La Cosa Nostra, This Thing of Ours (2 page)

"Well you have one thing right,
Harper. You definitely are not like the other girls that work here." I look down ashamed
. I already knew that, thanks for making me feel even worse.

"N
ot like you are thinking. You have the looks, and well, the body. Yes, you definitely have the body.  I am talking about up here." I look up and he is pointing his finger at his temple, like he is saying in the brains department.

"I have to say that every
one of the girls that work here have one goal and one goal only. That is to land a rich man," he says bluntly. "But you are refreshing and I like it. I want to hire you, I want you to start next Monday."

"Wha
t?" is the only word I can form, I'm so shocked. 

"I'll train
you on slow nights at first, but eventually I'll want you on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday.  Also, how are you at handling yourself?"

"How do you mean?"
With smooth talking guys trying to get in my pants, I can handle them no sweat. After all, I'm a farm girl with two older brothers.

"I mean with girls;
bitchy, catty girls. None of the girls like each other because they are in competition. Harper, I can say with certainty that they won't like you. Especially when they find out you are getting the prime nights," he says with all seriousness. 

"Well I guess since I'm not here to land a sugar daddy they sho
uldn't have to worry about me. I am here for the paycheck, to make my own way. I'm not looking for someone to do that for me," I answer bluntly.

"Well
, okay then, we'll see how it works.  I'll have you meet with John, the manager, to fill out paperwork and get you uniforms." 

Chapter 2

Putting on the uniform,
and rereading the instructions that came with it, I start to feel panicked. 

Rule #1
- Hair must always be worn down.

Rule #2
- No less than the first four buttons from the top must be undone. 

Black lace bra was part of the uniform
, as well as the skimpy black lace panties, and black high heel pumps. No panty hose, but stockings with black lace at the top were to be worn. The skirt was so short the lace on the thigh high stockings was barely covered
. 

As I stand back looking in
the mirror, I am pretty sure if I walked down the street not far from my apartment, I would be propositioned. I pull on a thigh length jacket and grab my bag I packed with a pair of jeans and a t-shirt for the way home.  Knowing the club closes at 2:00 a.m., there is no way I am going to be out in this outfit that late.

Walking into The Guardian,
I head straight for the back avoiding all eye contact with the other girls checking me out. I find the dressing rooms and see I have a locker already labeled with my name.  I take off my coat and place it and the bag in the locker before heading out to find John.    

"I must say
, Ms. Troy, that is exactly the effect that uniform is designed for," John says, surveying me up and down.
If the effect is hooker, then achieved
. My face must flush because John looks amused. 

"You might as wel
l get used to the compliments, my dear. You are like a diamond in the rough here. Salvatore likes blondes. You're the first brunette we've had here in a while. I must say, he doesn't know what he is missing."

"Okay
, you can stop now." I'm not used to these kinds of compliments. Other than the occasional club night with Tara, my wardrobe is mainly jeans or yoga pants. 

John i
s about thirtyish, I'd say, and very good looking. He is muscular with manly features. He has stubble on his chin, with thick black curly hair poking out of the top of his button down shirt. He screams testosterone. Even though I find him easy on the eyes, he is not my type. 

John shows me around the kitche
n, then the VIP section. The VIP is visible from the bar which he shows me next. Walking through, I get a couple of very nasty looks from a few of the other girls. 

"
Ignore them, everyone is in competition here. So I hear that Matty wants you for the VIP section as soon as you're trained."
Um, wait what?

"I thought I w
as hired to be the bartender?" I shoot out my question to John who stops for a second to shake hands with a patron. 

"No,
Matty said specifically he wants you in VIP as soon as possible. I hate to say it, girl, but that is not going to make you any more popular. There's not a girl here that doesn't want to land one of the VIPs, and they all fight for the position," he says placing his hand on my back to lead me out of the VIP section toward the bar.

"W
hy would he want me in there? I really think I'd prefer to stay behind the bar."
Really, what could he be thinking?

"All I know is that
you made an impression on him. Unfortunately for you, like I said, that is not going to make you very popular around here.  There's not one of these girls that wouldn't give anything to land one of the single Tarseta men," he says, raising his eyebrows. I know of three single Tarseta men. First the oldest, Salvatore, his much younger brother, Matty, and then there's Salvatore's son, Liam, Chicago's most eligible bachelor. Gorgeous from head to toe, everything about him screams sex and money. I've seen many pictures of him in papers, on TV, and the internet. He was hardly ever seen without a gorgeous woman on his arm.  He was drop dead delicious, with black hair, dark skin, the darkest eyes, and always in an expensive dark suit looking like he just stepped off the cover of GQ.

"Sarah
, this is Harper, the new girl," John introduces me to the blonde already behind the bar. Sarah, looking much like the others, shakes my hand. She doesn't give me the stare down and the I-hate-you look like the others. She actually seems friendly. John leaves, telling Sarah that I need to learn everything and that he will check on me later. The club doesn't seem really busy. There are a few groups of men scattered around the tables. I wonder if there is a dress code for them also, because there is not one of them not dressed to the hilt.

Sarah tells me that behind the bar we'll get the occasional customer
, but mainly we get the drinks for the girls on the floor. She also says to be ready for attitude because they all think their order is most important and will be completely bitchy about it.
Oh is this job going to be fun. The money had better be good
. 

"We will get 20% of their tips, so really making their drinks fast is just as g
ood for us as it is for them," Sarah says, showing me where some different stuff is. 

"We also have a five s
tar kitchen. From 8:00 to 11:00 is the only time women are allowed in the club. It will pick up a little by then, so you have a couple of hours to familiarize yourself with the bar," she says, grabbing a green bottle of beer from the cooler for a man sitting at the bar.

"Sarah, I need
a whiskey neat and a scotch on the rocks." One of the blondes comes up to the bar and notices me. "Who the hell are you?" she snaps at me like I'm robbing the place. 

"
Harper," I answer,
let the fun begin
.

"Be nice
, Kandi," Sarah warns before handing her the drinks she ordered. Kandi sets them on her tray and with a flip of her hair she is off to serve her drinks.

The cl
ub picks up as the night goes on, filling the club with the sound of dull chatter. I help Sarah as much as I can, watching carefully as she mixes drinks.  Most are straight forward, cranberry and vodka, white Russian, screwdriver, and many that I am sure I can pull off. I am a scientist, after all. It's just like chemistry, right? 

"That is Salvatore
Tarseta," Sarah says motioning with her eyes in the direction of the door.   Walking in is an older version of Matty Tarseta, with silver grey hair. A blonde I haven't seen yet appears as if she was waiting in the shadows.  She rushes up to Salvatore, putting her arm in his, walking him to the largest booth in the VIP. It's in the corner, a half moon shape made up of black lush leather. 

"Who'
s that one?" I ask Sarah, motioning to the waitress that just appeared out of nowhere.

"That's Monica
," she rolls her eyes. "She considers herself their personal waitress. It is a self-proclaimed title. She and Liam Tarseta have an on-again-off-again thing, even though he's in here with other women all the time. She says she knows she will be the one he settles down with eventually."

"
Liam is Salvatore's son, right?" I, of course, already know this. I watch as Monica flirts and pushes her boobs in Salvatore's face. As he sits down, she leans over to take his order.

"They are in here
almost every night for dinner. Sal's a widow, and Matty and Liam are both single," Sarah explains. "Monica is always doing anything and everything to please them."

"I had heard
rumors that Liam's mother was murdered or disappeared or something," I say nonchalantly. I had Googled the family this past week. There is nothing on Mrs. Tarseta, not a name or a picture. There was some bad publicity about four years ago for Liam. Apparently, one of his girlfriends claimed he had beat her when he found out she was pregnant. The girl up and disappeared also. It was in one of the tabloids, so it really didn't hold a lot of merit in my book. It did show a picture of a beautiful blonde with a black eye. 

"I have no idea. A
ll I know is that Liam's mother is never mentioned. I know enough not to ask. I hope you do the same." Her tone is low as if she is warning me. 

"
Harper,
bella
darling." Matty has come up to the bar beaming at me as he looks me up and down.  "Why are you not on the floor?"

"John told me to work
with Sarah tonight to get a feel for everything."

"Smart
, yes, very good. Sarah won't scratch your eyes out." He laughs. "I was right about you. You look absolutely
magnifico
in your uniform. You have the best legs I have ever seen.
Bella
darling,
bella
." He's mixing Italian with his English. I am pretty sure that
bella
means beautiful.

"Thank you,
" I say hesitantly, not sure how to respond to the very uncomfortable ogling. 

"
Matty, go sit, I will bring you your drink," I hear a syrupy sweet voice come up next to Matty and see it is Monica. Then she turns to me seeing what is taking his attention away from her, I get daggers
. I mean shoot-me-dead daggers
. They weren't kidding when they said that these girls were mean, catty bitches. 

"Monica
, have you met the new girl, Harper?" Matty says, still looking at me. She turns to me and forces a smile, it looks absolutely painful for her to do it, too, and I can't help but let out a little laugh at the look on her face. "
Bella
," he says one more time before he turns to join his brother in the corner booth that overlooks most of the club.

"Listen
here, you," Monica is standing up against the bar speaking to me in a low bitchy tone.  "They're mine, especially Liam, so keep away or I will cut you." She grates her warning to me through gritted teeth. Her warning is funny to me. 
I grew up on a farm with two older brothers, and if she thinks I'm going to be afraid of a little blonde gold digger, well, that is just fucking hilarious.

"No wo
rries," I say, still laughing, holding up my hands like she has won. I'm not going to get into it with her. She is not worth the time. She can claim anybody she wants because I just don't care. Seeming pissed at my laughing, but also triumphant at the fact that she thinks she scared me off, she bounces off, satisfied, to the Tarseta brothers to do her thing.