“Do you do this for all your employee’s?”

Mr. Kourakos laughed into the phone. “Only the special ones. It is yours; I’m not taking it back. There are no strings attached to it, Nina. Haven’t you ever heard the saying ‘never look a gift horse in the mouth’? Now, I hate repeating myself, however, I’ll do it this last time. Is there anything else because I’m done talking about your gift?”

I closed my eyes as the ends of my mouth turned up. “I guess the only thing left for me to say is thank you.”

“You are very welcome, Nina. I have to get ready for a meeting, but please enjoy the gift,” Mr. Kourakos informed.

“Thank you, again. Have a nice day,” I told him.

“You too, Nina,” he said before ending the call.

I’m not sure how long I stood there, staring at the money before I eventually decided what I was going to do with it. Since it was a gift and I could do whatever I wanted with it, I opted to add it to my savings account.

It took some time, but I found the perfect location for my club. The owner of the building gave me such a good deal on the place, I hurried up and bought it before someone else could beat me to it. I was on my way to becoming a successful businesswoman.

Chapter 2

Nina

It was a slow process, but Mystique has become one of the hottest spots in Dallas. It took me three years of blood, sweat, and tears to get it to where it is now. There were some days I wanted to give up, but Janae was right there telling me not to give up on the one thing I’m so passionate about. She has always been there to lift me up when I needed it. I eventually moved out of my small apartment and bought a three bedroom house in the suburbs that I absolutely love.

In the beginning, I hired some of the dancers who wanted to leave stripping behind and put them on my wait staff. That didn’t last long when I caught some of them trying to take customers in the stock room or bathrooms to earn extra tips. Now, I have a great staff who take their jobs seriously. This is a business I worked hard for; I’m not letting anyone fuck it up for me. Since Mystique has become popular, I’ve had offers thrown at me from left to right to sell it. Of course, I would never. If things keep going great for the club, my next plan is to open another club on the other side of the city.

My office door swings open with Janae dancing her way in, snapping her fingers. “I know you are not going to stay up in this office all night!”

I giggle at my crazy friend. “No, I’m not. I’m just about finished here. What’s it looking like down there?” I save the payroll file my accountant emailed over to me earlier today.

“Girl, I know you can see on those monitors that it’s jumping down there!” She points at the large screen on the wall that shows every angle of the club, plus the parking lots. “All the tables are filled, the bars too. The groups for the VIP sections have arrived; there are some fine men in the one that’s having the birthday party. Mike better be glad I love his ass or I’d be leaving out of here with a new boo tonight. So, yeah girl bring your ass downstairs,” Janae replies, doing a shimmy. I shake my head, laughing at her.

She and Mike have been married for the last two years. Mike Winters is retired from the military and owns a successful security company. They met three years ago when Mike came into the club with a couple of his friends. I didn’t think he had a chance but the powerhouse white boy, covered in tattoos, and long dark brown hair wore my best friend down. They fell for each other and had a world wind romance that led to an untraditional wedding in the Caribbean. Mike surprised Janae with the week-long trip where he secretly planned their intimate nuptials on the beach with just him, her, and the minister. I admired their relationship. You could see that the love they have for each other ran deep. I wish to have that someday but right now, it wasn’t in the cards for me. I’m too busy with the club to think about building a relationship with someone.

“I’m coming, I’m coming,” I tell her as I log off the computer.

“You are killing it in that dress,” she admires.

“This old thing,” I remark, standing. I am killing it in the black and white sleeveless bodycon dress that’s hugging my curves. The red stiletto’s I have on is just the pop of color I needed to compliment the dress. Walking into my private bathroom, I check my hair and makeup. The twist out I did on my shoulder length natural dark brown hair with auburn tips two days ago still looks fresh. Tonight, I decided to put a part on the right side and let majority of it flow to the left side. My makeup was still on point as well. Picking up my tube of red lipstick, I take the cap off and freshen up my lips. When I’m finished, I pucker those babies in the mirror. Pleased with my appearance, I recap the tube, then sit it back on the sink. Shutting off the light as I leave out, then meet Janae at the door.

“I’m ready,” I inform her as she opens the door.

“Okay then, Boss Lady!”

Laughing, I step into the hallway and wait for her to close the door. After setting the code to lock it, I make sure my dress is straightened, then make my way to the heart of the club with Janae walking beside me.

Yes, another very profitable night, I think to myself as we enter the main deck of the club. All tables were occupied and the dance floor was packed. Customers fill the bar areas, trying to get the bartenders attention as I glance around at the three sections. Cha-ching, cha-ching goes off in my head.

Smiling, I tap Janae on her shoulder and point to the first VIP section. I liked to personally go to each section to make sure they had everything they needed and everything was to their liking. It was my way of letting them know I wanted them to have a good time at Mystique, plus it was a good marketing strategy as well. Most enjoyed their experience so much, they’d tell their family or friends about it, and in turn, they would book the club for one of their parties.

Janae and I visited the first two VIP sections, gifting them with a complimentary bottle of my best champagne, then moved on to the last section that was having the birthday party. Janae was right, there were some fine men here for the birthday party. Even the women sitting around the large horseshoe couch looked as if they could be models. A beautiful young woman who’s wearing a tiara in her long dark hair, with olive skin, and legs for days sat in the middle of the women with a sash across her chest that read ‘Birthday Girl’. I casually walked over to them to introduce myself.

“Hi, I’m Nina, the owner of Mystique and I wanted to come by to wish you a Happy Birthday and to see if there was anything else you needed.”

“Oh, my God your club is amazing! My cousin surprised me with this one, thank you,” she gushes, standing, then hugging me.

“You are quite welcome...sorry I don’t know your name. The person who booked the party didn’t tell us,” I state as she lets me go.

“Selena, its Selena.”

“Well, you’re quite welcome, Selena. I see they have brought out the food and drinks. Here is a complimentary bottle of champagne to celebrate your birthday. Also, it wasn’t ordered but if you would like a few hookahs brought over, I can have that arranged too,” I offered.