Page 41 of The Bad Girl

Chapter 16

Maxwell

When I enter the club, I’m immediately greeted by a pert blonde sporting a sassy pixie cut. I pay the entrance fee and make my way with Mike T. into the dimly lit room.

Mike T. scans for potential threats, his eyes lingering on a few sexy dancers, which I can’t blame him for, but it’s obvious he’s trying to fight it and do his job.

“Looks safe in here,” he says, his eyes fighting the temptation to linger on a tanned-skinned beauty on a pole.”

“You can relax,” I say with a smile. “You can be present without being ‘present.””

A smirk curls on his lips. “Thanks, boss.”

The beat of the music sends blood coursing through my veins. It like a jungle, and the women gliding around poles are snakes, coiling their bodies into impossible positions while staring at their prey.

Women with trays smile at me as they passed, more than one casting me a wink.

A hand grabs mine, and I look over to see a voluptuous redhead.

“The VIP room is this way,” she says with an eager grin and a waggle of her brow.

Instead, I scan the room. It doesn’t take me long to spot Stacey and Nadine in an alcove with at least five half-dressed women hovering around them. A dancer with bright pink hair is spinning at their booth’s private pole.

“No, thanks. I’m meeting some friends.”

She doesn’t even try to hide her dejected pout, and any other night, I might talk with her a bit, but tonight, I’m mission-focused.

Stacey is laughing up a storm while Nadine is engaging a raven-haired beauty in deep conversation. It’s cute, seeing her make order from the chaos surrounding her.

A brute of a man tries shoving into the booth next to Nadine, beer in hand.

A desperate urge to protect overwhelms me, but as I rush to close the distance between me and the asshole leering over Nadine, a brunette dancer intervenes, taking the man by the hand and seductively pulling him from the booth and leading him away.

I breathe out a sigh of relief. There was a very real possibility I was going to end up spending a night in jail for what I was going to do to the brute had he not complied.

The dancing woman stops, fixing her pink hair before hoping down and beckoning Nadine from the booth.

Nadine looks around, clearly anxious, but Stacey starts pumping her fist, cheering her on. Finally, Nadine relents, exiting the booth, and they disappear into the back.

I continue to the table, sliding in next to Stacey.

She casts me a cynical gaze. “Of course, suddenly you’re all about the ‘on the job’ training.”

“What can I say? I’m dedicated to the cause.”

A waitress takes my drink order as several dancers hone in on our booth.

“So, what made you come here?” I ask.

Stacey pulls a stem from the cherry in her drink, sticking it between her teeth. A friendly dancer leans down, taking the stem and working it with her tongue and teeth.

“I figured Nadine needed to go on a field trip.”

“Where is our Bad Girl in Training?”

“Oh my God, the girls love her. When I told them about her transformation, they all wanted to give her tips and take her under their wing! They’re teaching her a few moves in the back because she was too nervous to use the pole at the table.”

My lip curls into a smirk, almost as a reflex. This isn’t anything unusual. In fact, it’s exactly what I’d expect from Nadine. But for some reason, I find it incredibly endearing.