Page 15 of Come As You Are
“There’s more,” I said and dropped my voice even lower. “Vee says Mal came in early one day and was snooping around in Olivia’s office. He also says he overheard Fest talking to Mal about the security camera in the hallway to the storeroom not working. Which wouldn’t be as troubling, but someone’s been stealing bottles of our top shelf brands.”
“You know Illyria isn’t paying you to stand around like a bunch of gossiping teenagers,” Mal’s voice rang out, echoing in the empty club.
Startled, I nearly dropped the glass I’d forgotten was in my hands.
“No, it doesn’t.” Maria looked over her shoulder at Mal. “We just throw it in as a free bonus.”
Mal threw her a sour look and stomped his way up the stairs to Olivia’s office.
“He’s getting worse,” Toby said, and I nodded. I had my suspicions about who was stealing from the storeroom, but I’d need more than just conjecture to prove it.
Maria said nothing but the contemplative look on her face told me she was plotting something. Her silence was a bit unsettling.
“What are you thinking?” I asked her.
“I’m wondering how to get Olivia to see him for who he really is and expose his snooping.” She turned on her stool to face us. “What does Mal want more than anything? What does he think he’s owed?”
Toby and I glanced at each other. “To own Illyria,” we both said, and Toby added, “Or at least be Olivia’s partner.”
“Right. What if we could convince him that she’s going to do that?”
“I like where this is going,” Toby said. “How would you do it?”
Maria tapped an index finger against her lips. “If he’s snooping the way Vee says he is, then we should give him something to find. Maybe an email between Olivia and her lawyer talking about a partnership agreement with Mal.”
“And if that email outlined some task Olivia should give Mal as tests of his fitness as a partner…” Toby grinned, and I nodded.
“It shouldn’t be anything that would put the club in jeopardy, though,” I said. As much as I wanted Mal to be taken down a peg or two, I didn’t want Olivia to have to pay the price.
“Of course,” Maria said. “I’ll put some thought into what we can do and then run it by you two before I put it into action. Deal?”
“Deal,” I said, and my thoughts turned to what it would be like to work at Illyria without Mal breathing down my neck all the time.
Vee
After Sebastian left mealone in his apartment, I continued to stand by the bay window overlooking the street. It was crazy to me that a few days before, I’d been sleeping on a worn-out mattress in a room with no heat, and sharing my space with roaches and other vermin. Sebastian’s place was practically Versailles by comparison, and I couldn’t believe my luck.
Of course, it made me feel shitty that I was supposed to be spying on them, and I resolved to tell Stormy I couldn’t do it anymore. I’d miss the extra cash from her, but since I hadn’t had a chance to do anything with it before my asshole ex-roommates stole it, it wasn’t like it had done me much good. I also resolved to come clean to Sebastian as well as Olivia. They needed to know that Orsino was up to something.
Having made up my mind, I spent about fifteen minutes in my room putting away my stuff. I had a little bit more than what myroommates had left me with by virtue of a visit to Goodwill and Out of the Closet, but it still wasn’t much more than a couple of pairs of jeans, some T-shirts and flannels, and underwear. Thank God I’d been wearing my boots when they took off otherwise I’d be needing to replace those as well. Same with my phone. It was still the same one as when I’d left home, and the fact that my service hadn’t been cut off gave me hope that maybe I could mend things with my mom since she was the one who made sure all the bills were paid.
The assholes had taken off with my charger, though, but a quick search through the apartment turned up Sebastian’s and—go me!—we both had the same type of phone. I’d been using the other dancers’ chargers all week long to keep the juice going so I could set my alarm and not get caught at Illyria in the mornings.
Once I was as settled as I was gonna get, I returned to the kitchen to see what Sebastian had to eat. As much as it hurt my pride to take his charity, I wasn’t going to let that stand in the way of putting some food in my belly. I’d make it up to Sebastian by cooking and cleaning for him as best I could.
Half an hour later, I was full of pasta and kind of dozing off in front of the TV when my phone buzzed with a message. There weren’t many people who would be calling or texting me, so I carried my bowl back to the kitchen and picked up my phone from the counter. It was a text from Sebastian wanting to know how I was doing and if I’d found everything I needed.
The message made me smile. It felt good to have someone looking out for me. I took a picture of my empty bowl and sent it to him.
Doing good so far, I typed and hit Send.
The three dots appeared, then disappeared for a moment before returning. I held my breath waiting to see what Sebastian would say, but nothing came through before the dots disappeared again. Disappointed, I hooked my phone up to thecharger once more and set about washing the dishes I’d used then went back to watching TV.
My phone buzzed with an incoming call just as I was starting to doze off, and it took me a moment to remember where my phone was. Fortunately, I found it before the call went to voicemail. Caller ID told me Sebastian, and I grinned as I hit Answer, my chest warming with the idea that Sebastian was checking in on me again. The jumble of sound that greeted me told me it was just a butt-dial. Sebastian probably didn’t know his phone had called me. I knew I should hang up but my curiosity got the better of me.
Illyria was pretty crowded most nights of the week, but when I was up on my platform, I couldn’t hear much of anything except the music. Listening to the sound of the club through Sebastian’s phone was fascinating. In the foreground, I could hear Sebastian taking drink orders and talking to customers along with the rattle of ice as he filled a glass or used the shaker. In the background, I heard the drag show. Because I was off on Monday nights, I hadn’t had much interaction with the drag performers and rarely saw Maria in her Dick Pics persona, so hearing her gruffly introducing the next act filled me with a kind of…it wasn’t nostalgia, but that kind of longing to be part of something that wasn’t in my immediate vicinity.
These were people I hung out with on a regular basis, had come to know over the past several weeks. In some small way, I’d begun to think of Illyria as a kind of home since I was lacking in any other at the moment. It wasn’t just the place, though, it was the people I’d found there, who had taken me in and taken care of me in a way my own family no longer would. Sebastian had given me a place to stay, but Illyria had given me a home.
