“Excellent. Mr. Mann, I can put you to work straight away as the Jade Sanctum is open six nights a week.” She refixes her attention toward me. “And you, Mr. Tabbitt, can report to Aces Underground at six o’clock sharp this Friday.”
Today marks six months at Aces Underground.
The job has been a benison of the greatest favor. Her Majesty put Tim and me up at a hotel not too far from where we were living by the airport, a refurbished property called the Caterpillar Hotel. Tim and I don’t see each other as often as I’d like since the schedules of the Jade Sanctum and Aces Underground don’t quite mesh, but I have a roof over my head and three hot meals a day, so I really cannot be disagreeable against the standards with which I’ve been presented. I’ve found a few trinkets—most interestingly a small shampoo bottle under my bed which I’ve determined came from the hotel’s heyday. I’ve kept it in my pocket as a little charm, a reminder to be grateful for the boon which has befallen me.
I work primarily in the Hearts section. I am the Jack. The Jack of Hearts. I have a tattoo of a J on my right shoulder, and a red heart on my left. I’ve taken to rouging my nipples to match.
The other waitstaff at Aces are approached by the patronage now and then and taken discreetly behind the velvet curtains to be pleasured. So far, I have not been propositioned in such a way. The servers who do entertain the club’s members are quite conventionally attractive—the women toned and the men muscled. I’m the tallest of the waitstaff, and the thinnest. My face is one which my mother once referred to as “not quite comely.”
I have no interest in servicing the patrons, anyway. I still have never experienced the physical act of intimacy, but I’ve done quite a bit of reading on it. It doesn’t seem for me.
I’m not the only server who doesn’t get as much attention from the patrons. There are a few of us who have never gone behind the velvet curtains. I’m not sure if the others have maintained their purity as I have. It’s not really something we discuss. Her Majesty has been hiring a lot of them from abroad, anyway, so many of them don’t speak English. We are allowed to speak to one another when we’re off Aces property, but even then communication can be tricky.
Tim is always there for me, though. He’s a good man.
I am about to begin my shift on the Aces floor when a long set of perfectly manicured fingers—nails painted blood red—close around my naked left shoulder.
Without even looking, I know it is Her Majesty.
I turn, bow my head.
“Chet.” Her eyelids flutter. “Do you have a moment?”
I glance toward a clock on the wall and then back to her.
“You can start your shift a few moments late. Come with me into my office.”
I nod, follow her into her chambers. It’s my first time seeing it. It’s gorgeous, aglow with red gemstones from floor to ceiling. Bright ruby sconces line the crimson wallpaper, and an oversized chandelier saturated with garnets and rubies hangs from the ceiling. I take a seat in an armchair across from Her Majesty’s desk, enjoying the plushy feel of the Persian rug underneath it on my bare feet.
Her Majesty takes a seat in her one chair, a throne bedecked with more of the red gemstones. At first I think they’re rubies, but as I squint I realize they are red diamonds—one of the most valuable minerals found on the planet. I recognize them from a book on gems and minerals I used to read in the elementary school library during lunch.
“Chet,” she says. “As you know, I have been running Aces Underground as regent to my ailing father for the last several years.”
I nod. I have not been permitted to speak.
She continues. “He has now reached a point where he has determined his best move is to transfer the remainder of his authority to me. As of this morning, I am the sole owner and proprietor of this club, as well as our satellite locations, like the Jade Sanctum, where your friend Tim works.”
I bow my head in a way I hope expresses my congratulations to her. Her Majesty has been our leader here in all but name since I started, and for a decade prior. This doesn’t change much. She just finally has the official position her father, Robinson Montrose, clung to for years even as his health and mental being slipped away. She finally has a complete hold over her family’s clubs. She’s been making changes for some time now with her father’s approval, which is now no longer required.
“With this in mind, I will be making some new changes. For example, I just got off the phone with my sister who is an actress in New York City. She will be coming to work as a singer in the Hearts section. The main alteration that will affect you, Chet, is that we are streamlining the process in which we hire our waitstaff.”
I nod.
“We are adopting a new set of standards to ensure all our servers are—how can I put this delicately?—conventionally attractive. As you are aware, Chet, that description doesn’t quite fit your skillset.”
I widen my eyes. Am I being fired? After Her Majesty saved me from the squalor of life in the nature preserve by the airport?
She holds up a hand. The gemstones embedded in her fingernails twinkle. “But you need not worry. You have proven over the last six months your loyalty to Aces Underground, Chet. That is not something I take lightly.”
I blink a few times, trying to keep my lips from twitching.
“I want to offer you a position as the Aces bouncer. Do you know what that means?”
I pause a moment and then shake my head.
“You would take the position in our lobby upstairs. I’ll be refurbishing it over the next few weeks. I’ve found some delectable couches lined in white rabbit fur. You will sit at a desk in the lobby, take IDs, and ensure that no one gets into Aces Underground unless they are a member or their guest. Does that sound like something you would be amenable to?”
I press my lips together but then nod again.
