“That’s not food,” I assure the goat, tugging it out of range of a tablecloth. “Nor is that,” I add when it nibbles on a napkin dropped near the bar.
There’s a jug of celery on the counter, ready for a pitcher of bloody marys, and I grab one of those, waggling it before the animal to its apparent disgust.
“Where is she?”
“She was due to start half an hour ago, but I haven’t seen her,” Zane says, reaching out a tentative hand to pet my gift’s head. “You are so weird.”
“Thanks for your support. Can you hold her lead for a minute? I’ll just duck out the back.”
But he holds his hands up, still far too amused for my liking. I tug the leash and the goat obediently follows along behind me as I round the stage, ducking into Robyn’s office only to find it empty.
“Excuse me,” I call to a passing waitress, who ignores me in favour of taking the order from a table of men in their forties. When I call out again, she rolls her eyes and I lose my patience, storming straight through the door to the hallway of private rooms.
“Evie?” I call out, slamming the first one open. Four men and two girls turn my way, startled, and I make my apologies before moving to the next. And the next. And the next.
“Changing rooms?” I ask the girl in the last room, and she points along the corridor. I duck under the velvet ropes at the end.
“Staff only, mate,” an enormous man says, encroaching into my personal space. “Patrons must remain behind the rope at all times.”
“I’m looking for Evie. Is she on tonight?”
“Why? That her kid?” he asks, smirking at his own joke.
“Yeah, good one.” I use his momentary inattention to skip past, shoving through the door and trying not to see anything I shouldn’t. “Hey, ladies. Anyone seen Evie?”
“Get the fuck out,” Robyn says, speeding towards me and shoving until I’m back in the corridor, heading towards her office. “If you want to pay me to keep her offstage, that little stunt just doubled the cost.”
“I’m not giving you another cent. I just want to know where she is.”
“If only there was someone you could bribe for that information.”
“My friend told me her shift started thirty minutes ago.”
The woman gives me nothing, her face a blank slate. Her hand is more forthcoming, palm up, jerking her fingers in a come-on gesture.
“Fine.” I pull out my wallet, checking for cash and only finding a twenty.
“Come into my office.” She opens the door and practically pushes me inside before I can protest. “You’ve got a credit card, don’t you?”
“Or how about you tell me what you know, and I won’t place a call to the employment tribunal telling them how you employ underage dancers?”
She freezes in place, lip curling. “I bet your dad would just love that.”
“What my father does or does not love means nothing to me.” I pull out my phone, trying to operate it one-handed while thegoat makes a renewed bid for freedom, nearly pulling my arm from my socket. “What’s it gonna be?”
“Fine.” Robyn throws up her arms in exasperation. “She doesn’t work here any longer, okay? She’s probably at home or sucking off a new sugar daddy.”
My hand balls into a fist, then I decide it isn’t worth it. I retrace my steps to the entrance, giving Zane a shoulder bump on the way past. “She’s not working here any longer. You’re officially relieved of duty.”
“Seriously?” When I nod, he abandons his beer and trails me outside. “Thank goodness. I’m going home to have the world’s longest shower. Call me later and tell me how everything went.”
“Will do.”
I load the goat into my vehicle again, staring at its strange rectangular pupils for far too long before I put the car into gear, apologising when my abrupt turn makes her stagger. “Next time, I’ll come better prepared, I promise.”
She doesn’t look the slightest bit impressed as I pull up outside Evie’s flat, sending a text, but getting nothing back. I get out and walk around to the passenger side.
“Another adventure,” I say, opening the door and coaxing the animal outside, lead gripped securely in my hand. “You’ve had quite the day.”
