Fire and Desire (BWWM Romance) (7 page)

“The boss kicked me out the office, and she and her friend are in it. She told me to have a drink and chill until my shift is over.”

“I wonder what she’s up to. She has monitors in her room.”

Ryan hunched his shoulders. “Maybe she doesn’t like company in her room.”

Antonio gave Ryan a pat on the shoulder. “Go ahead and head home. I’ve decided Steve wouldn’t be a good fit for here. I’m taking all his shifts.”

“You didn’t even give him a chance to see.”

“He had a chance and lost it by being late for the last job. I’ll see you later.” Antonio made his way to the downstairs bathroom and changed out of his button-down shirt into his work polo. When he came out, Ryan was gone.

He heard laughter up the stairs. The plan was to head up and let Emily know he was on duty and then watch the monitors on her laptop downstairs.

Antonio had started to speak when he heard her talking with her friend. He paused  outside the door. Was she actually watching the shows? What thoughts did she have? His dick hardened at the idea. The ladies on the monitor never turned him on, but Emily watching them perform did.

“Watch the move Dakota does,” Emily said. There was a pause. “Bamn! Full view of her crotch.”

Her laughter joined by another.

“She’s giving them a show,” the other woman said.

“That’s why she’s the nude chat queen.”

Antonio stepped in the doorway. “Hi, Emily. I just wanted you to know I’m here, and Ryan’s gone.”

“Hi!” She stood and gave him a hug.

The affection took him by surprise, but he gladly accepted. Her body was soft next to his. “Are you okay?”

She pulled back and held up her thumb and index finger. “Maybe a little bit tipsy.”

“Uh, um,” the blonde cleared her throat.

Emily looked behind her. “I’m sorry. How rude of me. Antonio this is my best friend, Janet.”

The tanned blonde smiled at him. Ryan was right. She was hot, but the woman next to him was gorgeous. He looked at Emily out the corner of his eye. Her hand was on her hip and hair flipped to the side, exposing her neck, as she smiled at her friend.

“I’ll be downstairs if you need me.” He backed up to the door.

“You know what?” Her friend stretched. “I’m kind of tired. I’ll go to my mom’s house and then see you tomorrow.”

“You’re more than welcome to stay here,” Emily said.

Antonio took notice of the bottom lip she poked out. She was sexy even when pouting.

“Oh, no, you have too much going on here. I’ll leave you to your business.”

“Okay…I’ll walk you out,” Emily said.

“That’s what you pay me for,” he suggested. “It’s late.”

Emily looked from him to Janet. He could tell she had more to say, but she just nodded.

He waited for Janet to gather her belongings and then walked her to the car. When he returned, Emily was making a sandwich in the kitchen.

“You don’t go out on the weekends?” he asked.

“Every once in a while. I haven’t had much time with The Playhouse.” She closed the lid on the Miracle Whip and put it back in the refrigerator.

“You should make time. From what I see, your days consist of meetings.” He took a seat on a barstool at the island.

“You’re one to talk. It’s the weekend, and you’re working. Would you like half my sandwich?” She sliced the honey wheat bread in half. Put it on a paper towel and handed it to him.

He took a bite of the food. “True, but I don’t like going out alone.”

“Then maybe we should go together.” She put her hand over her mouth and blushed. “I didn’t mean like a date. I-I was just meaning since you don’t like—”

“I’d love to. How about tomorrow night?” he cut her off before she had a chance to talk her way out of it.

“I’ve never been on a date with a white guy,” she said just above a whisper.

“You just said it wasn’t a date so your reputation will remain intact.” His words came out harsher than he intended.

“I don’t care about my reputation. I’ve just never been asked by anyone who wasn’t black.” She finished off the last of her snack, then took her paper plate and threw it in the trash. “Good night, Antonio.”

The thought of her rejecting him bothered him a little more than he anticipated. Actually, the entire thing threw him off. When had he decided it was okay to take her anywhere? She was his client, and he didn’t mix business with pleasure. Not once had he ever heard a story of things turning out good with it. “Good night, Emily.”

Antonio watched as she headed upstairs. He waited a few moments before going up to the office. When he passed her room, he could hear her TV on. It took all he had not to knock on her door. Instead, he continued to the office and did his job.

Chapter Five

The next day, Emily took Janet with her to check on the club’s progression and to a meeting with the some of the models. Emily wanted to get a tally on who wanted to be in on her newest idea: The Playhouse calendar. She thought it would be a great way of promoting her website a little more and pre-promoting the launch of the lounge. Keeping things fresh and seeking out new clientele was the key to keeping business booming.

All the girls were excited about being in the calendar. Most saw it as an opportunity to be noticed and a chance to rub it in their old colleagues’ faces about how well they were doing outside the strip clubs. The meeting was going fine until the girls started arguing over what month they wanted to be. Most of them wanted to be either June or December, but others just wanted to be mean and vindictive.

“I want to be June,” Diamond whined.

“June? You look more like October with all that makeup you have on,” Pleasure interjected, pausing from filing her nails. “Everyone knows that men need to have some Pleasure in the summertime.”

“You have a lot of nerve to talk. You make all this money, yet you still continue to go get those cheap-ass kitchen hairdos and come out looking like a broke Beyonce,” Diamond tossed back.

Containing her laughter, Emily quickly squashed the issue. “I’m the decision maker, and some of you will be doubled up, in a group, or by yourself if I chose to do so. You seem to forget there are other models in different states that need to be included.”

Moans and groans filled the room.

Emily gave them the “evil eye.” “If there’s a problem, then you don’t need to be included at all.”

The room went silent.

“Is there anyone who does not want to be in the calendar?” she asked.

Three hands went up. All three worked other jobs, and she understood their reasoning without having to discuss it further. She pulled out her phone to email Kenny the list of names and noticed she had a message from Antonio,
I’ll be there to pick you up for our not date at seven.

She hid her smile and sent,
Ok
.

Emily refocused and sent Kenny the list of names. When it came to the photo shoots, Emily let Kenny come up with the when, where, and how. He had an excellent eye for certain poses, and she didn’t want to be in his way. It was also a way for her not to have to deal with all the attitude of the models trying to outshine one another for the spotlight.

“Now…” Emily closed her cell phone. “On to our next issue.”

The idle chatter going on while she typed the email ceased.

She glanced around, looking the girls over before continuing, “I know some of you’ve been on the site almost from the beginning and have built up a huge fan base; however, your performances have been slacking. I noticed some of you just sit at the computer and type the whole time in Free Chat even when a money customer asks to have a look at you. It’s not hard for you to stand up, lean back, or hell, pull your face away from your soap operas to show the customer what you’re wearing. They aren’t asking for much. Telling them to go private for everything is not the answer.”

“Aw, Mercedes, if they want us, they’ll just go private.” Diamond crossed her arms.

Emily knew Diamond would be the first to have a smart comment. “Since you decided to speak up and let the room know that you’re one of the culprits, let’s talk about your last few shows. Shall we?” She reached into her briefcase and pulled out a stack of papers. “Last night, one of our gold members, as well as a member of your fan club, asked you to stand up so he can see your outfit. Your response? ‘In private.’ Please explain why a gold member needed to pay to see your outfit? He was not asking for anything extreme. You know where he went? Right over to Spice’s room, and guess what? He asked her the same thing. She stood, gave a little shake, and then spent a half hour in private with him. He even joined her fan club. To top it off, the shake caused a few others to voyeur in on the show.”

“I mean, can’t we have a bad day?” Diamond uncrossed her arms and no longer looked sure of herself.

“Bad day? Diamond, you’re having a bad month. You’re lucky he didn’t leave the site like some others have because of your attitude.” Emily scanned the page until she found the next item. “Last week, you told someone they were interrupting your nap time. Nap time? Log off. I’ll do you a favor so you can get some sleep. As of this moment, you are on suspension for a week. Customers talk, Diamond, and word of mouth is a killer. If those customers start talking about how rude you girls are, that is bad for business, both for me and you. You’ve been getting by with your looks, but that isn’t enough. This is the sex industry, and that’s what sells, honey, not your face.”

Emily fought hard to remain calm. Saying out loud what she’d already seen with her own eyes or read in reports from security made her livid.

Diamond sunk back in her chair, poking her lip out. Emily was unmoved. She knew Diamond all too well. The sulking had more to do with another girl getting her show than her less than stellar behavior.

“Ladies, yes, you are all gorgeous, but you have to give them something to want you to go private and to keep coming back. You may get a few who don’t mind you sitting there and are willing to take a chance that you’ll do more in private, but do you really think they’ll keep coming back? This is business. Give them a little.” She made eye contact with several of the girls. “One more thing. Keep your freaking clothes on in Free Chat! None of this hand bra crap and letting a titty slip out. Why buy the cow when they are getting the milk for free?”

“Some of us just have extra sags,” Pleasure said, tossing a glance in Diamond’s direction.

Emily shook her head. “As I was saying. No nudity, no sucking on toys, and definitely no masturbating in free chat. You want to do that, then go to Nude Chat or wait for a freaking Private show. I have to fire someone for going to town on a dildo in Free Chat. I think it was so good to her that she forgot where the heck she was. When someone asked her to zoom in, she had the nerve to reply ‘in private.’ I swear I don’t know what goes through some of you girls head.”

“Mercedes, you’re lying. No one really did that, did they?” Spice tried to contain her laughter by putting her hands over her mouth.

“I wish, but I’m done rambling on for the day. Thank you for your time, ladies, and go make that money, don’t let it make you.”

Emily really did wish it was a lie, but that would be the fantasy. While showing Janet some shows, she came across MsWorkIt shoving her toy all up inside her. The only good thing is she actually logged off shortly after she had finished. The killer part is MsWorkIt had just come off of suspension for flashing her crotch in Free Chat. Some girls just wouldn’t understand the business no matter how much she tried to teach them.

“Dang, girl, you don’t play do you?” Janet said as they made their way out.

“Not when it comes to my money.”

“I don’t blame you. You know I have your back. If they don’t get it together, they need to understand there’s always someone eager to take their place. What were you smiling about back there?” Janet stopped and eyed Emily.

“What’re you talking about?” She fought to restrain her smile.

“The one you’re trying to hold back now. Who is he?”

“I have to meet someone later is all.” She headed toward her bike and switched out her shoes.

“All my ass. You like this mystery man. You don’t have to tell me now, but I’ll find out soon enough.”

After securing her do-rag, Emily put on her shades. She didn’t mind the bottom of her hair flying in the wind but didn’t want to look a mess when she arrived at her next destination. “When I know what’s going on myself, then you’ll know.” She got on the bike and started it up. “As for now, I have to go fire someone. I’ll call you later.”

She pulled off as Janet walked to her car. Emily was already on edge about her next stop and now Antonio’s text was adding to it. Seeing him at her home working sent her heart fluttering. How would it be on in public?

A blur of red flashed. “Shit.” She’d run a stop sign. Pushing thoughts of Antonio out her mind, she focused on the ride.

Ten minutes later, she reached her destination. Emily sat silently on her blue and gold Ducati, dreading walking into the Starbucks for her meeting with Tiffany, a.k.a. MsWorkIt. She knew exactly what needed to be done, but Tiffany being a single mother of two was weighing heavy on her. Tiffany had been with The Playhouse
a little over four months and had brought in a fair amount of money for herself. Emily hoped she was smart enough to save some of it.