Passports and Keyholes

The Cat's Meow

[Genre: straight up fanfic lol
Celebrity: Sebastian Stan/Winter Soldier]

Paige flipped through the applications, taking a quick glance at the headshots of each of the gorgeous men paper-clipped to them. Most of them also included full body shots which Paige appreciated.

Business had been slow lately and she needed a new man to bring more excitement to her establishment, The Cat's Meow. Women were growing bored with the same men and routines. She needed a fresh face and she needed it fast or everyone would be out of a job soon and the club would be closed for business.

Ella, her beloved bartender, knocked on her office door before sticking her head in.

"Next interviewee has arrived, Paige. I put him in the Cat Scratch Room."

"Which one is he?" Paige asked, not looking up from the papers.

"The one with the arm. He's cute. Kind of quiet." Ella closed the door before Paige could say anything.

"Arm?" Paige flipped through the photos of the full body shots once again. She grew puzzled realizing they each had normal arms. Some with tattoos, some with gigantic muscles, but Ella had said 'arm' singular.

Between her fingers, she felt the thickness of the last photo and pulled it out, turning it over. There was another photo stuck to it. She wet her fingers and gingerly pried them apart. One full body shot had stuck itself to a headshot photo.

Ah. That's what Ella meant by 'arm.' Paige glanced the photo over. The man posing in the photo was bare chested and gorgeously toned. His dark hair hung over his face, yet his blue eyes pierced through her. His left arm was made of metal, with a red star emblazoned on it. It was a bit intimidating.

She stacked the photos back together, pulling his out of the bunch before finding his headshot and application. Taking them with her, she headed down the hall towards the Cat Scratch Room.

Paige made eye contact with Ella at the bar and gave a wave. Ella was wiping the countertop down, preparing for the evening. Ella dropped the rag and placed her hands together in a pleading gesture. She bit her bottom lip and smiled, wiggling her brows.

Apparently she really liked this guy. But could he strip? That was what mattered most.

Paige gave a courtesy knock on the door before opening it. She stepped in, the lights dim as they always were except for when the cleaning crew arrived in the late mornings. The pole in the middle of the room gleamed and as she closed the door for privacy, she saw him sitting on the plush red velvet lined bench against the wall across from the pole.

His knees were spread apart and his arms were draped over the back of the bench. Paige felt herself clench at the sight of him, which was rare. She'd seen men in all kinds of compromising poses and situations before. A simple man-spreading hot guy should make no difference. He wore a black long sleeved shirt with the sleeve for his cybernetic arm torn off. She could only imagine a sleeve would be too constricting for that particular arm. His shirt was tucked into his black slacks which were fastened with a leather belt. He wore thick military boots and generally looked dangerous yet exciting. The kind of guy to take home to mom and dad when you wanted to piss them off.

Paige cleared her throat, ridding her mind of the dirty thoughts developing, diving into professional mode. She was on a mission. Find the new face of The Cat's Meow and pleasebabyJesusletitbehim.

"Mister, uh," she glanced down quickly at his application, his name escaping her. "Barnes?"

"Yes ma'am," he replied with a Brooklyn accent. Another clench. He sat up straight before rising to shake her hand.