They made a date to make a date. Same signal—that extra earring—and if Bill could meet her they would set a time.
Bill worked a lot of hours. Things at work seemed to be settling in and settling in nicely. Rosie and Edelgarde were happily working hard. Together with Jo Ann they were making a lot of money, and at least for a bit even Caesar seemed pleased.
Whether Caesar was pleased or not, he should have been. The numbers were better than great and all food coming out of the kitchen was, at least from Bill’s and the girls’ standpoints, right on point, good at the very least and mostly excellent. Since he’d been there, at least from what he knew, Bill had no food complaints other than a couple of under-cooked steaks. This was a good thing. Under-cooked steaks were a fact of life for a broiler cook. They happened, just happened. Under-cooked steaks happened for many reasons, and while most everyone thought they happened due to the cook’s error, that was not necessarily the case. Bill knew this clearly.
Bill watched Caesar always. He did not trust him and never would, never could. Just because he had not gone at Bill since Jo Ann gave Bill forewarning didn’t mean he wouldn’t, didn’t mean he’d forgotten or even abandoned his plan. No, Caesar was a bully plain and simple, no different from the bully Bill had encountered in the workhouse. That bully could wait and watch and plot his moves. Bill knew that Caesar had time, still a little more than two months until Bill’s probation was over.
Bill promised himself he’d never let his guard down.
Jo Ann was working later almost every night now. This was good for Bill because it became more difficult for Rosie and Edelgarde to make moves on Bill. Bill just about never made moves on them. Only at times when he was particularly horny or for some reason they managed to make him so would he initiate something.
Rosie knew how.
Edelgarde knew how.
Both of them knew it wasn’t generally with words though it could be.
Purple lips and nails could do it. Leaning over excessively and letting a nipple flash could do it. Bending over and letting him see their crease could do it. These things did not always do it, but they could.
Hard, steady work and sweat could do it too. When they were very busy, busy on top of being busy, Bill sometimes got to the point of just wanting some fun. That’s when he would invite one of them to the distant bathroom they used. That’s when, now that he knew he could have either one of them any time he wanted, he became ornery and made demands for what he wanted, made sure they fulfilled his wants. Bill reasoned that if he were going to do this sort of thing he might as well get what he wanted.
Millie was quiet too. Millie was quiet because she was also very busy. The hotel was running at full capacity, a big money-maker for the chain. Full occupancy nearly all the time coupled with a full banquet schedule and booming restaurant outlet meant lots and lots of linens. Lots of linens and lots of uniforms made for lots of work for Millie and the girls behind the scenes in the laundry.
Worse. Two other things were in play. First, Millie’s boss was in-house just about 24/7. Many nights she did not go home, slept over either in one of the small, only-sold-when-there-were-no-other-rooms corner rooms with strange angles or on the sofa she’d put in Millie’s room off behind the racks of uniforms. She slept on that sofa, came in late to sleep and went out early to work.
Second, she’d told Millie to cool it with Bill. She’d told her she didn’t have to cut it off, just simply cool it a bit.
