Voyeur - Candace Wondrak Page 0,1

known Bryan and Willow were together behind my back. How fucked up was that?

Ugh, no, I wasn’t going to think of them tonight.

Crystal’s shift had already started by the time I got to the Dollhouse. Music pumped through the speakers hanging on the walls, the lights dim as I entered. I headed to the side, through a door that said Employees Only. A small row of lockers where we could put our belongings during our shifts sat along one wall.

I chose a locker at the end, shrugging off my jacket and stuffing it inside, along with my phone. I wore shorts and a low-cut, spaghetti-strap top. The other servers wore less, but I was hoping since it was my first night, they would cut me some slack.

It wasn’t that I didn’t have a nice body. I did. My parents were always on about eating healthy and taking care of the temple God gave you—and then they went and hid the fact that my boyfriend was banging my seventeen-year-old sister. Yeah, they had their priorities twisted, didn’t they?

Autumn pushed out of her office deeper in the backroom, nearly giving me a heart attack. Her black hair was pulled back in a tight ponytail, her dark eyes narrowing at me. “I have to admit, I didn’t think you’d show up,” she said, folding her arms over her chest as she walked to my side. She wore a tight suit and heels beneath her pants.

All I could do was smile, because I really didn’t feel like getting into detail about why I needed money right now. My regular paycheck would be two weeks behind, but the tips I got I could keep immediately.

She glanced in my still-open locker. “Tell me you brought something else to wear.”

I looked down at myself. I wore strappy sandals, shorts, and a shirt. The dress code wasn’t something we got into detail with during the interview—basically, Autumn had taken a single look at me and told me I was hired. My face was too pretty to pass up.

Autumn spoke, “Take off your shirt, at least. I hope you’re wearing a nice bra.”

“But—” Not sure why I started to argue.

“This is a strip club, honey, not a bar. Men come here and pay to see pretty girls like you either up on that pole or serving them food and drinks as they daydream about cheating on their wives,” she spoke matter-of-factly. “Take off the shirt, and switch into these.” She bent over, tugging up her pant legs as she slid off her black heels.

Autumn handed me her heels, and I saw we wore the same size shoe. Great. Couldn’t fight with my boss on day one, so I had to do it.

Holding in a sigh, I set the heels down in the locker and bent to unzip my strappy sandals. Not sure I should be barefoot on this floor, but whatever. I went to trade my shoes with her, but she shook her head.

“I have extras in my office,” Autumn spoke, frowning. “A lot of you girls try to get away with stuff, especially in your first week. Don’t worry, you’ll learn what’s expected of you soon enough.” Since she wasn’t turning around and leaving, I figured that meant she was waiting to see me strip.

My fingers went to the bottom hemline of my shirt, grabbing it and pulling it over my head, exposing my black bra and the giant tattoo on my side.

My new boss nodded once, the frown on her face finally disappearing. “Oh, yeah. They’re going to love you. Now finish up here and get out there. Crystal should be almost done on the pole. You can shadow her for the night.” Saying nothing more, she spun on her bare feet and walked away, disappearing into her office, her door only labeled Manager.

This time, I let the sigh out as I reached for the heels and slid them on before closing my locker. It wasn’t like I’d never walked in heels before; it’s more like I didn’t want to spend the next six hours in them. I didn’t have a choice, sadly.

I walked to the door, glancing down at myself to make sure everything was still tucked neatly away—didn’t want any accidental nip slips—and then I walked out into the Dollhouse.

The place wasn’t too large; the main stage sat front and center, the bar on the left. There were a few more private seating areas on each side of the main stage behind the chairs circling