Free Without a Net by Lyn Gala Page B

the man was leaning against the edge of the door with an amused expression.
    “Oh, so you’re Buck’s newest stray. I’m Naida, one of the head servers. Normally Buck would be giving you this speech, but since he’s a pain slut who can’t keep himself out of trouble, it falls on me.” She sent Buck a blisteringly unhappy glare.
    He shrugged.
    “So, have you been a server before?”
    Ollie hadn’t expected that question. “Um, no.”
    “Great,” she said sarcastically. “Okay, here’s your crash course. Don’t fuck it up.” She pulled a handheld computer off a shelf and shoved it toward him. “You’ll have an order station. Let the customer enter his order. Then he’ll either charge a card or give you cash. If he gives you cash, you have to take the money to Buck before Buck will make the drink. When you get back to the bar, pick up any drinks and then head back toward the customers. Leave the computer on your tray, and when you are within six feet of the customer who ordered, an arrow will appear along with a picture of which drink the customer should get.” Naida poked the computer, and a green flashing arrow appeared along with the picture of a beer.
    “Really? I don’t have to remember who ordered what?” Ollie thought he might be able to handle this.
    “With all the traffic in and out?” She scoffed. “No. Don’t even try that crap on the floor. Now some of the guys have ghosted phones, you know?”
    “Two or more legal identities on the same phone, which skirts a few laws,” Ollie said. They weren’t big laws, but most of the time one of the identities was stolen, which was a big law.
    “Yep. They’ll switch the electronic signature on their phone so you can’t find who to give the drink.”
    Ollie frowned as he tried to figure out the logic in that. “If they pay for the drinks up front, why would they want to stop me from delivering them?”
    Naida touched his cheek and gave him a sad look. “Oh, sweetie, you are so young.”
    “Actually, I’m not.” Ollie pushed her hand away. “I was a sergeant in the army, and I went to prison after that.”
    “And you’re still young, and I’m not talking about that baby face of yours. If you don’t deliver the drink in a timely fashion, they will consider that a good reason to punish you.”
    For a second, Ollie couldn’t form words. The image of the spanking bench and torture horse came to mind. “They what?”
    “Oh, don’t look so panicked. They won’t do more than put you over their lap and give you a good spanking before one of us shows up to take them off your hands. However, before you walk out of here, I suspect your ass will be cherry red.”
    Most of the blood drained from Ollie’s face. “Aw, crap.”
    “Come on. You were a sun dealer. You must have seen worse when your clients were strung out on that shit.”
    “I wasn’t a dealer. I sold a little to feed my own habit, that’s all.”
    She gave him an amused look that Ollie recognized. It was the one he usually gave perps who spouted that exact same lie. “Right,” she said, not even pretending to believe him. “Well, tonight, those Doms and Dommes on the floor are going to try to catch you in mistakes so they can give you an old-fashioned paddling.”
    “And if it gets too much, I can come back here, right?” This job was sounding less and less like a good idea.
    “Sure,” she said with a shrewd look that didn’t quite match her nonchalant tone. “If you want to give up any tips.”
    “They’ll tip me for a spanking? I don’t think most Doms are that generous.”
    “They’re not. However, some of us have our holes unstuffed so we can do things to earn a few tips. So you fluff them up by letting them spank you and blushing sweetly, and then one of us will come in and finish them up.”
    And that was the sound of the other shoe dropping. “You want me to be a fluffer?”
    “Your job requires it, sweetie. Now, don’t assume that the subs around here