Romance in Vegas - Showgirl! (2 page)

"Would you like a drink?" he asked politely,
without looking up.

For some reason she felt offended that he was
ignoring her. "Yes, please," she replied shortly.

His lips quirked in a smile, but he still
perused the paper in front of him. "Any particular drink? I can get
you anything."

"Whiskey will be fine."

"Sideboard is over there," he said, still
smiling, still not looking up.

She helped herself to a small glass and
returned to where she had been standing.

Finally, he looked up at her. His blue-grey
eyes were the most captivating she'd ever seen, but she rather
thought they registered shock, as they roved up and down her lithe
frame.

Then he sat back in his plush black chair. He
lazily studied her for a minute before he stood.

She realized he was over six feet tall. He
wore immaculately tailored clothes, and the shirt, the black pants
and fine black leather belt had the look of quality.

But there was something about his demeanor
that shouted authority. She could tell he was a man who always got
what he wanted. There was a glint of danger in his eyes.

"Miss..."

"Troubix. My name is Danielle, but people
usually call me Dani."

He nodded and gestured to two large chairs by
an empty marble stone fireplace. They both sat, facing one
another.

Dani shifted in her dress and readjusted the
straps. She felt like his gaze seared a hole through her and she
was more uncomfortable by the second.

Then she heard him laugh softly. "So what
brings you to Vegas, Miss Troubix?"

"A job," she blurted, "I mean I'm trying to
find a job."

His eyes were warm as they met hers, and he
still smiled. "How old are you?"

"Twenty-one," she lied. Then she groaned
inwardly as she realized he'd find out from her driver's license
about her age. Oh well, she told herself, by then he'd know what a
good worker she was, and it wouldn't matter. It would take them
some time to investigate her.

He sat back. "And, what is your
experience?"

"Well," she said slowly after she sipped her
drink nervously, "I can type and do some math. Although I really
want to be a showgirl."

He laughed. "Well, you've got the figure for
it." Then he rose and walked to the sideboard. She noticed how
gracefully he moved, like a panther. And she thought the blonde
downstairs was right. He was a hunk.

"So," he said, returning with a drink in his
hand, "what brings you to Las Vegas? Where are you from?"

She grew more nervous now under his steady
gaze. "I grew up in New Jersey. Then I came here with my
girlfriend. She's waiting downstairs." It was a lie, of course. She
couldn't tell him her foster brother turned into a coke freak and
gambling addict soon after they hit town.

Her throat grew tight when she remembered how
abandoned she'd felt back at their motel after he'd left. And she
ran out of money.

She took a large gulp of whiskey.

"Well," he said slowly, observing her still,
"if you have someone waiting I'll let you go then." He stood and
moved to his desk.

She rose and sighed her frustration, as he
hadn't offered her a job. She placed her glass on the end
table.

He walked back and gave her an envelope.
"Here, get some clothes tomorrow. Go downstairs now and ask for
Lefty at the front desk. He'll get you situated in a room."

She eyed him suspiciously, not taking the
envelope. "And you have a job for me?"

He grabbed both her hands and pressed it into
them with his own, while she felt a shiver run down her spine at
the intimate gesture. "Why," he said softly, looking down at her,
"you're our new showgirl, Miss Troubix."

Scaletti watched the girl leave on the hidden
penthouse camera by his elevator. She counted the thousand dollars
then kissed the envelope. He had to fight the urge to run after
her.

He called Lefty's cell phone.

"Yeah," the old man said.

"She might be a keeper, unless she runs off
with my thousand," Scaletti told him.

The man laughed.

"She's also an accomplished liar. Do one of
your famous background checks, Lefty. If she's twenty-one, like she
told me, well, I'll bet you she's not. A hundred bucks."

"You're on, boss. Hey, can I pick 'em, or
what?"

"That remains to be seen, my friend,"
Scaletti replied dryly, "that remains to be seen."

Chapter 2

After watching Dani change into her worn
jeans and work shirt backstage, Stutgart guided her to a room on
the second floor.

But it wasn't just a room, Dani realized in
amazement, it was a whole suite all to herself including mini-bar,
a small refrigerator, a microwave, toaster, coffee maker, kitchen
table and a separate bedroom. All the furnishings were ultra
modern, with luxuriant ferns here and there, a plush beige couch
and matching chairs. The bed had a peach multi-colored fluffy
bedspread and the bedroom included a lounge chair.

She dropped her bag on the floor by the
couch, and thought how scruffy she must look to Miss Stutgart.

But the woman was preoccupied and didn't seem
to notice. "This will be your room during your engagement at The
Casino." She sat at the small table and placed some papers there.
Dani joined her.

She gave Dani a sharp look. "No men. If we
find you are entertaining men, you will be fired. Understood?"

Dani nodded. After her experience with Tommy,
she would gladly give up men, friend or no friend.

"This is your contract," the woman continued,
"and, if I do say so, a very generous one. You are to initial all
pages and sign at the end. It is an at-will contract which means
The Casino can fire you at any time for any reason."

"I don't understand," Dani said, "why have a
contract then?"

Stutgart peered at her. "To lock in the
salary. You will receive two thousand dollars a week."

Dani gasped.

"But don't worry," she said, "you'll earn
every penny of it. Another fact in the contract, you are never to
date or be seen socially with any of the customers. Also, you are
never to gamble in this casino. Understood?"

"Yes," Dani replied quickly. This was
unbelievable! she thought. A dream coming true.

She initialed and signed the end of the
contract with a sigh of relief.

"Now," Stutgart said, as she gathered up the
papers, "a car will escort you tomorrow to buy some decent clothes.
Nine o'clock. Then Marie will tell you everything about the
showgirl realm and what's expected of you. Meet her at noon in the
employee dining room."

"They feed me too?"

"
Us
, try to think in terms of a team.
Yes, they feed
us
. And just dial zero if you need a wake up
call or anything else. Call housekeeping for laundry. And," she
reached in the pocket of her business suit, "here is my private
cell number, for emergencies only."

"I don't know how to thank you," Dani
said.

Stutgart peered at her. "Just be the best
damn showgirl ever." And, with that, she left the suite.

Dani, after looking more closely at all the
items in the room, took a long, leisurely bath. Looking down at her
figure, for once she was glad for her large chest, small waist and
long legs.

And, after climbing gratefully between clean,
white sheets, she whispered, "I will show them all. They won't be
sorry."

At noon, the next day, Lefty called Al. "Just
reporting in, boss."

Al sat back in his seat and relaxed for the
first time that day. There were numerous problems at both his
casinos, petty theft, card sharks trying to muscle in, and losses
at some of his shopping centers due to shoplifters. "So what's the
word my man?"

"We took her to 'Outfits R Us,'" then the man
laughed, "just kidding. We went to Por Vous and Sharkeys."

"And what did she buy?"

"I asked Stutgart. She said slacks, shirts,
skirts, jeans and unmentionables."

Al grew warm at the thought then he smiled.
"No description on them, I suppose. That's the magic of females,
they hide it and you have to use your imagination." Although, when
he thought of Dani last night in the green dress, he realized it
had left very little to the imagination.

Lefty's mind ran along the same lines. "Yeah,
that green number she wore last night was a pip, boss. Anyway, we
brought her back and Stutgart took over."

"Great. So she didn't abscond with the
thousand dollars after all? Who owes who?"

Lefty laughed. "No, boss, that was the age
bet. You win on that one. Her license says eighteen."

"Okay, get with your contacts at the Labor
Board and we'll get her a work permit."

"Consider it done."

"Where is she now?"

"Chowing down in a major way. She probably
hasn't eaten for days from the looks of it."

Al frowned at that. "Stock her room
refrigerator with snacks, will you? And make sure she has a few
extra bottles of whiskey, those small room bottles. Thanks
Lefty."

Dani sat in the basement employee dining room
with Marie the blonde woman she briefly met backstage yesterday.
She thought Marie was probably in her thirties, with short blonde
hair mostly bangs, with the back cropped short. Marie seemed to
limp a bit as they walked along earlier and Dani wondered why.

The tantalizing smells were delicious in the
place, and Dani had helped herself to almost everything in the
buffet line.

"You can eat every meal here if you like."
Marie picked at her salad. "They're open 24-7."

Dani nodded and continued eating.

"They should have your badge ready soon.
Today," she continued, "I'll be showing you everything but tomorrow
you will participate. And, if you do well in rehearsals, you'll go
on stage probably this week. Saturday's coming up and that's always
a sell out crowd."

Dani's eyes widened. "Wow." But she noticed
Marie had a melancholy look. "Are you a dancer?"

Marie sighed. "Not anymore. My career ended
when my lower back went out. They could never fix it for me. Mr.
Scaletti, Al, paid for me to see the best doctors. But, once your
back goes, that's it."

Still with her mouth full, and trying to
guide the discussion away from what seemed like a sensitive topic,
Dani said, "So tell me about Mr. Scaletti."

Marie's eyes took on a far-away look. "Al
Scaletti, every woman's dream. He took over the casino and all his
father's holdings, which are huge, a few years back when the mob
killed his father. There was pretty much of a mob mentality in
Vegas then, but Scaletti changed all that. He's smooth and well
liked in this city. And he transformed the holdings into legitimate
businesses. But because of his father and a few holdovers like
Lefty and Teeny, there is still the stigma of The Mob hanging over
him. I know he's not happy about it either."

Continuing, she said, "His wife died a year
ago from breast cancer. None of us have seen him date anyone
since."

She paused. "It's funny, working in a casino,
you get like family. If he wasn't so damn handsome I'd feel like he
was my brother or something. I love him to pieces." Then, her eyes
clicked back to Dani again. "You saw him last night, girl. What did
you think?"

Finishing off the last roll on her plate,
Dani replied, "Well, he's very handsome. And tall. I liked the
penthouse--"

"Screw the penthouse," Marie interrupted
impatiently, "what did you do with him?"

"We talked and had half a drink then he gave
me some money."

Marie looked disappointed. "That's it?"

"Yes."

"I just wondered how he was, you know, in the
sack. I've heard some rumors, but I don't know if they're true.
Before she died, his wife told one of the showgirls some
stuff..."

"I'm sure I wouldn't know about that." Dani
flushed bright red at the thought.

"Okay, don't get testy. And, by the way, he
has you billed as the principle dancer."

"What's that?"

"It means you lead the show. You are the main
dancer out front."

"My gosh," Dani replied nervously, "I haven't
even practiced yet." She sat back and fanned her face with a
napkin.

"It's okay," Marie said with confidence, "Nat
Davis will be teaching you and he's the best in the business."

She continued, "The only problem you might
encounter is with the other girls. Lorali will be especially pissed
off. She's been coming on to Scaletti like gangbusters, trying to
get the lead dancing role. And she'll be mean behind your back and
nice to your face. So be careful, you know?"

Dani nodded.

"Well, if you're done, let's head out. I have
tons to show you today."

They arrived at the backstage area a few
minutes later, after walking through the hubbub of the casino.

Dani learned that Marie was her supervisor,
and Miss Stutgart was the HR supervisor. She met Nat Davis, the
dance instructor, a thin man in his forties with curly brown hair
and a perpetual frown.

She met all the women dancers, who were on a
fifteen minute break. They were wearing leotards, and she thought
idly she should have known to buy one during her shopping trip.

Kim Mangioni had long black hair and a
friendly, teasing attitude that Dani liked.

Adriene Palmer, a brown haired beauty queen
winner, had been at the casino for five years and had two
children.

But when Dani was introduced to Lorali Hagen,
who was a blonde bombshell, she could tell Marie had not
exaggerated. The woman looked Dani up and down, from her new pumps
up to her pants then past her flowing white shirt until they were
eye to eye. "Hello darlin,'" she drawled, "welcome to the
pack."

Luckily, Marie drew her away to meet more
dancers, fourteen in all, and Dani was convinced she'd never
remember their names.