Rushed(88)

He didn't say it in his tone, but I could tell that he was a bit offended. Terry might have only been a strip club manager, but the man did his job well and took reasonable pride in his work. As for me, it was a little hypocritical since I often thought just as highly of myself as she obviously did, but I decided to teach Luisa a little lesson. I turned back. "Okay then. If you're so much better, prove it."

"Excuse me?" she said, shocked. "You really expect me to dance for these half-drunk losers?"

I shook my head. “That’s your choice, but I’d like to see you put your money where your mouth is."

Luisa stammered, her eyes flaring with anger. I had her, and she knew it. Her pride was way too much to back away now. “Fine,” she said through clenched teeth. "But not in public."

"No, of course not," I replied with a smirk, knowing I'd won. "Terry, get us a private room. I'll have a beer while I'm waiting since I'm driving, but let Luisa here use the back to prepare. She definitely needs to lose the suit."

“You think you’re clever, don’t you? I’m not getting naked for you," Luisa said in a low voice, leaning in. "You’re not worthy of that."

"We'll see." I grinned. “Go with Terry, and he'll make sure you don't have to do anything embarrassing. I'll wait in the VIP."





Chapter 8





Luisa





"That arrogant bastard!" I muttered to myself in Portuguese as I thought how stupid I was. I should’ve just walked out and forgotten the stupid challenge, but my pride wouldn’t let me. I longed to make Tomasso eat his words.

I looked at the costumes that were available in front of me. Unfortunately, most of the clothing was far too small, as it seemed every girl who danced for the Starlight Club was at least six inches shorter than me. Finally, I turned to Terry, who'd accompanied me. I’d normally have been offended, but he gave me the impression that he was into men, and I wasn’t too worried. Besides, I could handle myself if he tried anything. “Do you have anything not made for midgets?"

"Nobody your height. We had a girl who worked here three years ago that was six one, but she bought all her own stuff and took it with her when she left. What are you, like six foot?"

I shook my head. "Five eleven, if I remember the conversion right. One hundred and eighty-one centimeters."

Terry nodded, then thought. "Well, no offense, but unless you’re wearing granny panties, why not just work with what you have on? Win your little bet and be on your way.”

I thought about it and shrugged. Terry wouldn’t be my first choice on fashion advice, but he’d do. I unbuttoned my jacket and took it off, showing him my shirt. "Okay, now what's underneath?"

I sighed and loosened my tie, unbuttoning my shirt to reveal my bra that I had underneath. It wasn't the sexiest I owned. I'd packed for business and not seduction, but it wasn’t bargain store lingerie either. "What do you think?"

"And the panties? No offense. I don't know if you'll even need to show them, but it pays to be sure."

I chuckled and turned around, undoing my pants and giving him a flash of my backside. "Matching. Good enough?"

He laughed and gestured with his hand that he’d seen enough. “If he doesn't get hard from that, send him my way, because that man is gay," he said with a laugh.

I laughed and tucked in my blouse again and pulled my tie all the way up. As I did, Terry came back with an old fashioned fedora, which he handed to me.

"Here, tuck your hair into this. That'll make the reveal all the better."

I considered it, then nodded, pulling my hair back into a quick twist that I piled on my head and secured with a clip that Terry handed me before fitting it all under the fedora. It was a tight fit, but it worked well enough. "How do I look?"

"Like the sexiest man to walk in here in years," Terry said with a chuckle. "No offense. Now, the room has a digital music system in it, with controls both inside and outside. We can set some stuff up here if you want."

"I do," I said, thinking about my outfit. I looked, choosing some Brazilian jazz, slow and sensual that would build as the song went on to a more tango-like beat. I punched it into the system and looked at Terry. "I wanted to tell you that I'm sorry. I was angry with Tomasso—it seems that we bring out this sort of fierceness in one another. I didn’t mean to say that your girls couldn’t dance, but I couldn’t take it back after it came out. I know they’re trying to make money more than great art."

"No, you were right for the most part,” Terry said, waving it off with a smile. "A lot of the girls can't dance for shit. They've just got bodies that men like to throw down money to see. But thanks. I know it seems you two have a sort of animosity against each other, but if I can ask, why don’t you just call this off?”

“Because I want that cocky bastard to eat his words,” I replied with a little bit of heat. "Don't you know not to make a Latina angry?"

He smiled and escorted me to the door of the VIP room, where he unlocked it and handed me the key before closing the door behind me. The room was mostly soundproofed, with a single long couch that stretched most of the length of the small booth. Tomasso had taken off his suit jacket and holster, putting both on the coat hooks that were against the wall. Leaning back against the seat rest, he had a cocky little smirk on his face that I was looking forward to wiping off. "Well, are you ready? And nice hat."