“What are you doing?!” we both asked, simultaneously.
“Me, what about you?!” we both asked at the same time, again.
I started to respond, but Felix interrupted and talked over me. “Do you have any idea how dangerous this place is? I mean sure, I know you need to work the clientele, but do you have to get so involved? Who’s that guy whose number you took?”
He looked thunderstruck and angry, and I got angry in response, my nerves flaring up all over again.
“What are YOU doing in here, skulking around and judging how I work? If you were this worried, why didn’t you call me? And what business is it of yours if I go out with a hot bodyguard? TO THE MAYOR?” I threw this in his face. The bartender handed me the Lucasey cocktail, and I downed it in one gulp before Felix could stop me. He looked shocked and didn’t respond.
He turned toward the door, watching a group of six men enter. They were impeccably dressed, and five of them were arrayed around one in the middle, the only one wearing a hat. The leader’s eyes were strong and sharp, and he reminded me of a hawk. No, not a hawk. A vulture.
The hairs on my arm stood on end again, and my willies were back in full force. Felix was stony-faced as he turned to me. He glanced at the now-empty drink, shook his head and grabbed my hand, pulling me outside. I stumbled with my tray after him, slightly dizzy.
Indignant, I said, “Listen up, Professor Higgins! I’m not your doll and I’m not your little sister. Take your hands off me. I’m going to go work the rest of this God-awful night, and when I’m done, I’m going to sleep with a bodyguard who wants to drink me down like a tall glass of lemonade,” I boasted defiantly. Thankfully I had remained upright, with only a touch of woozy.
If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.
“Pale, you have no idea what the fuck is going on. You don’t see what I see.” He stopped, frustrated. “Sleep with whoever you want, but just be careful who you talk to, and try to stay out of trouble. I wasn’t judging you, I was worried about you.” He walked off, leaving the conversation and draining off the last of my righteous indignation.
Worried about me? See what he sees? What did that even mean? Arrggh!! Men!
The rest of my night was pretty miserable. I had no energy to schmooze with people and dance to their tune, and had no patience for those who wanted to test me; this, of course, drew them to me like magnets. The bouncers had their work cut out for them, as there seemed to be patrons poking and prodding me all night, trying to get a rise out of me.
Two things consoled me. First, even though Felix was upset with me, it was because he was worried about me, which showed that on some level, he cared. My other consolation was on a slip of paper, if I could just work up the courage to call Bodyguard Michael.
Felix picked me up later at Crow Bar. While I was working in there, a former bartender who'd been fired for getting addicted to meth came in threatening to blow up the bar. He was thrown out, and the cops were called. It was a madhouse outside, and as I crawled into Felix’s van, he asked me gently how the rest of the night went. I told him about Crow Bar, but nothing about the rest of the night, as it likely would have made him more worried.
“Did you really call me Professor Higgins? As in, My Fair Lady?” he joked quietly, and I gave him a tired smile.
“Sorry, but I was feeling pushed around. I don’t like that.”
“Noted.”
Back at the office, I had a quick shot with Meredith and filled her in on the evening. She was shocked, and sympathized with the bad night, but was excited I got to meet the Mayor.
I cashed out, and my sales turned out to have been okay, but it was not because of any effort on my part. Had I not made out well at Tosca, the night would’ve been a total loss.
As I got ready to leave, I turned to see Felix flirting with Susannah. I joined a couple of the girls who were drinking in the corner, and the rest of my night soon turned into a haze.