A day at the club

8am

Someone was knocking on the door of my apartment; I groaned and rolled over “Go Away!”
The knocking came again louder this time “Come on Foxy you said to come and wake you”
“Go away Digi!” I looked at the clock “It’s only 8am”
“Yes that’s right remember its interview day you wanted to be up early to go over the job apps”
groaning loudly I got out of bed and donned a robe before padding out of the bedroom and thru to open the door, I opened it to find a grinning rodent who looked far to wide awake for this time of day “Gods Digi I know you left later then I did and I went to bed at 3am why do you look so wide awake?” I turned and walked back to the bedroom, he followed me in carrying an oversized coffee mug in his hands, and stopped in the living room “third cup so far” he said holding it up “and I’ve got more brewing so hurry before Al and Laz drink it all”
I stood in the doorway and stretched well aware that the light from my bedroom window surrounded me with a soft golden glow and gave my robe the illusion of being transparent “they’re here to?”
“Um...Yeah they are, I’ll go check on them shall I?”
I chuckled as he almost ran back downstairs, I loved getting reactions like that, Ember said I shouldn’t tease but I didn’t care.
Still chuckling I headed for the shower, maybe that would wake me up more

8:45am


I headed downstairs still yawning but feeling fresher, Al pushed a cup of coffee over to me as I joined him and Digi in the staff dining room; I noticed they each had a full cup in front of them
“Morning Foxy, cream and lots of sugar just how you like it”
“Thanks Al “I said as I took it, I pulled up a chair between them
“So what have we got?” I yawned

Curvia and I had decided to make Al Joint Chief of security; Digi was now in charge of the technical side, while Al took over the rest, so far he’d seemed to be coping with the extra responsibility well.

Digi pushed the apps over “you and Curvia wanted me to do background checks on these ones, three have convictions of some sort while the rest have just minor things like traffic offenses, speeding , parking and things like that”

I looked up at him “What sort of convictions?”
He pushed the top one over “This one was a bouncer at another club he was fired for being to overly enthusiastic about throwing people out,  people he threw out usually ended up in hospital”

“Right then those three are out, what’s left?” I looked over at Al , he had a smaller pile in front of him “I think these ones have possibilities and wanted to get your opinion on them, the other pile here” he indicated a third larger pile “ we decided just didn’t fit what we wanted for one reason or another.”
I looked at it, I didn’t want to go back thru it and looked up at them, I could tell by their faces that they were expecting me to want to go thru them and decide for myself,
I pulled the pile Al had over to me “Ok let’s go thru these then”
Audible sighs greeted this and I smiled to myself, Curvia and I had decided with the club growing and more staff being hired it was time to let our chiefs in every department take over some duties, this was the first time in action, Curvia was probably out with Laz going over the bar apps and later Id be helping with the dancer apps, next time it would be all left to them.
I discarded a couple from that pile just on a feeling, I trusted those when I had them, then left them to make the calls while I went to make some breakfast

9:15am

The first of the hopefuls started to turn up and I grabbed Ember who had been silly enough to show up early to do some practicing to send them to the proper areas, I sat in on a couple of interviews asking a question or two while drinking another cup of coffee
Curvia wandered thru a couple of times to get herself more coffee as well, I smiled recalling that Al mentioned finding Curves and Xhy in the garden while he was unlocking apparently they hadn’t gone home at all
“Hey Curves, how's the talent for the bartending jobs?”
“Not bad actually, would you believe we’ve hired two more rabbits, They tell me ones a cabbit but I cant tell the difference” She poured herself more coffee and leaned back against the counter “Rabbits must have some sort of talent for it”
I grinned “Maybe it’s because they usually come from big families? Used to crowds”
She sauntered back out and I returned to the staff room

11:59am

“Ok guys this is the last one then we can grab some lunch” I stretched as Ember showed the last applicant in , this one was female, one of the two female applicants we’d had, the other just didn’t have what we were looking for but this one had an impressive resume so I was hopeful.
She was impressively muscular for her petite frame, but not overly so, her bright blue eyes looked over the room, taking in everything in quick glances; her red hair was tied back in a neat braid that reached halfway down her back.
Al and Digi both rose to greet her and she shook their hands with no sign of hesitation, some females Id met seemed to be shy about that for some reason


She seated herself, as Al got his notes on her sorted out, she would be in his team so he started off “Ok, in your resume it says you worked as a body guard for a while?”
She nodded “that’s right, mostly in the celebrity industry but also some private work”
I leaned forward “Why did you give it up? I imagine it would be interesting work”
Again she nodded “It was but I needed a change”
I got the impression there was maybe more to it then that but I let it go, her records were clean anything else was not our business unless she choose to share
I leaned back and let Digi and Al ask more questions, it was also easier to watch her reactions to them, she was calm and not at all nervous like some of the previous applicants, making eye contact easily and often
Her black tipped tail twitched occasionally, usually in response to a personal question
“Ok Nareena you should hear from us later today, thanks for your time” Al stood up and smiled at her “Let me escort you to the door”

They walked out and I turned to Digi “So what did you think of her? I think she’d fit into the staff very well”
“Yes I think so to, and I'm sure Al will agree, now shall we see if Laz and Curvia have finished and get something to eat, I'm starving!”
We waited for Al to return, and discussing the applicants went out into the bar to see what Curves and Laz wanted, Chinese was decided on and Laz was sent to pick it up

1pm

With lunch out of the way, the others wandered off, Al and Digi were sitting over near the dance floor comparing notes on the ones they had decided on hiring, Curvia was on the phone sorting out a problem with a staff member who needed some time off and Laz was dozing in the lounge area
I wandered backstage to where Ember was doing some warm up stretches; she was going to help me with the dancers that were applying
“Going to warm up as well Foxy?” she asked
“Think I’ll need to? We’re just auditioning today”
“You never know, maybe just in case, you don’t want to pull a muscle or anything”
She had a point so I joined her in the exercises; I needed to work that big lunch off anyway

2pm

We had decided to have the dancers come in as a group, that way we could use the ones not performing as an audience, dancers were critical judges so impressing them would mean they would all do their best, the majority of them were Musties of various sorts and felines with a handful of foxes and others, I saw we had a good mix of males and females this time
I called out names and sent the first two backstage to warm-up, Ember would be waiting back there to show them where to go and sort out the music they wanted to use
Laz wandered over and sat next to me “Hi Foxy, you don’t mind me watching?”
“Of course not silly bunny, you can help me out by being furre off the street, these guys are professionals, you can give me an ordinary person’s opinion”
The music started and the first dancer started her routine, they were all very good, especially a little otter name of Jendayi,  Like all otters his dancing was full of impossible moves , well to us furres with backbones anyway
“What did you think of him Laz?”
“Well for a guy he was pretty good, maybe you should ask a females opinion on that?”
I put a mark next to his name and went onto the next


5pm

Al and Digi had joined us by the time the last dancer had finished her routine and I was able to get a few comments from them as well, I narrowed the list down to about 5 and had sent them all home with assurances to contact them tomorrow whether they got a job or not
A few of our regular dancers had come in for practice and had been upstairs in the staff gym warming up, now that the stage was free they had come down to work on routines, I was leaning on the edge of the stage with one eye on them and listening to the guys talking about other things when Ember caught my attention “Could you come back here a moment Foxy?”
I excused myself and instead of walking around to the stage doors I climbed up on the stage and walked over “what's up Ember?”

She beckoned to Cindy, an artic fox  “ I was telling Cindy about that dance you used to do, the one where you use your tail as a cover, I think hers is long and fluffy enough to do that dance but I'm having trouble explaining it and I was wondering….”
“And you were wondering if Id show her?”
She nodded; she knew I hadn't danced those sorts of dances since we had escaped I could understand why she would be hesitant to ask
“I think she’d be perfect for it and I wouldn’t ask but I never did it and I can’t show her”
I nodded “Well ok I guess I could, do we have a costume I could wear?”
The main trick of this dance was to make the audience think you were naked when in fact you weren't, Id seen it done using balloon and fans ,but a tail added more grace to it I thought, of course you needed a nice big fluffy tail to do it properly

Ember came back with a small white sequined bikini outfit. The white would be almost invisible against my fur “Is this ok? It belonged to Leila”
Leila was a jaguar so we were similar sizes “It should be ok, I’ll go and put it on would you get some music out for me? Something slow and sensuous should work fine and turn the stage lights down”
I went into one of the dressing rooms to put the costume on, it didn’t take long and I looked at myself in the full length mirrors, my fur almost covered the bikini altogether “Gods I might as well not wear anything for all the good this thing does!”  Well I said Id do it, I peeked thru the stage curtains, it looked like the guys had moved over to the far end of the bar area , I guess they thought the lights dimmed meant nothing more was happening here.

“Ok Ember are you ready? Give me a spot in the middle of the stage and start the music”
I was aware that the other dancers were watching as well, they had seen me dance but never any of the erotic stuff; I thought they had gone back up to the gym, I guess Ember had been telling them about my performance
I walked out into the middle of the stage and pulled my tail around in front of me arranging it carefully to hide most of my body from anyone in front, the dance had been designed to be performed before an audience that could only sit in front, if Cindy decided to add it to her repertoire we might have to modify it to suit

I struck a pose and waited for the music to start
As usual when I danced I let my body concentrate on the moves while my mind wandered, a holdover I think from my captive days it was the only way I could escape .
I remembered the first time I was shown this dance, my mother taught it to me, usually she left all my tutoring to the instructors she hired but when it came to dancing she had no peer.
Some of my most well remembered and cherished memories were of afternoons when it was just the two of us rehearsing a new dance routine

As the dance ended I was aware of applause and whistles from the front of the stage, looking up I saw that Al, Digi and Laz had seated themselves back at the stage, taking a bow I grinned at them “I thought you guys were on your way out?”
“What and miss something like that!” Laz answered “You must be joking”
I knew you were a dancer Foxy but Id never actually seen you perform” Digi added smiling up at me “You should do it more often”

I walked over to sit on the edge of the stage “I don’t do public shows anymore”
“Oh how about a private show then” he leered at me
“Play your cards right and one day you might get lucky” I winked at him “Now excuse me I'm going to get changed”

7pm

I set up a time for Cindy to meet me at the staff gym so I could help her practice the routine and wandered back into the club, stifling a yawn I crossed over to the bar to grab a drink, just about everyone had gone now, but I could hear noises coming from the staff area so I took my drink with me to see who was still about
I could see the lights on in the security room so I guessed Digi was probably messing with the equipment. He had installed a few new cameras inside the club as well as outside, covering every angle he could think of
Leaning on the doorframe I sipped my drink and watched him busily typing and adjusting a few of the settings, he had all the cameras up and running and I idly scanned a few, movement in the top corner caught my eye, looking fully at that screen showed Cindy in the locker rooms packing her stuff up and getting ready to go, if I leaned back a bit I could catch a glimpse of her thru the doorway.

I waved at her as she came into view, she called out a cheery goodbye and exited via the staff door, turning back to the security room I saw Digi had heard her and looked up, seeing me there he grinned “Everyone gone already?”

“Yes that was Cindy just leaving, and looking at the cameras I see her hailing a cab out front”

“Then it’s just you and me?” He stood and stretched “Long day, are you tired?”

I looked at him over the top of my glass the way he phrased it sounded like an invitation to something else “Well not really as a matter of fact I'm more of a night person what with the club and all, nights are my days if you get my meaning?”

He nodded and stepped closer “Well in that case maybe we can chat a while or something….?”
“Something?” I repeated, knowing full well what he meant but deciding to play along
He closed the gap between us and lowered his mouth to my ear “Yes” he breathed into it “Maybe we could go upstairs and discuss it?”

I rested my head on his shoulder and thought it over, what was stopping me from taking his offer? Id been alone for so long, what was I waiting for?
I made up my mind and lifted my head to give my answer when movement from a security monitor once again caught my eye.
There was a furre standing in front of the club, he seemed to be looking for something and then he moved out of range of that camera, the one in the alley leading to the staff entrance picked him up again, this time close enough that I could see his face
“Dar!” I exclaimed I felt Digi stiffen against me and draw back “wha?”

“It’s Dar! You remember him!” looking at the scowl on his face I guess he did, I recalled they didn’t seem to get on to well.
“I wonder what he wants.”
“Who cares we are closed let him come back in the morning” He made to pull me back into his embrace but Id already started for the door , cursing under his breath he followed.

I opened the door just as Dar was about to knock, seeing me he grinned widely “looks like I’m at the right place I guess”
“Well how many clubs in this town are called the pink pussy?” Digi said sarcastically from behind me.
Dar cocked an eyebrow at me and winked then looking back at Digi grinned at him. "Three. One on east avenue, one on south street, and one on Lighten up boulevard."
Smiling I took his arm and dragged him into the club “What brings you here and at this time of night?” Glancing up at the clock I saw it was almost

8:30pm

“Well remember that night you offered me a job if I ever got tired of the mercenary life?” he began,
I laughed “As if I could forget that! What did you want to do?”
“We don’t need any more security!” Digi interjected before Dar could reply
“Keep your fur on rat boy I'm not here to muscle in on your turf; I'm after something a bit quieter than that, bartender maybe?
“C’mon up to my apartment and we’ll discuss it, you to Digi”
He looked at me and Dar and from the look on his face I knew he was going to refuse; before he could I took his arm in my free one and almost dragged him along to the elevator with us.

Before long we were seated in my dining room, I was busily making coffee while the two guys maintained an uneasy silence at the table

“Come on you two, what's with the hostility I thought we had that sorted out?”
“Hey no problem here” Dar raised his hands, Digi just grunted, I decided to ignore it for now, plenty of time to sort it out later
“So a bartender huh? Kinda tame compared to your previous line of work wouldn’t you say?”
“That’s why I want it, I'm tired of the running the fighting I need to rest I remembered what you said and here I am” he spread his arms wide beaming, I couldn’t help smiling back “You know how to mix drinks?” I asked, after all I was running a business, not a charity
“I sure do, its just one of my many talents” he winked and I heard Digi snort into his coffee “I'm also a fabulous masseur I have talented hands”

“I'm kinda surprised any of your hats fit you” I patted him on the arm to let him know I was kidding “well if you come in tomorrow say 3pm I’ll get Laz to explain things to you and we will see how you go, its not so busy that early in the evening, but busy enough to see if you’re as good as you say”

Standing up he swept me a low bow “Thanks Foxy, or should I call you boss?”
“Foxy will do fine, lets go sit in the living room and you can tell me what you’ve been doing since I saw you last”

We settled down into the lounge room, my sofa was big enough for all three of us and it felt nice snuggled between the two males, we chatted for ages before I noticed it was well past midnight
“I think its time you went home to bed Dar, you’ll need plenty of rest for tomorrow, no matter how confident you feel”
“Aww and here I was hoping Id get invited to spend the night” he pouted in mock disappointment.
I laughed at him “I’ll take you down and let you out”
He pointed at Digi who had fallen asleep “What about him? Aren’t you going to throw him out to?”
“Don’t you worry about him, now come on, I need sleep to you know”

We rode down the elevator in silence, Dar broke it first “It was really good to see you again Foxy I wasn’t sure of my welcome you know”
“You weren’t? Why not? You helped save me from James and his goons, how could I forget that?”
He looked at me “Well you know sometimes victims of kidnappings and things like that block it out, seeing someone from that time brings it back and they don’t want to know”

I moved closer to him and hugged him gently “I wouldn’t forget, you helped me from losing myself when I was trapped”
He hugged me back “I'm glad, I don’t want to lose anymore friends”

We walked down the hall to the exit “I’ll see you tomorrow, come by a bit earlier and we can talk some more ok?”
“Sure thing Boss lady I’ll be here bright and early!”
I closed the door and made sure it was locked then made my way to the security room where I watched him out of sight
Going back upstairs I saw the Digi had sprawled himself out on my sofa and was snoring softly , smiling I fetched a blanket to spread over him before finally heading off to bed myself , turning out the lights the clock glowed a gentle blue light in the darkness
3am