“Thanks everyone, I’ll arrange for some flowers and figure things out. Extra shifts are going to be paid at double time, just for a short period.”
The girls all thank her and head off. What the hell is going on?
“Jessica was in a car accident last night.”
My throat starts to tighten and white flashes behind my eyelids when I shut them. Stop it. Be normal. “Is she okay?”
Ellie is watching me, trying to figure out that reaction. I’m not exactly close to Jessica, she is nice enough, but she keeps to herself.
“She’s going to be fine, but she broke a couple of ribs, her collarbone and ankle.”
“That’s awful, I’ll chip in for flowers.”
“This isn’t about putting towards her gift. Karin also quit this morning.”
“Oh my God.”
“We could have coped with losing Jessica for a few months, Karin going as well is a problem. There is only going to be so long the girls we have can cover all of those extra hours. For reasons I won’t go into Beast isn’t going to be around much.”
“What are you going to do?”
“We’ve advertised for dancers so will wait and see what comes of it, but it takes time.”
My heart starts to pound. They’ve been adamant about keeping me off the stage but they’re in dire straits right now.
“You’re two months away from turning twenty-one, right?”
“Yes.” It’s the only thing I can muster up because I might puke. This is what I’ve wanted since I got here.
“I’m not sure you’re ready. You’ll need to be able to dance in front of people, Charley, on stage. Not just in front of the mirror in an empty room. We have a private party on Saturday night, the whole club has been bought out for this. You’ve seen the girls doing their routine.”
I have, I didn’t know it was for a private party but I’ve seen them all dancing, even stopped to watch.
“This wouldn’t be happening if Beast was around but I’m in charge of the dancers and I know that getting someone new in and having them learn this routine is going to be a disaster. The routine needs eight girls.”
“What about the other spot?”
“I’m going to do it.”
My eyes widen. Ellie doesn’t dance anymore, at least, not out on the main floor.
“It’s a big deal that we can’t afford to fuck up. Do you think you can do it?”
“If I spend time working with the girls to get it right, I’ll be able to do the dance.”
“You have to take off your clothes, Charley. There will be twenty plus men here that night. Important men. If you’re going to flake, I can’t put you up there.”
“I won’t.”
“Maybe we should practice another routine,” Ellie shakes her head, the frustration clear.
“Ellie, I promise I can do this. I’m not going to let you down. You and Beast and everyone else here have been amazing to me. You can trust me.”
“We have four days.”
“I’ll be ready.”
“Rehearsals are every morning from now until Saturday, ten till twelve.”
