Bella Morrison-McConnell (![]() ![]() @ 2009-09-16 02:40:00 |
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Current location: | Avarice |
Current music: | Muse, "Supermassive Black Hole" |
Entry tags: | bella mcconnell, ben bale, patience kowalski, place: la |
You Dastardly Woman
Who: Ben, Bella, and Patience
Where: Avarice
When: Tuesday night
It had been a productive day for Ben. He'd managed to buy The Heartbreak Lounge right out from under the owner, with no real difficulty. Lady really wasn't much of a businesswoman. It was just a matter of signing some last papers and the place was officially his. He'd get David to bring in some workers to renovate, and he'd have it opened in mere weeks. Hell yes. For now, he sat at the bar in Avarice, as he loved being around his patrons, seeing them enjoy the fruits of his work.
"Can I get a gin and tonic?" The dark haired girl hopped up onto an empty barstool and leaned over the counter, her black denim D&G skirt rising to reveal the soft curve of the back of her thighs as she did so. Chloe was having her Let's-Not-Be-Depressed party at the Sugar Shack tonight and Bella just couldn't bring herself to go. She didn't really feel like staying cooped up inside either, so she'd come here. She'd recognized the name of the club, if only because the blonde had mentioned it.
Patience slid a beer across the bar to a guy who'd tipped her a twenty (probably for the flash of cleavage, and hell, she wasn't turning down good money) and then looked to the girl. She tapped her wrist and smiled as she went about mixing an Amaretto Sour for a woman at the other end of the bar. "I can give you the tonic, but not the gin."
Bella looked down at the wristband she had on and groaned. "Look. I just forgot my ID at home. Cut me a little slack?" For just a second, she thought there was something familiar about the girl, but she couldn't place her as a face she'd seen outside the Sugar Shack the night they'd brought her back.
"Sorry," Patience said, glancing to Ben quickly before she set the drink in front of the woman. "How about a Coke?" she asked as she glanced at the girl.
Bella shook her head, but her gaze had followed the other girl's to the guy who was sitting two stools down. "Hey," she said, having completely misread the bartender's look. "Wanna buy a girl a drink?" she asked him.
"Probably not a good thing to ask the club's owner, girl." Ben said, before laughing with a shake of his head. "Luckily for you, I have the morals of a Manson Family member. Still... sorry. No alcohol tonight." He looked at her, that grin just giving off all the right vibes. "Of course... there are much more fun ways than drinking to forget one's problems."
Great. Just her luck. With a sigh, she sat back down and crossed her long legs. And then she looked at him again. The way he smiled, the way he looked at her.... "Are you Ben?" Bella asked, remembering what Chloe had said.
"My reputation precedes me, I see." His smile, the charming purr to his voice... whether you were pulled in or pushed away by his attitude... it wasn't hard to see why so many people fell under his spell. "But I don't believe I have the pleasure of knowing YOUR name, my dear..." he reached over, taking her hand and bringing it to his lips.
"You sound pleased by that." She let him take her hand and her dark gaze was steady on him as his lips brushed against her skin. Why did she get the feeling that Chloe would lecture her about this later? "And that's because you don't." Did she offer her name? Bella was still a little hesitant about that. She had this notion that if she tossed it out there to the wrong person, all hell would break loose. Maybe she was being overdramatic, but she knew she'd seen Ben that night. She had a thing for faces. She'd like to say she never forgot one, but, ha, that would be just a little incorrect considering there wasn't much she could remember before opening her eyes on Thursday. "So what is it you propose I do instead of drowning my sorrows?"
"Well... there's a lot you could do. You could get out there and dance, you could sit here and engage me in pleasant conversation..." he waggled those eyebrows at her naughtily. "Or you could even find more physical ways of doing so... which I have several nice places reserved specially for..."
"Is it true you're opening a strip club?" Way to deflect - at least momentarily - his suggestions. Even though she HAD asked.
"Yes, I certainly am. And I can't say I wouldn't be interested in having you as one of my girls..." Hell, he'd already been picturing her naked since he saw her anyway... "What *is* your name, anyway?"
"Yeah, well, I'm not looking to take my clothes off for a bunch of desperate guys, no matter how well they tip. But...do you have any other openings?"
Patience shook her head as she passed by again and set a Coke in front of the girl. She didn't look too much younger than her and the way she was dressed said she could probably do better than working in a titty bar.
The tip of her small, pink tongue teased the curve of her lower lip as she sat back and eyed Ben for a second. What the hell, right? She'd either be proved right...or wrong. "Bella." And then just for good measure, she clarified. "Bella Morrison McConnell."
There was a crash and a loud curse from behind the bar.
Ben snorted there, more at Patience's reaction than anything. Still, he composed himself quite well. "Well... not sure what type of job you had in mind, but we're gonna need bartenders and hostesses... but I gotta warn you, neither is exactly a glamorous position." He really knew he shouldn't flirt anymore, but now? He REALLLY couldn't help it. "Although... I can think of some positions you'd fill nicely..."
"I'm sure I would," Bella smiled. He hadn't looked at her like she'd grown two heads, so.... Her gaze slid back to the girl behind the bar. "Ummm...I'm not really worried about glamorous, as long as there's a paycheck involved."
"Ben...." Patience's tone said it all. She'd ducked down to clean up the glass from the bottle she'd dropped. This was wrong on SO MANY levels.
"Your own business, Kowalski... mind it!" Ben said in a playful tone. Oh, he knew what this had to be doing to Patience... and he found it kinda funny. "So... what're you doing tonight.... Bella?"
"Not even funny," Patience said, dumping the glass in the trash. Fucking hell. What the shit was she going to say to Pat when she saw him later? 'Hey, baby, I saw your kid. All grown up. Sorry, no, not Ami. And Ben was hitting on her. May have given her a job. Also may or may not have plowed her.' Yeah. No, that wasn't gonna work out so well.
Bella looked between them. It didn't take a rocket scientist to know the girl at least recognized her name. Great. She turned her attention to Ben again and let her smile turn a little coy. "Hopefully scoring a job."
"Well. Maybe. Although... I'm quite interested in the 'scoring' part..." Jesus God. Ben really had a one-track mind sometimes. Didn't help any that his girlfriend knew he was like this and somehow found it cute.
"I don't suppose that means you'd be more interested in buying me a drink now? Or, well, it's your place, right? You wouldn't even have to feel guilty about buying it...." She tossed her dark hair over her shoulder.
"Why don't you... let me give you a small tour of the club. Then... we'll see about that drink." Uh-oh. One of Ben's damn-near patented 'tours'. Let's say they rarely involved actual sightseeing.
Like hell Patience was going to let that happen. Putting her job on the line? Probably. But it was better than putting her impending wedding on the line. "OR," she interjected, stopping right in front of them - albeit, on the other side of the bar, "Why don't you sit right here and enjoy your Coke? Or go out there and dance? In public. Where people can see you. How old ARE you, anyway?"
"Twenty-one," Bella said, but only earned an arched brow from the bartender. She sighed. "Nineteen." The stare continued and for some reason she couldn't completely explain, she felt a little guilty. Like she'd seen that look before and...knew exactly what it meant. "Fine. All right. I'm eighteen. But I'm ALMOST nineteen. Swear."
Ben just glared at Patience, but in an almost playful way. "You are the biggest cock-block I've ever met, you dastardly woman." He looked back at Bella, and slipped a piece of paper into her hand. "Enjoy yourself for now. Later this evening... if you decide to take me up on my offer... give that to the bouncer. He'll make sure you find me." He took her hand again, kissing it one last time. "It was a pleasure meeting you, Bella. A definite pleasure."
Bella took the slip of paper and her smile slowly returned as he kissed her hand again. Oh, he was pretty smooth. She'd have to give him credit. Maybe Chloe had been right to warn her. Maybe the bartender was right to stick her nose where it didn't belong. Didn't mean she had to appreciate it right this moment. "Next time, maybe the pleasure will be mine." She hadn't realized she had it in her, but somehow...it felt good to be flirting. "I'll definitely see you later." After all, she was in serious need of a job.