3
Assets
Tiffany sighed in exhaustion as she sat down to eat her cup-a-soup ramen after a hot bath. She sat on the floor in front of the low wooden table in her one room apartment with the bathroom separated by a flower-patterned curtain. There wasn't a couch and her mattress was on the floor two feet from where she sat to eat her meals. There was a TV in front of her, but this far into the slums even the free channels didn't work since the infrastructure was broken down and no one bothered to replace it. She opted for reading through the flyers left in her mailbox to watching the static on the tiny television with the screen the size of her hand.
Silence in her apartment hardly meant silence though. There was the regular screaming of the couple on the floor above her, the drug addled rambling or puking of her next door neighbor and the usual disreputable sounds from the street below. An hour without a siren, gunshot or a scream was unheard of. It was far from the palatial mansion of Mr. Alex Sterling.
She sighed and was only spared from her despair as a flyer caught her eye. It was on a heavier paper with good graphics and after reading the ad, her eyes lit up. Her landlady - bless her heart for being a good woman - must have left this in her mailbox.
She did her best to dress nicely - it meant a faded black skirt and a red and white checkered shirt - and went to the library uptown to use their computers. After a lot of reading on the internet about how to make drinks, she headed down to The Tipsy Wench, a popular nightclub and bar.
When she entered, the place was dimly lit with bars on both side of the large room. Some of the strobelights were going, but no music played. There were a couple of guys cleaning the floors of the spilled drinks and puke from the night before and setting up a few tall, round tables by the dance floor.
Giggling caught Tifa's attention and she noticed a pleasantly build man with his shirtsleeves rolled up to reveal his muscular forearms. He had a pen stuck behind his ear and his white shirt unbuttoned. The girl shamelessly flirting with him wore a low-cut tank top and was running her fingers across his chiselled abs. Tifa made herself focus and stopped one of the men cleaning to ask, "Excuse me, where can I find Mr. Klein?" The man motioned to the sexy man leaning against the bar and letting the flirtatious girl stroke his six-pack.
Tifa tried not to roll her eyes as she crossed the club towards Klein. The man saw her coming and as she stopped nearby, he told the other girl, "Bethany darling, why don't you go into the back and check out our selection of outfits? I'll come join you in a bit."
As Bethany wandered off, Mr. Klein turned his attention to Tifa.
"Mr. Klein? My name is Tiffany Valentine," she smiled confidently. "I'm responding to your ad for a part time bartender. I have a lot of customer service experience and have a great-."
"Woah, slow down, sweetheart," he laughed. "First of all, call me Dante. I hate being called Mr. Klein. You're… looking for a job as a bartender?"
There was a doubting tone in his voice that made Tifa swallow nervously, "Yes, um, has the position already been filled?"
"No, it isn't that," Dante smiled. "It's just that most of the girls that have applied so far have come on a little stronger with their… assets... than you are."
"Their… assets?" Tifa frowned. Dante's eyes lowered to her hidden breasts making Tifa's cheeks flame. "What does that have to do with bartending?!"
"A lot, sweetheart. A lot. Sexy bartenders mean more men coming in pretending there's a chance they'll get lucky if they keep buying drinks from you," Dante laughed. "Have you ever bartended before?"
"Not at a club," Tifa admitted. "I used to make drinks as part of my job while I waitressed at the restaurant back home."
"Ever made a Vampire's Dream?" he asked. At the slow shake of Tifa's head, he continued, "A fat-infused mezcal? A daiquiri slush? A sangria?"
Tifa's heart sank and her voice wavered as she insisted, "I'm a fast learner…"
"I bet you are, sweetheart," Dante shrugged.
Tifa's stance deflated as her confidence evaporated. She couldn't believe the way this impromptu interview was going. After all the reading she'd done in preparation, she'd really hoped that she could've at least made a decent first impression. Why was it that he was mentioning drinks that she hadn't heard of? Were fancy drinks really that popular?
Noting how discouraged she looked, Dante couldn't help but feel a chord of sympathy. The girl was cute enough by regular standards, but needed some cleaning up if she was going to pass muster at his club. But, he supposed if it was just a part time position, he could entertain one lost cause. There was something delightfully conceited in thinking that he might be able to turn this plain jane into a 10 on the hot girl scale. Dante looked her over and said, "Unbutton your shirt."
Tifa's gaze snapped up to meet his; her eyes wide, "What?"
"You want this job? Unbutton your shirt a little and let's see some curves," Dante offered. "You've gotta show off more cleavage if you want to work here, sweetheart. It's part of the dress code, I'm afraid."
Tifa swallowed and with nervous hands, fumbled with the buttons of her shirt. It was just cleavage - she could do that, she told herself. One button, two buttons and then the third slipped open. She rose her eyes to his again, blinking anxiously.
"Relax," he told her soothingly. "I'm not going to eat you, sweetheart. You must really want this job if you're willing to do this even though it's making you uncomfortable."
Tifa recalled Alex's hungry gaze and his impending bill. She took a deep breath, "I need this job."
Dante considered her and then nodded, "Alright, I'll give you a try. But you gotta get over your nervousness. You'll have to flirt and dress sexy to sell as many drinks as you can. But don't worry. We have bouncers here to make sure none of the customers get too handsy. We're a respectable place, all things considered. We offer the customers a fantasy, but we don't whore out our bartenders."
"I can do that!" Tifa nodded eagerly.
"Alright, then. Why don't we try you out tonight and we'll go from there. You free tonight?" he asked.
"Yes! Yes I am!" Tifa smiled widely at him, relieved that someone was willing to give her a chance. Picking up a few bartending shifts might ease some of the strain on her financial situation if the tips were as good as she'd heard.
"Yes, you have to wear that," Dante laughed, taking the girl's elbow and tugging her to him behind the bar. Taken by surprise, she fell into his arms; her blush deepening.
"I didn't say anything!" she protested. Dante had sent her in the back where they kept the costumes for theme nights and with the help of one of the performers, Tifa had come back wearing a tight strappy top with cutouts. There was one benefit to not being able to afford much food - she was as slim as ever.
"But you were thinking it, weren't you?" he chuckled, straightening her onto her feet and motioning for her to follow his down the bar. He showed her where everything was and how to stand so that she was within arms reach of everything she could need. By the time the early-bird customers trickled in at eight, Tifa had already made a few simple drinks for Dante.
"I think I'm getting the hang of this!" Tifa smiled widely.
Dante and the other bartender beside her guffawed at her enthusiasm. The dark-skinned goddess bartending to her left grinned, "You ain't seen nothin' yet, darling. Knowing how to make the drinks is just half the battle. Keeping 'em coming fast enough to please the customers is the real test."
And man, was she ever right. As the night deepened and the music started really thrumming, Lucinda made it look easy; flirting with the customers, listening to them, telling them stories to keep them entertained and all the while her hands never stopped moving to serve the drinks. Meanwhile, there was Tifa struggling to keep up with simply making the drinks!
"Need a hand?"
Tifa looked over her shoulders at Dante, who smiled softly at her. He'd put his dark brown locks back into a low ponytail, showing off the compass tattoo on the side of his neck. He didn't wait for her to answer as he gently bumped her over and began to hammer out the drinks. It was almost hypnotizing to watch the ease with which he moved; shaking, pouring, and talking. Money exchanged hands with winks and laughter.
Tifa wasn't the kind of girl to get discouraged easily. If she had been, she would've moved back to her tiny little hometown after her first week in Starling City. She took a deep breath, stepped up beside Dante and took another order. The man's gaze flicked over to her with a mixture of interest, amusement and pride. He grinned, and for the next two hours, the two danced around one another as they made drinks. They bumped into each other often but it was almost fun trying to synchronize their movements.
It wasn't until his hands ran across her lower back as he reached across her to hand a customer his drink that Tifa really had a problem. Nervous anticipation shot up her spine like an electric shock. His calloused fingers had run over her exposed skin where the top had several cut-outs across her back.
She flushed, glad that Dante hadn't noticed. She couldn't believe her body would betray her like that in such a situation. She had to focus on impressing Dante enough to keep this job, not sleep with him!
Though it had been a while since she'd been out with anyone. She'd been so focused on working and making ends meet for so long that she just didn't have time for a life!
Sex can be pretty impressive, her treacherous mind suggested. Employee with benefits. And god, that tattoo is delicious…
Her blush deepened and she had unknowingly stopped working, prompting Dante to look upon her closely. He queried, "You alright, Tiff? You had enough?"
"Tifa," she replied.
"What?"
"Tifa. I like being called Tifa, not Tiff," she gave him a wavering smile as she internally scolded herself for her lecherous thoughts. Her voice gained more confidence as she grinned, "And I'm just getting started. I'll get the hang of this before you know. All I need is for you to give me a chance."
Dante considered her with amusement twinkling in his eyes. His head fell slightly to the side as he narrowed his eyes on her slim frame and long braid. Tifa was acutely aware of his eyes sliding down her body and then up again; drinking her in slowly. Tifa waited for Dante's next words in anticipation. Was it just her or was there a hint of palpable sexual tension between them?
You're imagining it, she insisted to herself. He's around girls ten times hotter than you every day. You're definitely just imagining it because you want those hands to-. She mentally clamped the lid on that thought process to refocus her attention as Dante opened his mouth.
"I like your attitude, Tifa," he said her name as though he was savoring a delicious morsel. "You're hired."
Tifa flashed him a brilliant, grateful smile.
