Page 31 of King of Temptation

“I won’t pick you up in front of the other dancers and I’ll mostly leave you alone at the club. In exchange…”

But her eyes are narrowing. “Leo.”

I hear the tapping of heels outside my office and they stop in front of my door. No one knocks, but my gaze cuts to the clock. It’s nearly time for Kim to go back on. With a sigh, I let her go, but as she opens the door, I deliver my parting comment.

“This conversation isn’t over.”

CHAPTER ELEVEN

Kim

The rest of the night passes in a blur of loud music and hard dancing and my body is complete jelly by the time the night is over.

It’s two in the morning and I just want to crawl into bed.

I make my way to the locker room and attempt to peel myself out of the suit. Samantha ends up helping me.

I was a little worried we wouldn’t be cool after Leo interrupted her tour of the upper deck.

But she gives me a friendly smile as she tugs the leather encasing my arm. “So…” she says finally dislodging the upper half so I can shimmy the rest of the suit down my hips and off my legs. “You and Mr. Kincaid?”

“No,” I rush to say. Then I grimace. He pulled me into his office where we stayed for a while. “I mean…maybe. I’m not sure.”

Samantha gives me a wink. “I’ve been working here for a few months, and I’ve never seen him show interest in a dancer.”

My shoulders unwind, softening. I really appreciate knowing that I’m not just some flavor of the week. “Thanks.”

“Hey girls,” Melissa calls from just to my right, her eyes lingering on me. “Pay time.”

Each girl gets a check and then cash on top. Bonuses, I guess.

Samantha gets hers and I see her eyes bug out and then meet mine. There is a note that her eyes scan over. “He gave me a bonus for helping you. How cool is that?”

“That’s awesome,” I answer. “Is that where all the cash is from?”

She shakes her head. “There are buttons on the floor that match our cages. If people like you, they press them and give you tips.”

My brows shoot up as each of the girls collect their money. I’m at the end of the line and when I finally reach Melissa, she winks. “You need to see Mr. Kincaid for your pay.”

Crap.

Twisting my hands together, I start for his office. We’ve got to talk about how he keeps giving me special attention.

I knock on his partially open door. “Leo?”

He opens the door and sweeps his hand inside for me to enter.

I close it behind me, crossing my arms like I’m fortifying myself. “Why did I have to collect my pay here?”

His brow lifts as he raises a large stack of cash. “First, I’m keeping you off the books so that you’re not paying taxes, and second,” he gives the stack a little wave, “you made three times the tips of every other girl. I didn’t think you’d want them to see that.”

My mouth drops open as I reach for the money. “How much?” I whisper, touching the fold of bills.

“I promised you a thousand, you made another eight hundred in tips.”

I blink, trying to process that one more night like this and I could almost pay for my class. Why didn’t I sell my dignity sooner?

I go to pull the money out of his hand but he doesn’t let it go. “Third.”

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