Part 14 (1/2)
”That's right. How could you tell?”
”I used to work at a shoe store.”
”Why-”
”-did I quit? Lousy pay. And I was their best salesperson.”
”Well, if you don't mind me asking...how much do you make here?”
”They didn't tell you?”
”Well, I know I get $2.13 an hour in wages. But that's only enough to pay the taxes. I understand the real money is in the tips. They told me it could be several hundred dollars if I give the men what they want. Whatever that means.”
”Yeah, it's true. When I first started I was pretty shy. But I still made $600.”
”Your first week?”
”My first night. And that was just food and drink tips.”
”What other kind of tips are there?”
”We call them...s.e.x tips.”
”Whoa.”
”Don't get me wrong. We don't have s.e.x with the customers. But we make them want to have s.e.x. You know-you accidentally rub up against them while refilling their drinks. You lean over the table to serve their food, letting your b.o.o.bs hang down two inches from their faces. Stuff like that.”
”So, how much did you make after you learned to do all that?”
”Anywhere from $1,200 to $1,800 a night.”
”That's amazing. So, those s.e.x tips are in cash, I a.s.sume.”
”Yeah. That's why you have that little pouch that snaps onto your strap.” Darcy pointed to the small black leather bag on Rebecca's dresser. ”Some girls slide theirs around to the back. I keep mine at my side because I'm afraid somebody might try to rob me if it's in back.”
”So, guys put bills in that pouch?”
”No. That's where you put them for safekeeping. They stuff the bills under your strap. But you've got to watch them. Some men will try to reach down too low. And one time a guy put a hundred dollar bill in my b.u.t.t crack.”
”What did you do? Slap him? Did you call security and get him kicked out?”
”No. I just kept my distance from him the rest of the night. And I kept the bill.”
Rebecca winced.
”I washed it, though. I wash all my tip money. I throw it in the was.h.i.+ng machine. It doesn't hurt it, you know. Then I dry it and iron it.”
”That's great advice, Darcy. Thanks.” Rebecca slipped into her heels and stood up.
”How do they feel?”
”Okay, I guess. I don't usually wear heels.” She took a few awkward steps. ”Why do they have to be five-inch?”
”Because it's kinda dark in the restaurant, so people can barely see our black shoes. It almost looks like we're barefoot-tiptoeing.”
”Which is suppose to make your calves look s.e.xier.”
”Yeah. And they can't see the mini-thongs very well either.”
”So, they think you're completely naked?”
”They know you're not. But it lets them imagine you are.”
”I just don't want anybody grabbing me.”
”Well...that kinda comes with the job.”
”Y'all let guys touch you?”
”You don't let them. But once or twice a night some guy will grab your b.u.t.t. Or lean his head into a b.o.o.b while you're refilling his gla.s.s. You get used to it.”
Rebecca cringed.
CHAPTER 21 - Tuesday, 4:27 p.m.
Megan Cinaway turned on her cell phone. Pa.s.sengers were beginning to stand up and get their carry-on bags out of the overhead compartment. The non-stop flight from DFW to JFK had been boring and long for most pa.s.sengers. But not for Megan. Her mind had been t.i.tillated with visions of money and airbrushed, magazine-cover fame. She couldn't wait to start her modeling career.
She had one voice mail: Megan, this is Rebecca Ranghorn. Please call me when you get this message. It's extremely important. Your life is in danger.
Megan deleted the message. That detective would do anything to stop her from living her dream. She was sure her mother had put the woman up to it. But it would not work. Megan was old enough to make her own decisions.
She saw a young man retrieving his bags from the compartment over her seat. He was hot. Maybe he was a model too, she thought. ”Would you mind getting mine down?” She offered a s.e.xy smile.
He stopped what he was doing and turned around. When he saw her, he returned her smile. Perfect teeth.
”Would you mind? It's a pink bag.” Blonde hair, perfect body, beautiful smile, and pink bag in the big city. She was Elle Woods, from the movie, Legally Blonde.
”No problem.” He took hold of her virginal bag and gently lowered it to the floor. ”There you go.”
”Thank you so much,” said Megan, with all the grat.i.tude of someone who had just been given a new car.
His girlfriend stood up, and shot Megan a look that said: Keep your s.l.u.tty little paws off my man, b.i.t.c.h.
Whatever. Nothing was going to spoil Megan's day. She extended the handle of her bag and rolled it along behind her as she made her way off the plane.
But as she walked through the terminal, she began to have second thoughts about Rebecca Ranghorn's message. What if her life really was in danger? She began to see evil in every pa.s.sing face, imagining herself a little stuffed teddy bear among giant grizzlies. At any moment, one of them could rip her head off. She was helpless to defend herself. Megan took out her phone and located Rebecca's number from her earlier call.