At least that's what I told myself while ignoring the predatory way his gaze lingered on my tits. The thought of a paycheck was enough to squash any doubts I had. All I needed was enough money to book a flight away from here.
Coming back to Sicily was a mistake. There were no tourist jobs and everywhere I looked, I saw my father. Or men that reminded me of him. It was time for a change of scenery, and fast.
"Sure, no problem."
"Go through that door and ask for Luna. She'll sort you a uniform and shit."
"You sure you want to work here, honey?" Luna looked me up and down while chewing gum. She reminded me of Mrs. Gia, my old nanny, with her salt and pepper hair and tired eyes. I shoved that thought down the moment it hit my front-brain. Memories from my past were best left locked away.
Mrs. Gia was still missing. Thea said Milo had found no trace of her, although he continued to run searches periodically. I liked to think her disappearance after Kyril and Dario rescued us meant she'd changed her name and moved away. It was a lot better than picturing her rotting in a shallow grave on our old estate.
"I need the cash," I admitted while wondering if I'd made an awful mistake agreeing to work in this club. It hadn't seemed that bad from the outside.
The woman sighed. "OK, but be careful and don't agree to work the private parties. Ron will ask. You're fresh meat and the punters love new girls."
I frowned. "He hired me to work the bar. Nothing else?"
Luna's low chuckle sent a shiver of unease down my spine.
"Sure he did." I waited for her to expand on her comment, but she turned away and rooted in a cupboard for a few minutes. "This is your uniform. The top and shorts are one-size-fits-all, so they should be fine."
This club appeared to opt for the 'less is more' approach with staff uniforms. But if wearing a tight top got me extra tips, I'd suck it up for now. The more I earned in tips, the faster I could leave.
And if I could track down Kate and she got me a job cleaning hotel rooms, I wouldn't need to work here for long.
I just hoped my family or those Irish assholes didn't come after me. Although, realistically, it was bound to happen once they figured out where I was.
An incendiary memory flash of Ronan leaning over me, brushing his lips against my neck, hit hard, but I pushed it away. There was no point dwelling on what had happened between us. That part of my life was over now. A brief highlight in a sea of unrelenting gray.
Even if he had turned out to be a douche, at least I'd have some hot memories to fall back on in the long, lonely years to come. Conal might not have been such a player, but as a Kelly, he, too, was bad news.
They all were.
I figured I had a week, perhaps less, before my sister sent one of her husbands after me, probably Dario. And when that happened, he'd be told in no uncertain words that this was my life. I was an adult, and I didn't need my family's protection.
Dad might be out there somewhere, but the chances of him finding me were slim.
"I've put you on the roster for this evening," Luna said before lighting a cigarette. I tried not to cough as pungent smoke filled the small room. "Is that alright?"
"I'll be here." Anything was better than being my usual awkward self at the hostel while drunk backpackers flirted with each other.
My feet hurt and the stupid spandex shorts the club expected their female staff to wear kept riding up my butt cheeks. At least nobody had told me to wear heels. That would have been the straw that broke the camel's back.
"More drinks!" a drunk guy called from a nearby table. He and his bro friends shamelessly ogled me as I leaned down to collect their empty glasses. When his grabby little hands touched my ass, I almost dropped my tray.
"Sexy ass, come sit on my lap!" I grimaced as his friend tried to slide his arm around my waist.
"Luca, leave the bitch alone or we won't get our drinks." A third guy rolled his eyes at his friends' antics.
The men settled down and let me leave their table to collect a fresh round of drinks for them. More hands touched my ass as I weaved my way through the tables, but I pretended not to notice.
Light touching from drunkards, I could handle. If it escalated beyond harmless ass grabbing, I'd try using one of the self-defense moves Conal taught me.
"Can you work a private party room tomorrow night?" Ron appeared at my shoulder. Sweat stains bloomed under the arms of his shirt and I tried not to stare at the thick gold chain nestling among stringy gray chest hair.Gross.
"Does it pay more?" He half-smiled.
"Yes, plus there'll be tips." He licked his fleshy lips while his gaze drifted down my cleavage. "Bigtips."
