“Have a great day off tomorrow, Tina,” Meg called out to her departing friend as she changed into better footwear for the walk home. “Think of us here, slaving away, while you rest your weary bones.”
Tina Washington laughed as she walked out the door. “The last thing I’ll be thinking of is this place, girl, believe me. I want to enjoy my day off.”
A day off was only to recharge the batteries so they could do it all again for another week. She grimaced as she tied the laces on her still-damp canvas sneakers, then reached for her clammy bag.Please let me get out of here without Mr. Moreno seeing me.
“Katie.” The Hispanic lilt caressed her name and cold seeped into her pores, chilling her blood.
“Mr. Moreno.” She couldn’t even muster any warmth to her tone.
“Can I see you in my office for a moment?”
Meg groaned but moved to stand in the doorway of Moreno’s office. Then she saw it. The picture was back again on the bulletin board. The one that had gone missing from her bag when she’d first got here. This time the big red push pin was stuck directly on her brother, Ty’s face. Last time her mom’s head held the pin. It wasn’t always there. Only when her boss wanted to make a point.
Moreno walked toward her and his hand immediately stroked her arm. Nausea roiled in her stomach. Good thing she hadn’t eaten anything today except a few orange slices and cherries from the bar.
“Katie, I hate to see you this tired all the time. You know there areotherjobs you can do for me. Ones that pay much better and will get you off your feet.”
Yeah, off her feet and on her back. Moreno played the role of respectable businessman to the community but his employees all knew the truth. At least those he wanted to move into different positions. Like her. She gathered her last ounce of strength to force a smile. “I know. I just…can’t. Please.”
Moreno ran his hand over her hip and she wished she was wearing something more tangible.
His eyes narrowed. “Only because you bring in so many customers and you never complain. You are an asset to this club. For now I will let it be.”
He walked out and she crumpled against the wall. She hefted her bag running for the door. As she exited the now silent club into the chilly night air, Sonny, one of the bouncers, sidled up next to her.
“You want me walk you home, baby doll?”
She cringed. Couldn’t they all leave her alone? Not much worse than Sonny walking with her for two miles. The slime ball would want something out of it too. He’d been hinting at it for a while now.
“All set, Sonny. I’m sure you have important things to do.”
She brushed past him, but his overly-muscled arm slithered around her waist. “Youcould be the important thing I’mdoing, baby. And you’d enjoy it. I’d have you screaming my name, begging for more.”
She ripped herself out of his grip. “I’m not one of Mr. Moreno’s high-priced whores so you can forget aboutdoinganything to me. Go find one of them.”
“Oh, baby doll,” he called out as she scurried off. “One of these days, Mr. Moreno’s going to put you to work serving more than drinks. I’m willing to give you a few lessons so you’ll know what to do.”
Meg flinched, hoping that day would never come. She simply wanted to get back to her room. Not herhome.It was merely a place she slept and kept her meager belongings. A week’s worth of clothes and some long exhausted toiletries were all she had packed when Eddie whisked her off here what seemed like eons ago.
Eddie. He’d been exciting and fun when she’d met him. She’d needed that. Life in her little Pennsylvania hometown was predictable. Meg wanted something more than her parents had.
She loved them immensely but a truck driver and waitress with five kids lived frugally. Money was tight and vacations nonexistent. Her life was stifling. She wanted to see the world before it was her turn to settle down with a nice, dull boy from town. Then Eddie had blasted through the area on his motorcycle. An obvious bad boy, she’d been dazzled by his pretty face and charm. He’d been perfect to fulfill her quest for adventure.
Footsteps sounded behind her and she peered around cautiously. A few people were still out at this time but none seemed interested in her. She picked up the pace still thinking about Eddie and the huge mistake she’d made in trusting him.
Checking out the classic cars at the fairgrounds, he’d checked her out as well. A few days together and he’d talked her into going to Florida with him for a week-long trip. What would it hurt, it was only a week? Sun and sand, clear blue sky and ocean.
Eddie’s idea of fun was cruising down to Miami and hitting the clubs every day and night. He’d treated her great, but too soon the fun times were over. Bluffing his way into a big poker game, he’d lost his shirt. Lost a lot more too. She’d lost as well; her family and the life she’d known. Her freedom.
The town she’d grown up in may have been boring, yet she’d trade this hell to spend the rest of her life in Mayberry, USA, and she wouldn’t complain. Because where she was now, she had no life.
She adjusted her bag as she started across the bridge over the bay separating the luxury part of Miami from the rougher neighborhood where she lived. It was barely halfway to her dumpy apartment. She couldn’t afford any place closer. What she wouldn’t give to be able to stay someplace like The Ocean Terrace Resort. Well, she wouldn’t givesomethings, but seeing her rescuer’s room this afternoon reminded her how bad her crummy life was.
Christopher Martin. She’d tried not to think about him but he’d shown up at the club tonight, constantly staring at her while she worked. He was too handsome to be sitting alone, not that she was the type to keep him company. With his good looks and money, he’d have women pounding on his door soon enough.
His actions had surprised her, made her skeptical at first. No one had been nice to her for unselfish reasons in far too long. Did he have other motives? She’d thought Eddie was a true hero, and he’d turned into a real toad. Was Chris Martin a toad too?
Her kiss seemed to have turned him into a prince. Or was it that he was a truly nice guy? Without his help she could have been spending tonight in a holding cell at the local precinct. Mr. Moreno wouldn’t have bailed her out without major consequences. She couldn’t afford to owe him even more.
