Original Stories Fan Fiction ❯ Gentleman's Club ❯ Vol. Ten, Chap. Nineteen: Swan Boss ( Chapter 19 )

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

Izzie and Sandra aren’t the only ones who keep the girls in line. From day one, Charlotte began second in command in the Gentleman’s Club. She does not play around. Because of her no-nonsense attitude she fell under the category of “mom” or “old lady” among the girls.
“Why so serious?” Bianca asked her when she arrived in the dressing room. Charlotte set down her bag on the chair.
“Old habit, I guess,” she said. Bianca, like many other girls in the club, can’t figure her out. Charlotte sat down at her vanity table and took down her hair. She doesn’t talk much about herself. So many guesses fly around behind the scenes that it’s become a game every night. Yet, does “Mommy” Charlotte really care?
She looked at herself in the mirror as she applied her favorite red lipstick. “Mommy” doesn’t really hold much of a personal opinion of herself at work. “Work is for work and personal life is for personal life,” she everyone on a nightly basis.
“Why?” Izzie challenged her one night.
“Because,” Charlotte said simply. “We are at work and we should focus on that alone while we’re here.” She walked out to the main stage. Because of this belief, “Mommy” doesn’t have many friends at work. Brit can’t stand her the worst. Every night, Charlotte tries to lecture.
“Get off of him.”
“You’ve had too much to drink.”
“Stop touching him!”
“Why are you such a mess?”
“Break it up, now!”
“Cut it out!”
“Why can’t you just act your age?”
The girls played a mental drinking game every time they heard Charlotte say one of those phrases to Brit night after night. They all laughed at the thought of being just as drunk as Brit came into work. The wild dancer always stuck her tongue out at Charlotte’s back.
“Yes, grandma,” Britt muttered sarcastically. The middle finger always followed that statement. Yet, Charlotte pretended not to notice.
She put down her make-up brush once she was finished. Charlotte only saw an empty doll with a made-up face staring back at her in the mirror. Even dressed up and looking appealing, she looked like an emotionless doll for the purpose of eye candy. This is the face that she displays to all of the men waiting to be entertained tonight. Her real face appears no different than her work face. Still, this does not bother Charlotte. She has adapted to boxing herself away and performing the work that needs to be done for each show. In fact, she’s headlining tonight. Sandra was the one who pushed for this idea.
“You look so dead out there on stage,” she said hours earlier. “The other girls look so alive. Where’s your spirit into life?”
“What do you mean?” Charlotte asked, stretching out her ankles. Sandra leaned forward on her desk.
“Have you ever been in love, Charlotte?” she asked. The dancer raised an eyebrow at her.
“Excuse me?” she asked.
“Have you ever been in love?” Sandra repeated. If the dancer was thinking about the answer, she sure didn’t show it on her face.
“I guess…” she replied in a dry tone. The boss shook her head.
“Don’t guess,” she said. “Yes or no—have you ever been in love?” Charlotte frowned at her boss.
“I don’t see have this is relevant to work at all,” she said.
“Humor me by answering the question,” Sandra insisted. Charlotte dropped her shoulders, still not saying the point.
“I’m not really sure,” she said at last.
“I see,” Sandra said in thought. The dancer tilted her head at her.
“May I ask the point of that question was?” she asked. The boss gave her a calm smile.
“When you fall in love, you will see the answer for yourself,” was all that she would tell Charlotte. The dancer didn’t get what Sandra was saying and still didn’t get it tonight. She peeked out of the curtain at the forming crowd. As far as she was concerned, this was another night of work for her. Charlotte drew in a breath and made her way to tonight’s performance. The pink bright lights shining on her didn’t even sway her.
However when her ears caught the first notes of the song waving through the air, the pattern broke as soon as her eyes met with a familiar pair that she thought she would never see again.