CHAPTER 02
The room was a reasonable size, with a double bed and a small en-suite with a shower, basin and toilet. It was whitewashed and the walls were clean and bright. But it was sparse; only a chest of drawers next to the window and a rug by the bed to cover the wooden floor.
"I will have some suitable clothing arranged for you, as well as a uniform," said Alice. "There are toiletries in the bathroom; help yourself. If you are hungry, the kitchen is just down the corridor. We have food bought in, so you don't have to worry about taking someone else's. Mr Cullen insists that all of the girls are fed well and kept healthy."
"M...Mr Cullen?" I stammered. It was the first words I had spoken since Jacob brought me here.
"Yes, the owner. He's away on business, but will be back in the next week or so. Until then Jasper is running things. Well, to be honest, Jasper does most of the running of the day to day stuff, like contracts and so on. He's a qualified lawyer. Not that legalities come in to it too much. Most girls are just happy to have found somewhere safe to live and work."
I nodded; I couldn't argue with that. Things had been pretty tough for the last few months. My dad had been killed in action two years ago; the grief of which would probably never leave me. Charlie was chief of police, an all round good guy and the day the patrol car turned up with his deputy had been the worst day of my life. For a long time I had remained in the house, unable to stir myself to find a job or a life for that matter. My friends drifted away, not understanding how I could still be so grief-stricken or so de-motivated. Before I knew it, I was broke and alone and the house was repossessed. I found myself drifting on the streets in a haze of depression until Jacob found me one day and rescued me.
He gave me a place to stay, though it wasn't the best. His home was like a motel, men of various ages passing through, some with their wives or girlfriends and some alone. They made me uncomfortable, their eyes raking me wolfishly at times, with or without said partners. Jacob picked up on this and said he would find me a job and a place to stay.
Jacob's dad had been a close friend of my dad's and I sometimes wondered whether everything he did for me was through a sense of obligation. I could never repay him for what he had done for me, but I knew he expected no repayment. Jacob, like Dad, was one of the good guys. Thinking about my dad brought a surge of grief and guilt that I fought against, swallowing hard.
"I'll leave you to it, Isabella," said Alice. "When you have finished your shower, just use the robe on the back of the door."
"Thank you," I murmured.
"And don't be afraid. We will look after you here," she said, gently touching my face. I forced myself not to recoil from her cold hand and her eyes narrowed slightly with sadness. "I'll leave you to it. See you in the morning." She closed the door softly behind her and I stared round the room, before heading for the bathroom, grateful to take off the hideous dress. There was a brief moment of guilt as I thought of Jacob's face when he gave it to me, but then I sighed and switched the shower on.
The water was hot and I stood under it for as long as I could, washing away the grime and the misery. I massaged the raspberry scented shampoo into my hair and sighed, revelling in the feminine scent. After being with Jacob and his pack for the last few weeks, all I had had were either masculine or neutral scents; he had no clue what to buy a girl and I couldn't ask him to buy me them when he was doing everything for me anyway. He was feeding me, clothing me and keeping me safe; anything else would be asking too much.
Finally, I came out from the shower and found that Alice had been in my room while I was out. There was a pile of clothing on the bed; underwear, nightwear, a couple of pairs of jogging bottoms and casual t-shirts and a uniform for working in the club. I picked it up and shook it out. It was a black dress, a bodice style top with an A-line skirt that fell just above my knee. The fabric was clearly expensive and it made me nervous just picking it up. Quickly, I changed into a pair of pyjamas and climbed into the bed, after moving the clothing into the drawers. I thought it would take me a long time to fall asleep in the strange surroundings, but I was unconscious before my head hit the pillow.
"You think you'll be safer here than on the streets?" I looked up and saw the blonde from the day before standing by the window. I sat up, abruptly, wondering what she was doing in my room. "The door was open." Her eyes flitted to the door and back again, lazily.
"I..."
"Twilight is great if you can fade into the background. I doubt you will, especially being a protégée of Jake Black. Jasper is already interested in you and Alice hasn't stopped talking about you. If I were you, Isabella Swann, I'd get out while you still can..."
There was a knock at the door and then it swung open. I drew my knees up to my chest as Emmett entered the room, his huge frame filling the space.
"Stirring up trouble, Rosalie?" he growled. The blonde got up from the bed and sauntered across the room, running her fingernails across his chest.
"Please, I was telling her like it is. Keep your head down and don't draw attention to yourself," she retorted. Emmett barked out a laugh.
"Maybe you should take your own advice," he said. "Both of you need to be downstairs in an hour, in your uniforms. We have a party in all day and Jasper wants you to do the first and last shift."
"First and last?" cried Rosalie. "But that means we'll be working about sixteen hours..."
"At least," said Emmett, with a smirk.
"It's her first day."
"Good, baptism of fire does a woman good," he said. Rosalie rolled her eyes at him and turned, her face now in plain sight. I saw the bruise on her left cheek and winced as Emmett stopped her in the doorway, placing his large hand on her face. "And whatever you do, make sure that is covered up."
She swore at him as she left the room and he rolled his eyes. When he turned back to me, I pulled the covers a little higher.
"You should get ready," he said, and then closed the door. I got up from the bed, slowly and took out the uniform. I had a quick shower and changed quickly into the dress, my fingers stumbling on the buttons in my haste. I took out my claw clip and tried to arrange my hair into a semblance of respectability and then headed downstairs, following the sound of voices. Half a dozen women were gathered in a lobby area all wearing the same dress, chatting away. I recognised Rosalie and saw that she had covered her face in make-up and looked even more classy and beautiful. Her foundation was perfectly blended, her eyes outlined in kohl and eyelashes tinted with mascara. Her lips were painted a deep red and she was the epitome of an elegant woman. I felt frumpy beside her, even in the dress, with my hair messily clipped to my head and a total lack of make-up.
Everyone fell silent as a figure came through the door. I looked up to see Alice enter the room. She paused, a clipboard in hand and walked along the row of us like an army sergeant major. When she reached Rosalie, she gave an approving smile, but then her eyes passed over my face. I flushed under her scrutiny and she beamed.
"Perfect," she said, softly, as if to herself. My skin, if possible, reddened even more.
"You don't think she could use some make-up?" said Rosalie, but it was a gentle query; there was no spite in her tone.
"No," said Alice. "I think our clients will appreciate the innocence of her."
She took a step back and looked down the line, then addressed all of us.
"Ok, ladies, the clients coming in today are very important. They are from the Westside Bank Company. Remember, you are there to serve drink, food and entertainment, but nothing more. If anyone tries to touch you inappropriately, you press the buzzer which Rosalie is handing out now in the palm of your hand and Emmett or one of security will be there straight away."
I took the bracelet that Rosalie handed me; it was a simple looking chain with a charm shaped like an apple hanging on it. The charm was the buzzer. Alice smiled at us all.
"Now then, good luck to you all, especially you, Isabella, on your first night. Rosalie will keep an eye on you and if you get stuck, ask one of the girls."
"Thank you," I murmured.
"Come on then," said Rosalie, leading the way to the bar area. "We are on drinks duty today. Alice thought it might be a bit easier for you than the food section. It can be difficult manoeuvring around the club with plates full of food. As a drinks waitress you are given an area to serve and you just keep an eye on drinks. We use the silver trays, even for just one drink. Remember, if you are handling white wine hold the stem of the glass so you don't warm it. And whatever you do, make sure you keep your eyes lowered. If you meet their eyes, they think it's a come on."
"A come on?"
"Yeah, you know, a come on, like take me to bed?"
"Oh." I must have paled a little because she smiled.
"Don't worry, Isabella. I doubt you will be worried by them. They're a respectable business; they won't want to tarnish that reputation. Right, you will be working these tables and I will be on the tables next to them. We have three each so we can give them devoted attention. The manager's table down there is always served by just one waitress, but generally someone with plenty of experience. Any questions?"
I looked at her; the only question I had was who had slapped her the day before and why, but I wasn't sure she would appreciate me asking. So instead, I shook my head, biting my lip nervously, as the doors opened and Alice led the gentlemen to their tables.
"Good luck," said Rosalie and then headed to her own tables.
The gentlemen sat down and I took their orders, a little nervously. I had worked in a cafe when I was a student, before Dad passed away, so I knew how to take the orders and had a fairly good memory, meaning I didn't mix up any of my orders. Rosalie smiled at me after our first four hours, when we were sat in the staff area behind the bar.
"You did really well, Jazz will be very pleased with you," she said.
"Jazz?" I was surprised by her familiar name for him. She quirked her eyebrow and met my eye.
"Jasper Hale is my older brother," she said, eventually. "We had a bit of an argument yesterday... well to be honest, we have a lot of arguments. He's not generally violent; Emmett is the enforcer round here, but I really pushed him yesterday."
"What's an enforcer?" I asked, curiously.
"He is head of security and if any of the girls are out of line, he sorts it out. To be honest, for most of them just his sheer size keeps them in line."
I nodded, understanding. Having seen him this morning, filling my bedroom doorway, I had no desire to be on the receiving end of any enforcement.
"What kind of things get you in trouble?" I asked, taking a sip of my boiling coffee.
"Stealing, staying out past curfew, taking clients back to your room, back chat, complaints from customers... that sort of thing."
"So basically if I just keep my head down and do my job, they'll leave me alone?" I asked, hopefully. Rosalie smiled.
"Sure," she said, allowing a little doubt to creep into her voice.
"Girls, your break time is done. You'd best get back out there." The woman who had called this warning disappeared before I could thank her. I got to my feet instantly, but Rosalie leaned back in her chair.
"Keep doing what you're doing, Isabella and you'll be fine. I heard one of those stuffed shirts saying you're the most efficient waitress they've had."
I blushed at the compliment and smiled, gratefully and then hurried out to my table, to resume service.
My first couple of weeks passed quickly. Mr Hale kept me on the drinks run for those two weeks, partly due to the compliments I had received and partly because he wanted me to settle in before he put me on a food run. I was glad of this; I had watched the girls balancing the huge trays of food and wasn't sure I would manage them as well as the dainty silver trays. But half way through week three one of the girls was sick and they asked me to do an extra shift in the kitchen. I could hardly refuse, bearing in mind what Rosalie had said about keeping my head down, but I felt a flush of nerves.
The shift went ok though, so my worries were ill-founded. Once I had done it once, I was a whole lot more relaxed about it, especially when Jasper said he would prefer I do the drinks run, permanently. I preferred the day time shifts, as the clientele tended to be sober for the most part and it was a little quieter. At night, the shift was a spectacle, with clients being a little more raucous, especially as the evening entertainment came on. Rosalie, I discovered, was a dancer in the evenings. Not that I was surprised; she was lithe and elegant; the most stunning dancer I had ever seen. It was difficult to tear your eyes from her when she danced, but after the first night, when a customer had laughingly asked if I would take his order, I had forced myself not to watch any of the entertainment; I didn't want any complaints.
Time was passing and I was adjusting, finally beginning to feel safe again. Unfortunately fate didn't seem to like the idea of me being too comfortable.