Chapter 33

It feels like Deja Vu giving the girls in my club the welcome speech that Max and I came up with. The words I tell them are the same but the girls I tell them to aren't.

Trinity's absence hangs around the group like her spirit hasn't found peace yet. I hope that's not the case since we have enough working against us. The last thing we need is to add a ghost haunting to the list too.

Trinity may only be here in spirit but she's not the only one. A lot of the original girls never called back after I left voicemails telling them The Penthouse was open again. I don't know if it was Angel's hitman, Trinity's death or the boys' reaction to all of it that scared them off but I'm happy not everyone scares so easily.

Ebony, the boujiee black girl with skin the color of a toosie roll, is still here. She's been rolling her eyes and flipping her blonde Lemonade braids every chance she gets, but she's here and that's all that matters. She's dressed in a bright, yellow sundress like it's not 50 degrees outside, which really ain't all that surprising. You know what they say: a hoe never gets cold.

I'm a little surprised she came back since she didn't seem that excited about The Penthouse to begin with. She used to stay making snarky little comments about the way the club looked or how it was ran when she thought I was out of earshot. Tough talk for a bitch I found working at a stripclub I wouldn't step foot in if they paid me.

However, I've learned more about her in the last hour I've spent watching her turn her lip up every time one of the new girls asked a question. I'm starting to realize that the attitude isn't exclusive to me or the club. It's just the type of person she is.

Some of us are bitches when we have to be and others, like Ebony, are bitches just because.

She's the exact opposite of the small girl sitting in a chair beside her named Coreyell. Coreyell is sweet, a pushover at times, but sweet. She made the mistake of confiding in Euphoria when she first got here. Now the entire club, new and old employees alike, knew she got involved in this life after she got pregnant at fifteen. If what Euphoria said was true, then she lost the baby a few months into her pregnancy after her daddy found out and beat her senseless. He put her out and she been stripping ever since. Well, at least she was, until I hired her to work at The Penthouse.

On my salary, she was finally able to afford more than just her next meal. Her white Air Force 1s gleam under the club's lights and the jean jacket and tights combo she wears is undefeated. Her brown and honey blonde weave is almost as long as Leyla's natural black hair, who sits beside her.

Leyla, the thick Latina chick who's been shaking her foot impatiently since she got here, is dressed in a tight black dress with spaghetti straps barely holding her titties up. To her credit, she has a white fur coat draped across her shoulders to battle the weather outside.

It's as close to decent as Leyla was gonna' get. She's big fine and don't mind the whole world knowing. I honestly don't care what she wears, as long as she wears it through those doors. She was a real moneymaker opening night, and I'm happy to have her back.

Then of course, there's always that one bitch you hope doesn't show up for work, but does anyway. That bitch is Euphoria. I don't know how she found out the club was open cause I damn sure didn't tell her. She probably heard from Coreyell though. I swear, I'm this close to telling Coreyell that Euphoria's messy ass ain't her friend but the poor girl been through enough. I ain't tryna be the bearer of more bad news.

"To all the girls returning, I just want y'all to know how happy I am that y'all came back. I know it was hard after seeing what happened to Trinity but I'm gonna make sure nothing like that happens to anyone else. As of today, there's gonna be cameras in VIP and all around the club. I'm gonna be watching everything from the office computers but don't let that stop you from getting the job done. The cameras aren't set up to record so continue selling coke, molly and X through VIP. If a client is ever making you feel uncomfortable, just look at the camera and flip your hair over your left shoulder. I'll send a body guard over there immediately," I say.

"She gon stay running to Ebony's rescue. That bitch ain't stop flipping her hair since she got here," Euphoria whispers over Coreyell's shoulder.

Coreyell is sitting right next to Ebony so of course Ebony hears her. She looks up from inspecting her long acrylic nails.

"What about Ebony?" She asks.

"She said to stop swinging them ratchet ass braids in Yellie's face 'fore she slap you," Essence, one of the new girls, says.

"I know Euphoria ain't say all that. Those words came from a hating bitch, not a scary bitch," Ebony says.

Essence puckers up her big, pink lips while she rolls her eyes. Her lips stand out against her porcelain white skin and light blonde hair. Although she may not look like it, Essence is just as black as Iyvanka, whose dark skin and afro put the rest of our melanin to shame. Essence is only white because of her skin condition, unlike Tyler, who was white in every aspect of the word.

"Girl please. Yo new grow hate you more than I do," Essence says.

"I ain't finna argue with a bitch with no eyebrows," Ebony chuckles.

"Bitch I do have eyebrows! They just too blonde to see!" Essence says.

Ebony points at Essence.

"Candyce. You better get her," Ebony says.

I take a deep breath. All these changes and yet some things, the most irritable things, stayed the same.

"We not looking for another Max and Trinity aight? Whatever beef y'all have, y'all gon have to squash it y'all selves. I don't have time to be putting grown ass women in separate corners," I say.

"Who is Max and Trinity?" Sage asks.

I only have time to acknowledge her purple wig before Euphoria jumps in.

"Trinity is the girl who got killed up in here. Y'all ain't hear about it? Girl, I saw the whole thing," Euphoria says.

Now why the fuck would she say that? I mean, if they didn't know someone died here, who in their right mind volunteers that kind of information?

Nobody but Euphoria's messy ass. The girl doesn't miss a chance to instigate, even if it means her job may be on the line.

"Euphoria?" I say.

"Huh?"

"Shut the fuck up."

She rolls her eyes.

"I was just saying," She whispers.

"Hold on, I think I did hear about that! I ain't know that was this club!" Kasei says.

Her mouth opens into a wide O as she looks around the club with fresh eyes. Her cheeks are adorably fat and the two pompoms in her hair ain't making it any better. Her slightly slanted eyes and high-cheekbones give way to her Instagram name, "blazian.barbie". But it's the Barbie part of it that makes the most sense to me. She's all beauty and no brains, just like a baby doll. She's as ditzy as Phor, which I had no way of knowing before I hired her. I'm hoping Kasei has the hustling spirit in her that Phor lacked, cause if not, she's gonna meet the same fate Phor did.

"If somebody died here, we should do a cleansing. I think it'll help relieve some of the tension the spirit left behind," Geneva says.

Her burgundy dreadlocks and wooden ankh necklace makes her suggestion a little more bearable than it would be if it came from someone else.

"You ain't lighting nothing round this 30 inch Brazilian lace," Essence says.

"I know that's right," Kiari mutters, tossing her hair over her shoulder.

"Could y'all please shut the fuck up so I can get through this speech? I need to make sure we all on the same page before I open them doors tonight," I say.

Most of them raise their eyebrows like they can't believe I just talked to them like that. They don't know that this is me being nice. After the day I had with Simon, my patience should be non-existent. And it probably would be if I didn't have such a hard time finding these girls to begin with.

No longer having had Caesar or Max's help, I was forced to scout the new girls via social media. None of them is proving to be what I had hoped--ready hustlers who know when to shut the fuck up-- but, luckily for them, not too many people signed up to work in a place that got shot up on its first day. I'm just hoping customers will still show tonight. But considering the fact that only four of my original employees showed up today, my hopes aren't that high.

"Seriously guys. We should let her finish so we can start getting ready for tonight. We've been sitting here long enough as is," Tyler, the new white girl, says.

"Who the fuck asked you, Alexsus Ginger?" Essence asks.

"What did you just call me?" Tyler says.

I don't give Essence a chance to respond. I've only had a hour to feel her out but I can already tell she's about to be on some bullshit. The Penthouse has no room for that. Everybody here has done some shit they regret whether they did it as a stripper, a shot girl or in Tyler's case, a porn star. Throwing Tyler's porn name in her face was completely unnecessary since we all came to The Penthouse for a fresh start.

So, as boss, it's my job to restore the balance when one bitch thinks her hoe-stivites is better than the next. At the end of the day, there's only one bully round this bitch and it's me. I don't mind reminding anybody that thinks otherwise.

"Essence you remember how we met? You was getting paid by that one bar to stand outside and show tourists yo titties to get them to come inside. Wasn't you fucking the bar owner for a place to stay too? Or did standing out in the cold freeze some of your brain cells and make you forget?" I ask.

Some people shield their faces while they laugh and others, like Ebony, laugh out loud. It wasn't my intention to make her the butt of the joke. I just wanted to remind her of where she came from.

Not that intention matters when there's a room full of bitches you don't like laughing at you.

Essence turns her face up at me.

"You said that to say what? 'Cause Euphoria told everybody how you was stripping for yo brother and his friends to make a lil extra money," Essence says.

Stripping for my... Hold up. Is she talking about the night Ace caught me stripping? She has to be. The only person who could have told Euphoria about that was Max or Trinity. Max has proven to be a Mad Day friend but she was never one to gossip. So, I put my money on Trinity.

When did these bitches even have time to talk about me? We were only open for a day!

I'm too stunned to answer right away. The rest of the girls have no problem putting in their two cents though.

"Girl nah," Kiari whispers.

"That's just nasty," Ebony says, turning her face up.

"Foreal. I ain't know you and Ace got down like that," Kasei says.

"That's prolly why she helping up for Ginger now," Essence says.

"What the hell did you just call me?!" Tyler yells.

She stands up, her cheeks instantly flushing red. It makes the red freckles on her cheek more noticeable. She could dye her hair black and change her name all day long, but her freckles would always be a reminder of her past. Just like owning this club will always be a reminder of mine. No matter how far I've come as a business owner, I'm always gonna run across people who only see me as a stripper. I just went through this with Paryis' case worker when I tried to explain that I own a business now. It's the same thing Tyler is dealing with in this moment. But, unlike Leslie or Essence, The Penthouse is here to add to people's stories, not take anything away.

Essence stands quietly with a smirk on her face. Even though Tyler made a big scene standing up, she never made a move towards Essence, so I know she doesn't really want to fight.

"Calm down, Tyler. Misery loves company so don't even stoop to her level. Essence is is just mad at the bitches who used to call her ugly in high school. She rant about it all day everyday on Snapchat. Now she taking it out on us cause she was too pussy to stand up for herself in high school," I say.

"Girl please," Essence scoffs.

"I don't know who hurt you but you need to take it up with them," I say.

"And if I don't?"

"You will if you want to keep this job. You should also start watching what the fuck you say and who you say it to. You know more than anybody how words can come back to bite you in the ass. Only one of us is gon be back in the Quarters when it's all said and done and it's not gon be me."

Essence squints her eyes at me, giving me a stank look. I can tell she has more to say but the idea of being forced back into the cold, getting paid next to nothing to show off her body, keeps her from saying it.

"Can we get back to work now?" Leyla asks.

She leans back on her hands, with one leg crossed over the other. She swings her 6inch platform heel as she waits for an answer.

"Yeah, y'all can get to work as soon as y'all repeat what I just said," I say.

"About the Albino?" Leyla asks.

"You one to talk fat bitch," Essence says.

"Aww, what's the matter mi amor? You can give it but you can't take it?" Leyla asks.

"Why is she even talking to me?" Essence asks.

"Cause you talk too fucking much. All of y'all. Nobody in this room know how to be quiet. So if y'all gon talk about anything, let it be what I just asked you. The faster y'all repeat the rules is the faster y'all can get out each other's faces," I say.

One by one, they go around spitting the rules back to me. Sage is the last to remind us that whoever is our top seller this week, gets a bump in their pay check next week.

"That applies to everybody except Essence," I say.

"What?!" She asks.

"You heard me," I say.

I know she ain't think I was just gon let her get away with that shit.

"Y'all are dismissed. Ebony, Leyla, Euphoria and Yellie, y'all should have brought y'all dresses with y'all," I say.

Leyla pats the tote bag beside her. Coreyell points to her bookbag and Ebony remarks that somebody's bringing her dress by later.

"Everybody else, y'all dresses are in VIP, suite 1. Y'all gon need your key cards to get inside so make sure they're all working," I say.

When everybody walks away, I notice Essence and Euphoria walking up to me.

"Don't," I say.

Essence huffs and puffs and all but blows the club down as she turns around. Euphoria's dumb ass continues walking towards me.

"What?" I say.

"I was wondering if I can be the new bartender since Jimmy didn't show up today. He's not coming back is he?" She asks.

Of course Jimmy's not coming back. Not after Reese manhandled him and Caesar almost killed him.

"No. I already gave that position to Geneva," I say.

"I know, but it's just that after Trinity... I just don't wanna work VIP anymore," Euphoria says.

I rub my forehead with the butts of my palms. A few seconds of talking to Euphoria and I already have a headache.

"Why did you even come back if you knew you didn't wanna do it?" I ask.

Why did you come back if I didn't invite you in the first place, is what I really wanna ask. But I can't afford to lose anymore girls, especially not two hours before opening.

"Cause I thought I could do it but being back here is creeping me out. I can't go back in the room Trinity died in," She says.

"So don't go back in the room."

"Candyce," She has the nerve to look irritated.

"Euphoria," I say.

"Please," She asks.

Her puppy dog eyes isn't what makes me change my mind. It's only because I know how traumatizing it is to see your first dead body that I consider swapping her position. At the end of the day, I still haven't stepped foot inside Daddy's office and that was four years ago. How can I expect Euphoria to have moved on after only a few weeks?

"How old are you again?" I ask.

"21."

It's hard to believe this girl is three years older than me and is messier than bitches I went to high school with.

"You have a liquor license?" I ask.

"Duh. I used to be a shot girl, remember?" Euphoria asks.

"Fine. Geneva!" I call.

Geneva, who had just slid behind the bar's counter, stops stacking cups and looks up at me. I wave her over.

"Did you change your mind about the cleansing?" She asks when she makes it over to us.

"No I--"

"Candyce said you have to switch positions with me," Euphoria says.

"Euphoria," I groan.

"Is that not what you said?" She asks.

"I'm so close to firing you. You just don't know," I say.

"For what? You was boutta tell her anyway," Euphoria says.

"What's going on?" Geneva asks.

I take a deep breath, deciding that I'll have to read Euphoria later. Knowing her, she's bound to say something else stupid before the night is over.

"What happened in the club last time really scared a lot of the girls. This one included," I say.

I have to try really hard not to roll my eyes.

"Okay..." Geneva says.

"I'm sorry this is so last minute but I wanted to know if you would switch positions with her."

Geneva glances between me and Euphoria with hazel eyes. Then she shrugs her shoulders.

"What the hell right? How hard can being a drug dealer be?" She says.

I remember thinking it was gonna be that easy too and look how wrong I turned out to be.

"Thank you!" Euphoria says.

She hugs Geneva and Geneva hugs her back. Euphoria better be lucky I hired incense-burning, Badu-loving Geneva, cause her and Coryell are probably as sweet as it was gonna get in this jungle.

"Look, we really don't have time for Euphoria to drive all the way home, change and come back. So how bout y'all just swap outfits for the night," I say.

Euphoria gives Geneva's black button down and black slacks a once over.

"Yeah...no," She says.

"Why not? It's not like I'm asking y'all to swap panties," I say.

"It's okay, Candyce. I don't think I could squeeze into her dress anyway. Some of us have hips," Geneva says.

I smirk. Who knew Mother Nature had a mean streak?

"Well then Euphoria wear your dress tonight but make sure to wear black slacks and a black shirt next time. Gee, there should be an extra dress in my office," I say.

"From the dead girl?" She asks.

"No."

"Is it from Max?" Euphoria says.

"Shut up, Euphoria."

"Who is Max?" Gee asks.

"This weird ass bitch who said Trinity deserved what happened to her," Euphoria rolls her eyes.

Me and Max may not be friends right now but I'm not gonna let another bitch, especially not this bitch, talk down on her.