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“I’m tryna figure out why Siani has Premier VIP again, and I’m stuck on secondary,” Porsha snapped, snaking her head in my direction.
“Whoa.” My eyebrows raised at her tone. “Firstly, Ms. Thing. You already know section assignments are assigned by seniority. And Siani’s is just that. Secondly, I know you’re not demanding things when you call out every other week.”
Porsha sucked her teeth. “Whatever.”
I smiled at her. “Porsha, please watch how the fuck you talk to me. I don’t care that you’re fucking Tank, because that won’t save your job.”
She rolled her eyes but didn’t say anything else, grabbing her tray and stalking off toward the back.
Siani waited until she was out of earshot before she snorted. “You know she about to go and cry to Tank about this.”
“And?”
“And nothing.” She hopped up onto the bar. “Did you do the thing?”
“Yes.” I took the clipboard with the schedule on it and reviewed the bookings. Three VIP parties on the second floor, and the main floor was booked solid.
“The Martha’s Vineyard guy?”
“Yep.”
“How much?”
I cut my eyes at her. “Enough.”
She rolled her eyes, used to my vagueness by now. Siani and I had met at a pole class six years ago where she’d landed on her head trying to invert. I laughed so hard, I nearly fell off my own pole. We’d been locked in ever since. She had her own methods for securing the bag from men, not as risky or sophisticated as mine, but to each their own.
“You off niggas for a minute, or you already got somebody new lined up?”
“You already know how I do, Si. I’m always looking to add to my roster.”
“Mmhm. One day you’re gonna meet your Prince Charming and this scheming business is gonna go right out the window.” She hopped down.
“I doubt it.”
I did my usual walk-through before doors opened and fussed at Jermaine for being late with the liquor order again before doing a quick huddle with the girls working the floor tonight.
By 11:00 p.m., the second floor had started filling in. There was a birthday party going and another section was a bachelor party that had clearly been pre-gaming somewhere else first. I was checking on the third section when I noticed him.
He was with the bachelor party, nursing a drink and half-watching the group he was with instead of getting hype with them. I looked him up and down—mid-forties, with a bit of gray in his beard. He wore a black ribbed polo, black tailored slacks, leather loafers and a big faced watch.
“You good over here?” I asked, placing empty cups on my tray. Siani was already replacing the empty liquor bottles.
“Better now,” he said, smiling. He had a pretty set of teeth, veneers, but the good kind. Not the ones that looked like they’d been done in someone’s dank basement.
“I didn’t ask that.” I peeped the wedding ring before he subtly angled his hand away.
He let out a surprised laugh. “Fair. I’m good.”
“You one of the groomsmen?”
“Best man. My little brother’s getting married Saturday and I got roped into turning up with these niggas.” He nodded at the group, where one of the groomsmen was currently being egged into taking a shot. “Not really my scene anymore.”
“Not really anyone’s scene past twenty-five, if we’re being honest.”
He smirked. “I like you.”
“Everyone does.” I switched the tray in my hands. “What do you do, when you’re not partying with the young boys?”
