Maybe I will get a chance if I hire him.
I didn’t make it a habit of dating the male dancers that worked for me, but from time to time I did. It required setting clear boundaries between my role as his boss and temporary lover.
It had to be temporary. Anything more than a few nights of sex never worked out. Either the guy got too possessive within the club or he assumed he should receive special treatment.
When I dated men that worked outside of the nightlife, most frowned at my occupation. The rest became aggravated with my long hours.
Basically, I spent more time with my magic wand than the opposite sex.
Nevertheless, I watched this fine guy some more as I stood at the bar, right next to where my friends sat at their table with their judge score sheets.
Maybe, I’ll try him.
He adjusted his jacket, didn’t step forward any further, and moved his gaze all over the place as if he were considering buying it, versus getting ready to audition.
Our eyes met.
Confidence glazed over his. It unsettled and caught me off guard.
He’s cocky. I think I like that.
Cora jumped up from her chair and seized my arm. Like me, she had that same rich brown complexion. Unlike me, she was wild and boisterous. Everything she did possessed flare, from the thick braids that outlined her face to the bright pink leggings that covered her curvy hips.
“Hire him,” Cora begged. “Hire that man right now!”
“Calm down.” I set the bottle of wine on the bar, gave my two friends their glasses, and signaled for the DJ behind me to play this sexy guy’s music. “We have to see him dance first.”
“Well, if he can’t dance, give him a job as a bartender.” Maria did a cheers with Cora. “He’s hotter than the last five dancers and they were panty-wetting hot.”
“Girl, I do not want to know about the moisture level of your underwear.” Cora tucked a few braids behind her ear.
“Oh be quiet. No one’s talking about my underwear, I’m just stating a fact.”
“Both of you quit it,” I said. “I invited all of you to help me pick five dancers based on all factors besides hotness and the ability to dampen clothes in certain areas.”
I didn’t sit down at the table with my friends yet, due to the fine guy not jumping on the stage like the others. Instead, he headed our way, dripping with bad boy swagger, which was hard to do because of the club’s tragic surroundings.
“Why is this one coming to us? The rest went straight to the stage.” Cora twirled a braid around her finger, entering flirt mode with each step the poor guy made.
“I’ll find out.” I headed over to meet him in the middle of the toweled pathway. “Is something wrong?”
“Yes.” He formed those yummy lips into a smile and extended his hand my way, surrounding my space in a woodsy cologne that would go well on my pillow and sheets. “Are you Christine Jones?”
“Yes.” I shook his hand. “I’ll be auditioning you today.”
“Auditioning me to dance?”
“Yes. Unless you’re applying for another job.”
He leaned his head to the side and quirked his eyebrows. “Do you really think I have what it takes?”
I forced myself to not lick my lips. “So far you do.”
“Well just for that compliment, you’ll be getting a big discount on your plumbing bill.”
I opened my mouth in shock.
“You’re the one I talked to on the phone about your club’s flooding.” His jawline twitched as I immediately let go of his hand. “Do you still have a problem with your pipes?”
“You’re the plumber?”
“Kind of. I’m the one you talked to and the one that owns the plumbing business. My team is outside, waiting for me to show them where the problem is.”
“Interesting. I didn’t realize your company was so big. Let me show you where the flooding started.” I switched to a more professional manner and walked off to the bathroom. He trailed behind me, and when I glanced over my shoulder, I caught him drinking in my curves. “I thought it would be a one guy operation.”
“It used to be.” He didn’t even try to recover from getting caught. Instead, he continued to decorate every inch of my body with his gaze. “My dad started the company when I was just a kid. When my brothers and I grew up, we expanded.”
“Awesome. Nothing wrong with families forming businesses together. My brothers and I own this club.”
“Yeah. I looked your club up. Really amazing story.”
I paused in the doorway. “You checked me out?”
“Like I told you earlier, I have a friend that plays a lot of practical jokes on me. I had to make sure Sin nightclub truly existed. A simple Google search had your name all over the place. The pictures of you left me intrigued. I might’ve spent longer than I should have reading your interviews.”