"You're such a woman." The meerkat grinned at the black-quilled female hedgehog over the brim of his 3rd drink during the last 15 minutes since she arrived.
Natalie glanced up from the small plate of onion rings she'd been lightly eating and gave him her best fake smile. She wasn't shocked this job interview had taken a turn in this creepy direction. She was in a dive bar known for drug pedaling and aiding in prostitution in the upper stories of the old downtown building it was housed in. She was, after all, applying for a bartending position at the strip club next door that just so happened to be owned by the same man that the current male seated next to her worked for.
"Miles spoke highly of your skills as a dancer." The man chuckled as he continued to leer at her in a somewhat drunken state. "I think you'd make a great addition to our lineup." He reached out and touched her hair, causing her to pull back as her false good mood faltered for a moment.
"Mr. Keith, like I said earlier, I'm not interested in dancing right now. I'm just looking to mix drinks behind the bar." She ran her fingers through her coarse, black hair he'd just touched. She did so to try to get his ick off her, but luckily, the drunk man likely took it as her being shy.
"Who?" The manager of Soft & Pink looked around, playing dumb because she called him by his last name instead of his first.
"Jay…" She paused for a second to show her submission to his request. "Did you look at my recommendation letter from my manager at Applebee's for my bartending?"
"Hmmm…" Jay hummed before laughing. "I honestly don't care about your bartending skills. You have your license, so you're legal. I'm far more concerned about your looks, and if you can fit in with the other girls, but more importantly… serve our customers properly."
"I was a dancer for over a year not so long ago, I thi-" Natalie started before she got cut off.
"Five years ago." Jay interpreted as he sat his empty glass down on the bar. "Then you just up and quit, Neon Tiger, with no notice. That club suffered, losing one of their top performers, who refused to do a blowout farewell performance. " Jay huffed as he picked up his new drink, as he ran a hand over the reddish fur on the top of his head.
"If that's such an issue, then why are you trying to get me to dance instead of make drinks?" She dropped her happy act and asked him seriously.
"I'm more willing to take a chance when I know if this is only a short stint, it'll make me a lot of money. Losing a bartender out of the blue hurts more than a pretty bare pussy." The meerkat finished off the last of his drink and now slammed it down on the bar causing the female to jump a bit. "Making drinks requires a license, but being a pretty face you just have to be the right age."
"Then you'd be stupid to not hire me, considering I'm all of the above." Natalie scoffed as she pushed the barely eaten fried food plate into his empty glass. Her tone changed to one of more confidence as she saw he was ready to send her off if she wasn't willing to strip. She had worked in such an establishment long enough to know that even the barely clothed bartenders and waitresses had to flirt just as much as the strippers.
A sharp glance of annoyance came from the man after the clashing of the sharp sounding clink of the dishware on the bar. Natalie held her more embolden look as Jay leaned in closer to her obviously irritated. "You should have stayed at Applebee's, little girl, because you're not that pretty."
"Oh yes, I am!" Natalie now sneered back as she leaned into close to him, causing him a bit of shock. "If I wasn't, you wouldn't have kept trying to get me to dance instead of work the bar. You know I'll make you money, but you didn't want to settle for me making you less than I could as a dancer. Well, I got some news for you, Mr. Keith…" She now pressed a finger against his chest. "I'm sure I'll bring in just as much money as a bartender, for you, now as I did as a dancer not so long ago."
Jay grabbed Natalie by the jaw and kept her face close to his despite her attempt to pull back. It was a power move that he was well aware he could get away with. "We're done here." He whispered before kissing her on the cheek and then letting go of her.
The female pushed herself away from the bar quickly and was about to start running out in stead of walking before she heard Jay shout at her.
"You're shift starts next Tuesday at 7PM. Don't be late!" The meerkat yelled before chuckling to himself again.
"Great… she got the job." She continued walking out at just a normal pace, but by the time the sunlight hit her face after exiting the bar did she thought back on things and realized that her husband, Richard, was right that this extra form of income was far from a good idea.
