Just The Tip (eBook)

CHAPTER 2

Driving into Las Vegas for the first time, I was struck by the vastness of the desert landscape. The sun was setting, casting a soft glow over everything. It was as if the world was saying goodbye to the life I had known. It was a difficult time for me, as I had recently discovered that my boyfriend had been unfaithful. At that moment, I had decided to leave everything behind and start fresh in Las Vegas. The city was different from what I had expected. It was full of bright lights and glamor but also a place of contradictions. Dreams were made and shattered in the same breath. Fortunes were won and lost, not just at the blackjack tables but also in matters of the heart. The number one question I was asked was, “How did you end up here?” Of course, my journey to Vegas started with a breakup.

Breaking up is never easy, particularly when you and your ex have mutual friends. To make matters worse, I discovered my boyfriend had a secret drug issue, was unfaithful, and overall was not the person I thought I was potentially marrying. I felt completely exhausted, mentally, emotionally, and physically from the relationship. I enjoyed living in San Diego, but I yearned for a shift. I was unable to socialize with our common friends because they were aware of the situation and kept it from me, which broke my heart even more. I was thankful I had a group of female friends I used to work with at Hooters who were not linked to the same circle as my ex. Two of them had quit Hooters and gotten hired as cocktail servers in Las Vegas. They would tell me the amount of money they earned in a single night on the weekends, which was more than I made in a month from my insurance broker salary and Hooters tips combined.

I believe things happen for a reason and my entire Vegas journey would have never been if it was not for Hooters San Diego. It was because of Hooters I befriended some of the best orange-shorts-wearing gal pals that I continue to have to this day.

I had worked at Hooters for almost a year and had grown close with many of the girls. We had a great time working there and I made a lot of money in tips, so when a group of them took a weekend trip to Las Vegas for a birthday and did not return, I was a little surprised. That trip to Vegas was the beginning of the end of our team at Hooters. Ten girls ended up getting hired for new nightclubs in Vegas and had to start training immediately. My store was well known for having the most calendar girls and the third highest sales revenue, so it was no shock Vegas snatched up many of the girls. The girls I had befriended were some of the most beautiful and genuine women I have met, and I had always found them hilarious and fun to be around. I guess this is why they were selected for the new Vegas jobs. I was sad to see them go, but I was also impressed that they had such great opportunities awaiting them.

Jenny was my good friend, a beautiful petite Texas girl with a buxom figure, the epitome of Hooterific. The Light Group had hired her to work at their newest nightclub, JET, one of the top clubs in Las Vegas at the time, always filled with celebrity clientele and high rollers. She invited me and my boyfriend to visit her and her fiancée for a long weekend, and we agreed. I had never been to Las Vegas, so I was ecstatic to check it out. We partied like rock stars until the crack of dawn and reveled in the consuming high energy of Las Vegas. Our time together was a blast, and I was truly sad to leave them. While we were at dinner, Jenny told me she was making an average of $1,000 in tips each night. She also informed me that a new club was opening at the Bellagio and the Light Group was still hiring bottle servers. She offered to get me an interview if I ever wanted one.

Monday night was industry night at JET, so the boys and I decided to visit Jenny. When we arrived, we went to the bar. Jenny found us, grabbed my arm, and offered to take me to the owner’s VIP table and introduce me to the Andrews, her bosses. They were friendly, offered me a seat at the table and a glass of champagne, and asked how I knew Jenny. I explained that we were good friends from Hooters San Diego and that I was just visiting her with my boyfriend.

One of her bosses smiled and said, “Oh, you have a boyfriend! Well, if you ever break up with him, give us a call. We could give you an interview.”

The comment caught me off guard, but he said it with no bad intentions, and I laughed it off. However, it stayed in the back of my head as my boyfriend, and I drove back home to San Diego the next day.

I was due to fly out to Greece the following week for a month-long visit with my family. Little did I know my boyfriend would be unfaithful while I was away. I was heartbroken and quickly changed my flight back to San Diego. He and I practically lived together and most of my personal items were at his house. We had been together for a couple of years already and I was not getting any younger, so I wanted to try and mend things between us even though he had cheated. Over the next couple of months, my boyfriend and I went through some tough times, and our relationship quickly deteriorated.

I remembered the offer from Jenny’s boss and started to seriously consider it. A new adventure was too appealing to pass up and suddenly it seemed like the perfect way to distract myself. So, one morning, I packed a small bag and I drove to Las Vegas and stayed with Jenny for the night. I had a job interview with Andrew, her boss. I knew interviews were handled by the club’s founding members, who were notoriously selective about who they hired. Jenny advised me to show up with as much skin exposed as possible and to be as bubbly and cheerful as I could and not so much my sarcastic self. I trusted her judgment. After all, she had been working with them for a few months and had never mentioned any problems. I was nervous, but I was also excited about the challenge and the potential to make a lot of money. I had to take a leap of faith and trust Jenny.

When I arrived, the secretary at the front desk told me to have a seat in the conference room; one of the Andys would be with me shortly. I remember sitting in the conference room, feeling a bit uncomfortable, when Andy entered. I first noticed how much shorter than me he was. When I initially met him, at JET, he was sitting down at the VIP table. His eye level was literally at my bosom. As I am 5’10” without heels, he must have been 5’6” on a good day. He had begun to walk back and forth, and I knew he was checking me out. He walked next to me, asked me to do a quick turnaround, shook my hand, and told me I had great tits.Such professional language for an interview, right? Of course, I started awkwardly laughing. But I can play this uncomfortable womanizing game too.

I said, “Thanks. They’re great for motorboating shorter men.”

When I am put in uncomfortable situations, my go-to has always been to make them more awkward by saying something completely off the wall. I could tell from the look on his face that he was impressed with what I said. Thank God I have thick skin and can rely on my sense of sarcasm to make an uncomfortable interview durable, but the interview process only got worse. Instead of asking me the kind of questions I was expecting, like how to upsell bottles and name five champagnes, he asked me about my experience at Hooters and if I liked to party. I wasn’t sure if this was a test or a legit question. Jenny had told me to act bubbly. I thought to myself, it’s worth the money; just endure it. It’s worth the money.

Of course, I smiled. “Well, yeah, I love the nightlife party scene and I love to dance with my customers, to get to know them. I love the whole atmosphere of the music and everything.”

He proceeded to ask, “No. Do you like to party? Do you do drugs? Would you go gambling with clients if we told you to after a shift?”

I thought this was a test, so I said, “I’ll drink with them, but I don’t do drugs because I know you are given a drug test to work at the casino properties the clubs are located in.”

I’m giving him all these corporate answers and he just looked at me. “These are great corporate answers. That is exactly what you’re supposed to say, but we don’t do that here. We cater to clients. We cater to them in all aspects.”

I was taken aback by his forwardness, but I did not want to show it. I’m not a stupid girl, but I played stupid. He told me that one of his biggest clients was Leonardo DiCaprio, and Leo liked to leave his table with his entourage and partake in after-parties in his suite. He then asked me if I would ever be willing to do that. I replied that I did not know, and I would have to wait for that situation to arise. He did not push further, but he took notes in his notepad. He finally asked me where I was from and other personal questions, then he told me, “This was great getting to know you, Julia. You are very beautiful, and you have a great rack. You would do very well in this town. I will have to see what property you would fit best in, and I will get back to you.”

He never got back to me. I didn’t say anything to Jenny after the interview except that he told me he would let me know. I looked at it as a blessing in disguise because I was not hired, especially after what was to transpire within the following years.

“ Several anonymous former employees filed a lawsuit against Light Group alleging that she and her fellow servers were given drugs and booze and expected to have sex with customers to be given prime shifts and VIP tables at their...