Mysterious Clientele at the The Ruby

[Sadie's POV]

Sadie looks in the mirror, applying her makeup carefully. Her friend, Chanel, startles her in the mirror, and Sadie smears her lipstick across her cheek.

"Fuck, Chanel!" she complains, "this will be a bitch to remove!"

"Sorry, I didn't mean to sneak up on you..." Chanel says sheepishly.

Sadie

"It's okay, just, here, hand me one of those wipes" Sadie says, pointing at the counter. Sadie starts wiping the lipstick off of her face. Behind her, Chanel is adjusting her breasts in her skimpy bra, making faces in the mirror.

"Should I have these done?" Chanel asks.

Sadie rolls her eyes. As if Chanel and I haven't had this conversation a million times.

"Tani" Sadie begins, using Chanel's real name, "either do it or don't. But stop talking about it. I have my own boobs to worry about." Sadie always found is strange that Tani preferred using her stage name, Chanel. Sadie wouldn't be caught dead using her stage name, Brandy, anywhere but on the catwalk.

Tani sticks her tongue out at Sadie, and gives her the middle finger jokingly.

"So I hear Mitch reserved the club tonight for some exclusive group. Closed to the public" Tani says, grinning widely.

Private parties mean good tips Sadie thinks. "I just hope it's not a gaggle of sweaty Hong Kong businessmen" Sadie says, and Tani laughs.

Tani shrugs "Mitch said it was a small party, very upscale."

Sadie, makeup fixed, blows a kiss to the mirror. Outside the dressing room, she can hear the music starting. She is honestly relieved, the private events are so much easier. A small group reserving the entire Ruby club for the night? They must be loaded Sadie thinks, hoping for some primo tips.

Tani / Chanel

Sadie had been working at The Ruby gentleman's club two years and change. What began as short-term bid to make some money to save for nursing school has somehow turned into a career. While Sadie doesn't hate it, she doesn't love it. Some nights are better than others. She still says that she'll to go to nursing school, once she saves enough cash, but after two years no one really believes her. Kicked out of home at 18 for suggesting that she might like women, Sadie doesn't have much of a safety net to fall back on. She feels like she can't quit.

Tani is Sadie's one true friend at the club. Shallow as all hell, but a ton of fun is how Sadie describes her. Unlike Sadie, Tani can quit at any time. Tani was brought up in a wealthy Indian family. Her conservative upbringing had wound her a little too tight, and once she hit college the spring sprung. It wasn't long before Tani dropped out.

Sadie is drawn to Tani's devil may care lifestyle, even though she could never do the same herself. Sadie secretly nurses a slight crush on Tani, and is shocked that a girl so beautiful is stuck in a dump like The Ruby.

Calling it a dump is unfair, Sadie thinks. The Ruby is one of the most exclusive strip clubs in Las Vegas. But, a strip club is still a strip club. Dancing for a bunch of sweaty, drunk, grabby losers is still a shitty job, even if they do tuck Benjamins instead of Washingtons into your g-string.

Sadie draws the line at hooking and ****. A lot more money is to be made in the backrooms, but Sadie isn't interested. Tani, and her expensive tastes and lack of inhibitions, has no qualms with offering some extras on top of the regular lap dances. The other girls tease Sadie, but Sadie doesn't care. Sadie is comfortable in her skin. Ultimately, when she tunes out the music and the gross men and the coked out bimbos around her, she actually does enjoy the dancing.

"We should go out" Tani says. Sadie adjusts her g-string and bra, and checks her makeup and hair one last time. I look fine she thinks.

"Where is Mitch?" Sadie asks. The club owner is always buzzing around the dressing room, nominally doing this or that, but really watching the girls, and it is weird that he is absent. Especially on a night with such purported high-rollers. Normally, he would be lecturing the girls on how much money he expected them to bring in, and exerting heavy pressure on them to offers "extras" in the back rooms.

"Who cares? We deserve one night away from that creep" Tani says, smiling. Sadie shrugs, she can't disagree. Tani snorts a bump of cocaine from her thumb, rubbing her nose. She knows not to offer Sadie any. "Let's do this!" Tani says, bouncing out of the dressing room.

Sadie follows her onto the main floor. The first thing that she notices is that music is turned way down relative to usual. Loud enough to dance to, but you don't need to scream over it. The lighting is low, as usual. Sadie has to admit that the club looks good. Modern decor, kept clean. There are fourteen or fifteen girls working tonight, about six on the stage. Wow, that's a lot, they must be spending a fortune. The club is basically empty, save for five women sitting before the stage. There are a few female bartenders. Something feels off, it takes Sadie a second to recognize what: where are the bouncers?

Sadie does a double-take. Not only are they women, all five are stunning. One is Asian, the other four are White. Sadie in particular notes the tall, striking redhead, her ample pale cleavage displayed prominently. They have a pale elegance to them, Sadie notes, as the guests watch the gyrating girls on the stage, laughing and chatting with one another. They are sipping red wine, but Sadie has never seen wine coat the sides of the glass like that. Could be the lighting, Sadie shrugs. Extra weird that Mitch isn't buzzing about Sadie thinks.

Who are these women? Sadie wonders.