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Confidence's Sweetheart: Part one, The Hook. Started by: Misty_Wyn on Nov 22, '20 21:37

The night air slapped me as I stepped out the back door of the club. The music had been going all night and I needed a smoke break between songs. I leaned back against the wall and lit the cig with a small lady's lighter, Letting the first puff fill me with warmth. "You know, they say those things will kill you." I jumped, unsure how he'd sneaked up on me, But there he was. Jimmy, in his perfect suit and Rolex was standing not five feet from me with his own cigarette sparking up between his fingers.

As he drew in his own first puff, I composed myself, unsure if I was comfortable with this direct attention from the club owner himself, but I couldn't ignore him. I hit the cig again letting the smoke out before responding, "Darling, everything will kill you, given enough time. Heck, even Time is deadly."

Jimmy chuckled, a rich, deep sound that chilled me almost as much as it thrilled me. "True enough." He took a long draw and let it out in a cloud of smoke and chilled fog before smacking me in the gut with his next words, "Misty, dear.. Is it true that you run a small confidence team?"

How he learned about this stuff was a mystery, and frankly, I hadn't known anyone knew about my side business. "I wouldn't know what you mean, Sir."

"Don't give me that. I hear you and your girls have fleeced many a man out of their hard earned cash with your sweetheart scams... And no, I'm not about to turn you in... I just wanted to offer you a new target." I blinked, not sure how to take in this information. On one hand, our scams hadn't gotten us in trouble with the law, yet. On the other, Jimmy was not a safe person to get in bed with. Literally or otherwise. "Come up to my office after your set. I'll give you my file on the fish. Play this right and you can live in Jamaica all winter for a year or two..."

He left the rest unsaid, just tossed his filter in the trash and walked back in, leaving me with a stunned expression as I relit my half smoked cig.

-----

My smoke break lasted a little longer than usual and I found myself rushing backstage, due to be on stage in moments. My back up singers and fellow Sweethearts were quick to help me touch up my makeup and hair before we slunk back out on stage. I couldn't let Jimmy shake my performance so I put it behind me and let the stress out in a few more up beat numbers before winding down into some mournful lullabies letting my woes lull the crowd into a quiet hush just before last call.

As I finished my last number, I bowed off the stage, taking the Nightingales with me. The four of us slipped into the dressing room and the girls got to work cleaning off their makeup and getting more street friendly clothes on. Finally, Annette stuck her nose out the door to watch for ears and we got to talking.

"Misty, I saw Jimmy follow you out, and we all saw how shaken you were when you came back from your smoke break, Whats up?" Sylvia was the straightforward one, least with us, We called her our hummingbird, bright and energetic, but that'd vanish the moment someone else walked in, but for now, she voiced their concern.

"He knows about our side business." The other three were talking over each other before I had a chance to get the rest out, forcing me to whistle to get their attention again. "He's not gonna turn us in, he wants us to hit someone he's chosen." The volume exploded again and I poured myself a drink while they were busy.

Downing the whiskey neat, I slammed the glass down on the table hard enough to silence the tittering mass of panic that was growing in the room. I felt the same, but if I joined in no one would be thinking. "Ladies, please, We have two choices, Do it, or find somewhere new to sing. Vegas is warm at least..." The others, minus Annette, who was still watching the back hall, finally settled onto the couch across from the Director's chair they'd fondly dubbed My Thrown.

Vegas was a talking point we'd shared for a long time, a warm place that loved entertainment and sin, gambling and excess. With the drawback of leaving our families here in Detroit, we all considered it our back up plan if things fell through here. We had a meet up plan if we had to drop everything and run. So, for the moment, we had a breather and everyone was back to thinking things through. "Jimmy wants me to meet him in his office after we finish changing, or well, he said after our set, but he can wait. What do you think? Sylvie? Maria? Annette?"

"He's a fox, good looking, but devious. Everything I've heard tells me not to trust him." Sylvie was right, many of his exes (romantic and business) hit hard times after dating him.

"He keeps his word though, it's only those who cross him who have it bad. Viola is recording music in LA with his help. They broke up on good terms..." Annie was our bluejay, a gossip, she knew EVERYTHING that happened on the club scene.

Viola was Jimmy's girl from five years ago, Rumors said that she and Jimmy had split because she was against drinking and he ran a club. The Nightingales and I had started singing for him shortly after that.

"She's Right, you know, If he gives his word and we don't betray him, he'll keep his word." Maria agreed with Annette, Maria was our canary. She'd suss out anyone we had on the hook. If she didn't like them, we'd turn them loose. If she felt we could trust Jimmy, that was a mark in his favor. I sat back and bit my lip, staring at our poster over the couch.

 

 Jimmy had hired us five years ago, even after we'd shown up late to the audition. His manager, Saul, had tried turning us away, "The boss is done, Maybe tomorrow, if he hasn't chosen someone already."

Jimmy had been at the bar still, killing a stiff drink after some drunk had tried to get into a fight with an auditioning band. We didn't know him then, so when Saul sent us away, we'd pretty much given up after a long day fighting Murphy's Law. We were discussing how to get the next day off from our day jobs, when the dapper man in the suit inserted himself into our conversation. "Am I to understand that you're thinking about giving up a meal tomorrow to come back here to sing?" We'd stared at the tall man, then I'd nodded and stepped forward.

"Sir, our dream is to make it singing. But we're all working girls for now."

"How about I make a deal with you.. You sing for me now, and I'll buy you four dinner."

We'd been stunned, but agreed to give him a sample of the set we'd prepped for the audition, If Saul was ok with that.

He'd sent us home with our first check that night, enough cash for each of us to pay rent and quit our jobs.

 

"Right. I'm going up stairs. Jimmy hasn't burned us yet, we might as well see what's cooking in his stew pot. There's always Vegas." The other nodded, looking a little worried, but they'd trust me to do what seemed like the best for us. I stood, shook down my hair and smoothed my dress out. "Wish me luck, Ladies. Annie, Can you make sure Maria gets home safe tonight? Jimmy is sure to have his driver take me home and I don't want any of you walking alone."

As soon as I knew the others were good, I headed into the lion's den on the top floor. Jimmy's office.

-----

I knew as I came up the stairs that Jimmy had company already, I could hear the back and forth of two male voices, Jimmy's rich bass and a softer tenor I didn't know. As I walked up the stairs, I let my heels announce my presence. "Ah, If I'm not mistaken, that's my gal there. Come on in Misty, I want you to meet an associate of mine, Mickey Cullen. Mickey, This is Misty. You heard her sing tonight."

I stepped into the room as a tall tank of the man turned to face me. Standing at 6'8", his hair was cut short with a thick, black beard. His suit was clean and obviously tailored to fit, but more to fit his frame then because it was high end. His grey steel eyes cut through me, and I knew he was appraising me as much as I was him.

Moving into the room, I extended my hand to him, Surprised when his monster of a hand seemed to be gentle. I smiled up at him and started to pull away, but Mickey's hand tightened on my wrist, holding me still. "A pretty thing like you should be wearing a wedding ring already."

I stared up at him, I knew he was stronger than me, and knew that this was probably a test, both by Jimmy and Mickey. I forced myself to blink and raised an eyebrow up at him, "My good Sir, I refuse to put on a wedding ring unless someone can bring as much to the table as I can. At this time, I make more than most of Jimmy's bartenders. And I'm Not willing to settle."

Jimmy stood in front of the one way windows, The stage lights splashed back on him, turning him into a shadow in a sharp Armani suit... A shadow I could swear was smirking. "Let the lady go Mickey, You know she's under my protection." Mickey smiled down at me, a possessive look as he released my hand. I felt a shiver run through me. He was a shark shaped like a man and I wanted little to do with him.

I tried to hide the shiver that ran through me, as I turned to Jimmy, stepping over to kiss his cheek. "You wanted to see me Jimmy?" He was definitely smiling at me now, but his eyes were on Mickey.

"Yes, feel free to have a seat while Mickey and I finish. It won't be long and I'll have my driver take you home tonight."

Jimmy was true to his word and five minutes later, We were watching Mickey leave through the one way glass. Jimmy was quiet until he was sure Mickey was out of hearing range.

"Mickey is a fellow club owner who’s gotten it into his head that poaching you and the girls will bring prosperity to his club." Jimmy headed over to his desk and got into his hidden bar fridge, pouring us each a Cran-Vodka. "Now, If you're currently looking to move on, I understand, He'll pay you well, for a while, and as long as you're his meal ticket, He'll take care of you."

He took a sip, Smiled and offered me choice of seats. I settled on a loveseat, tucking my feet under me and sampled the drink myself, unsurprised that he knew my drink. He was the club's owner.

"Otherwise, you have a choice. You can be forewarned and maybe take the girls out of town. I do have friends in Vegas and LA, I can easily set you up with a gig until things here settle down. Or, You can assist in his take down." Now we were coming to the part I was interested in. Already I could see where this was going.

"What would we do in that case?" I asked. Wanting to be sure I was correct.

"That's up to you, but I'd suggest that you let him know that I own your contract and, through it, rights to any music you make. Heck, make it out that you can’t even sing Happy Birthday to your dear mum without my permission. Make him eat it up, lay it on thick. You could even tell him about your Vegas dreams. When this is over, he’s gonna be so broke we’ll be able to buy his club from under him."

I couldn’t help but nod.. Vegas was far away and we could stay near our families. Already I could see how to reel Mickey in... How I could woo him, even as he tried to woo me. Sylvie could sing her sorrowful love song, With Annie's gossip and Maria's intel to back her up. Maria could dig up dirt on any one and we'd know how to woo him best before the first performance. I sipped my drink, silently listening to Jimmy as he laid out all he knew about the shark who'd just left the club.

"...But, it does mean dealing with Him. So... Do you think you four can handle him?" Jimmy finishes, turning back to face me from where he'd been half pacing in front of his windows, the only thing betraying the nervous energy his face hid.

I smile, my drink nearly gone, I tossed the last back. "I have to talk to the girls, I can't make promises.. but if they're ok with it, I think we can. I'll talk to them tomorrow when they get here for warm ups. They've gone home by now."

Jimmy winced a little, actually looking a little guilty. "I actually had my boys ask them to stay until we were done... I was worried Mickey might have them followed and wanted them safe. You'd have seen him dead if he hurt any of them, but that's not how I do business. They're probably a bit worried right now, but I'm gonna have my boys give all of you a ride home for a few days. Least until Mickey is no longer a problem."

Releasing a soft sigh, I shook my head a little.. If I'd known they were still here I'd have had him bring them up as soon as Mickey left. But it couldn't be helped now. "I guess it's a good thing, Mickey looked hungry and while I have no doubt the girls can talk themselves out of a lot of trouble, It'll be easier knowing what bait to wrap the hook in." I dust off my dress, set my glass by his sink and wrap my shawl over my shoulders. "I'd better go calm the girls, they're probably making up horror stories right about now. I'll let you know what we decide as soon as I have an answer."

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