Pulling her rat's nest hair back with a worn old bandana, Lia slipped on a pair of slim fit jeans, heeled combat boots, and a low cut t-shirt. This was as modest as one could get at a strip club, any further and tips would be scarce. Pulling a face at her mirror, Lia snatched up sweatshirt and put it on, grabbing her head phones and shoulder bag, she left the apartment.

For a few minutes, she stood outside her door and flipped through her iPod. In the end, she settled on listening to some "Pale Horse Called Death." It was stoner rock? Grunge? Punk? Whatever it was, the slow pulsing bass and droning vocals were a welcome reprieve from the pounding rap and dub step that flooded her workplace. Feeling almost Zen like, Lia descended the stairs and started her trek to work.

Hey there riding hood
won't you please meet the wolf
would let me come inside
let me under, under the covers
let me come between your thighs

Smiling, Lia took hold of a nearby lamppost and swung herself around, allowing her weight to carry her through a full spin. Letting go, she continued on her way. That jackass Rob, might have been onto something when he expressed a desire to see the disheveled bartender doing a few tricks on the poles. All things considered, if she had to, this would be the song,

I know when you squirm like a little girl
I know your addicted

Hey there riding hood
won't you please meet the wolf
I swear I'll make you feel all right
Make your flowers bloom
Make your honey flow
Be your black dog scratching at your door.

Suppose the money would be better than bartending. Lia chuckled at the thought, like any man in his right mind would pay to see her swing herself around a stage half naked. No, she'd never reduce herself to that sort of objectification, Lia hated being looked at. If anything, her personality and lifestyle always incorporated her overall desire to remain anonymous. This was the case in bad and good actions, Cornelia had never been one for attention. Flying under the radar had always suited her, it kept her alive. No one could use her if she kept out of the light.

It was then that Lia came to the entrance of CenterFold. It was already open, accommodating the after work alcoholics and early evening perverts. Smirking, she pulled her headphones from her ears and hung them around her neck. "Hey Lia!"

Glancing up, Cornelia nodded a greeting to Lars. He was the opening bartender, from their brief interactions during trade off, Lia pegged him as a peppy sort with a history of morphine addiction. Charming, but from what she could tell, Lars was attempting to kick his habit. His girlfriend walked out and left him to raise their 6 year old kid. Child services wasn't far behind. These days, he was doing his best to show that he had a stable job and was well off the morphine. Working in a strip club was probably not the best move, but who was Lia to judge?

After few minutes of small talk, Lars left her to manage the bar. Shoving her stuff under the bar, Lia pulled off her sweatshirt and was in the process of tying off her apron when Frost stepped into her line of vision. She blinked, other than coming and going, Frost was seldom down here. "Need something?"

He eyed her for moment, a moment that felt like an eternity "Frost, if you need something could you tell me now, the suspense is is seriously killing me."

She was surprised when he relinquished a smile, so much so that Lia couldn't keep from commenting "Ah, he smiles, that's unexpected."

Lia figured she'd taken her commentary a step too far, but Frost chuckled this time. This earned him a laugh in kind and a smile. He came in closer "Boss says that starting tomorrow, you'll be working at Grin and Bare It."

The bartender froze, all humor gone "Say what?"

Frost shrugged "He feels your talents are wasted here."

Lia braced herself on the bar and eyed the henchman up and down "My talents huh?"

He nodded and Cornelia's lips thinned to a perfect line "What are my talents exactly?"

Frost raised an eyebrow "You hit a guy hard enough to make him spit teeth…"

Tucking a loose strand of hair back up into her bandana, Lia leaned back "I call that the usual Tuesday."

He smirked "Boss wants you close by."

A shiver coursed down her spine. Gritting her teeth, Lia averted her gaze and set about cleaning the dusty martini glass that Lars had left out. After looking over one of the glasses for a bit, her eyes flickered back to Frost. "And what…. What if that's a position that I don't want to be in?"

She noticed how his warm brown eyes solidified, as if going through a flash freeze "You don't say no to the Boss…. I suggest you roll over on this. The other girls didn't seem to have trouble with that."

Lia sneered at him "Other girls?"

Frost nodded "The Boss wants to keep a variety going when it comes to his working girls. Keeps the scene fresh."

She paled for a second, feeling an onset of nausea wash over her. Taking a deep breath, she set down a glass and gave the henchman her full attention "I ain't stripping if that's what he's after."

He noted the look of discomfort "He just wants you to work the bar, like you do here. And come when you're called."

Her fingernails raked into the bar at his words, but she relaxed her fingers and breathed through clenched teeth "I assume, I don't have a choice in this?"

Frost shrugged, confirming the obvious. Lia stepped back and folded her arms across her chest. There was clearly no way to get out of this, she needed this job. Pawning Phoebe's expensive replacements wouldn't exactly pay her end of the rent. If she walked out on Joker, he'd likely black list her from any potential job. Not to mention the fact that he, oh kill her… Probably. With a groan, Lia sneered at Frost "Fine."

That said, she returned to her side work. Taking up a dirty glass she started to wipe it clean. The henchman nodded "Good girl."

Lia snarled at him as he walked back towards the upstairs office. It was then that the glass in her hand exploded under the pressure of her grip. She dropped the pieces and bit back a scream as splintered glass dug into her flesh. "Fucking perfect."