Elizabeth Sharp leaned over her desk and began to sign the appropriate documents. She was having a busy morning and she knew she'd have an even busier afternoon. But never once did she feel trapped by her job. She liked what she did. It gave her a little control over what could and couldn't happen in town. Okay, maybe a little more than just "a little". Being the head of the City Planning and Development department certainly had its perks.
She was about to sign another document when suddenly her intercom came on. "Ms. Sharp? Someone's here to see you."
Elizabeth held down the talk button. "Who is it?"
"Larry Vaughn."
A sudden twinge of disgust shot through her. Why was that sleazeball here? For years, she had been trying to shut down his "business", but somehow he was always finding loopholes to dodge the law. And then over the last few months, he even expanded his "club" to the entire block. (Little did she know, that didn't really take a few months ... only a few seconds.) She tried everything she could (everything legal, that was) to get his establishment shut down. But she kept having no luck. Larry Vaughn was the closest thing she had to a mortal enemy. And now he was here? What was his game?
The intercom came on and she heard Amy, her secretary, again. "Ms. Sharp? He says he really needs to see you."
Really needs to see her? She knew what kind of a man Larry Vaughn was and couldn't think of any reason as to why he could be at her office, other than to try to con her in some way. Or maybe he thought he could buy her off. Yeah? Well, she's not that easy. She was one of the most upstanding citizens in town. She'd never degrade herself, working with a man like Larry Vaughn. It just would never happen.
She took a deep breath and stood up. She glanced at herself in her office mirror. Light brown hair with a short professional haircut, a conservative amount of make-up on her fair skin, a white blouse and gray skirt suit, skin-tone pantyhose, and a pair of gray 2-inch heels. She was a professional, through and through. She'd just walk out there and tell him to piss off ... well, in a more professional and civilized manner, of course.
Elizabeth walked towards her office door and opened it, then walked out.
There he was. Larry Vaughn. And he was looking just as sleazy as usual, with his greasy slicked back hair and gaudy clothes. It was so obvious that the man was a crook, just by looking at him. It was like he was flaunting it, knowing that legally she couldn't do anything about it. He smiled when he saw her, his gold tooth clearly visible.
"What do you want?" she asked.
He continued to smile, as he lifted his hand up and pointed at her. "Become my stripper."
Suddenly, a wave of euphoria splashed across her, causing her to close her eyes momentarily. It seemed to come out of nowhere. And when her eyes opened back up, it's like she was seeing Larry in a whole new light. This man wasn't a crook. He was a successful businessman. And he just offered her a way to be part of his business. How could she refuse that?
"Okay," she said, in a breathy tone.
"What?" Amy asked, shocked at what her boss just said.
"Come on, babe," Larry said, holding out his hand. "Let's get back to the club. You have to learn your new routines for tonight."
Elizabeth smiled and took his hand. For a moment, she was going to complain about him calling her "babe" (she always hated when he did that), but she figured that complaining about it would jeopardize her new employment. She wanted to make sure she never did anything to lose her new job. Being a stripper at Larry's club was the most important thing to her.
And without any more delay, the two of them left the building and headed back to the Pussy Kat Klub, leaving a very confused Amy behind to try to figure out what just happened.
