Page 19 of Bossy Ex's Brother

But I could do it. I knew I could.

I nodded, already taking note of the place for the plans I would make.

“Brandon,” Luca called out to the bartender who’d been here the first night. The man smiled as he came up to us.“Say hello to our new floor manager,” Luca added by way of introduction.

Brandon’s smile dropped, giving way to a doubtful look as he ran his eyes down my suited form. “For real?”

“Yes.” Luca’s tone brooked no refusal. “Show her around.”

And with that, he turned and left without giving me a chance to say thank you.

Brandon was still frowning at me.

“So, are you going to show me around or what?” I joked in order to break the tension.

He nodded and gestured for me to walk with him, although I could sense his confusion throughout the whole tour. I also felt a little embarrassed when I realized that he’d been here whenLuca and I snuck off that first time—jeez, it was only yesterday—but I kept my head up anyway. It wasn’t like I’d slept with him for the job, even though I knew that was exactly what it looked like.

Oh well. I wouldn’t try to defend myself because he wouldn’t believe me anyway. I just had to make sure I did a damn good job to prove myself.

As we walked around, he gestured to some rooms at the corner.

“Those are the dancers’ changing rooms,” he said. “They hang out there sometimes in between sets, but you gotta make sure they don’t stay too long, or the customers get antsy.”

“Roger,” I said. By dancers, I knew he meant strippers. I’d seen a couple of bikini-clad women yesterday but was too distracted to pay attention.

“Just out of curiosity, what do you think is a major problem the club is facing?” I asked, hoping the answer was something I could fix within a month.

“Honestly,” he shrugged. “I wouldn’t say there’s anything we need to change right now. We’re pretty much packed every night, and business is good."

Damn, I didn’t want to hear that. That was great for them but bad news for me because it meant the bar was already pretty high, and it would be hard to top it.

Maybe that was why Luca was so quick to agree, I thought. He probably thought I would fail, and then he wouldn’t have to pay me. And he’d get a month’s worth of labor for free. But that wasn’t going to happen, I thought, as I took a deep breath.

I was going to find a way to turn this place into an even bigger success, even if it killed me.

Brandon decidedI could come back the next night to get a feel for what a typical night would be like. He’d mentioned that yesterday was one of their slower days as none of the VIP clients were in.

“The VIPs are the ones who keep this place running,” he explained. “They spend big bucks and splurge on enough alcohol and dancers for it to be worth it. Your job is just to make sure the clients are happy. Simple as that.”

“Noted,” I said, but I still kept an eye out. I walked around, trying not to interrupt but observing the waitresses and dancers as they set up. I noticed a few of them looking at me doubtfully, and I gave each one a friendly smile. They didn’t smile back, ignoring me and turning away.

I hung around after set up till about 8 p.m. when patrons slowly started trickling in. The VIPs were taken to a room in the back, their private lounge, where they enjoyed the exotic dancers. And then, the general clientele stayed in the main area and danced, drank, and mingled amongst themselves.

Things looked pretty tame so far. I walked through routinely, observing as much as I could.

And that was when I walked in on a private VIP lounge to see that one of the dancers was being harassed.

She kept a smile on her face while dancing, but I could see the tension in her eyes. She avoided his hands expertly, but the man was insistent, eventually catching her on the leg and pulling her onto his lap. She tried to get off, but he held on tightly, snickering at her struggles.

That was when I stormed over to them. “Let her go. Right now.”

He stared up at me. “Who the fuck are you?”

“I’m the manager of this place. And she’s a dancer, not your plaything. Let her go.”

He sneered at me. “Do you have any fucking idea who I am?” And then he pulled himself up to his full height, which was several feet and many pounds on me.”

I didn’t back down even though a thread of caution warned that this had the potential to become very ugly.

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