The Bad Girls' Club (19 page)

Imogen could go to hell. She could go to that special part of hell for people who lie to their friends. The Bad Girls
’ Club had been a stupid idea from the start. I didn’t need her, I didn’t need the club. What I needed was a goddamn taxi. I searched the street again. Still nothing in sight.

I could be as bad as anyone. I was not uptight or frigid but I
was
freezing my arse off. I got out my phone to call for a cab since they seemed to avoid this part of town. Looking at the outside of the spanking club, I could work out why. Freak Central.

Just as the number rang, I saw lights and jumped out, waving madly. A cab, at last. I jumped inside ready to kiss the cabbie. He reeked of garlic and fish curry but he was still the best thing I
’d seen all night.

I had to get to these drinks, and fast. Mandy had texted me to say that Pam was practically humping the new boss
’s leg. So, screw Imogen, screw Maxine, screw the whole damn lot of them. I had to rescue that poor man from such a hideous fate.

I pulled out my compact – I looked a bedraggled mess. Plum lipstick smeared over my Starlit Wine. I dabbed at my lips then reapplied, praying the cabbie would avoid sharp turns. I checked myself out. I looked hot. I could shag without worrying about my hair. As if
she
could talk.

Mandy was the first thing I saw when I walked into the bar. You could hardly miss her, leaning on the bar, wearing an electric blue lycra dress that clung in all the wrong places. She waved me down. Pete and Rob from Sales were with her. I groaned. Slimeball Rob, I spent half my time at work avoiding his octopus arms.

‘Hey Beth, get your arse over here. The boys are buying shooters.’

‘
Want a
Quick Fuck
?’ yelled Rob and he laughed uproariously. Rob would think that was funny.

‘
Where is he?’ I asked Mandy, searching the room for someone ancient and unfamiliar.

‘
He’s around. But first, shooters.’

‘
Why not?’ We’d see who was uptight. One shot wouldn’t hurt. Then I’d switch to mineral water. No point being tipsy when I met the new boss.

I knocked back the glass and another appeared on the bar. Well, maybe one more. I could handle it. By the third round, Mandy and Pete had stopped drinking. A few people had gathered around cheering me on. I laughed.

‘Atta girl, Beth,’ said Rob. ‘I always knew you’d be fun if you let your hair down.’ He ran his fingers up my arm.

I giggled, brushing away his hand, then turned to Mandy.

‘So, the new boss?’ I bounced on the balls of my feet. ‘The boss, gotta meet the boss. Gotta get Pam off his leg.’

Mandy glanced around the room.
‘I can’t see him but he’s around here somewhere. You wait until you meet him, Beth.’

She grinned at me. I didn
’t think meeting the boss would be that much fun. But Mandy looked me up and down.

‘
Shit, Beth. I don’t know if you should be meeting him.’

‘
Huh?’

‘
You’re tanked. And you’re going downhill fast. You wanna meet the boss like that?’

‘
I’m fine. Fine.’

‘
Right. If you say so.’

‘
I am. What the hell are you talking about anyway?’

Mandy grabbed hold of my arm, walking me away from the bar.

‘Shhh. Keep your voice down. We’ll go get you a nice coffee in the lounge then you can meet Sebastian.’

I shook her off. What the hell was she being all uppity and patronising for? Still, a coffee sounded good. I did feel a bit sleepy.

‘I’m perfectly able to get my own coffee, thank you very much,’ I said and walked off, tossing my head. I’d show her. Well I would have, except I tripped over a step. Dunno where that had come from. I looked up at Mandy and smiled. ‘Don’t you keep the boss from me,’ I warned her.

‘
I’ll get you later. Just have your coffee,’ she said. ‘And Beth, tidy yourself up a bit.’

I grimaced at her. Bitch. Then stumbled into the lounge. The room was almost deserted except for half a dozen heads that all turned in my direction. I straightened myself up and concentrated on walking to the bar. No stagger in my step. No sirree. I focused on the guy sitting at the bar. He had his back to me, chatting on his phone. All I had to do was keep looking at him and put one foot in front of the other and I
’d make it there okay. The room wouldn’t sway, my hips wouldn’t lurch. My eyes stayed on his wide shoulders, his hard, firm back.

I slipped onto the stool beside him and asked for a coffee. Slowly and deliberately. No one could accuse me of being drunk. I peered at my reflection in the mirror behind the bar. Mandy had to be such a drama queen. I looked totally and utterly fine. Never finer.

I swung around on my stool, waiting for my coffee then got out my phone expecting to see a missed call or a message from Imogen. She could wait for a long time before I’d even thinking of replying. That’d teach her. But there was no missed call. There was no message. I swung my stool back around with more force than I intended and bashed knees with the guy beside me.

‘
Oopsy,’ I giggled then looked up at him, my mouth dropping open. ‘Hey, you’re cute.’

Although he wasn
’t old, his hair was almost completely grey. It was very distinguished, thick and curly, like Richard Gere in
Pretty Woman
. I longed to run my fingers through it. My hand started to reach out when I noticed his raised eyebrow.

‘
So, what’s your name?’ he asked. His voice was so sexy, deep and resonating. It flowed over me like sweet, warm honey.

‘
Beth.’ I giggled again. I flicked my hair back then looked up at him. He was damn cute.

‘
Beth, you seem to be having a fun night.’

‘
That’s me. I’m all fun.’ I tossed my head, sexily. A little flirtation was exactly what I needed. He checked his watch and started to stand up.

‘
Sorry, Beth, but I’ve got to get back –’

‘
Surely you don’t have anything that urgent.’ I pouted and pushed him back onto his seat. ‘Not more urgent than buying me a drink?’

He grinned.
‘I guess not.’

I crossed my legs and smiled at him. How could Imogen call me frigid?

As he passed me my drink, I made sure our hands touched and I waited that extra moment to ensure he could guess at my intentions. Shivers buzzed around my body and settled between my legs. He was quite yummy. Maybe this could go further than just a flirtation.

I decided I wanted him to kiss me. Maybe I just needed to encourage him. What the hell. I reached out and grabbed the lapels of his jacket, drawing him close to me.

His eyes locked into mine and he didn’t push me away. I moved closer, closer and ran my tongue around my lips.

The roughened tips of his fingers traced my skin, running down the back of my hands. I reached out, twisting my fingers through his hair. He had that sex look in his eyes, so I pulled him closer, crushing my lips against his. That was the real me, daring and brave and impulsive. He tasted like whisky and spearmint gum. Suddenly, I was giddy, the room spinning around me. Everything was wonky except for him. He was warm and steady and solid. I didn
’t want to let go.

Finally I had to stop to breathe.

He laughed.

‘
That was nice,’ he said, brushing the hair from my face.

‘
It was more than nice,’ I replied, my voice husky with desire.

The room crashed into silence as the DJ missed his cue, the only sound my breathing. I looked away from him for a moment, knowing I had to move to take this further.

‘Follow me,’ I whispered and slipped off my bar stool.

‘
Wait…’

But I walked off, sure that he would follow. The bathroom was empty when I walked in. I leaned over the basin, checking myself out in the mirror as though I didn
’t care if he followed or not. He moved behind me, rubbing against me, his breath hot on my skin.

‘
Are you sure?’ he asked.

I nodded. I was very sure. Grabbing his hand, I pulled him into a cubicle.

All thought of delicate touches disappeared. I lost all shape, my body moulded by his touch. His fingers climbed under my dress, rough and forceful and urgent.

I reached out for him but he grabbed my wrists and held them down. I wanted him to fuck me, use me, make me his fuck toy.

He pulled away and bent me over. I jerked down my pants while he searched for an elusive condom.

‘
Hurry up,’ I whispered.

It was the longest wait of my life. I was hot and wet and more than ready. I lifted my dress and proudly displayed my naked arse, wriggling it for his benefit.

He pressed his cock against me and rubbed it over my arse. I opened my legs, ready for him, but he wanted to tease. His cock moved down the line of my wetness, inching inside me, nudging against my clit. I joined him with my hand, stroking his cock and stroking myself at the same time. If he didn’t fuck me soon I’d spontaneously combust.

‘
Fuck me, you bastard.’

He laughed and tightened his grip on my arse. His cock entered me, slowly, sending me into a frenzy. All he had to do was stand there while I twisted and writhed and slammed myself against him.

The door opened with a burst of disco thud. Heels clicked on the tiled floor. I moaned and whimpered in a voice I didn’t recognise – deep and guttural and nasty. I wanted the girl in the next cubicle to hear. I wanted the whole nightclub to hear. Hell, I wanted the sound of my arousal to obliterate the Kylie song they were playing and shatter every glass behind the bar.

I was so close now. So close. One final thrust. I closed my eyes and purple stars shot through my body. In response, he grunted and shuddered. Bam, bam, bam. He was done.

What would Imogen say if she could see me now – bare-arsed in a nightclub toilet? I wasn’t uptight. I wasn’t worried about my hair. And I sure as hell wasn’t thinking about Imogen’s breasts.

After an awkward moment of silence, I pulled up my pants. Then I opened the cubicle door and walked straight out of the toilet without so much as a goodbye.

Mandy was still at the bar. She handed me a glass of champagne.

‘
Where’ve you been? I was about to send a search party out for you. What’s so funny?’

‘
Nothing.’

‘
You sure you’re OK? You look a bit peaky. Maybe you should go home.’

‘
No, no. I’m perfectly fine.’ I laughed. ‘Oh boy, am I fine. You have no idea how fine I am.’

All the shooters and champagne from the night seemed to hit me at once. I collapsed into a giggling heap just before vomiting all over Mandy
’s shoes.

***

Work was the last place I wanted to be on Monday morning. It had taken me all of Sunday to recover from Saturday night. Except for an emergency dash to the shops for a hamburger and greasy chips, I’d spent the day curled up under my doona on the couch watching old episodes of The OC.

I kept going over the details of Saturday night. What if someone had seen me going into the toilets with that guy? What if they
’d seen me pashing him at the bar? Oh my God, what if someone from work had been in the next cubicle, hearing me moan and grunt. Every time I thought about that, I pulled the doona over my head until the thought went away. Except, at work I had no doona to protect me and I had a meeting to front up to.

What if I walked into the meeting room and everyone sniggered. I couldn
’t bear that. I couldn’t bear the thought of talking to Mandy either. I almost died every time I thought about her shoes. Poor Mandy. I planned to avoid her for a while.

‘
Beth, are you coming?’ Pam called as she walked past my door.

‘
Yeah, yeah, on my way.’

It was standing room only in the meeting room. I ended up at the back behind the accounting department. Normally, I like to get a front position for the big meetings. Sure, they
’re boring but it never hurts to remind people who you are.

Waffle, waffle, waffle, then the announcement and introductions, the new manager for our department. I got up on tippy-toes to get a better look at him, but it was no good. Those boof-headed accountants blocked my view.

As the CEO went on, I planned my strategy. First thing after the meeting, I would introduce myself and offer to show him the ropes. I’d commandeer him and introduce him to the key players. That way I could look like a take-charge kind of person. Maybe I could even offer to show him the good lunch places. And, over a brisk business lunch, I could prove my brilliance. That should do it.

Finally the CEO shut up and the new manager, Sebastian Griffin, was introduced. He stood up so we could get a look at him.