Page 26 of The Venom We Bleed

“Um … she told me you were looking for more hosts and owned a club,” I say. “I thought it was like a host at a restaurant or something.”

The older woman shakes her head. “I am looking for more hosts, but this ain’t no restaurant, sweetheart,” she states. “It’s a host club. You ever been to one before?” Before I can answer, she’s already continuing. “My guess is no, considering it ain’t all that popular in The States yet, but I’ve managed to build one up myself here that’s done pretty well.”

I bite my tongue, not wanting to ask and seem stupid, but I can’t help it. I need to know. “What’s a host club?”

“It’s a place where gentlemen—or women, if that's your preference—come to relax and have a few good drinks with a beautiful woman on their arm,” she answers.

My eyes bulge and something dark sprouts within me. What the fuck had Roquel sent me into?

“I’m sorry,” I say, abruptly standing, “but I think there’s been a mistake. I don’t judge anyone by what they choose to do, but I’m not going to sleep with customers for?—”

“Oh hush,” Ma-Ri huffs and waves her cigarette holder at me. “This ain’t no brothel. My girls don’t sleep with my customers and if I find out they do then they get axed—that’s precisely why I need help.”

Confusion pours through me. “Then what?—”

“The women here are simplyhosts,” she says, stressing the last word as if it means something to me. Even if it doesn’t, it seems to for her. “The club is open from six p.m. to two a.m. every night. The only service my girls supply within the club is companionship.”

“Companionship?” I repeat.

Ma-Ri nods. “Exactly. This ain’t an establishment ofthatsort, so get that head right out of the gutter, young lady. The women here are expected to present themselves as works of art to their customers. They’re simply something beautiful for our guests to look at as they drink their woes away. They pour drinks and listen to men complain about their lives.”

“So … there’s no stripping or … sleeping with them?” I clarify.

She scoffs. “Of course not. Don’t insult me. I run a respectable business.”

“So … what, then? The girls just come in, dress nice, and drink with men?”

Ma-Ri lifts her chin at me. “Sit down,” she commands. “Don’t make me crane my neck at ya.”

I sit automatically and blink back at the woman, waiting for further explanation.

“Lots of powerful men—and some women—too often don’t have enough time to see a therapist to talk about their troubles. Their wives or husbands are too self-absorbed to listen or too busy handling the cleaning and child-rearing. This is a place for those powerful people to come to relax. It’srespectable.” She repeats the word. “Not as dirty as a strip club and certainly far more appropriate for businessmen to frequent. There ain’t no funny business going on, I assure you of that, but you won’t need to worry about such a thing.”

“I … won’t?” Had she not meant to hire me as one of those women?

“You don’t strike me as host material girl,” she replies tersely, eyeing me up and down as I sit in the hard metal chair across from her. “Don’t take no offense to this but you got some anger in ya. I dare say the first time a man puts his hand on your thigh when he’s chatting you up, you’d be liable to punch him in the face or am I wrong?”

I flush but nod. She’s not wrong after all. A sly smile stretches her lips. “I thought as much.” Her words are proud as if figuring me out has given her some semblance of intelligence. I can’t deny it, but then again, I don’t think it’s that hard to figure out. “You’ll probably do better as a waitress and ya needto be eighteen to serve alcoholic drinks. You can manage that, can’t you?”

I straighten my back. “Yes, I can. How much are you offering per hour? What kind of hours are you looking for?” The timeline of the club’s opening works perfectly to not disrupt my school schedule and if I can manage to get a couple of full shifts during the week then I’ll definitely be able to save up some extra cash.

Ma-Ri looks at me over the top of her cigarette holder as she puts the end to her lips and sucks in, igniting the red glow at the end. Another stream of smoke is blown out into the air around us and I wrinkle my nose once before forcing my face to even out.

“Waitresses make the minimum wage in my club,” she says, “but there’s tips in it for ya. Sometimes, even non-hosts go home with a couple hundred depending on who comes in and who they serve.” Her eyes pan down to my outfit and her face blanches. “You’ll have to wear something else though. Hosts dress up but since ya won’t be sitting with the clients, all black will do. If you’re showing a bit of cleavage, you’ll gain more tips, but it’s up to you.”

Minimum wage isn’t shit, but considering most waitresses are paid far below it because of the ‘tips’ it’s a better offer than anything I’ve gotten so far which is a big fat nothing. I have a feeling if I don’t take Ma-Ri up on her offer there’ll be nothing else for me and at least The Dionysus Lounge is far enough away from school that I doubt I’ll run into anyone from there. With tips, this could be a turning point for me.

“When do I start?” I ask, making the decision.

Ma-Ri’s lips stretch into a smile. “You can come in tomorrow,” she says. “Saturdays are busy, but the best way to learn is to throw ya in the deep end and see if ya can swim.” Ma-Ri leans forward and presses a button on the landline phone sitting half-hidden behind a stack of papers and foldersat the corner of her desk. She sits back again and returns to her examination of me. “We need a waitress that can handle her weight sooner rather than later, so I suggest ya get used to it quick. I understand ya go to school with my niece, but don’t think that means you’ll get preferential treatment.”

“I don’t expect anything else,” I tell her. “Just a job.”

She nods, clearly pleased. “Roquel tells me ya need the cash under the table. I can do that. So long as you show up to your shifts and don’t cause no issues.”

“I will, thank you.”

Ma-Ri waves her cigarette holder at me. “Six p.m. tomorrow night,” she says. “Now go, I’ve got more business to do.”

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