Total pages in book: 129
Estimated words: 122896 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 614(@200wpm)___ 492(@250wpm)___ 410(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 122896 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 614(@200wpm)___ 492(@250wpm)___ 410(@300wpm)
Not that she was planning on doing that tonight. Her thong would stay right where it was.
“Anyone not a dancer. The latest on the hit list were my best bartender and one of my weekend bouncers. They were both reliable and honest, unlike the prospects taking their place. That’s one of many reasons I’m frustrated and, even as burnt out as I am, why I still worked last Monday and will work again this Monday. Not to mention, why I bite my damn tongue whenever I’m forced to work a double because Cookie doesn’t show up. Unfortunately, I need that damn job too much right now. The only positive out of all the negatives is I can squirrel away the extra money I’m making.” At least she was still being paid for all that overtime. But the second she was shorted…
“For your own club.”
“Yes. That goal is what’s keeping me motivated right now. I normally try to be a positive person but they are making me bitter and full of hate. I’m still pissed that they forced Laura out, then without even a lick of experience in this business, they came in and took over. They want to run The Peach Pit the way they wanted to run it. They disregard my suggestions, even though I’m the one with all the experience. None of it makes sense to me since a well-run club in the right location should be a cash cow, but it’s like they don’t care if the club makes money or not. Why would they want to buy a successful business and run it into the ground?”
The whole situation was just off. When the Demons first took over, she asked both Taint and Cookie about their plans for the club and their only answer was “to make money.”
No shit. Who owned a business with the intent to lose money? No one with any common sense. Though, she couldn’t argue that both Cookie and Taint were lacking sense.
“Do you think they could be using the club as some sort of front? I would think most MCs are considered criminal organizations similar to the mafia. I mean, I don’t know much about them but… Have you seen any illegal activity?”
“Besides intimidation?” Mel only had proof of what they did to Laura, anything else she didn’t. As of now, she only had suspicions.
His head tipped to the side like a curious Irish Setter puppy. “Intimidation?”
“I never talk about this at the club—for good reason—but the Demons forced Laura to sell. They started out by trying to get her to pay for protection. When she refused, they made her life a living hell. They demanded she either pay for protection or sell the place to them. Honestly, I think forcing her to sell was the only end goal, not providing protection. Eventually, she had no choice because the threats weren’t only against the club, they began to threaten her and her family, too. She kept finding windows broken, both at the club and her home. One night she found a brick with a note thrown through her windshield. Another night she found her tires slashed. And those are just some of the many things they did.”
“Did they come out and admit they did those things? Did she confront them?”
“She was not a doormat. The woman was fierce, so she confronted them every damn time. And every damn time they said it wasn’t them and tried to convince her that by paying for protection, those threats would stop. Of course, the cost for that so-called protection was more than she could afford. On purpose. Then they so kindly offered to take the club off her hands so she could move somewhere safer. That’s what she finally did to protect her family because they left her no damn choice. She almost had a mental breakdown from it all.” Both her blood pressure and anger spiked just from talking about it and she pressed her trembling hands to the Formica table top.
“But despite all that, you stayed.”
“Laura put up a good fight and I don’t blame her one bit for finally giving in, but at least she had her husband to fill in the financial gaps until she figured out what to do next. I don’t have that safety net, so I couldn’t, and still can’t, just walk away. I decided to stay and take as much money from them as possible so when I finally leave, it’s on my terms.”
“Unless they fire you first.”
She tipped her head. “And that could very well happen. But if they do, they will not only lose my expertise, they will also lose almost every one of the dancers. For the most part we’re a united front. If I’m fired, they will walk out and never come back.”
“Are the Demons aware of that?”