Rotten (14 page)

“You are an evil, evil woman, you know that? I am hard as a fucking rock, and I can’t do anything about it.” His teeth were gritted, and through the smile, I could sense the undertone of anger.

“Oh honey, you’ll be alright. I’ve made it all this time and survived just fine.” I patted his crotch a little too firmly, causing him to grab my wrist and hold it against him.

“You are going to pay for this, you know.”

I licked my lips as I felt him push against my hand and stare me down. Jodie coughed to gain our attention and waved the last applicant over. I was looking down at the notes when I heard the gasp. David froze instantly and gripped onto my wrist even harder.

“What?” I asked a little confused. Once I looked up, I knew what it was, or
who
, I should say.

She immediately turned around and started to head for the door.

“Melanie!” I shouted, causing her to freeze mid step. She turned slowly around and began to walk back towards us. Clutching her application, her head was lowered and she was visibly shaking. David could feel me shake just as hard and rubbed his hand against my bouncing leg to calm me down.

I cleared my voice before speaking, knowing it would come out cracked. “Are you here to interview for the job?”

She shook her head, yet refused to make eye contact with either one of us.

“Let me see your application.” I spoke softly, pulling from a long gone place of apprehension.

“You know, Toni, never mind. I know you’re not going to give me the job, not after everything.” She sounded a bit sarcastic, most likely reverting to the same place I was. I grew furious, but knew I had to keep it together. This was one of those “face your worst fears” situations that you hope to never encounter.

I looked over at David and squeezed his hand. “Will you excuse us?”

He seemed hesitant to leave, yet leaned over and kissed my neck affectionately before looking at Melanie with disdain. “I’ll be in the office if you need me.”

I nodded and motioned for Melanie to take a seat. While reading the information on the paper in my hands, the past ricocheted like bullets through my brain. Melanie Francis had once been a possible friend for a brief moment. I say possible, because within a day of transferring into Sloan Elementary, she quickly fell in line with the others and turned her back on me without a second thought.

I had sat in the school office, waiting for my dad to pick me up, because I had another panic attack when she and I met. She had beautiful blue eyes and sandy blond hair that was styled into a ponytail with a giant, pink bow at the top. Melanie had just moved here from Reno, because her grandma lived in Sloan and her mom moved back to town. Apparently, her mama was one of my daddy’s conquests and didn’t take too kindly to Melanie and me being friends. Her mother’s anger filtered down to her, and she took out her anger on me. More than once I left school, bruised by her fists and cruel words. She was the worst of them all and the reason David taught me how to fight. My chest tightened with the familiar feeling of terror racing in my veins. I wanted to smash her head against the table, but that would solve nothing.

Taking a drink of water, I pulled it together and looked her square in the eye. “Your resume is impressive, but I noticed a gap in employment. What have you been doing for the past three years?”

Melanie looked down once again for a moment before meeting my stare. “My husband went to Salt Lake for work during the recession, and I had to stay home to care for the kids.”

“Was he in construction?”

She nodded. I knew Vegas took a hard hit as it was one of the most dependable jobs to have, and in an instant, the bubble popped. Melanie had worked her way up through the ranks of the MGM Grand, the Mirage and finally the Bellagio before quitting. I felt a miniscule amount of sympathy for her. She had been out of the game too long and had no way back in. Vegas was ruthless; everyone knew that.

“I know you assume I am not going to give you the job simply based off of our history. I’m not above forgiveness; I just need you to answer a few questions for me.”

The pause was deafening as if there was no one else in the building. We both knew I had no questions about her job history – only questions concerning our own history with each other. What could possibly justify years of making someone else’s life hell?

Her eyes danced around the room, knowing exactly what I wanted to hear. They stopped on David and followed him to the bar. She looked back at me and then down.

“You know, I used to think that my mom hated your dad, so I hated him, too – and you. I later found out that I was wrong. She was in love with your dad, but never stood a chance with him. She was nothing more than a notch in his belt, and that made her furious. She and I aren’t that different.”

Her eyes were far away as she avoided looking at me directly.

“What does that have to do with David?” I tilted my head curiously, glancing at him and then back to her. As she lifted her head up, her face was now full of despair.

“Everything…you know why all us girls were so mean to you? We knew that getting into David’s pants was easy. Getting his heart was impossible because it belonged to someone else. I know why my mom hated Knox now; it’s the same reason I hated you.”

“You were in love with David? Why did that have anything to do with me? He barely paid attention to me.”

She closed her eyes and breathed out deeply. “No one could have his heart because it belonged to you. I hurt you at first to get back at your dad, then it was to get back at him. I know now that was stupid on my part. I was raised on bitterness, and look where it got me.”

Her honesty rendered me speechless. Melanie Francis had been the most popular girl in school, and to me, she was the devil. Never knowing what I did to deserve this, I couldn’t fathom that love would cause someone to go to such extremes. Technically, it was infatuation mistaken for love, but still, it was mind blowing. When assessing a situation from a clinical standpoint, there is no emotional connection. Therefore, one is able to see it from a reserved standpoint. I could picture myself as if time had stilled, and I was being asked, “What is going on here?”

My mind instantly started to break down and analyze every part, categorizing as if it were a diagnosis. You cannot justify irrational behavior. And there it was. How could you justify years of making someone else’s life hell? You couldn’t. There may be rational explanations for irrational behavior, but there is never an acceptable reason for doing so. As humans, we have this deep-rooted fault of not being able to see beyond ourselves. I am not exempt from this; I know that about myself. Whereas Melanie felt anger and shame, I felt pain and shame. In a sense, we were not that different; we just expressed our emotions differently.

I held her application in my hand and thought deeply for a moment. This is where I would have to separate myself from my emotions and do what was right. She was the most qualified applicant for the position and needed the work. It had to be bad enough for her to swallow her pride and walk into my daddy’s club. I could put her on probation to protect myself and the others should things turn south. I had one more question before the girls came over to meet her and extending an offer.

“Will working with him be an issue?” I pursed my lips and watched her closely.

She immediately shook her head, a glimmer of hope flashing in her eyes. “No, that’s the past. Best leave it where it lies, right?”

I called the ladies over and they asked their questions. Together the four of us agreed she was the best candidate. I reached my hand across the table and waited for her to reach back and shake it. I could see the tears well up in her eyes as she mouthed a “thank you” before gathering her things.

“Welcome aboard, you start tonight, seven sharp. Look hot.” With a grin, I sent her off and immediately walked to the bathroom and vomited.

David knocked on the door, able to hear my retching in the quiet club.

“Toni, you okay, babe? Need me to get you something?”

I could hear the worry in his voice, the way his tone was quiet and gentle. “No, just give me a minute, okay?”

He let me be for a while as my arms braced against the cold porcelain. Thank God someone just cleaned in here or I might have been even sicker. As the contents of my stomach emptied out, I only prayed I did the right thing.

Erin’s flight landed a little earlier than anticipated. David sank into a chair off to the side with his ball cap pulled low, wearing sunglasses as if he were on a secret mission. I was not sure if anyone would outright recognize him, but I could tell he was in no mood to be bothered. On the ride to the airport, I asked him how he felt about my decision. He seemed indifferent and just said he trusted me. I was dizzy from vomiting and tried to drink a little soda to settle my stomach. Between that and the butterflies of Erin’s visit, I was somehow more of a wreck.

I peered over the rail and noticed her dark blond curls spilling out of her messy ponytail as I meandered up the escalator. Her eyes met mine and the loudest screech echoed through the atrium. People moved off to the side as she shoved her way through the crowd. Her chunky, turquoise necklace bounced off her sheer tank shirt with each bound, the thick, silver bangles clinking as she moved.

As she squeezed me tightly, I whispered in her ear, “Ready?”

Without further prompting, her hand glided behind my head and freed my own ponytail. I swished my hair back and forth like a bad shampoo commercial. Erin bit her lip and gave her most serious stare while pressing into my body with a seductive embrace. I wanted to look at David, but it would have ruined the moment. I did, however, see the other arriving passengers gawk at what was taking place. Her hand moved gently down my back to my ass when I hiked a leg behind her calf. She tilted her head into my neck where David couldn’t see and giggled lightly.

“You are so fucking mean, I love it!”

Her hands continued to roam my body frantically, and her nose nuzzled along my neck as I leaned mine back to offer her better access. I could feel the eyes staring and could imagine how tight David’s pants were getting. She quickly spun me around, gave a hard slap to my ass, and cackled loudly as I jumped.

As we walked towards David, I could see him shift uncomfortably, the sunglasses lowered as he gave me a dark smirk while shaking his head. He stood and Erin suddenly grabbed me and stopped, pulling me slightly back.

“What? This is David. David, Erin.” My hands moved back and forth to introduce them. The fist that was pulling me back now shoved me to the side where I stumbled as she sauntered the rest of the way to where David stood.

“Holy fuck, you’re David Stark!”

She was loud enough that he started to dart his eyes back and forth, hoping no one heard her. Drool started to form at the corners of her mouth. Not really, but I could picture it. He looked at me nervously as the hunter suddenly became prey. With an outstretched hand, it was his way reinforcing some personal space. It was hilarious. I purposely kept who he was a secret just so I could see this moment.

“Holy fuck, I am. Nice to meet you, Erin. Toni said I would want to bang you.”

His words made me cough just then as I choked on my own tongue. His evil smile peeked out at me, yet Erin was fan-girling too hard to see it.

“K, hornballs, I have a club to run if you don’t mind.”

I walked towards the carousel to grab her bags without waiting for them to catch up. I was thrilled Erin came to see me as I needed it so badly, but I knew her, and I knew him, and I wasn’t thrilled about that. I didn’t care if they fucked; I just preferred not to force myself through the dance leading up to it.

Watching the conveyor belt start to spit the luggage onto the rotating carousel, I kept my gaze fixed on the opening of the wall. David walked up behind me, and I could feel the bulge in his pants press hard against my hips as his large hands began to massage my shoulders.

“You seem kind of tense, woman. You should be happy right now; your friend is here.”

I relaxed a little into his hands and leaned back against him. “It’s just been a long day and the night is young. I am nervous about working with Melanie tonight. It’s going to be great or go bust. Luckily, Erin knows her way around a bar, too, so she can help if needed.”

“You should be sitting at a table having a good time. Let the girls train Melanie; they can hold their own.”

Erin bumped my shoulder and piped in, “Yeah, let’s get shit faced and get you up on a pole. Bowchicabowwow.”

As I dropped my head back, David leaned down and kissed my forehead, causing my eyes to close. Hooking my thumbs behind me into his pockets, I started to relax a little. When my eyes opened and met Erin’s, she stood pale, looking between us. Shaking her head, she started to follow us back to the car.

We pulled into David’s driveway to drop everything off and change before going to the club. He carried her suitcase into his bedroom and laid it in the corner.

“Um, where is everyone sleeping?” Erin looked around, somewhat distraught.