Page 61 of Cruelly Fated
I circled each table, trading banter and brushing off cheap remarks and collecting empties as I went. Apparently, my sunny mood didn’t go unnoticed—more than a few patrons slipped bills into the back pockets of my jeans. Not bad. Maybe I should play charming more often.
“A word,” Larry whispered in my ear.
I jumped, the glasses clinking against each other like wind chimes.
“Oh, I didn’t see you,” I said, flustered.
“Yes, you’ve been too busy feeding peanuts to the whole damn place. What’s gotten into you? Never mind, follow me.”
I rushed after my boss, weaving between the tables and abandoning the tray in the employee-only hallway, then stepped into his office.
“If this is about the peanuts—” I started to form an excuse. The last thing I needed was to get fired over something as minor as a table snack. Why did I think this was a good idea again?
“I said never mind.Sit.” Larry reclined in his half-stripped leather chair, which looked—and sounded—ancient. The creak scraped at my nerves as he leaned all the way back, propping his polished black shoes on the equally battered desk.
“You haven’t answered my messages or the voicemail I left,” he said, eyebrows popping to his hairline.
“My phone’s dead.” I shrugged. “In the rush to pack, I forgot my charger. And haven’t gotten a new one yet. So…”
“And how the hell is anyone supposed to reach you?” Larry snapped, his voice rising. Not quite a yell, but close. He yanked open a drawer and rifled through it before tossing a black cable across the desk. “Take it. I’ve got extras.”
I picked it up and examined the plug, which looked like something I’d last seen when Grandpa finally turned his old phone in for an upgrade. Five years ago. No one made phones with this port anymore.
“Thank you,” I said, wrapping the cord around my fingers. It’d be headed for the trash the moment I left.
“Don’t mention it. That’s what I’m here for.” He forced a grin around the butt of his cigar. “The new club called this morning; they need more dancers tomorrow. What you say?”
My brow creased, confusion creeping in. “How? They haven’t even seen the video yet.”
Larry’s mobster smile widened. “Oh, they’ve seen it. So has everyone else. And they want to hire you—no further auditions needed.”
“Everyone else?” What did he mean? A knot settled in my gut.
Larry fished out his smartphone and scrolled through his feed until he found it—a reel ofme, dancing Mom’s signature provocative number. He hit play.
My eyelids trembled. For a second, my vision dotted and tunneled. “You posted it…publicly?”
“Through a professional audition platform,” he said with a casual wave. “Don’t worry—I covered the advertising cost.”
He’dbetterhave. I didn’t agree to any of this.
Larry kept talking like I wasn’t two seconds from combusting. “It’s already hit over a hundred thousand views and counting. You’re becoming quite popular…”
“I can’t tomorrow.” I stood abruptly and stomped toward the door.
“Now wait just a damn minute!”
His chair groaned, then clattered into something with a bang.
“Bloody hell!” he shouted.
I didn’t look back. I scurried straight to the employee bathroom and locked the door behind me, my breath coming hard and shallow.Damn you, Larry.
After a few minutes, I rounded on Lance and begged to borrow his phone. He handed it over without hesitation. Covering one ear with my hand, I pressed the other against the wall, the phone nestled between.
“Who is this?” Officer Marley’s stern voice cut through.
“It’s me, Allie. I’m using a friend’s phone.”
