Episode 2: "Time to Grow Up, Alicia."

"What did you say, sir?" She asked.

She heard him the first time, but just wanted to be sure before she psyched herself out about being all dressed up and cute in a Maid's costume as her uniform.

"Here. Would you like to work here?" He began to walk towards the bar. "It's a customer service job so that may or may not scare you away." He stepped up and walked behind the bar.

She watched him, just in case she may have had to do bartending duties.

He pulled down a glass and filled it with two ice cubes from a compartment below. He poured a brown liquid into it and twirled the glass around. He then poured a red dye into it. He moved the glass some, causing the liquid to swirl around and the red dye elegantly dissolve. He pulled out a white piece of paper as he put it to his lips. "Come have a drink with me."

"Oh, I wouldn't want to--"

"There's more than just alcohol back here. There's ice tea. Lemonade. Soda. Anything's better than just standing there looking like a scared little cat...or kitten." He downed the glass in one swallow.

There were many red flags going off within her body but for her to save face--grow up a little bit--she decided to join him for a drink.

She noted the flooring in this area was black carpet. Cool. She thought.

"What'll it be?" He asked.

"Um, I'll just have water." She said.

"You can have anything on me."

Wow. No service fee. Free drinks. Why hadn't she bolted out the door yet?

"Um, just water." She said.

"So be it." He said, turning away.

She eyed the white piece of paper and realized it was an application form. Was he trying to pressure her into the job?

She read the minimum age requirement: 16-years old. Sixteen-years old. You had to be sixteen to work here. She looked around again. Obviously not at the bar.

"Thank you." She said, peering into the glass.

"It's not spiked." He said.

She chuckled nervously. How would she know? There were odorless, clear substances these days. You could never be too careful.

"So, you working here?" He looked passed her leery attitude. Her mannerisms and high guard were pluses in his book, contrary to what she was thinking. She was shy and petite, yet aware. That was something many girls lacked these days. They weren't stupid, but didn't have their guard as high up as it should have been. He was definitely keeping note of this in his mind.

"Oh! I never had the intention of applying for a...job..." She looked down at her lap. What was she thinking? This man was practically throwing a job her way! She didn't know if an opportunity like this would present itself again and so far every job on the block had abandoned her. It felt like that anyway.

She thought of her friends. While they planned weddings, dorm necessities, and what video games they were going to play all day, she was busy trying to stay alive. She didn't have the luxuary to sit around all day and have rich parents cater to her every need. She didn't have a college acceptance letter. She certainly didn't have a man so when an opportunity like this presented itself to her, she took it. She took it with both hands. She didn't have a choice. Her parents wanted her out by the end of the month. That meant she had to have a place before then, which meant she had to be working.

This man wanted her. Screw what questions were and weren't supposed to be asked on an interview as she had done research.

With new resolve she faced the man again.

He saw the internal conflict within her eyes. The apparent fear, yet subtle defeat.

"How much is the pay?"

"Decent." He said.

"Define 'decent'." She said.

"It's decent enough to afford a studio apartment."

"Really!" she said.

He nodded. "But places around here are expensive. The starting price is $1600 plus."

"Are you kidding me!"

"We are on the strip." He said.

"But it's a studio! Not even a loft!"

"Some are. But this job shouldn't be taken seriously as your only form of income.The Day shift only makes $600 a month, while the Night shift pays $800. Regardless, it's not enough to live on by yourself, at least around here. You'd have to get a second job or roommate. That's what some of the girls here do since they like the area. If you're willing to commute however, there are cheaper options."

"Oh." She said. She looked away. Commute, get a roommate, or a second job. None of those options sounded appealing to her.

"But you'd be making much more than your co-workers."

"Really? How?" She said.

"Simple. You're guaranteed at least $2000 a check if you accompany me home after every shift."

She looked appalled. "Excuse me!"

"The choice is yours. Take it or leave it."

Tears threatening to spill she looked down.

Darn her parents! Darn them! This was all their fault! Why were they doing this to her! She was just a kid for crying out loud! It was not uncommon for teenagers to not know what they wanted to do right out of high school. Most parents would allow, or should allow their child some time off to see what they wanted to do if they didn't want to do school right away.

Had she had a stable place to stay she wouldn't have even been there! She would have bolted long ago. Nevermind the blue eyes, or hot face, or muscular physique. This man had to be crazy and it was always the cute ones that had the issues.

The scenarios of rape, murder, abduction, and much worse coursed through her mind. Not looking at him she nearly tripped as she got up from the stool and ran towards the door. She stopped.

All he said was accompany him?

She slowly gave way to the possibility that it didn't have to be sexual. Even abusive in any way. But she'd still have to ride home with him and depending on how late she got off, or how far he lived, she'd have to commute back on her own. There's no way he was going to drive her there and back. Or he could? The whole thing was dangerous, no matter how she looked at it.

And it screamed desperation. Which she was.

Get it together girl! You'll find another job! Job! You mean job offer! You can't take this one! You can't! There's got to be another option! He'll try getting fresh with you in the car! He won't take you to his place! He won't even take you home! He'll rape you as payment for him taking you home! Or before! Oh! Mom! Dad! Why! Why! It's either this or nothing! Look, girl! Just see how this goes! If all else fails you can quit! Yeah, with you having your cherry popped or worse! It's not worth it! It's not worth it! She thought.

She slowly turned around. "What would...what would you want me to do? Why? For that matter?"

"Come back to the bar, I prefer not to yell across the room." He said, wiping the glass that he had previously used.

She looked back at the door. It was getting late. It had to be around five now. She looked for a clock and found it to be 5:15 p.m. She looked to him. He was watching her. Waiting.

She walked back up to the bar, her knees feeling weak. She sat down. She was so high strung a gnat could fly by and she'd jump in a fright.

He slid the application forward. She slid it back and looked to him.

"I can't hire you until you fill out the application."

"An application." She said. "I may not accept this."

He could comment on that, but refrained.

"What would you have me do? Why should I have to accompany you anywhere for a job? Sounds extremely sexual and wrong. I can even write you up for this as a customer complaint."

He could say that she was not a customer, but it be a bunch of he said, she said, or he offered and she agreed stuff that he wasn't in the mood for.

It was a risk now with what he was doing.

"That will be my concern should you fill out an application Miss...?"

She wasn't telling him her name until her fate was sealed. It wasn't yet.

"Do you hire all your girls this way, or am I a first?"

He eyed the door. Customers as well as employees would be coming through soon. He could, but preferred not to play cat and mouse with this girl. "I will not mix words with you. Either you want the job or not."

So he just wasn't going to be up front with her? She thought about giving him a fake name, but that would do no good should he try something on her. Everything that happened from this point forward would be her own undoing. He wasn't forcing her to take the job. He wasn't even holding her against her will. He had stayed behind the counter. He had made no advances on her. But that meant nothing off company property.

Staring at one another, she eyed the application again. It felt more like a contract. Her cell vibrated.

She pulled it out and read the text: "Hey! You found a job yet? The end of the month will be here in no time kiddo. Better find something!"-Mom.

Mom. This was her mother. She scoffed and fought to hold in her tears more. She shook her head and looked away. She looked back toward the door. Her heart raced as she saw someone come inside. She turned away.

"I'll do it." She whispered.

"Good. Start filling out the application. Read over it. You can start tomorrow." He handed her a ball point pen as he came around the bar. "Delilah. What have I told you about leaving without locking the company doors?"

"Look, I had a rough day all right! Some idiot spilled his drink all over me and--oh! Expecting a new hire?" She eyed the girl and the application form.

Alicia looked their way. She could smell the woman's perfume but it didn't compare to her beauty, although she would have to see her without make-up. Or her uniform. It was hot pink and white. It complimented her semi-tan skin and pencil straight, voluminous hair. Her chest was much bigger than her own, and her cleavage showed. She wore white opaque thigh-high socks and white stileto high heels with an ankle strap. The top was more corset like, upping her breasts, while the skirt frayed out as she walked.

"As a matter of fact, I am." he turned to her. "As soon as she sign's her name on the dotted line."

"But uh, Christian, you didn't tell me you were looking for somebody so soon?"

Alicia tuned out their conversation and tried to focus on the application.

"How soon is soon Delilah?" He asked her.

"Oh I don't know. Perhaps, three years?" She said.

"Very funny. And where's your typical purple? You know the guests like that?"

She frowned. "In the laundry." She walked passed him and up to the bar. "So you're the little new hire?"

Alicia turned to her, not liking her already. "Um, well, I haven't signed anything just yet."

"Do yourself a favor honey, and don't. Christian is um...how do you say...weird...?"

"Wow." Alicia said.

"I know. Wouldn't expect it from a handsome face like that, huh?"

That wasn't it. It was how she dissed him right in front of her. But she was a manager so she guessed it was okay? But then what was Christian, she now knew his name, for him to be hiring her like this?

"You'll have to excuse Delilah. She has no leash for her mouth." He said.

"Um, if you're the night manager, like Christian tells me, then, what are you?" She looked to him.

"I'm the bartender."

Delilah looked to him. "He's the boss."

"Really!" she said.

"Oh yes." She looked to Alicia. Taking in every detail of her and wondered why Christian was going for a girl like her. She had nothing to offer him. "He likes the guise of being a bartender, but he's not the only one we have. We have two others here."

"Really? I see you have to be sixteen here to work? Not at the bar right?"

"Oh! You can work at the bar. One of the bartenders we have is sixteen, so, yeah." She smiled.

"Isn't that illegal?" She looked to him.

"Yes, isn't that, Christian?"

He chuckled. "Drinking it, is illegal." He snatched his eyes from Delilah as he said that. "But working the bar is not. Plus, when he's on duty there is the other bartender that is of age. So he's constantly being supervised."

"I see."

"But, you should leave now." He said. "Return the application to me at 4 tomorrow. I'll be here, much like I was today since I have lazy employees that don't know how to do their work."

Delilah held her tongue.

"Okay..." She said. She got up and folded the application. She placed it in her bag and glanced at the two of them. Delilah was going to be a problem for sure. And Christian? Who knew. He said to return it around 4 but she could completely skip out on him and never return.

The text she got from her mother came to forefront of her mind. There may have been other jobs out there that screamed less danger, or no danger at all. But she didn't have time for it.

Whatever happened, happened.

Survival. That was the only thing her parents were teaching her. She'd remember it too. Once she left, she never wanted to see them again. Even if they were happy for her. For them to just push her out, away from the nest like some bird. She was not a bird, she was a person. And she couldn't fly.

All this in mind normally she'd smile a little, but since this sitaution was anything but friendly she walked out the doors just as someone else was coming in.

"Oh, excuse me." They said.

"No problem." She smiled some.

They turned their attention to the front. They got a sinking feeling in their stomach as they gazed at their boss and Delilah. She rarely looked this displeased, or showed this much of it honestly. The doors hadn't opened for the public yet, so they took note of the girl leaving out before schedule. That could only mean one of two things. She inquired about a job, which they recieved on a daily basis from many people, or she would be hired, which could only be why Delilah looked so upset. The girl had her pay docked before, had been yelled at in front of customers and even got stuck with bathroom and janitoral duties. She never looked that displeased. Unless Christian had indeed chosen another.

They made eye contact with their boss. "Should I prepare a uniform?"

Christian stared out the window. "No, not yet."

"Why not! It's obvious you've chosen her!" Delilah spat.

"Uniforms don't seem like her style." Christian turned away. "Prepare for tonight's arrivals. And set up a special place in the back. My family is coming tonight."

His employees looked his way startled.