She left to go home leaving me with a dilemma. I was due at the club in a few hours and Annabelle was going to be there working which would leave the kid here alone. Although he was of age and swore up and down that he would be fine, I wasn’t too sure.
I tried talking Tony into staying with him but that ass just gave me a look that said that shit wasn’t going to happen. So in the end I had no choice but to leave the kid on his own with strict orders not to go outside.
To be fair I did warn him that I had my place wired and could check up on him without him knowing. To which he had something smart to say before warning me not to let his sister know or she’d freak.
It never crossed my mind that she would perceive the surveillance as anything more than security, but knowing her the kid was probably right.
That night there was a quiet buzz around the club because it was my first time back since I’d fired Arlene. Of course word had spread and the stories were coming out of the woodwork.
I ignored them all, but took the time to talk to the dancers. As I expected, some of them had some not so nice experiences to impart to which I told all of them that the next time some shit happens to them in my place they need to let me know.
All in all they seemed happy with the changes so no worries there. Since Ms. Thing was going home with me at the end of the night, I didn’t need to spend the whole night watching her through the screen and I actually got shit done.
When we left together that night right after her shift there was no longer any doubt that there was something going on between us for anyone watching.
I knew she was dead on her feet when she allowed me to wrap my arm around her shoulder as we walked out. And again when I pulled her head down on my shoulder in the car on the way home and she didn’t try to pull away once.
“Did you quit that job?”
“Of course not, why would I?” What the fuck, because I said so. Like I didn’t expect her to fight me on this.
“Any of those schools you going to give out degrees in stupidity?” Her head flew up and off my shoulder. Tony glared at me in the rearview mirror but as far as I can see, his idea of taking things easy hasn’t been working.
“What did you say?” It didn’t bear repeating.
“You’re smart enough to know that what you’re doing isn’t sustainable for any length of time, so why do it? Why push yourself until you break?”
I knew I was skating close to danger the same way I had this morning. Then it had been a mistake, but now I needed her to see the truth no matter how harsh my words may seem.
I’d barely got a first hand look at what she was doing to herself, but what little I’ve seen was more than enough to tell me that if I didn’t do something soon she was going to end up in serious trouble.
All evening in the office when I wasn’t working like I was supposed to, I’d spent the time worrying about her and trying to come up with the right solution. Everything Travis had told me and the things he’d said to mom and Tony played through my head.
Travis seemed stuck on one thing. The girl we now know isn’t the sister he’d grown up with. It was plain to see that he blamed himself in part for it. Another one that had had to grow up way too fast.
His guilt reminded me of my own where mom was concerned. He knew enough to know that his sister was doing all this in hopes of making up for the father and mother that he no longer had. But who was taking care of her?
“That is still none of your business. It’s not like I plan to do it forever, just until I save up enough to open the school full time. Then I can take a break and reorganize everything.”
“And how long is that gonna take?” If she thinks New York is Ohio she’s in for a rude surprise.
Shit around here cost three times as much as everywhere else.
“I don’t know, all the spaces I’ve looked at are very expensive, plus there’s supplies and minor renovations, insurance, things like that. I think another year maybe.”
I felt a headache coming on and another tussle. I wasn’t about to have it out with her in the damn car with nosy listening in, so I bit my lip and held my peace until we pulled up outside the building.