Chapter 20 - Undercover

A few minutes later I was shown into Midas’s office. His lair was a plush affair strewn with furnishings as soft as the lighting.

The man himself was seated on a sofa in a relaxed pose. He didn’t get up or ask me to sit so I stood before him while he regarded me disdainfully. His lack of politeness was not lost on me, but actually it suited my book to be stared at. My looks were likely to be the biggest asset if I was to succeed in what I had in mind.

“Well, Miss Cartwright. May I call you Jennifer? Well, Jennifer, you have returned. Sadly, we are not open until the evening, so if you are here to redeem your winnings, you will have to come back later.” The main man’s lips twisted in a cynical smirk as he said this. Up to that point I might have found his regular features and good physique attractive, but his lack of curtesy lost him some ground.

“Oh, my winnings can wait” I smiled back at him. “May I sit?”

Midas waved a hand expansively in the direction of a seat opposite him. I smoothed the folds of my skirts underneath me and sat myself delicately in the manner Mom had taught me all those years ago, “as if something fragile might break”. Despite the demure posture I adopted, the shortness of my frock would ensure that the object of my quest would have plenty to distract him.

He sat up and took notice. It was easy to see from the look on his face that I’d already made an impression.

“What a lovely room. So comfortable. Mr Klondyke, you have excellent taste.”

Midas merely inclined his head.

“A girl could get used to this.” I leant back against the cushions and stretched my limbs luxuriantly.

The man made a gesture of impatience. “A matter of business, I was informed.”

“Yes. I was hoping that you would be able to provide me with something more lasting than my er… well-gotten gains.”

“Really?” He looked unamused.

“Why yes. A man of influence like yourself must have endless opportunities to do just that.”

The man looked nettled. He clearly didn’t like prevarication. “Come to the point, lady” he growled.

“It’s quite simple. I’m hoping you can offer me a job.”

“A job?” The man’s eyes flashed angrily at the temerity of my declaration. My proposal was apparently something for which he was entirely unprepared.

“Yes, a job. I think I could carry out the duties of one of your ‘golden girls’ more than adequately. I’ve had some little experience of work as a hostess and, do you know, I seemed to be rather good at it. I’m not sure why, but the customers always take to me.” I did my best to look coy.

Midas looked taken aback for a moment, then he laughed. “I just bet they do.”

He looked me up and down quite blatantly to underline his point. “Interesting” he mused. “It just might be possible to find you employment of some kind, I guess. Come back in a few days and I’ll think about it.”

“Oh,” I pouted “and I thought you were a man of action. They do say that there’s no time like the present. What have you got to lose?”

He laughed again. “You’ve got some nerve, you little… Well… Okay, I guess. However, before we rush into anything we might both regret, let’s get Jocasta involved and see what she thinks. You remember Jocasta? In the meantime, let me offer you a drink?”

Suddenly Midas was all over courtesy. He poured me a bourbon and one for himself as well. Then he picked up a telephone and dialled a number. The party at the other end answered straight away.

“Jocasta, my dear, are you free…? Good! I have a proposition to consider that I’d like your opinion on. You remember the young woman in pink who er… lent me her winnings the other night. She is looking for work; as one of our ‘girls’. What do you think?”

There was a pause before the phone broke silence. I couldn’t hear what was said but the result must have been generally positive. He put the receiver down and smiled.

“Jocasta would like to see how you shape up. Finish your drink.”

I resisted the impulse to gulp the liquid straight down and took my time, savouring it while I crossed then uncrossed my legs artlessly. Midas would have plenty of opportunity to form his own opinion of how I shaped up. So far, I could surmise that it was likely to be favourable.

When I had done toying with my bourbon, the man dismissed me. “Now, if you trot along through there, she will meet you in the ladies’ dressing room.” Running his eyes up and down my body again, he added. “Assuming the lady isn’t against the idea, I’m guessing she’ll be able to find a costume to fit you.”

I gave him my best up from under glance and demurely rose to take leave of my would-be new employer. “You are very kind. I hope to be seeing you again soon.”

Then I went in search of the formidable Jocasta. Along the indicated corridor I found the door labelled Dressing Room without difficulty and entered directly. I found the woman waiting for me. Her manner as she greeted me was not effusive, making me sense that obtaining this lady’s approval might be a harder task than winning that of her boss. After regarding me with a degree of disfavour for a full minute, she shook her head resignedly.

Despite this inauspicious beginning, the tall woman set about selecting garments from a rail of costumes. She handed them to me without ceremony. Every item she had picked out had a glittering golden sheen. There was a bra top which was strapless and to accompanying it were matching panties and a bustle-like skirt. To complete the set was a waist-nipping corset in black with gilded boning. I was glad that my midriff was capable of being compressed into quite a narrow compass and even more that the skirt would provide some welcome coverage for my rear end.

There was a curtain behind which I could change clothes in privacy, and before long I emerged, attired as one of the place’s showgirls. The outfit left more of my limbs on display than I wished and I was very conscious that my thighs and butt no longer were as slim and dainty as in my younger days. To counter my embarrassment, I reminded myself that I would not be the only female dressed in such a fashion and tried to banish all doubts about the spectacle I would be making. I was here to do a job, I chided myself.

“Let me look at you.”

Jocasta scrutinised me from head to toe with embarrassing thoroughness.

“Impressive!” she commented. “But I think we can go one better. Breathe in!”

The tall woman turned me around and hooked my corset on the tightest set of fastenings before standing back to admire her handiwork.
This time she grudgingly declared herself satisfied with my appearance. “Mm… I suppose you’ll do!” was the verdict.

Next the matron instructed me in what was expected of a ‘golden girl’. I tried hard to concentrate. When she was done, she added a word of caution. “With your looks, honey, you will have every John in this place eating out of your hand. That’s fine by me, with one exception. Midas seems mighty taken with you, but… he’s already spoken for. If I see you so much as flutter those dreamy eyelashes at him, you will be out of here so fast your feet won’t touch. Got that?”

I hastened to agree. After all, the agenda I had in mind did not necessarily include hitting on the boss; unless, of course, events dictated the need for such dalliance. I was more interested in discovering what I could of the man’s elusive brother. By way of embarking along that course, I posed an innocent enough sounding question. “What is your capacity here, if you don’t mind my asking?”

“As far as you’re concerned, I’m the only person you have to please.” Jocasta wasn’t smiling.

“I thought Midas had a brother who ran this place with him. A man with a funny name… er Auros? Yes, that was it.”

From her manner I guessed I had touched a nerve. “He does, but you needn’t concern yourself with him. He’s never here. Now let’s go and see if Midas approves, but that’s only a formality. What I say goes!”

I followed this forbidding lady back into the lobby where the main man was to be found. I would need to assert myself if I was to survive here, so seeking to begin as I meant to continue, I stepped boldly past her and, ending with a twirl, halted immediately in front of Midas.

“I hope you like what you see!” I murmured, in my most flirtatious manner.

From the look of disapproval on Jocasta’s face, I felt it was safe to say that he did!