music, Harley! Listen to the music!”

I nodded to Sage as everything started to come back to me. I could see the focus in her eyes as she stared at me. I turned around and gripped the pole, closing my eyes and slowly beginning to move to the bass. It felt more familiar than it did last time.
Just one time on stage had provided me with more experience than I ever thought possible.

I rolled my body up against the pole. I straddled my legs around it and did a spin. There was a feeling building up in the pit of my stomach. My heart began to beat f
aster. I could feel my chest expanding as I started to take deeper breaths. My mouth hung open. I ran my hand through my hair as I lowered myself down, bending my knees in front of the pole. I turned back around and braced myself against the pole.

I opened my eyes. The club was suddenly empty. There was nobody to be found. Then I looked down and saw men sitting at the edge of the stage. They were silent. The only sound was the music and my own breathing. I danced to the slow and sensual beat, writh
ing my body in a way against the pole to show them every way I was capable of bending. I spread my legs and watched as the men’s eyes remained in a trance. All of them were paralyzed and captivated by everything I was doing.

I turned back around and began g
rinding up against the pole once again. I wrapped my legs around it and felt it rub up against me. A jolt shot through my body as the pole pushed up against my clitoris. I pulled away from it for just a moment then shoved myself back into it. I rubbed myself against it again. My mouth was forced open even more as I started to groan. I held on tight to the pole, trying to push myself away from it.

No…
Not like this…

I gripped the pole and turned back around, dancing for all of the men gawking at me. Somethin
g came over me. I pulled my shirt up over my body and threw it to the side. I danced on stage in nothing but my bra and a pair of jeans. I strutted around while the men continued to watch me. They were more mesmerized than they ever had been before. When I realized that they had lost themselves to me, I felt a devilish grin come across my face.

This feeling…
I’m… I’m in control… I’m the one with the power…

I shut my eyes and danced to the rhythm of the music for a few moments longer. I rocked my head back a
nd forth, rolling my body with the assistance of the pole. Suddenly, the song stopped.

I opened my eyes and everything was different. The club seemed brighter than it did just moments ago. The seats lining the edge of the stage were all empty once again. I
looked around the main floor of the club and Sage was the only one paying attention to me. I looked down and finally noticed that I had taken my shirt off. I quickly grabbed it and made my way off stage.

“
You’re getting the hang of it,” she said as I put my shirt back on. “Do you see? It’s not about what kind of fancy tricks you can do or how acrobatic you can be. All you have to do is use the pole to your advantage and show off what you already have.”

“
Yeah,” I sighed a deep breath. “I think I get it. But I’m still a long way from where I need to be.”

“
You’re closer than you think, Harley. Nobody gets it over night but you… you might be ready to perform. How does tonight sound?”

“
Tonight? I don’t know…”