"Now, what can I do for you ladies?" Bonnie inquired as she plunked herself down in her office's desk chair. The only two chairs situated in front of the desk were immediately occupied by Jan and Crystal, leaving Nicole standing.
Bonnie's office was set up in the very back of the club for a good reason. The small room was very plain compared to the club's flashy dance floor and bar, and the room would have looked virtually unused if it hadn't been for the crumpled wads of paper littering the desk's broad mahogany surface. Paper fanned out across the entire spread of the desk top while some of the balls of paper had already fallen onto the beige carpet. Nicole briefly wondered how Bonnie managed the club's fiances with such a disorganized system, then focused her attention on what Jan was saying.
"Look, this might sound ridiculous at first," Jan began, "But we have very good reasons for wanting to have this done."
"Don't beat around the bush then." Bonnie leaned over the desk eagerly, "What's this about?"
Jan took a deep breath, "We want you to fire Lucas."
Bonnie's arms dropped and smacked against the desk, "You've got to be joking! I can't fire the most well-endowed stripper working at this joint. I'm sorry, babe, but it ain't gonna happen."
"Just let us explain," Jan pleaded. "Lucas' job here is only causing problems, and those problems aren't going to be solved unless Lucas stops working here."
"What's the problem with him working here?" Bonnie scowled, "And if it's causing so many problems, why doesn't Lucas quit?"
"I don't know all the details, but Lucas thinks Sami only wants him to quit because she doesn't trust him. Now he's too stubborn to quit because he thinks that will be reinforcing her lack of faith in him or something. I know from what Sami's told me that he got really mad at her for asking him to quit. That's why you have to fire him or he'll never get back together with Sami." Jan explained.
"And if I fire Lucas, then I'm going to lose a damn fine piece of ass and my club will be ruined!" Bonnie's hands flew in the air dramatically.
"You still have Shawn and Phillip," Jan pointed out, pouting, "What's wrong with them?"
"Absolutely nothing," Bonnie answered hastily, "I just want to know why Lucas won't get Sami back unless he isn't working here."
"Sami won't date a stripper, and Lucas won't quit. Since we're Sami's friends, I think it's up to us to help them." Jan waited a moment, then gave Bonnie a hopeful smile, "Are you going to fire him now?"
Bonnie shook her head, "I'm sorry. I would love to help but I can't go around firing my employees every time someone asks me to. That wouldn't be ethical."
"Come on, Bonnie," Crystal jumped in helpfully, "Who needs ethics anyways? They just get in the way."
"You're right about that," Bonnie chuckled for a moment, but she cut her laughter off immediately, "I still think I should have at least one or two though..."
"We're not talking about your God damn ethics," Jan scooted her chair forward, attempting to look menacing, "You really shouldn't overlook our request so easily, Mrs. Lockhart. We are trying to be polite, but you're going to do this for us, one way or another."
"Ooh, I'm scared." Bonnie puffed her chest forward in challenge, "I've dealt with a lot more intimidating than you, Spears."
"It's not about who's more intimidating," Nicole spoke up with a sigh, "Listen, you like money, don't you?"
"What kind of question is that?" Bonnie demanded, "Who doesn't like money?"
"Good," Nicole reached into her purse and fixed an expectant stare on Bonnie, "How much do you want us to pay you for firing Lucas?"
Bonnie looked mildly intrigued by now, and tapped a finger against her cheek lightly, "How much are you willing to offer?"
"I'll give you a hundred bucks." Nicole promised, preparing to take out a bill.
Bonnie snorted, "Doll, you're going to have to do better than that."
"A thousand." Nicole renegotiated, hoping Bonnie would be satisfied.
"A thousand would be nice coming from some people." Bonnie remarked, "But not from you. I know how much dough you're rolling in. When your old husband kicked the bucket, you inherited a fortune. Don't make a fool out of me."
Disgusted with Bonnie's attitude, Nicole tried again, "Two grand."
"Nope."
"Four?" when Bonnie shook her head again, Nicole growled with frustration, "Lucas isn't even worth one thousand, let alone four. I'm giving you a very good deal here. Show me some gratitude!"
"I don't think so," Bonnie shot back, "It isn't really about how much Lucas is worth anymore. What it's about it when it's going to actually hurt that pretty little wallet of yours. I bet a hundred grand would sting some. How's that sound?"
"It sounds like you're out of your freaking mind!" Nicole exclaimed furiously, "I refuse to pay you that much money."
"Once a stingy gold-digger, always a stingy gold-digger," Bonnie mumbled, "Then I guess Lucas is going to have a long, miserable career here at the club."
"Please, Mrs. Lockhart, this is important to us," Jan begged, sneaking a quick glance over at Nicole, "What about fifty thousand?"
Nicole sputtered angrily, but didn't argue.
"I guess that'll do." Bonnie spoke again after a few moments, "You know, Lucas hasn't been the happiness go-go boy in the world lately. He skipped work tonight without calling in sick and he's been in a bad mood for the past few shifts he's worked. I really should fire him. An unhappy stripper will do nothing but bring the atmosphere of the club down. Lucas isn't working tomorrow night, but he is working the night after that. I'll toss him out then."
"Good," Jan gave Bonnie a tiny smile, "Thank you."
"Don't thank her, we're paying her money." Nicole grumbled, already writing out a check, "And you better not tell anyone that the three of us bribed you into doing this. Lucas can't ever know we had anything to do with it."
"I can do that. Gee, I never thought I'd fire someone as sexy as Lucas Roberts, but this money will make it well worth my time." Bonnie let out a little squeal when she snatched the slip of paper out of Nicole's hand.
Nicole bit her lip to keep from snatching the paper back out of Bonnie's grasp and shredding it into tiny pieces. If Lucas and Sami didn't get back together after this, then she was going to sue Bonnie's ass off. Or do something equally evil.
Jan seemed to sense Nicole's impending tantrum over her lost money, so Jan quickly took hold of Nicole's arm, "We need to get going now." Jan told Bonnie, "Thanks for your time."
"Anytime, anytime," Bonnie responded cheerfully, "Especially if you always reward me so wonderfully. Fifty thousands bucks... Jesus."
Nicole was fuming by the time she, Jan and Crystal left the office, "I cannot believe I had to give that bitch my money like that."
"It's not that big of a deal," Jan tried to calm Nicole, "You have tons of money, you're not going to miss fifty K."
"Oh, yes, I will!" Nicole swore emphatically, "But soon it won't matter. I'm going to run Bonnie out of this club and take over it myself."
"Really?" Crystal gaped at Nicole.
"Yes," Nicole grinned wickedly, "It shouldn't be too hard. I have experience running businesses. From the looks of things after being in Bonnie's office, that woman doesn't have a clue how to make a decent profit from this club. This whole building and all the strippers in it will soon be mine."
"You'll let me and Jan help you run the club though, right?" Crystal checked.
"Absolutely," Nicole suddenly noticed the gloomy look on Jan's face and frowned, "What's wrong, Jan? You should be happy we finally got Bonnie to agree to fire Lucas."
"I should," Jan agreed, her voice quavering, "But I'm really going to miss Lucas. I always liked watching him strip and after he gets fired I'll never get to see him pole-dancing in a g-string again!"
"Shh, it's okay, Jan," Nicole patted the younger woman's shoulder condescendingly, "There's plenty of other strippers, including the two you are dating. They'll help you through this difficult time."
"I hope so," Jan's voice wasn't as unstable as it had been moments before, "And hey, at least Lucas and Sami will be happy. So, on the night Lucas get fired, right after Bonnie lets him go, we're going to call Sami and tell her that Lucas is no longer working at Unzipped. We won't tell her he quit, but we won't tell her he was fired either. She'll reach her own conclusions. Then we'll tell her she should wait for Lucas in his apartment, then give him a friendly welcome home." Jan beamed, "And I do mean 'friendly'. I just know they'll get back together after this."
From a safe distance, but still close enough to overhear their conversation, Kate inwardly scoffed at Jan's last comment. Sorry, you little tramp, but you've discounted me far too quickly. Lucas isn't going to get back together with Sami, and I know exactly how I'm going to counteract your plan.
