I bite my bottom lip to stifle my smile. “So, you are topless when you dance?” I ask.
She shrugs. “No, we wear tops.” She smiles cheekily. “They are just completely see-through.”
“Oh.”
She throws me a wink and goes back to her position near the door, and I sit frozen still, hoping nobody will notice the nerdy girl at the end of the bar. Over the next half an hour, I have three more drinks while I watch gorgeous men arrive, one after the other. Some are in groups, others on their own. Although, even the ones who arrive alone seem to know others that are here. How does this work? Do these men come here to socialize? I bet a lot of them are married and this is their dirty little secret. I watch them all standing around the bench tables, down on level two and around the bar. The chatter is loud, and they are all wearing expensive suits and smelling like money. Hmm, it must be expensive to come here. I glance around to make sure nobody is watching and I get out my phone and Google.
Club Exotic Membership.
I wait for it to load and a webpage comes up.
Club Exotic. Gentleman’s Bar.
Club exotic is currently not
taking new members.
However, please feel free
to put your name on the waiting list.
Hmm, God. No new members. That must mean they have their capacity. Matt walks back over to check on me. “You okay Vivienne?”
I smile and suck on my straw. I’m kind of having fun to be honest. “How many members are there here?”
Matt frowns. “I think there are about two thousand five hundred.”
My eyes widen. “God, that’s a lot. How much is it to join?”
“It varies. I think the basic bronze membership is around fifty thousand.”
I frown in horror.
“The silver membership is seventy-five.”
My mouth nearly drops open. “A year?” I frown.
He nods. “And the gold is about one-ten.?”
I nearly swallow my tongue. “What’s the difference between the memberships?”
“Bronze has access to the facilities.”
I frown. “Facilities?”
“Oh, there is an open bar and an award winning restaurant, a gym...”
“So, they don’t pay for anything when they are here?”
He shakes his head. “No. Oh, and they get vouchers.”
“Vouchers?”
“They get, like, ten lap dances a year, and I think they get a couple of nights in the Escape Lounge.” He gestures down the front and I see a door with a lit up sign over it.
ESCAPE CLUB
“What do the silver memberships get?”
“They get the same, but with unlimited lap dances and more vouchers for the Escape Lounge. Those guys have to pay for their drinks, though.”
I nod as I sip my drink. This is unbelievable. “What time does it open?”
“There is an 11am till 5pm session on Thursdays and Fridays. And then Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursday, and Friday nights.”
Shit, so the fuckers can slip in and out of here during work hours. Bring in the weekend with a bang, so to speak. “It’s not open weekends?” I ask.
“No, she caters for the business class. They are busy on the weekends.”
Yeah… with their wives and kids. Revolting.
“Suits us. We get weekends off.” He smirks.
Hmm, that is a big bonus.
My eyes drop to the door down below as I see a beautiful woman use a scanner key to get inside the Escape Club entrance. “What do they get for gold memberships?” I ask.
He smiles. “Anything they want with the comfort of confidentiality. Every member and staff member has to sign a confidentially agreement. An NDA. This place is more guarded than a prison. Not just anyone can join, either. You have to be sponsored by another member.”
My eyes widen.
“That’s why they pay the big money… To safeguard their reputations.”
“Wow,” I whisper.
“Some of them just come here to drink, but they know when they are here they are not going to be hassled or photographed, and no silly bimbo is going to go to the press next week for some cash. The girls here are more guarded of their reputations than the men.”
I sip my drink deep in thought. “Impressive.”
“Do you need another drink?”
I stare at my glass for a moment. I really shouldn’t, but I have to admit these are going down nicely. “Okay, one more, maybe.” I smirk.
He walks over and orders me a drink from one of the girls. I sit and watch my surroundings. This place has an electric feel to it. It’s not at all what I expected. The girls are all classy and the men aren’t ogling them like they’re a piece of meat.
Hmm, I’m kind of impressed, to be honest.
“Ashley, dear, you came,” Eliza interrupts my thoughts as she holds out her hand to shake mine.
I smile awkwardly. “Hello.” Wearing a tight black dress, she looks amazing.
Her eyes scan down my body and then back up to my face. “You look divine. Have you had the tour?”
I shake my head nervously. “No.”
“What is your name here?” she asks softly.
“Vivienne Jones,” I murmur.
She smiles knowingly. “Well, it’s lovely to meet you, Vivienne. I am so happy you came.” She leads me by the hand through the men, and down the large stairs. I can feel the men’s eyes on me as we pass through them, but I keep my eyes focused on her back as she walks in front of me. Hell, this makes me feel sick.
We get to the bottom and walk over to the large, black door where I saw the girls disappearing into earlier. Eliza swipes her security card and we walk in.
My eyes widen. Holy shit.
This looks like backstage of a Victoria Secret show. Small dressing tables line the large space and girls all have hot rollers in their hair and robes on their backs. A few are doing each other’s makeup, while others are doing each other’s hair.
“Girls, this is Vivienne,” Eliza announces proudly.
Their eyes all flicker to me and they smile. “Hi, Viv,” they all chant cheekily. There is a playful air about them, and I can’t help but smile.
“I’m hoping Vivienne is going to be starting in the Escape Club.” Eliza smiles warmly at me. “I’m just showing her around.”
I see a few of the girl’s eyes flash to me, as if shocked. What? Isn’t that normal? Anyway, it doesn’t matter because I’m only working behind the bar.
My nerves start to flutter as she pulls me to the other side and through a large archway. “This is our closet.”
My mouth drops open. Cream leather suits and skirts all lined up on racks, just like in a shop. There are huge baskets filled with cream and caramel colored lingerie, and expensive, gold high heels lined up in pairs. “This is our uniform wardrobe. Everything is dry cleaned daily and hung back up here.”
Her eyes fall back to me. “The girls don’t have to worry about laundering their own uniforms. Leather can be tricky.”
I fake a smile. I bet.
She walks to the end and a long rack of cream, sheer, loose tank tops all hang in neat rows.
Unable to help myself, I reach up and touch the fabric.