Quinn
When Ken had told me before work that Master Knight had planned to ask me to be in a contract, I told myself not to get too excited. After all, Ken could have understood wrong or Master Knight could have changed his mind. Despite my own warnings, I couldn't believe my luck. Someone wanted me and not just any someone, the owner had noticed me and wanted me.
And then it came crashing down. Literally. I had expected Master Knight to come rushing to my aid, but instead, it was Ken and Ryan helping me up after Master Knight took off with the other guy.
When Ryan told Owen that the boy who crashed into me was Master Knight's old submissive, I knew it was over. Any chance I may have had were being flushed down the drain.
Owen and Ryan dragged me to the Submissive Changing room and helped me get cleaned up. While my clothes had been mostly spared of liquids, my hair had not. They helped me wash it out as best as possible, but without shampoo and conditioner, I could still smell alcohol in it. Ken came in, fuming and muttering about stupid decisions before he told me Master Knight wanted to see me after closing.
My hopes had started to pick back up until Master Knight just told me he was sorry for Charlie's actions. When I had started to leave, he told me he was sorry again and the way he was looking at me made wonder what he was really sorry for: what Charlie had done or that he was choosing Charlie over me.
It was fine. I was fine. I would be okay, eventually.
My next shift wasn't until two days later and I had avoided the club during that time, if for no other reason than to collect myself for when I saw Master Knight and Charlie. I stepped into the club and immediately wanted to walk back out. Master Knight and Charlie were at the bar, talking and Charlie was being overly touchy.
"Ah, Quinn. Come over here please," Master Knight has seen me before I could hide away in the shadows. I walked over, feeling Charlie's eyes practically throw daggers my way, but he was smiling in front of his Master.
"Charlie, I believe you have something to say to Quinn?"
"Yes, Master. Quinn, I would like to apologize for my actions the other night. Pushing you was wrong and I promise it won't happen again. I happen to be quite the expert when it comes to balancing drinks and things,"
The way he said was almost in a knowing tone. Like he knew that I wasn't that great with the trays and he was shoving it in my face that he did. Unfortunately for him, he didn't intimidate me in the slightest. He annoyed me more than anything. But instead of sneering at him and risking Master Knight's anger, I forced a smile.
"It's not a big deal Charlie. Thanks for the apologies, but I've gotten worse than a few alcoholic drinks spilled on me. Do you need me for anything else, Master Knight? I need to go get changed,"
"No, that was it. As I told you, I wanted to make sure Charlie apologized to you as well as me. Go on and get changed,"
"You know, I think I'll go with you. That way I can get to know who I'll be working with. Is that okay, Master?"
"Of course, Charlie," Master Knight kissed Charlie quickly before Charlie came from around the bar so we could walk to the submissive changing room. Before we got to the door, Charlie placed a hand on my shoulder. I flinched slightly, but he didn't remove his hand.
"Quinn, sweetie, I understand that you have a crush on Master Knight and while I'm sure he would be flattered to know, I ask that you keep it to yourself,"
He did not just go there.
I shoved his hand off my shoulder, "Charlie, I can assure you that I have no interest in Master Knight. He is all yours,"
"You're damn right he's all mine and if you tell him, I will destroy you,"
I laughed slightly and stood really close, "You know, I'd like to see you attempt to see that threat through. I lived on the streets. Your petty punk ass don't scare me," I smiled and then said, "Have a good shift,"
I opened the changing room door and shut it just as quickly. Ryan and Owen were staring at me with confused expressions. I pressed a finger to my lips and ushered them over to a corner. I faced the door in case Charlie decided to pop in.
"So, you meet Charlie yet?" Ryan asked and if I wasn't mistaken there was some malice behind his words.
"You mean after he pushed me? Oh yeah. Just now and you will not believe what happened," as I was telling them the story, the door opened and both Zade and Annie walked in scowling.
"I'm going to kill him," Annie hissed and I was surprised. I'd never heard her take that tone. Of course, I'd never done anything to merit that tone.
"Get in line. You should hear what he said to Quinn," Ryan said, motioning them over.
Zade and Annie joined the circle, obviously eager to hear all the gossip. I relayed again what had happened and by the time I was done, Annie, the literal ball of sunshine, looked downright murderous.
"What a self-centered bitch. Quinn, are you sure you should have threatened him back though? I mean, he is now in a contract with Master Knight and can easily get you kicked out,"
I hadn't thought of that, but I shrugged, "He can't hurt me. I've got nothing to lose in this,"
"Puh–ha," Zade sputtered, "Hello! You leave, we can't spend as much time with you. So, you definitely have things to lose in this scenario,"
Owen rested a hand on my arm and gave me a smile, "I didn't know him while he was here, so I can't speak from personal experience on that. I do know you though and I know you're tougher than nails, but for the love of God, keep your head low and stay out of his way,"
The door opened again and there stood the devil himself.
"Ken is requesting everyone at the bar now and he said to hurry because it's a first come first serve on jobs tonight,"
"What the fuck? Ken's always assigned us based on our strengths. Why would he change now?"
I stared at the closing door, "I'll give you three guesses who decided it,"
We made our way to the bar, hoping that Ken wasn't actually making it a free for all. Ken was talking to Master Cale when we walked up. Master Cale greeted Owen with a wink as Ken called our roles.
"Owen, you're floating. Zade you're behind the bar, Annie, you're behind the bar. Charlie, you're behind the bar. Quinn, you're floating. We'll switch after breaks. Don't forget that Master Matthew and Lorraine are having their announcement at ten, so be sure to be in the specialty lounge by nine-forty five,"
Owen shuffled nervously before stepping up, "Um, Ken? Today's Saturday. It's not my night to float,"
Ken frowned then checked his watch, "Damn, you're right. Sorry, Owen. Do you think you can manage tonight or do you want to switch?"
"I—I think I can manage. It's been almost five months. I'll be fine," Master Cale frowned and probably sensed what we all thought.
Owen was terrified.
Ken had worked out a system for the floating bartenders. The most experienced, Zade, Ryan, and Annie, would float for most of the night on our busy nights while Owen and I took up the less busy nights since Owen didn't like to be out in the open and I was clumsy. It always worked out well, until tonight and for some reason tonight seemed to be a little busier than usual.
Annie wrapped an arm around Owen, "If you need to switch early you let me or Zade know and we will switch with you, okay? Do not float if you can't. We don't want a repeat of last time you tried that,"
Owen blushed and laughed, turning to his Master, "Yeah. Definitely no repeating last time, right Master?" Cale had a stern look on his face, but he smirked slightly and nodded.
Charlie cleared his throat, "You do know that switching jobs before being allowed is against the rules, right? Ken makes the schedule for a reason. I'd hate to have to tell Master Knight about it,"
Master Cale turned on Charlie and growled, "Don't you fucking threaten my submissive. I don't care who you're in a contract with, I—"
"Cale," Owen said softly and Master Cale backed off, still fuming. He grabbed Owen's hand and pulled him away from everyone else. Probably to definitely make sure Owen was going to be okay for tonight.
"You really shouldn't mess with Master Cale. He's very protective of Owen and will not hesitate to do anything to make sure Owen is okay and comfortable," Ryan said and Charlie rolled his eyes.
"He can't do anything to me," Charlie countered and Ryan balled his fists as Charlie moved past us to Master Knight, who was coming out of his office.
"He's trying to get on our nerves for a reason," Owen said softly, "We can't let him get to us. We can't afford to do so,"
I nodded, "You're right, Owen. Was he this aggravating when he was here last time?"
Annie shook her head, "Not nearly this much. He did irritate us when he called superiority, even though Zade and Ryan had been here longer. I think he's just angry that Master Knight was going to choose someone over him,"
Everyone stared at me and I could feel my neck burn in embarrassment, "Sorry, I guess,"
"No, No. I didn't mean it like that, Quinn. It's just that he always felt threatened when a submissive was close with Master Knight. Jealous bitch is an understatement," Annie said, giving me a small smile.
Ken knocked on the wood, "Bar's open, guys. Owen, are you sure you don't want to switch? I'm sure Charlie would be more than fine with switching,"
Owen bit his lip and then looked up at the V.I.P. section where his Master was sitting, "Actually, you're right. I don't feel comfortable. I'd rather switch. I'm sorry, Ken,"
"You have no reason to be sorry, Owen. I understand. I'll go tell Charlie. You can take the left side of the bar,"
I grabbed a tray and a notepad. Zade wrapped my tip bag around my waist and I waited to be called upon. Annie and I were laughing and joking when Charlie came up to us, "You should really be doing your jobs,"
"There's literally no one here, Charlie. Relax a little,"
He sneered slightly and Annie tried to hide a smile. Owen walked over to us, humming a song that I didn't recognize.
"Hey, Whatcha humming?" Owen jumped and knit his eyebrows.
"I didn't even realize I was humming it. So, you know how I don't like musicals, right?" We nodded, "Well, Cale has been trying to introduce me to the world of Broadway, one show at a time. I've despised pretty much all of them. Well, anyway, last night we watched Newsies. I've had King of New York stuck in my head all day. Don't tell Cale, but I will begrudgingly admit, it wasn't so bad,"
Annie squeaked a bit, "Yes! Oh, yes! That means I can teach you all I know. Do you remember any of the Newsies' names? Do you have a favorite?"
"I just watched it last night, Annie! But the guy with the red hair was cute. Oh, and then there was one with the cutest smile ever and he had little dimples,"
"That tells me nothing, Owen. They all have cute smiles and . . ."
Annie kept talking as I left to take the order of a Dom. Owen shot a 'help me' look over his shoulder, but I shrugged and walked over to the table.
"Hello, what can I get you, Sir?"
"I'll take a Black Russian,"
"And your name?"
"Alex,"
"Okay, Master Alex, I will get that out to you in a few minutes,"
I gave him my signature smile and hair flip before moving onto a Dom a few tables down from him. I recognized him as Master George.
"And what can I get for you, Master George?"
"My usual Jack and Coke please, but you can you leave the coke out,"
"Doesn't sound like a Jack and Coke then. Just the Jack,"
"What I mean is have the Coke on the side. I like to mix it myself,"
"I see. I'll be right back with your order,"
"Hey, Quinn?"
"Yes, Master George?"
"You're forgetting your tip," he winked at me and handed me two dollars, "You can have the rest when you come back,"
"Thanks, Master George,"
As I was making my way back to the bar, Charlie was holding five drink orders and wasn't even looking where he was going as he rounded the wall. I just managed to avoid him as I walked into the bar area.
"So much for being good at holding drinks and knowing what you're doing," I muttered and started making the Black Russian. I grabbed a Coke from the cooler and set it on the tray as well as the glass of Jack.
I set down the Jack and Coke first and accepted the other three dollars from Master George before making my way to Master Alex.
"Here you are, Sir. My name is Quinn if you want anything else,"
"Actually, Quinn. I would like something else," I stopped and turned, pen in hand, ready to take another order, "Would you accompany me to a private room on your break?"
I paused, not sure what to say. I'd never been asked to go to a private room before. Master Alex was handsome and he did ask for it to be on my break. Besides, maybe it would give me a chance to move on from Master Knight. I nodded and told him my break was at eight-thirty. He handed me a five as he took a sip of his drink.
I was beaming as I made my way to the bar. Zade high-fived me as I passed, "Get it, honey!" I laughed and leaned against the bar.
🖤
At eight-thirty, I made my way back to the bar and handed my tray to Annie, who had obviously talked to Zade based on the way she grinned at me and winked. I checked my tip bag for how much I had and then placed it in my cubby.
I could see Master Alex waiting for me at the table he was at before, so as I stood up, I flipped my hair a little and rolled my hips. He raised an eyebrow and ran his hand along his jaw as I walked over.
"That was cute, Quinn. Somethin' you should know about me: I don't take too kindly to teasing,"
Hello! If you celebrate Easter, I hope you guys had a safe and happy Easter. If you don't, I hope you had a safe and fun Sunday.
Okay, so I spent a week antagonizing over whether I should add the Newsies bit, but I've finally decided to hell with it!
I've become quite obsessed with Newsies over the last few months. I first watched it on Netflix and then Disney+. I've probably seen it a dozen times now.
For any one who has seen Newsies, (the live version, not the 1992 movie), would you like to venture a guess at the two Newsies Owen references? The first should be pretty obvious, but the second is a little more obscure.
Anyway, so Charlie's been introduced completely and I honestly don't know how I feel about him yet, which I know sounds weird given he's my character, but he's gonna be unique and I've just got to figure it all out.
So, I think that's it for this week. Don't forget to vote and comment thoughts as I do read them and enjoy them a lot even if I don't respond. By the way If I don't respond it's usually because I'm afraid I'm going to spoil things.
Have a great day/night and I will see y'all next week with chapter eight.