Felicia tapped her dark-red pout with her fingers. “Okay, yes, but not because of Janice, even if she never tips.”
“She’s hired your hacking skills? That might be a problem,” I said, frowning.
Felicia laughed and nudged me. “No, Rosa, she is a different kind of client. We are dancers at the Dove’s Rest. Janice is the worst kind of patron, since she mostly comes to poach talent. She heckles, all passive-aggressive like a loca. No, I wouldn’t ever work for her. My boyfriend, he can help when he sets up the lights, while I help out in the background. It sounds like a lot of fun, but you’ll have to convince Jordan. What funds do you have?”
I wanted the two million to go to a women’s shelter. It would make a difference to somebody. “Is there any way to redirect the funds Horse is already spending? I have money, but I wanted to donate it to a women’s shelter.”
Minx grabbed Felicia’s shoulder. “That is so sweet. Of course we can redirect funds, but you’ll have to ask Trix, so she can deal with the fallout when Horse finds out.”
I nodded and took a deep breath. “Okay. I’ll ask Trix to help.”
“Also, get her to talk to Jordan for you. Jordan loves her,” Felicia put in. “She’ll have to order a few extra leather corsets or something, but she’ll do it if you can be convincing enough. Mention the women’s shelter.”
“I thought that Jezebel would talk to her about this. She’s one of the girls, isn’t she?”
Minx and Felicia exchanged looks before Minx said, “Well, the thing with Trix is that she’s honest. She doesn’t really know how to lie. She’ll fly copters, and be a getaway driver for Girl’s Night, but she doesn’t get involved in the morally complicated stuff. You’ll have to be really careful how you sell it to her, maybebring up the costumes Horse is putting you in.” She smiled a mega-wat smile. “I know! You’ll have to run into her in the lobby before work tomorrow and then tell her that you’re playing for Horse’s party and ask if it’s right that the women have to dress like prostitutes. Don’t ask her to interfere. Her sense of justice will compel her.”
“One of the musicians wants to wear a three-piece suit instead of a G-string.”
“Perfect!” Minx beamed at me. “She’ll take it as her duty to minimize Horse’s excessive sexualization of women. That’s where she lives, in the Providence.”
I frowned at her. “If she doesn’t deal with lies, isn’t it wrong to lie to her about who owns the hotel?”
Felicia ribbed Minx. “Jezebel is right; she really is adorable. Don’t lie. You can put as many of your cards on the table as you want, but you’ll have to get things started first thing or Jordan won’t have time to get costumes ready. He’s good, but no one’s that magical.”
After that, they left with waves and encouragement, leaving me to catch a few hours of sleep that I spent with music crashing in my head and anticipation warming my fingertips. And Dirk. His words, his touch, his kiss, stayed with me like bruises imprinted on my skin.
24
VILLAIN
She came out of the elevator looking like a thundercloud, stomping in her big boots and wearing a coverall like she owned it. I fell in beside her on her way to the café.
“Hey, Trixie. Can I talk to you for a second?”
She gave me a nod. “Something wrong with Prudence? I heard you left her at a gas station the other night.”
“Oh, no, I was just kidnapped by Dirk’s mother. I blame the pink candy dress.”
She stopped walking and turned to frown at me. “Seriously?”
I shrugged. “I didn’t mean to say anything about that. It’s not a big deal, except that I was in pajamas and slippers, so that was embarrassing. Anyway, I wanted to talk to you about Jordan, the costumer. Do you know him?”
She crossed her arms beneath her generous bosom and cocked her head. “No one’s better in Vegas, and Vegas is where the best are. What do you need a costume for? Does it have to do with Dirk’s mom? That family’s all kinds of messed up. Try not to take it personally.”
I shook my head. “No, I’m not. It’s not about that. I really shouldn’t have mentioned anything. Can I buy you breakfast while we talk? I don’t want to make you late for work.”
She frowned at me, then nodded decisively and started walking quickly. “You’re here early. It probably would have been better if you'd caught me at the compound. Walking around the public areas of this hotel puts me on edge because Horse could turn up any time. The earlier I get up to avoid him, the earlier he gets up to irritate me.”
“It’s actually about Horse. I’m playing my cello with his band for the party on Wednesday, which you may have heard about. I want to swap out the costumes he’s making us wear, so we can wear suits with coverage instead of glorified bikinis.”
She stopped walking while she clenched her jaw, relaxed, clenched, relaxed, clenched, before she spun around and started in a different direction.
“Where are we going?”
“Judgment. It’s a dining hall, and that’s where I used to have breakfast until Horse made it his. It’s so hard to eat in the same room as him, so hard to digest when he’s looking so smarmy and smirkish. He takes women to breakfast in public places. Who does that? If you’re having company for breakfast, any civil person would eat it in the privacy of their room.”
“Right,” I said, following her, feeling like I’d just let a wild animal out of a cage. She might not follow my desired trajectory, but this would be interesting.
