Margo did not turn to face Jefferson. She held her pillow tight and shut her eyes. What she remembered was that Malik had been there to protect her for the past five years. He had come to her rescue more times than she could count. When Margo was locked out of the house, Malik was the one who called the locksmith and came by to make sure she would be all right. Malik was her dinner companion when she desired to go out for a bite to eat, and he was her confidant when she needed a friend. While she waited patiently for Jefferson to return home from prison, Margo had unconsciously fallen in love with Malik. What was she going to do?
19
Frustrated, Angelica headed for Greenwich Village, hoping that she would have better luck. No one was hiring; the seasonal help had been selected weeks ago. She needed a job that paid benefits and would give her a comfortable cash flow so that she could do all the things that made her happy.
Her employment adventure this morning left her exhausted and, as the train passed from station to station, Angelica had a thought. At the next stop, she jumped off the train, climbed the stairs and went to the other side to catch the northbound train. Time was not on her side, and Angelica headed back to midtown.
Angelica got off the train and hailed a cab. Once inside, she pulled her hair out of the bun and instructed the cab driver where to go. Within minutes, the cab pulled to the curb and Angelica jumped out, confident that she would have a job by the end of the day.
Outside, the sign posted on the building read Club Platinum. Angelica slipped inside and met the dark. She was guided by a light that spilled from the inside of an office around a corner. The click of her heels announced her arrival long before anyone saw her, and when she entered the open door, Angelica put on her seductive smile and switched her hips with her ponytail following.
The two men looked up and photographed Angelica with their eyes. One of the men sat behind a desk, while the other stood next to him, both dressed in designer suits. It was obvious they were the owners and not some run-of-the-mill overseers handing out orders at the request of the boss.
“May I help you?” the man sitting behind the desk asked, his elbows resting on the desk while his eyes gave Angelica his full attention.
“Yes, you may. My name is Angel…Angel Barnes,” Angelica said. She even liked the sound of Angel-a name she was called while in prison. “I’d like to dance. I need a job.”
The man looked at her again, looked back at his partner for support, and then turned back to look at Angelica.
“What is a classy chick like yourself doing in this joint? And, you appear to be much older than the girls we hire to dance here.”
“Look, I can dance. I’m willing to audition for you now, if you like. I’ve stripped before, and I was darn good.”
“How long ago was that, Angel? Ten, twenty years ago?”
The other gentleman laughed.
There was a seriousness in Angelica’s eyes that the man behind the desk recognized. “Lady, I don’t know why you’re here, but I’m going to let you audition to see if you’ve got what it takes. This work is not glamorous, and the filthy-rich men who come in here spending their money won’t have much respect for you. They’ll eat you alive and sometimes treat you like the night women who are a dime a dozen. The only difference is that you’re inside and they’re on the street.”
“I can handle myself, Mr… I didn’t catch your name.”
“Peter Ward and my partner, Gerald Lloyd.” Peter pointed to the other man.
“I don’t care what the customer thinks of me, Mr. Ward. I’ll be using them to get what I need.”
“All right, Angel. Do you have something you can dance in?”
“No, I hadn’t…” Angelica stopped short. She thought better of sharing the reason she was there. This was the last place she wanted to be, but it was the only place that would get her out of the hole she had been dropped into. Donna hadn’t crossed her mind until then, but if things went well at Club Platinum, there would be no time for Angelica to think about what her life would have been like if she hadn’t walked off the job. In fact, it was already yesterday’s news.
“Gerald, find something for Ms. Angel to wear. And Angel, after you’ve put on the bikini, please go to the stage; it will be lit for your audition. We’ll see you in fifteen minutes.”
“Thank you, Mr. Ward. You will not be disappointed.”
Angelica followed Gerald Lloyd to a tiny room and changed into the bikini he gave her. It was skimpier than the outfit she had on yesterday, yet it felt right. While most of her body was exposed, only she and the pole would make love to each other and the only thing touching her skin would be the Hamiltons, Lincolns and Washingtons that half-drunk men would ease under her G-string, not the repulsive fingers of another female. She looked in the mirror, took out a tube of lipstick from her purse and repainted her lips. She squeezed her lips together, checked herself in the mirror and proceeded to the stage.
On the stage were three poles that were affixed to the floor. A long-ago memory rushed into Angelica’s mind. She was a much younger woman then, and her stage exploits got the attention of the man who became her husband and took her away from the life because he didn’t want any other man laying eyes on her body. Angelica smiled at the memory and, for a fleeting moment, wondered how Hamilton was doing.
“Ready?” Peter asked, startling Angelica.
Angelica faked a smile, but she would do what she had to do.
“Any music preference?”
“Do you have ‘Golden’ by Jill Scott?”
“Gerald,” Peter shouted, “see if we’ve got ‘Golden’ by Jill Scott and put it in the player.”
Before too long, Jill Scott’s voice boomed through a set of speakers that were on either side of the stage. Angelica sauntered over to one of the poles and reached up and caressed it with her right arm. Her body followed, now parallel with the pole, and within seconds Angelica’s body began to move like a belly dancer’s. So smooth was her rhythm that it was hard not to be mesmerized…to be caught up in the lure of the sensual fantasy that was being played out on the stage.
Her ponytail fell back as Angelica wrapped one leg around the pole and extended the other in the air, her head pointed toward the floor. She swung her body around the pole, performed a sultry move and then brought her body upright, making love to the metal like it was made of human flesh. All of a sudden the music died, and Angelica came out of her trance. She was annoyed that her audition had been interrupted.
“When can you start?” Peter Ward asked, looking back at Gerald and giving him a wink.
Angelica started to hesitate but in the next breath said, “Immediately.”
“Be here at six-thirty this evening. You’re going on tonight.”
Angelica smiled. “Salary?”
“You can make up to five thousand dollars a night-depending upon what kind of night you have.”
“I can live with that,” Angelica said. “Thank you, and I’ll be here at six-thirty.”
Peter and Gerald watched Angelica disappear into the dressing room to change.
“She’s a pro,” Peter whispered. “A revenue goldmine. When word gets out about our find, there won’t be a soul left at Club Amazon.”
Gerald laughed out loud. “Goldmine!”
Angelica heard them laugh but ignored it. The job was a stepping-stone on the course she was charting for herself. She walked toward the exit, giving an extra jiggle to remind the owners why they hired her.
Overcast skies awaited Angelica when she exited Club Platinum. She walked to the corner to catch a cab, but took a moment to reflect on what to do next. Angelica looked at her watch. It was two-thirty in the afternoon, four hours away from show time. What would she tell Ari? She needed a place to stay, but she didn’t want him all in her business. If he’d give her a key to his house, the matter would be resolved. The wheels in her head began to click.
She pulled her cell phone from her purse and dialed. No response. She clicked off, then dialed the number
