Page 38 of Depraved Desires

Talissa returned, interrupting the small tour of the room I’d been giving myself. Maybe that was a good thing considering my mind was beginning to run away with me.

“You are all ready to go,” she chirped, handing me back my identification. “If you’ll just follow me, I can show you where to put your things, so they don’t get lost, and then we’ll go get you dressed.”

Dressedbasically meantundressedhere, or so I was gathering.Changedwas a better term for it.

Rising to my feet, I clutched the card in the palm of my hand before following her out into the booming club. It was difficult not to stare at the girls passing by when they had their entirebodies on display; just because I was straight didn’t mean I didn’t notice how pretty they were.

“This way,” she urged, cutting right down a lengthy hallway. “This hall is dedicated for all staff,” she explained, halting in the middle of the hall and turning to face me with an elegance that didn’t quite make sense given what she did for a living. “Every day when you come in for work, you’ll stop here first and clock in.” She motioned to the three black machines mounted to the wall. They each contained a variety of buttons and even a place to swipe a card. “You don’t have a card yet, so I’ll clock you in. You’ll get one tomorrow. At the end of your shift when you clock out, you’ll type in the number of tips you made that day so we can avoid legal trouble.” She rolled her eyes like it was beneath her.

“I think I understand…”

“If you don’t just ask one of the girls. Most of them are friendly enough.”

Talissa wasted no time, zipping down the hall at a quick speed, leaving me to follow her once again. She didn’t seem that thrilled to be showing me around, but probably had no one else to do it for her today. I suppose owning your own establishment as big as this one would give anyone a big head.

Next, she ushered me inside a room. Lockers adorned all the walls as soon as we stepped inside with benches spaced out between them. We walked up to a locker, presumed to be available, where she typed in a combination and the door opened with a click.

“You can place your things in here. I’d go ahead and strip now, so you don’t have to come back to your locker,” she suggested in a monotonous tone.

“How secure are these lockers?” I asked warily, before carefully placing my items inside.

She released a derisive snort, like the comment was the funniest thing she’d heard in ages. “Secure enough. Even if there weren’t locks on the lockers, everyone here makes enough money not to steal from others. The punishment for stealing is enough to make anyone think twice about crossing me.” Her lips tilted into a sadistic smirk that had my heart thumping.

Punishment?

There was no way she was talking about getting the police involved considering how dirty this place was run and considering her strong distaste for the legal system.

Deciding not to pry too much on my first day, I slipped out of my clothes and stuffed them into the small cubby. The chilly air hit me from the air conditioner, forcing me to wrap my arms around myself in an attempt to keep warm. Talissa’s eyes roamed over my body in an assessing manner—much like they’d done when I’d come to ask for a job. Only this time, all I was wearing were a bra and panties, making me feel a hell of a lot more exposed.

“Don’t do that,” she ordered. “It makes you look scared, and they’ll eat you alive out there if they think you’re easy prey.” Blowing out a breath, I forced my arms to my sides. “Better. Now come.” She took off toward the back of the room and turned left, leaving me to hurry to catch up with her in the process.

My lips parted when I took in the glass shop toward the end of the walkway, no more lockers in sight aside from the ones we had just passed. A worker dressed in actual clothes stood behind a cash register, waiting for her next customer.

We strolled inside and the woman immediately perked up, happy to have something to do I presumed. My eyes darted around the room, noting all the expensive garments hanging from the racks and attached to mannequins. This place seemed to have everything. From panties, bras, holsters, stockings, even a variety of different smell-good products.

“This is Aspen,” Talissa began. “She starts working here today. Would you mind finding her something aesthetically pleasing?”

“Of, course, ma’am.” The woman tilted her head in a show of respect and moved from behind the counter, disappearing to go hunt down something for me to wear.

I shifted uncomfortably. “This is all nice and all, but…I can’t afford?—”

“It’s on me,” she interjected, taking me by surprise. “And before you ask why, don’t. Just be grateful.” She didn’t even bother looking at me as the words left her mouth, causing a crease to form between my eyebrows in confusion.

It didn’t take long for the woman to return, holding up a black and purple laced bra with a matching G-string. She placed them on the counter, and looked at us expectantly.

A thoughtful expression crossed Talissa’s features as she eyed the variety of products in front of the desk, before she finally picked up a bottle of body spray, deodorant, and some wipes, and then placed them on the counter too.

“Is this all?” She questioned, looking between me and the woman occupying my side.

“Ring it up,” she demanded in a tone full of authority.

The woman nodded and did as she was told, scanning each item, and placing them all into a bag beside her. Once she was finished, she glanced up from the task. “Two-twenty-eight.”

The air was knocked from my lungs, the price way more than I could have ever paid on my own.

“Put it on my tab,” Talissa instructed. “I’ll have it paid before midnight.” She reached forward, taking the bag in her hand and offering it to me. Hesitantly, my fingers wrapped around the plastic material of the handle, a million thoughts racing through my brain.

“Thank you.” I wanted to ask her why she did this for me but knew better than to push my luck.

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