Or even came around him.
“You’re the fill-in?” she asked, barely cutting me a glance as she handed me something. “Sign this waiver, and here is the list of your songs, schedule, and times you dance.”
I took everything and opened my mouth to object to at least one of those… But changed what I was going to say when it was only thelast pageof the waiver. “Right, cute. Give me the full waiver to read or kiss my ass, lady.”
“Sign it,” she ordered, looking up at me with contempt.
And also taking my breath away as her desire to drag me out of there by my hair flooded me. This was one bitter,bitterwoman.
“No, and if you try to force me, I’ll be on the phone with everyone I should call so fast your head will spin,” I said with asmirk. “I’m sure you’re used to kiddos you can push around, but I’ve worked all over the world.” I tossed the song list back on the table. “I also have set songs and routines. If you get me a list of what—”
“That’s not how we do things, and you need this job to—”
I snorted. “No, I don’t.” I gave her a moment with that. “And I’m better than you could ever get in here. You’reluckythat Maya knows me and could call in this favor.” I moved closer when she stood to intimidate me. “I’ve danced around theworldand could get a gig as a backup dancer to anyone on tour. I’m that good. I like this work. So stuff it.”
“Listen here, you little—”
“Nicole, you said no more fucking drama,” Austin grumbled as he stormed over. He took one look at me and practically drooled. “She’s way hotter to Maya, and if she has any sort of moves, then we’re lucky. All the girls hate having songs assigned to them. It—”
“People like to hear certain songs, Austin,” Nicole snapped.
“That’s true,” I agreed, shocking both of them. “But you have to fit the right dancer to the right ones or you do more damage than good. I do my songs well. If you have a worry of overlap, get me the songs the other girls use. Or if the DJ knows what won’t work, I can adjust after tonight. This was a family emergency and shit happens.”
“That’s fair,” a woman said as she joined us. “That’s more than fair, Nicole. And you can’t just expect her to even know these songs on the spot.” She shot Nicole a knowing look. “Making any of us look bad makes the club and all the rest of us look bad. Hurts the money.”
“That’s not what I was doing,” Nicole snapped.
But none of us believed her. How sad was it that her husband knew and let her hurt his business?
Then his desire hit me and I had trouble not gagging. He was into it. He was into driving her fucking nuts and… Gross. He was into gross and them beating each other up mentally and emotionally.
He was into abusing his wife but excused it as just play because he saw her doing the same to him. Except she wasn’t. She was a fool for trying to change him and make him into the man she thought he’d be.
It just made me sad.
It made me wonder if she was ever worth anything to start, and the after picture I was looking at should be pitied.
Then she laid into me and I didn’t care. Fuck her. I had piles of issues and I did my best to never take it out on others.
Clearly, she just wanted to blame and hate the world.
“Look, lady, I came in early and am honoring my deal with Maya, but if you don’t pull your head out of your stupid ass and act professional, then I’m going to blow my lid and throw down. And that’s not a fight you can winnor handle,” I snapped when my ears started ringing.
It was almost funny when just about everyone in the club froze in their prep and seemed to pull out their metaphorical popcorn.
She eyed me over. “I can take you.”
I snorted. “First, no, you can’t. I have black belts. As in multiple.”
“There’s no way to have multiple.”
“Yes, there is, Nicole,” Austin sighed.
“Second, I wasn’t talking about gettingphysical,” I drawled, gesturing to my body. “This is art. You don’t risk art. You protect art.” I rolled my eyes when she clearly didn’t get it. “I have a few fantastic attorneys. You don’t want to meet them. Savvy?”
Someone who was cleaning made the mic drop gesture and I almost broke, my lips twitching a little at least.
“I’ll get you the full waiver,” Austin cut in, moving his wife back. “Tonight, dance whatever you got prepared and maybe do more lap dances if it clashes with the other girls. We can—Lottie here handles all of that.”
