Until then, she had other assignments, depending on how they went.They still want me working, even if I’ve got a date tonight.She hoped Bryce didn’t mind. Oh, who was she kidding? He knew where he was!
Still, Eden would need at least an hour to get ready later. So she'd better make it to her assignment.
That afternoon, she was “at large” on the first floor of the hotel, where all the communal areas were. She donned a white puff sleeve dress with a plunging neckline – one of the flirty outfits she had commandeered during orientation, although it had no tag and the fabric was synthetic.Definitely not worth much.But Eden made sure it looked like a billion bucks when she paired it with three-inch heels and left her hair loose around her shoulders. Her makeup took time, but she went for a natural, fresh look that would fool most of the guests into thinking she “just looked that way.”Eat your hearts out.
As she was about to step out, she received another paper in her mailbox. This one came from a supervisor, who approved her claims for bonuses from Friday.
It really is that easy…
Well, once she was on the island, anyway. As she gave herself one more look in the mirror and embraced the harsh lights of the hotel hallway, she realized that the hardest part had been getting the job. Everything else fell into place after that.
Like the pool area the day before, the recreational zones inside the hotel were sparse right after noon. Three guests converged out on the patio to have after-lunch drinks and talk shop about something Eden couldn’t hear, but despite her stopping to give them a look, none of them bothered with her presence. Fine. They weren’t interested? Well, Eden couldn’t blame them.
There were no TVs in the shared areas, nor were most guests interested in socializing with one another in a place like this. Not so out in the open like that trio had been, anyway. This meantEden had most of the large parlor to herself as she opened the French doors to a covered patio jutting toward a tennis court and small grass area. Both were empty. Yet with the fresh sea air now twirling in the parlor, she felt more comfortable scoping out the books on the shelves and checking out the games and decks of playing cards stacked on a table.You’re kidding.She realized that part of the fantasy for the guests was getting to do things like playScrabbleand poker with Butterflies. Go figure.
Then again, it was kinda sweet.
“Hey! How’s it going?”
She nearly leaped out of her skin as Blair approached from behind, dressed in flowy black pants and a silky halter top that gave the illusion of sexiness while making her another part of the backdrop. Eden nervously fussed with her hair as she smiled at her new friend.
“Great! How about you? Are you on the clock?”
“Technically. I’m supposed to go through every bar on the property and take inventory of what was consumed last night.” Blair gestured to a self-serve wet bar built into one of the walls. The doors to it were currently closed and locked, but she had a key. “You? They got you wandering around here for a few hours?”
“Oh, isn’t it gorgeous out there?” Eden gestured to the view through the French doors. “I’ve never seen anything like this before. I mean, even without all the sex stuff. It still blows my mind when I stop andlookat it.” She touched her fingers to her cheeks as she breathed in the salty sea breeze and closed her eyes. “This is what all those magazines look like, you know? I used to stand in line at the grocery store and thumb through travel magazines, imagining what it was like toaffordthis. Now I’m working at one for a weekend.”
Blair chuckled as she unlocked the wooden doors in the wall. “You almost make it sound romantic.” The hinges slightlysqueaked when she opened the doors. “But I know what you mean. I grew up with mostly just my dad. We lived fine but pretty humbly. You know.” She glanced at Eden before beginning her inventory. “Straddling that tenuous line between lower and middle class. But mostly the former.”
“And it was your partner who got you into places like these, right?”
“We were neighbors in the saddest micro apartment complex in the city.”
“Really?”
“Yup. Her family all died and took most of the money with them. She was a sex worker when I met her, and now here we are. It was either join her or leave.”
“Can I ask what kind?”
Blair paused before looking to see if anyone else was in the room with them. “She’s a dominatrix. She recruited me as a performing partner so we could make money on the circuit. Turns out we’re pretty damn good. Well, especially the part where we fell in love, and it was less choreographed, more organic.”
“Wow.”
“Yeah. Wow.”
“What’s the circuit?”
Blair laughed again. “You really are new to this. God, someone once said that to me…”
This time, Eden laughed too. Blair wasn’t wrong!
“The circuit just refers to the kind of upscale kink clubs that will pay us money to perform. You know, we go in on a Friday or Saturday night and put on a show on stage. Get the crowd riled up and ready to spend more money on drinks and memberships. Keeps them coming back if they know they can see live, kinky shows, especially when we won the Summit andcan coast on that for a long time. Also meant we could jack up our performance fees.”
“That sounds hot.”
Blair made an inscrutable face. “Lord, it’s something.”
Eden sat in one of the large chairs by the French doors. “I know there’s probably a dark side to this kind of life, but so far, it’s great.”
