"Oh," she says, her glossy lips pressing into an 'O'. "Aren't you beautiful." Her smile doesn't fall from her face and there's nothing sarcastic or patronizing about her words. "The clients are just going to eat you." Her eyes move behind me to Enzo. "Or at least try to," she says after a moment.
"I expect you to take her under your wing and make sure she doesn't have any trouble," Todd says and I have to wonder if he's already aware of the rumor Enzo spoke of. It'd explain why he's being so nice to me and expecting for this job to be easy for me.
Amarie waves a hand. “Of course. She'll be perfectly safe in my care." She looks at Enzo again. "But you can't be under us the entire time. It'll ruin our tips."
I glance at Enzo, finding his shoulders tense. He glances around the club even though there's only staff inside still. His gaze meets mine. "Don't forget to find me if you need to," he says, sharply before turning and moving across the room. He folds himself into the corner of the room and I wonder if that's exactly where he's going to stay for the rest of the night.
Staring at him, I realize it feels slightly… odd not to have him hovering. But also, it’s a bit of a relief.
I can pretend I’m here of my own accord.
"Now." Amarie drags my attention back to her, her eyes bright. A slow smile curves her lips. "I think it's time I corrupt you," she says with a theatrical whisper.
Despite her words, she walks me through my job without any mishap or mayhem. She's so nice and chatty that time flies by quickly. I don't even notice when the doors to the club open until the lights go dim, music turns on, and people start piling in.
Amarie helps me with my first few trays, walking with me as I serve a few tables, but she definitely doesn't baby me in the way that Todd implied he'd like. After the first two hours where I only mess up one order, she tells me that she's leaving me on my own and that she won't be far away if I get overwhelmed. Which I don't, considering that there's a handful of other waitresses. I don't think there's a single client in the club who goes without getting what they need for more than a few seconds with how well staffed the place is.
And considering the clientele... mostly wealthy men, I'm not surprised.
"Hey there, doll, you're new," one man says, snagging my wrists. I jerk to a stop, my drinks falling off of my tray with the sudden movement. I gasp as they spill, the glasses shattering.
"Shit," the man says, releasing me and looking down to where one of the drinks fell into his lap, drenching his slacks. He stands, brushing his hands over himself before raising his hot gaze to mine. His lips are pulled into a sneer and he takes a step forward.
I quickly take a step back.
He reaches out for me, but a hand crosses in front of us, gripping his wrist. "I don't think you want to do that." I'm surprised when the voice is feminine where I expect to hear Enzo.
Glancing over, I find Amarie looking at the man, her lips pressed into a deep frown.
"You bitch," the man starts, moving his opposite hand in a wild swing.
This time it is Enzo who swoops in, nearly a blur as he drives his shoulder into the man's gut. He goes falling to the ground, right into the wet pile. Enzo's gaze snaps over to the entrance before he makes a gesture with his hands to the bouncers.
"I had that, didn't need your help, cowboy," Amarie says and she sounds completely confident.
As I look at her, I notice there's a sharper edge to her than earlier and I don't doubt that she's right, she had this handled.
Enzo only offers a grunt in response.
The rest of the clients in the booths look over at us before going back to their own affairs, as if things like this happen all the time.
The bouncers come over to jerk the man up to his feet, escorting him out of the club.
"I'll get someone to clean this up," Amarie says before disappearing.
Enzo's glower follows her for a moment, creases forming at the corners of his eyes before smoothing out. He mutters something under his breath before returning his gaze to me. "Are you okay to go the rest of the night?" The concern on his face is genuine.
He's going to give me fucking whiplash with all these personality changes.
Still, I give him a nod. "Yeah, I'm fine."
He nods before disappearing off to the side again. Slightly rattled, I try not to let it show as I make my way to the bar.
Being here, working, it gets me out of that prison of a mansion. So I don't care how anxious I feel, I'm going to work through it.
Someone cleans up the fallen drinks and I'm not given any more issues from clients. A few say some sexual things and a couple of hands graze mine much longer than necessary but nothing that warrants an appearance from Enzo, or even Amarie, who I notice keeping a watchful eye on me.
I move over to the bar, giving my order slip to Mike, the other bartender on duty. I lean against the bar slightly, watching the room as I wait on the order.
Despite the lights being dim, it isn't too low to actually see, making it easy to see and walk around the room. And while it's crowded, most of the people are sitting, not too many on the open floor dancing. It isn't that type of club. Though I haven't missed that a couple of the waitresses have taken men into the back, coming back out later with rumpled clothes.
Movement across the room catches my attention, cutting my thoughts off. I notice two men shoving each other. It's as I'm looking to see if the bouncers have noticed that gunshots ring out through the room.