Page 17 of Such a Good Girl

My gaze skated right past them. They’re too easy. I wanted someone I had to put a little energy into.

“Bend over,” Theo said to a young twenty something girl covered in tattoos, who held a tray full of drinks. “Don’t spill a drop.”

She bent at the knees and attempted to put them down on the low table in front of her, the tray wobbling precariously. She was obviously nervous, considering a table of customers watched as her closely as Rian and Theo did. Her ankles shook from the lack of support her stilettos provided.

She almost made it, but just as she put the tray down, one of the drinks tipped over and spilled its contents all over the table.

“Shit!” she muttered, quickly grabbing a towel and mopping it up.

“Thanks for coming,” Rian said over the pounding music, his voice cold and bored.

“Can I try again?” she asked, on the verge of tears. “I can do better. These shoes are a little challenging.”

“No. Have a nice night. Who’s next?” Theo barked, his voice laced with impatience.

“Damn, you two are so harsh,” I said, sliding into the booth with them and raking my eyes over the remaining applicants.

“Only the best for us, man.” Theo shrugged, his eyes glued to the ass of the teary woman gathering her things and fleeing the club. “How did your meeting go?”

“Uselessly unproductive, once again. I’m glad I didn’t drive all the way to their office,” I replied, my anger still raging as my voice rose over the thumping base of the music. “They’re pushing for Danika, if you can believe that. They said all the drama and gossip that would swirl around our pairing would drive down the marketing budget. Fucking unbelievable.”

“That would be a nightmare for you,” Rian chimed in.

“You’re fucking telling me,” I agreed. “Maybe I can find someone from the club to cast.”

“Dude, no,” he said. He instantly looked to Theo for backup.

“Why not? Everyone in this town is an aspiring actress. Maybe an unknown is just what I need.”

“Like the studio would ever agree to that,” Theo reminded me. “They want a name that’s going to draw an audience, you know that.”

“Fuck,” I muttered. He was right. I always hated when he was right.

“You’ll figure it out, West,” he said.

“Yeah, I will. How many more are we eliminating tonight?” I asked.

“We brought in a dozen applicants. We’ve eliminated three now. We only need to hire two people. So, watch them closely tonight and let us know if anyone stands out.”

“Right,” I nodded, raking my eyes around the club, spotting the unfamiliar faces. We had a few acting as assistants to the bartenders, some walking around with champagne glasses for our free champagne service, a few behind the bar, and a few more handing out custom-ordered cocktails.

I felt sorry for them, knowing they were most likely going to be sent home and told not to come back. Working at our club was a highly sought after position. We paid well and we were one of the rare nightclubs that gave our employees full health insurance plus vacation and sick time. We took care of them because we needed them happy… and willing to keep their mouths shut about what they saw once they walked through the doors.

Especially the employees that worked in Profane.

My eyes landed on a waitress halfway across the room. She was bending over with her back to us. Auburn hair cascaded down her back, accentuating the soft curves of her voluptuous ass.

When she stood back up and turned around, my breath caught.

She was stunning. Beautiful in an unconventional way, her creamy skin complimented by the red curls framing her face. She saw me staring, her emerald eyes crashing into mine. Shyly, she smiled, her crimson lips tipping up tantalizingly at the corners. I nodded at her and she nodded back in greeting, before turning back to another table of customers and setting their drinks down.

The urge to talk to her overwhelmed me.

“What about her?” I said to Rian and Theo. “She’s fucking hot.”

“Indeed she is. Not sure she’s the right type, though,” Rian said, following my gaze.

I waved her over and she walked up with another shy smile that made me hard instantly.

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