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eyed him up and smiled. ‘You rescued this lady, you can’t be all bad.’

      He thought for a minute, wondering if I was flirting, then smiled, almost shyly. ‘Look,’ he said. ‘I’ve got to chat to Linda for a bit. You gonna hang around?’

      ‘I live here,’ I said coolly, and walked away, swinging my behind. I could feel those piercing eyes watching me go.

      I picked up my top and went back behind the bar, where I felt more comfortable. Maybe I shouldn’t ever have stepped out from its protective embrace. I realised I was still shaking and poured myself a stiff drink. I got one for Jen and Amber too who wanted to know what Tony had said to me.

      The goons came back, without Desmond, and joined in the chat with Linda and Tony, who I guessed was our new boss.

      Later, Tony came over to speak to me. ‘Are you OK?’ he asked.

      I shrugged. ‘No broken bones, just a slightly bruised wrist.’

      He gazed into my eyes, but I felt ready to meet that gaze. I had nothing to be ashamed of. Did I? What did he want from me?

      ‘Let me buy you a drink,’ he said. Now ladies, from the look of you, you’ve probably heard every chat-up line devised by man. Some of you look like most of them might have worked, too. But as far as I’m concerned, ‘Let me buy you a drink,’ is all it takes. It’s simple, it’s forceful without being creepy and it gets the message across.

      You might think I should have grabbed that drink with two hands and without a second thought. I fancied him, and he had money. He could have rescued me, taken me away somewhere and installed me in a nice house somewhere, maybe Epping.

      But I didn’t. I stood and looked back into those eyes for a long time, thinking it over. I didn’t mind the fact he was a gangster for myself, but I had other … concerns, shall we say?

      ‘Trust me,’ I told him. ‘You wouldn’t be interested in a girl like me.’

      ‘I’ll be the judge of that,’ he said. But just then Linda asked me to help her with the till – it was forever sticking – and with a last, sad smile I left Tony standing in the middle of the bar and walked away.

      And that’s storytelling hour over, ladies. Now those of you who think you can handle the ride, in more ways than one, stick around and we’ll audition you. Those of who ain’t up to it: leave now.

      Chapter Seven

      Her story over, Jackie was suddenly back to business. ‘Right, ladies, I want you warming up. Forward and side bends, please, then stretch out your quads and hamstrings. I don’t want any injuries on your first day. Roll your shoulders and start doing some hip circles …’

      Some of the girls seemed to be struggling even with the warm-up moves; they didn’t have much chance of getting through the session if they weren’t flexible.

      ‘Now I want you doing some standing squats – it’s important to have strong leg muscles for this work,’ said Jackie, upping the tempo.

      Shortly afterwards, she put on Beyoncé full blast and got us doing a high-intensity aerobic dance workout in front of the mirrors and didn’t let us rest for a good fifteen minutes.

      I was gasping for breath by the end of it.

      Gabi and Makani had struggled to keep up with the steps but Irena, even though she looked skinny enough to snap in half, had managed to get through it.

      ‘OK, ladies, take five, have a drink of water and join me at the poles when you’re ready,’ said Jackie. ‘If that exhausted you, your fitness levels need to be improved. You need more stamina than that to get through a night shift at the Pearl.’

      I thought I was coping pretty well thus far and was looking forward to doing some pole work.

      ‘Gather round, ladies,’ said Jackie, motioning us round the poles.

      ‘As you can see, there are six of us and only four poles, so we’ll do this in shifts. I will demonstrate some basic moves then three of you will follow. First, the wraparound move. Wipe down the pole before you start, to give maximum grip.

      ‘Stand at the back of the pole with your inside foot at the base. Using your strongest hand, grab the pole at head height, and keep your arm straight. Make sure your weight is hanging away from the pole.

      ‘Keep your outside leg straight then swing it out and step round the pole, pivoting on your inside foot. Bend your knee slightly as you turn.

      ‘Place your outside foot behind the other foot, transfer your weight to the foot at the back and hook the inside of your leg around the front of the pole, gripping it right behind your knee.

      ‘Now practise arching backwards, slipping your hand down the pole so you can reach further back. Then straighten up and swing your leg back down.’

      I quickly realised that, even though I’d put on a pretty convincing show at the Pearl that night, my technique left something to be desired. Jackie beckoned for me to mount a pole, along with Gabi and Irena.

      ‘Right, girls, I’ll do it slowly at first, you follow me,’ said Jackie.

      We put on our heels and took up our positions at the back of each pole. I was doing fine until I started swinging around the pole. My hand slipped and I had to start again.

      ‘Geri, move away from the pole,’ ordered Jackie. ‘Are you wearing any body lotion or oil?’

      ‘Well, I put on some cocoa butter this morning.’ I said, feeling sheepish.

      ‘I thought I told you all, no lotions or potions on any part of your body while you’re dancing, please,’ said Jackie. ‘It makes the pole slippery and hazardous. Go to the ladies, and wipe yourself down.’

      I felt like the naughty girl who had been caught messing around at the back of the classroom. The other girls looked terrified. Jackie was turning out to be something of a Sergeant Major.

      I sloped off to the toilets and did the best I could to remove the traces of cocoa butter with a paper towel, rubbing my skin red raw in the process.

      I felt the same as when I first learned to ride and kept falling off my horse: small and foolish. But when I got back to the studio I tried again and this time the move came more easily.

      Jackie then took us on to the fireman spin, back hook spin and then the more advanced cradle spin. The last one needed a lot of upper-body strength and some of the girls just couldn’t hack it. Gabi had all but given up by this point, to the clear annoyance of Jackie.

      ‘Gabi, I’m disappointed in you,’ she said. ‘I pictured you dancing into the night at the Rio carnival, yet you give up half an hour into a pole-dancing lesson.’

      ‘I’m sorry, Jackie,’ she said. ‘I’m not sure I’m strong enough to do this.’

      ‘Is anyone else going to fall at the first fence?’ demanded Jackie.

      There were a few worried faces, but no one spoke.

      ‘OK, let’s carry on. And I want to see you smile and look sexy – and to do that you’ve got to feel comfortable in your body and trust that it won’t let you down. I’m fast-tracking you here because you have to be ready to work as soon as possible. Let’s have a go at an inversion …’

      Gabi looked horrified and Makani shook her head, but Irena, of all people, seemed to take it in her stride.

      I’d done this once myself without really knowing how to do it properly but I was worried it might have been beginner’s luck.

      I gave it my best shot and realised the key to the move was getting the right angle on the upward swing of the legs. It took a hell of a lot of effort, though, especially because of the pace at which we were going through the moves.

      ‘OK, ladies, I don’t want you falling

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