“Hi there, boys. Enjoy the show?” she asked in a soft growl. Men are such simpletons.

“Mmmhmm, you know how to get me all worked up, Baby Jade,” Snaggletooth said, reaching for her. Before she could respond, a loud voice boomed from across the room.

“No touching!” Mickey yelled. She knew all hell was going to break loose as she watched him stalk across the room.

“Dude, chill. She came up to us.” The lesser disgusting of the two waved his hands in the air.

“Can’t read the damn sign? No? Let me help you, DO NOT touch the girls.” Mickey pointed to the rules hanging on the wall, speaking to the men as if they were three-year-olds.

She had seen this shit play out way too many times. It never ended well for anyone. Baby Jade tried to intercept. “Guys, come on. Don’t get upset. Mickey, calm down. These nice fellas were letting me know they liked my show, right gentleman?”

“Yeah, sure, whatever you say. We’re outta here.” The two drunks stumbled toward the door but couldn’t make their escape before Mickey got in the last word.

“Don’t let me see your piss poor faces in here again!”

The heavy door creaked, filling the room with the midday sun.

“Dammit, Mickey! What the hell? You cost me a tip.”

“Don’t give me that shit, Baby. They didn’t have more than two dimes between ‘em. I don’t need that kind of riffraff in here. Stop letting them get close.” Mickey stepped toe to toe with her, and she smelled the stale beer roll off his hot, thick breath. He gave her the creeps. To say he was sleazy would be too generous, and the douchebag loved to push the boundaries with the girls.

Mickey was the owner and manager of Bottoms Up. He was in his early fifties and looked ten years older with a serious receding hairline. The few straggly strands of gray hair he had left were thin and greasy. He was close to six feet tall, but that didn’t do anything for his pot gut. His beady brown eyes appeared smaller due to a thick, heavy brow. His pudgy nose and spaced yellow teeth made her want to vomit. He was disgusting, and he ran the club the same way he ran his life. The place should have been shut down a long time ago. It was run down and dirty, breaking every code in the book. The worst part was the way Mickey treated the girls like his own property, for his pleasure or to share. He fed them liquor and anything else he could push down their throats to help limber them up. He had an endless supply of coke as long as he allowed his favorite dealer to write his own ticket at the club, which he did often.

Baby Jade didn’t want any part of it anymore and it pissed Mickey off. He made that loud and clear. Mickey still tried to buy her off, telling her she was one of his girls and he would treat her right. She could have all the free liquor she wanted, but Baby refused. It wasn’t that she didn’t drink, but she made sure to pay off her tab by the end of the month, never wanting to be in debt to Mickey again. Baby Jade promised herself she would never be put in that position again, knowing firsthand how he demanded payment.

Baby took a step back. “I can take care of myself. They were harmless. Let me handle my own business next time. That’s money out of my pocket, not yours.”

As she turned, Mickey slapped her on the backside. “What pockets?”

Instinct set in and she spun around on her heel and drew back.

Mickey seized her arm in mid-swing. “Don’t do it, bitch. You’ll be outta here and flat on your ass before you can give that sweet little thing two shakes.”

Mickey threatened her all the time; like he did all the dancers. She never knew if he’d actually go through with it or not since he was a ticking time bomb. Baby Jade was one of his best girls. She brought in the majority of his business. On the strip club circuit, she was considered a headliner.

She snatched her wrist from his grasp. “Go ahead, these dive joints are on every fucking corner in the city. I’ll be on another stage before the sun goes down.” Baby Jade stood firm, but it did nothing for her resolve to be standing there with her breasts hanging out.

“You don’t wanna threaten me, Baby. I will do it.” Mickey glared at her. “Get your sweet ass backstage and help clean house, and don’t give me any lip about it.” He stomped away before giving her a chance to challenge him any further.

Baby Jade rolled her eyes and grabbed her corset off the stage. Who was she kidding? She wasn’t going anywhere. As bad as things were at Bottoms Up, at least she knew what she was getting herself into, no surprises. If she left, it would mean starting all over again. There was always the possibility of having a boss far worse than Mickey. The stripping world was a dirty one. Some bosses didn’t wait for permission to do as they pleased, and they didn’t bother with the free booze and drugs to numb the pain. They got what they wanted other ways. And if things went too far, well, that explained the occasional dancer washing up in the lake.

Like it or not, Baby Jade was home.

The dank dressing room downstairs was more like a basement. It didn’t have windows. The dark room reeked with the nauseating smell that reminded her of a French whorehouse, mixed with cigarette smoke and sweat. Cheap tables piled with makeup and hair accessories lined the cement walls. Baby Jade got along with the other girls, for the most part. With any females, there were bound to be arguments and the expected territorial strut, but nothing too major. She could hold her own. Some of the girls were sweet, in a sad kind of way. Bottoms Up had a revolving door. Most of the girls came and went every few months looking for a brighter spotlight. At twenty-one, some of the girls had been known to look up to Baby. Assuming she was wise and she probably was compared to the others. Baby had definitely earned a lot of experience of the years.

Coral was sweeping the cement floor as Baby made her way down the concrete steps. She was a pretty redhead, with fair skin and hazel eyes. By far the shortest girl at the club, she stood less than five feet tall. This prompted her to wear six-inch heels everywhere she went. Baby ran into her at the laundry mat on their day off and was surprised to find Coral wearing a pair of booty shorts, a bright yellow halter top, and ruby-red studded stilettos. That girl certainly wouldn’t be winning a fashion award anytime soon. Regardless, she had been a welcome addition at Bottoms Up for the last four months, never causing any problems.

Baby Jade didn’t talk to Coral much. Not because she didn’t like the girl, but because she didn’t talk to anyone much.

“Hey, good set?” Coral asked Baby as she walked in and threw the crumpled up dollar bills in her bag.

“Could’ve been better. You know how it is on days.” No one liked working the day shift. The crew was spread thinner every time the club lost a girl, adding more day shifts.

“Yeah, it blows. It’s only Tuesday and I have another afternoon shift tomorrow. Hope Mickey gets someone else in here soon.”

“Me too. Where’s Lolli?” Baby scanned the room looking to see if the girl had been in yet.

Coral stopped sweeping and gave her a knowing look. “She took off with Slade. Mickey sent him down here while you were on stage.”

“Dammit, she’s too young to be on that shit.” Baby rubbed her temples with the palms of her hands. Slade was Mickey’s dealer and number one douchebag. Lolli was a sweet girl, too young to be in this line of work. Her paperwork said she was eighteen, but if Baby Jade had to bet, she was still a minor. Her young appearance worked in her favor, making her a huge hit in the club. Her beautiful skin hadn’t yet fallen prey to plastic surgery. Lolli’s blue eyes sparkled with excitement when the club was hopping. Baby Jade knew that sparkle. She had had it herself once. That’s how she knew it was bound to be snuffed out after a few encounters with Slade.