Two months into my self-employment gig and business was very slow. As a matter of fact, business was a bit too slow. We were for the most part, living on my back. I still had my regular clients. When I had an appointment or when the client would allow it, I would send Bella or Simone. Diane was still a little too ghetto for prime time, but she was working hard. I had thought about doing some work for Sasha, until she informed me that her fee had increased to 51 percent since I was now direct competition.
“It’s just business,” she said, then sipped her Mimosa.
I couldn’t fault her, but talking with her gave me an idea. Working with Sasha, business was steady because of her clientele and connections. But now that I was on my own, maybe I needed a different approach.
“So what’s up, Jada?” Bella asked.
“Yeah, when do we get to see some real money?” Simone had asked.
“I’ve got an idea,” I said, shedding thoughts of Sasha from my mind. “I think we need to go out and see if we can drum up some business.”
Bella had a worried look across her face, but it was Simone who fired questions at me. “Drum up business? Why? I thought you had that all under control. You mean we gotta go out and get the johns?” She sucked her teeth.
“Okay, first off, these are not johns. These are very important clients who are a bit lonely and are willing to pay for the company of an attractive lady,” I corrected.
“Whatever,” Simone snapped.
“I think what she means is, we thought things were a bit more organized and setup already,” Bella informed me. “I didn’t think we’d actually have to go out there and have to get our own clients.”
Simone jumped up. “I don’t know about this,” she said.
“I thought you guys were ready to make some paper. I guess I was mistaken.” I shrugged.
“Yeah, but I ain’t about to go on the stroll,” Simone said and smacked her lips.
“Nobody’s asking you to go on the stroll. All I’m saying is, right now my client list isn’t enough to sustain us all, and I don’t think it would hurt to do some networking at some exclusive events.”
“So how do we get ourselves invited to these exclusive events?” Simone asked.
“I know exactly where we’ll start.”
“Where?
“Sensations.”
Sensations was a nightclub frequented by our target clientele. My plan was a simple one.
Advertise.
If you have a product and you wanted to get maximum product recognition with your target group, you have to advertise. Get that product out in front of your target group. Once a week we would go to Sensations.
“Are you guys gonna trust me or what?” I needed to know. “I’m telling you, we’re doing the right thing.”
Simone was a bit reluctant, but after some convincing, quite a bit actually, she agreed. Once I had Simone, Bella fell right in line. By the time Diane arrived, it was agreed we’d go to Sensations the very next Friday night.
That night I realized that my new family had found their voice. Simone was by far the strongest personality of the three. Bella was soft as butter, and Diane was just glad to be down, so she went along with whatever everybody else was doing.
But not Simone, her favorite line was, “I don’t understand this at all,” she would say, laced with attitude. Which to me always meant that she wasn’t with what I was sayin’, and before we moved on, I needed to make it clear what we were talking about and more importantly, how it would benefit everybody. I knew that once I had Simone on my side it was over.
We spent the day shopping for that evening’s attire. Simone chose a Nicole Miller stretch, satin ruched slip dress with spaghetti straps. I couldn’t really appreciate the straight neckline, but I did like the ruching at center bust and at the front and back bodice. When she first walked out of the fitting room, I wasn’t sure I liked the dress.
“Work it, girl,” Diane encouraged.
And when Simone worked it, it was like she gave the dress a life of its own.
“I think that’s the one,” I told her.
“You like it?” she asked Bella.
“It’s nice. And obviously you know how to work it,” she said excitedly.
With Simone out of the way, we turned our attention to finding just the right outfit for Bella. I was flipping through a nearby rack of dresses when my head snapped toward a squeal coming from Diane.
“Well, I’ll be damned!”
I turned to see Bella strolling out in a bodysuit. But this wasn’t just any bodysuit; it was a sleek one-piece that hugged her curves.
She strutted and ran her hands along the length of her body.
“I feel so sexy.” She giggled. She spun, then struck a pose.
“Girl, you are too fierce in that getup,” I said.
“You think I should get it, Jada? I mean, you don’t think it’s-I don’t know”-she shrugged-“too much?”
“Too much?” I stepped a bit closer to her. “Girl, you look hot!”
“For real, with that outfit on, I just pray we’ll be able to get some play up in the club standing next to you,” Diane cosigned.
“Okay, if you guys like it, then I’ll get it,” she said before turning and rushing into the fitting room.
Once we piled into the car, Diane turned to me and said, “How come you didn’t get anything?”
“Yeah,” Bella added.
“Please, all the stuff I have in that closet; some of that shit still has tags dangling from them.”
When Snoop’s new cut came on, we all started rocking to the beat. All the while I thought about the black Just Cavalli satin bustier dress, laced with a leopard-print tie. It was just the right mixture of elegance and class; the perfect outfit for the Queen B. When I thought about it, I knew for sure that the night would belong to us.
Everyone agreed to meet at my place by seven. After I went over the plan again, we got dressed and was sipping champagne while we waited for the bewitching hour. Our game plan didn’t involve going to the club to party, we were strictly there for business. I had put in a standing reservation for a limo to pick us up every Friday night at eleven o'clock shape. We would arrive at the club and make our grand entrance at exactly midnight.
Knowing that the club would be crowded by the time we got there, I made arrangements with Sherman, the club’s manager, to have one of the circular couches close to the VIP room, reserved for us. “Money isn’t an issue,” I said when I talked to him over the phone.
“I think you and your party would be more comfortable in the VIP room,” Sherman said.
“No, Sherman, but thank you. I’m sure we’ll be just fine outside the VIP room.”
When I got off the phone, naturally, Simone questioned my logic. “Why don’t we wanna be in the VIP room?”
“Because all of our target market won’t be in VIP room. We need to position ourselves where we would get the maximum exposure. The driver will be here soon,” I said, as the clock got close to eleven. “Is everybody ready for this?”
“Shit, I been ready,” Diane said quickly. “Let’s do the damn thing. Oh, I mean, yes, Jada, I am ready to proceed to the club.” She laughed at herself, as did everybody else.
“We’re gonna take Sensations by storm, ladies. They’re not ready for this,” Bella added, standing up to do a model’s runway turn.
“The world is ours!” Simone began shouting, and Diane and Bella joined in. I was so proud of them, especially Diane; she had worked so hard and had come so far from where she was. The chant of the “world is ours” continued until the phone rang. “Quiet down, ladies,” I said and answered the phone. “Yes, Alfred.”
“Your driver is here.” Alfred the doorman called to say.
“We’ll be down in fifteen minutes.”
While the ladies talked amongst themselves, I hung up the phone and slipped into the bathroom and took one final look. Once I was done, I joined my family. I stood in front of Diane until everyone was quiet. “What?” she asked.
“Let’s do the damn thing.”
When our stretch Chrysler 300 limo pulled up at the club’s entrance, I noticed the stares from people standing in line. Some were blatantly staring, while others tried to act like the vehicle’s sleek appearance was no big deal. We sat parked for at least ten minutes before the driver stepped out to get our door.
He opened the door and extended his hand to me. I accepted his hand, stepped out of the limo and struck a pose. I could hear the buzz of small talk from those who were in line. The driver held out his hand for Diane and she stood next to me. By the time Bella was out of the limo and standing next to Diane, I knew we had everyone’s attention. When Simone got out and stood next to Bella, the only sound to be heard was coming from the cars passing by.
I started walking toward the entrance. As planned, Diane walked next to me while Bella and Simone followed single file behind her. “Where they think they goin’?” I heard one woman say as we passed.
“I don’t know, but they need to get their wanna-be-cute asses in the back of this line like everybody else,” the woman in line with her said. That was exactly the response I was hoping for. I wanted to set the tone from the start. I wanted everybody to know that these ladies were special.
We walked right up to the door, where security removed the velvet rope and allowed us in without any questions. I could hear the mumbles as the door closed behind us.
“Can I help you, ladies?”
“Yes, I’m sure you can. My name is Jada West. I believe we have an area reserved for us?”
“Yes, Ms. West. We’ve been expecting you, and welcome to Sensations. A bottle of Moet is waiting at your table, complements of the management,” the hostess informed us.
“You ladies look so good tonight. It would be my honor to escort you through the crowd to your table,” one of the clubs security staff said with his eye on Simone.
“Thank you,” I said.
“Why don’t you ladies follow me,” he said, and along with another member of security, escorted us to our table. The security escort wasn’t planned, but I was gonna work it to our advantage.
Sensations was a very big club with a huge dance floor, a big stage, and five bars. The VIP room was in the back of the club, directly across from the stage, with a small staircase that led to the entrance. It was elevated so guests in the VIP room could watch the show without having their view obstructed by the crowd.
As I expected, the club was packed. I was glad for the security escort, because had it not been for them clearing a path with flashlights, we would’ve never made it to our area. Not to mention, our entrance wouldn’t have had the same impact. As we made our way through the crowd, I could see that we were getting a lot of attention from the men, and quite a few women.
When we arrived at our couch, we found it had been roped off for us. I reached in my clutch and pulled out two hundred-dollar bills. “Thank you for getting us here,” I said and handed a bill to each of our escorts.
“You didn’t have to do that,” one said, but Bella had his attention.
“But thank you,” the other said and practically snatched the bill out of my hand. He quickly rushed off and grabbed a waitress. “You take good care of my friends here.”
Once they were gone, she popped the cork and poured each of us a glass. I raised my glass. “Well, ladies,” I said over the music, “here’s to us. The world is truly ours and tonight is just the beginning.”
“Damn, this is the bomb,” Diane commented.
“I told you guys to have faith in me. I know what I’m doing,” I said, relieved that it worked out that way.
A man walked up to the table and asked Simone if she wanted to dance. He was nicely dressed and kind of cute, but I could tell that he had enough money in his wallet to buy somebody a few drinks. Maybe he could spring for breakfast after the club closed, but that would be a stretch. He wasn’t even on my radar. In the short time we had been there, I had already scoped out a few targets.
Before she could answer, I spoke up. “No. She doesn’t want to dance with you,” I said with a smile.
He looked at me like I was crazy. “I wasn’t talkin’ to you.”
“Yes, you were.”
“What about you?” he asked, thinking he’d get a different result from Bella.
“She doesn’t want to dance with you either.”
He looked at Diane, she held up her hand. “Don’t even waste your time,” Diane told him and he went away.
“Why does it seem like all the cuties are broke,” Bella asked.
“I know what you mean. It wasn’t too long ago that I would’ve jumped up and been on the floor right now,” Simone said with a smile as she watched him walk away. “I might have even given him some.”
Diane laughed. “Jada’s right. He’s the type of guy that will try to keep you on the dance floor so he ain’t gotta buy you no drink.”
Finally, members of our prospective clientele started approaching us, and one at a time I allowed the ladies to dance. But we had a strict one-song limit. I put that rule in place for two reasons. First off, dancing was not what we were there for. Dancing makes you sweat. Sweat ruins your hair and suddenly your outfit doesn’t look perfect anymore. I wanted them to look perfect. Perfect objects for the pleasure of man. Two: you give a wolf a taste and then say, “Thank you,” and walk away leaving them with that you-know-you-want-me look in their eyes.
We weren’t in the club for a good hour before I had spoken with several men, who I knew from their conversation, would become my clients. There was Alex the accountant. He couldn’t get enough of Bella. Then there was a guy who introduced himself to me as T-Love. His ballin’ ass was drippin’ money. I knew that with her experience in dealing with guys like him, that Diane would be the one he wanted.
While the ladies were on the floor, I was giving bedroom eyes to some eye candy sitting across the room. I didn’t know what he did, but I knew he was rich. He was iced-out, from the large diamond nuggets that hung from his ears, to the large diamond studded bracelets on his wrist and the Rolex President watch. He was drippin’ money too, literally wearing his riches for us all to see.
Simone and Diane had just returned to the table when the waitress came over and leaned down toward me. “Compliments of the gentlemen over there.” She placed the standing ice bucket with a bottle of Cristal on ice near our table. Once the waitress had filled my glass, I glanced in his direction and raised it in acknowledgment of his gesture, but he was on his way over to me.
“So, whassup?” he asked.
“You,” I said.
He looked at Simone then back at me. “You ladies mind if I join you?”
They both shook their heads.
“I was just about to use the ladies room,” Diane said as she stood, Simone followed.
“I like your style,” he said. “You know, the way you carry it.”
“Is that right?”
“So what’s up with you? I ain’t seen you here before,” he said.
“Are you a regular or something? Keeping tabs on who comes and goes?” I inquired.
“Nah, I just recognize a dime piece when I see one,” he countered.
“I understand,” I said, but I wasn’t getting a good vibe from this one. The way he was talking just didn’t fit what he was wearing.
“Would you like to dance?”
“No. I don’t dance,” I replied coldly, as Bella came back and slid in next to me. He started to say something, but I cut him off. “I don’t mean to be rude, but, I need to speak with my friend. I really appreciate the Cristal, but if you’d excuse us.”
“I really did wanna talk to you.”
“Do you have a card?”
He stood up and reached in his pocket, pulled out a solid gold cardholder and handed me one. “I’ll look forward to hearing from you,” he said and walked away.
Once he was gone, Bella looked at me. “He was cute. What does he do?”
I looked at his card. “Investment banker,” I told Bella. “But there’s something about him that doesn’t quite feel right. But I’ll check him out.”
By the time we left the club, I had a collection of business cards and phone numbers that I was confident would turn into money.