Head throbbing, Delilah winced as she pushed to sit up, not daring to open her eyes to face the light that would undoubtedly not be her friend. Her brow furrowed at the feeling of the smooth leather that was beneath her. Forcing her eyes open, she found herself in a very unfamiliar room. It was very extravagant, very gold and white. She was sitting on a rather large white leather couch with a window to her right. Looking through the glass she saw that the room below looked awfully like the club she had been at with her date. In fact, it was the same place, just no music, no men hollering at the dancers who would giggle in response to the attention and tips. There were no lights shining around the room. Now it was just a dark room full of tables, stages, and a bar. Groaning, she rubbed her neck. Dropping her feet to the floor to try to stand, she jumped when she saw she wasn't alone. A man in a fine pressed suit sat across from her, silent with his leg propped onto the other as he watched her.

"Who are you?"

While he looked like he wasn't one to play games, his deep brown eyes told her not to worry. "I'm Frost." He leaned forward onto his knees. "You're still at the club. Just in the boss' private lounge."

Delilah tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and realized her hair had completely come out of it's band. Slightly embarrassed by her situation, she asked, "What, um— What happened?"

"You were drugged." His face gave to evidence of emotion as he stated the fact.

Well, that explains her pounding headache and not being able to remember how she got there. "But who—"

"Your date had less than honorable intentions. We caught him trying to take advantage of the situation out back."

Delilah wished she could say she was surprised, but remembering how different the guy was from what she had expected put an end to that. Then there was the nagging question… "Did he—"

"No," Frost answered bluntly and she was grateful she didn't have to complete her sentence. "We got to you just in time. You're lucky." Her eyes were full of gratitude as he went on. "The boss saw him from up here. On his way back from the bar with your drink, he dropped something in."

"So, um— what happened to him? Did he just ditch me or what?" She wrapped her arms around herself, not only to warm herself but also for a small sense of security.

"He won't be bothering you anymore," he replied and something in his tone told her she didn't want to know any more than that.

"Well, thank you. I don't really know what else to say. I'm really grateful you were there."

"Just a bad date. I'm sure you're next one will be better."

Delilah let out a chuckle, scoffing at his words. "Do you know how hard it is for me to get a date?"

"I would guess not hard at all," he gave her his first smile, making her blush.

"Well, it is very hard. I just moved here a few months ago and I know absolutely no one," she dropped her gaze down to her hands as she picked at the hem of her skirt. "I met him at work. I'm a bartender at a small pub downtown called Watkin's and he was one of our regulars." She looked up and noticed he kept glancing at his phone, shooting a text off here and there, which she thought was sort of rude, but hell… he had just had a hand in saving her so who was she to complain.

As a new text flashed on his screen, he said, "Well, how'd ya like a job here?"

"Here?!" she asked a little too shocked.

"I can guarantee we would pay a lot more than any bar around town."

Taken off guard by the job offer, she starts to shake her head, prepared to politely decline, but he cut her off.

"Boss said to let you know that you'll be well taken care of. You just have to come in, serve drinks to our customers, and leave."

She chewed on her lip, thinking it over. She definitely could use the extra cash. Right now she was in a tiny apartment that was in desperate need for repairs and struggling to make ends meet. "Okay, I'll do it. When do you want me to start? Like next week or—"

"Tomorrow," he grinned.

Her eyes widened but she nodded. "Alright, well I should probably go home and rest." Moving towards the door, she looked back over her shoulder and added, "And please… tell your boss thank you for me."

"What on earth are you wearing, girl?!" Donovan, the Grin and Bare It's current bartender, chuckled as he took in the sight of his new co-worker. His Irish accent seemed to make his words just flow smoothly from his mouth.

"I didn't know what to wear. I didn't exactly have a closet full of clothes that I felt were strip club worthy," she made an excuse for her attire. She wore a light blue floral crop top and some white skinny jeans that led down to her pair of white pumps.

"It's just so… pulled back," he stated, trying to find the least offensive way to describe it. "You need to get yourself some 'badass chick' outfits."

"Noted," she said, coming around the bar.

"I do like the accessories though." He gestured to her layered gold necklaces and gold banded bracelet.

"Well, thanks," she laughed, just wanting to get her first day over with.

Running his hand through his light brown hair, he pushed it back to sweep away from his face. His sides were shaven but the top of his head was long enough that if he didn't keep it swept back, it would hang down in his eyes. As he looked for where he should get her started, he rubbed at his scruffy beard. "Hmm, let's see… Ah, here we are. Can you make us each a drink from this book so I can see where we're at as far as your bartending skill?"

"Any one in particular?" she asked, taking the book from him and flipping through the pages.

"Let's try a Classic Martini and our house specialty Split Sides."

Finding Split Sides in the recipe book, she got to work and had them done quicker than he had expected. "There ya are."

He nodded, clearly impressed. "Nice work. They'll be pleased upstairs."

Delilah's eyes shot up to the window of the lounge she had been in the night before. She couldn't see inside, but she felt as if she was being watched. This was something she started to notice was a normal feeling there in the club. Maybe it was just from being a female in a strip club. Who knew… Nevertheless, she wrote it off and focused on making drinks.

Her first couple weeks flew by with minimal mistakes. It was definitely a lot more business than she was used to and the tips definitely didn't have her complaining. As she thumbed through her tip money to sort it out, Donovan let out a whistle. "Man, I'm jealous. Definitely pays off being an attractive female in this place."

"I don't know about that," she laughed with him. "I just hope I'm impressing 'The Boss', who I have yet to meet. He's even bought me clothes for work. Still have yet to meet him. Or her," she caught herself. When she had shown up for her second day of work, Frost was waiting with bags of clothes saying that the Boss had gotten her some for work. Apparently she looked too 'innocent' for the club. One thing was for certain, she did not feel comfortable in the clothes the Boss had picked out for her. Donovan had told her that the Boss had kept it pretty conservative for her, which I guess surprised him, but to her they were still very revealing. Nothing in her closet had a plunging neckline... until now.

Donovan's demeanor changed, becoming less energetic as he said, "He."

"Excuse me?" she asked, confused.

"The Boss is a he."

"Got it," she said, following him outside to his car. Donovan had been nice enough to offer her rides back to her apartment her first few nights working and it just became a regular thing for them, which she greatly appreciated. 'The streets aren't a safe place for a lady at night,' he would say.

"Just take it from me," he opened her door for her, waiting for her to climb in. "Don't rush to meet him. He's… intense."

"Whatever you say," she shook her head. Donovan was becoming the closest thing to a friend she had since she had moved to Gotham. There was even a night this week when he had hung out at her place after work for awhile. She didn't have a tv, so instead they just swapped crazy bar stories, which was what they ended up doing tonight.

"No way!" she felt like she was about to burst from the laughter.

"Yes! The entire glass! That shirt smelt like alcohol and vomit even after washing it three times." Leaning forward onto Delilah's dining table, he smiled back at her brightly as she reacted to his crazy vodka story.

Delilah cradled her head in her hands as she laughed at the picture in her mind. Looking back up at him, their laughter calmed as she said, "So what's the deal with our Boss? You said he was 'intense'. What does that even mean?"

Donovan sat back in his seat, shoulders slumped. "I don't know what to tell you, Delilah. I can't really talk about him. When he wants you to meet him, you'll meet him. Trust me."

"What is he like this Batman guy I keep hearing about or something?" she joked.

"No," Donovan answered flatly, shaking his head.

"Alright, fine. I won't push. I'm just curious."

"Yeah, well you better watch that. 'Curiosity killed the cat' is something he firmly believes in." Donovan threw back the rest of his beer. "Welp. I'm calling it a night. See you tomorrow, D."

"Night," she called as he closed her door behind him, leaving her there with her thoughts.

It was another one of those nights. Way too many men being served way too many drinks. This usually led to a lot of them not knowing when to quit when it came to hassling Delilah. More than a few times Donovan has had to step in to get them to back off. One of the drawbacks of being a female bartender that was only exasperated by it being in a strip club. It was something she was getting used to and the incidents were easily forgotten. But unbeknownst to her, it wasn't something that was unnoticed by those upstairs. Watchful eyes were always on the bar, taking in everything that had been going on since this girl had started. Every shy smile to a customer, every laugh with Donovan, every incident of harassment from a overly drunk patron… Everything.

These same icy eyes watched as Frost approached her as she and Donovan closed down the bar. Frost was informing her that he would be her ride home from now on, which by the looks of it wasn't settling well with her. But with one more word from Frost, Donovan was backing down, telling her it was alright. He'd see her tomorrow. Looking defeated, she gave in and followed Frost out the back to the awaiting car. She gave in so easily. A wicked grin spread on the Boss' lips. She was going to be a fun one to play with…

Please, please review! They are much welcome! :)