Chapter 1: Diamond Dallas Page
As he walked into his pride and joy, The Diamond Mine, a large grin came onto the lips of Diamond Dallas Page. The night was his personal favorite of the week, also known as the night where he received the most business: Saturday. Page's shade-covered eyes lit up as they scanned the club. He was quite pleased with the number of patrons they currently had, especially considering that the Mine had only opened about half an hour ago.
Page moved his sunglasses to the top of his head as he walked over to the bar, still wearing his trademark grin. Many found it unnecessary for Page to wear his glasses at night, but it was a key part of his appearance. As Page took a seat on one of the little stools, he pulled a cigar out of the pocket on his vest. Page's Diamond Studd approached him as the man lit his tobacco.
"You're late today, boss. Something come up?" The Studd asked as he pulled a cup from beneath the bar. "Or, were you just taking it easy for once?"
"Ah, I just had some things to attend to. Nothin' to worry about! I've just been thinking, that's all." Page let out a chuckle as he watched The Studd fill his glass to the rim. "Business is fuckin' great tonight, isn't it?"
"It always is on these cool Saturday nights. Lots of guys need a way to keep themselves warm." The Studd placed Page's favorite bottle of alcohol back on the shelf behind of him before turning back to the Mine's owner. "In fact, I'm quite looking forward to my break tonight, so that I can enjoy a little bit of warmth myself."
Page grinned as he took a huff on his cigar. He didn't blame his Studd at all for planning to spend his break with one (or possibly more) of their Dolls. In fact, it was quite common for Page, his Studd, Vinnie, and Scotty to all enjoy some time with the Dolls.
At The Diamond Mine, all of the employees got along very well with one another. Most of the Dolls loved The Studd, Vinnie, and Scotty as much as those three loved them. But Page? Oh, no one loved The Diamond Dolls more than Page. They were the talented, beautiful little ladies who meant the world to him. Page knew that they loved him, too.
"Have fun, my man!" Page cheered before taking a drink of the tart alcohol that he loved so very much. "I know you will. Say, how many new Dolls do you think we should get for the winter? Four? Five?"
The Studd looked over the crowd that they had gathered for just a moment before he shrugged. "I'd say either number would work, but you know I'm not going to complain if you want to find us another dozen. Hell, I'll go find them for you." The Studd smirked, making Page laugh.
"Oh, I don't doubt that. But shit, if you do see any potential Dolls, send them on back." Page took another drink as he heard footsteps approach.
When he turned his head to see who had joined them, Page's eyes landed on one of their usual customers there at The Diamond Mine. Of course, if you were to ask Page what the man's name was, he would have not a damn clue; Page didn't need to know anyone's name. Hell, in all honesty, Page wasn't that good at keeping the names and faces of those he kept a personal relationship with straight.
"'Evening, Dallas!" The man greeted Page before giving a grin to The Studd. "Studd."
"The usual, Charlie?" The Studd chuckled as he placed another cup on the counter. The man nodded while reaching into his pocket so that he could grab his wallet.
"I'll leave you boys to your business. Enjoy your stay, Charlie." Page downed his drink in one big gulp before patting the man (whose name he would soon forget) on the back and waving to his Studd.
"Later, boss!"
While walking around his club, Page alternated between swirling his cigar around in his hand and smoking it. The upbeat air of his club made it impossible for Page to not walk around with a large smirk upon his lips. Life was great for Page and he knew it.
On his way to his personal room, Page took a moment to examine the club. He looked around at all of the patrons, tons of men of every type. It didn't matter what someone looked like or what their occupation was; as long as they had the cash and didn't try to fuck over either the club or the Dolls, they were welcomed at The Diamond Mine.
As Page passed by one of the stages, his eyes landed on a vaguely familiar face that caused him to have to stifle a laugh. The man was a newly-hired police officer, and by the way he reacted to the Dolls on the pole, it was obvious that the man had never been laid in his life. If Page were a betting man, he would bet that the man wouldn't have ever stumbled into The Diamond Mine if he hadn't been coerced by one of his coworkers.
After all, in exchange for the police turning a blind eye to his business, Page gave them discounts on whatever they wanted. It looked like the young lad was enjoying his discounted tease, even though he didn't understand how to properly admire a woman; not yet, anyway. Virgins were a crucial type of customer in Page's line of work. Once they got hooked, they'd blow all kinds of money on the Dolls.
Seeing that officer watch the Dolls actually brought a feeling of pride to Page. At one point in time, he would have had to instruct his Dolls on how to win the shy little virgin over; they're the ones you have to be careful with. They're the kind of awkward male that have never been with a woman and are looking for any sort of physical connection, whether it included something emotional or not. Although Page preferred that his Dolls not be directly involved with any of their customers outside of The Mine, he knew it was an inevitable occurrence. Besides, most relationships like that never lasted long, anyway.
The point of the matter was that his Dolls had come a long way from where they were when The Diamond Mine first opened. Many Dolls had come and gone over the course of four years, but once he had trained his first group, it seemed like everything had just fallen into place. Dallas still had half a dozen Dolls from when he had started, and honestly, they were his favorites. They had stuck by his side through it all and made sure that all of the Dolls provided the highest quality of service. They were not only his entertainers, they were his fellow trainers.
Once Page had made it to his room, he took a seat on the luxurious, plush chair that he loved so much. The room was a large one, twice the size of any of the rooms for the guests. Of course, that only made sense, as Page's room had it all: a bed, a pole, a couch. His room was the most extravagant one in the whole club, but it had to be.
"Welcome back, Dallas!" One of the Dolls greeted Page as he put out his cigar in the glass ash tray by his chair. Another one of the ladies came and took Page's glasses from the top of his head and sat them on the table next to the ash tray.
"Thanks, ladies. How're things going for all of you tonight?" Page grinned as Dolls stood by his side, leaning both on him and his chair. Most of the time it was for more of an aesthetic than anything, as he enjoyed the way his Dolls looked alongside him. Page adored his Dolls, but he was admittedly quite a vain man.
"Things are great! As I'm sure you've noticed, there aren't as many of us back here as there usually are. We're getting to be in high-demand." Page titled his head up to see one of his favorite Dolls sending him a grin. The blonde-haired woman was one of his originals.
"All of you ladies, keep an eye out for some potential Dolls. Like she said, business is poppin'! We need as many new babes as we can possibly get, so if any of you know any girls who could fill the shoes, you know where to send them." Page looked around at all of the pretty faces around him, pleased by the nods he received in return. He knew his lovely ladies would do their best to find more workers.
A knock soon came to the door, and Page signaled for whoever it was to come it. It turned out to be one of the newer Dolls, a pleasant young woman who had only been working for Page for a couple of months.
"A big rush just came in. We need all available Dolls out front ASAP." The woman motioned towards the main area as she spoke. Page looked at his group before nodding to the woman by the door.
"You heard her, ladies. Go get 'em!"
On Page's command, the Dolls headed out to work. Page always found it to be a bit boring whenever he was left to himself in his big room, but it made him proud to know that his Dolls were out there doing their best. The man slunk down in his seat for just a moment, so that he could let out a sigh, before instantly jumping to his feet and grabbing one of his record books from a locked drawer near his bed. He took a seat once he had the book and began looking through it.
Over the past few months, their business had been on a steady incline. Page sat there, going over numbers and making plans in his head. He made notes both in the book and in his mind of little improvements that he would need to soon make; simple things, really. There were a few renovations that would need to be made to The Diamond Mine over the approaching months, but there also needed to be several more Diamond Dolls in the mix. Three or four would work for the winter, but they would need far more workers for the months that followed.
Page had little more than put the book away when another knock came to his door. He once more instructed for the person to come in, but a slight frown came to Page's lips when he laid eyes on Vinnie.
"I've got another piece of shit out here that you might like to meet." Vinnie pulled a battered male over from beside of the door and shoved him down onto the floor in front of him. "'Lil bitch thought it'd be a good idea to get rough with one of our ladies. You want a round with him, or would you rather I finish him off?"
Page cracked his knuckles as he walked over to where Vinnie stood and looked down at the male on the floor with absolute disgust. It was obvious that Vinnie had already clocked the guy, but frankly, Page enjoyed pounding on the men that tried to bring harm to his women.
Diamond Dallas Page's attitude was usually quite carefree, but if you fucked with one of his Dolls, you got to see a completely different side of him.
"I'll take him. Go make sure the rest of the girl are okay." Page sent Vinnie a smirk, something Vinnie returned. It was a well-known fact that Vinnie enjoyed beating the ever-loving shit out of anyone who crossed him, but Vinnie knew how much it meant to Page to be able to stand up for the Dolls.
"Got it." Vinnie muttered, watching as Page dragged the male into his room. Vinnie closed the door behind Page with a small laugh. As Page grabbed the collar of the other man's shirt and brought him to his feet, just one simple thought crossed his mind.
A heroes work is never done.