<div class="floatright">(http://s6.thisnext.com/media/largest_dimension/E83636C0.jpg)</div><br/>Lijuan Tze finally fought her way to a spot by the dressing room's mirror, trying to keep her hand steady as she piled her black hair onto her head and applied vivid red and black colours to her caramel skin.  Without her six inch perspex heels she was only five feet tall and slightly built, certainly no match for the more buxom dancers at The Cage.  Her routines the last couple of nights had only elicited a tepid response from the baying audience and Dimitri, the club's manager, had told her she had to pull out the stops tonight or find another job.<br/><br/>Like their were other jobs.<br/><br/>Lijuan was intelligent and hard working but employers heard her Chinese accent and treated her like a peasant.  Although she was 22 she looked barely pubescent and Americans of every other ethnicity seemed to relish patronising and belittling her.  The job market was atrocious and every entry level position was being fought over by literally hundreds of applicants.  Her foreign name meant she rarely even made it as far as an interview and even if she did, it was probably only to tick boxes on migrant interview quotas rather than a serious desire to assess her suitability.  The only interviewers who even appeared to give her the time of day were lecherous middle-aged men who just wanted an excuse to sit and stare at her.  It was soul destroying.<br/><br/>She had replied to a want ad in the newspaper, a tiny box of text advertising for 'nightclub dancers aged 18+' and even before she even picked up the phone she knew what she was getting into.  On the outside, the warehouse building was wholly unmarked and it had taken Lijuan ages to find The Cage.  It was highly exclusive but for all the wrong reasons.  Tattooed Russians sat waving banknotes alongside Italian Mafia men, Hispanic gang members, Triads, Yakuza, senior representatives of organised crime from all over the city.  Inside the club was luxurious, if pitched at men who liked their clubs dark and seedy.  Way in the back there were poker games, bare-knuckle fights, shooting galleries, dealers and plenty more illicit fun besides.<br/><br/>Lijuan felt ridiculous in her Japanese themed outfit but she had to carve her own niche here.  All the other girls had signature outfits and moves that made it difficult for Lijuan to put together her own routine without getting accused of plagiarism.  Currently she was the only Asian on the books so it had made sense to just go nuts with that theme.  Lijuan had a couple of black and red fans that allowed her to dance without copying anyone else's style and once she had ripped open the zipper at the front and cast off her dress, the two fans would be the only things covering her modesty, until near the end of her act.<br/><br/>All too soon it was her turn to go on stage.  Lijuan knocked back a double vodka to loosen her up a little.  The last couple times she had smiled too much, the other girls had told her.  She had an innocent and if the truth be known, underage look about her so she was going to aim for sultry and knowing rather than wide eyed enough to disturb all but the nastiest perverts.  Likewise, her attire and make-up were trashier and more adult than the silk kimono she had worn on her first night.  Hopefully this time she would strike the right balance.<br/><br/><em>"... proud to present The Cage's newest talent, Lily!"</em><br/><br/>She chose a Japanese chill out dance track, with traditional instruments playing a slow melody, backed up by a slow-paced backbeat and lots of heavy, fuzzy bass; east meeting west, just like her.  This time 'Lily' also made eye contact with her audience, something she had been too nervous to do before.  She let her body undulate without over-thinking it too much, gratified when she people yelled and catcalled.  The butterflies in her tummy faded away and she actually managed to shrug out of her PVC dress without it looking awkward, her hips rotating to push her ass out and distract her viewers from her upper body disrobing, her back to the audience for a moment.  She strutted on her heels instead of tottering, faking a confidence that she didn't really have.  Finally, she got down to the two black and red fans, covering her breasts and mound with them.  Lily gyrated slowly to the insistent beat, fluttering the fans with skill that had taken her three solid days of practice, covering different parts of herself as she danced and turned.  Her piled up hair emphasised the slender curve of her neck and made her stand out.  Finally, she tossed the fans to the floor and danced naked but for a G string of fake pearls, though still with oriental grace and poise.<br/><br/>When her act was over, there was definitely more appreciation from the men watching.  Some of them beckoned her over and she knelt at the edge of the stage, too self conscious to crawl like other girls did but collecting bills in her G string just the same.  After a few minutes Lily thought that everyone was done with tipping her and she began to pull away, aware that Dimitri would want the stage clear for the next girl.  Then she saw a hand lift in the corner of her vision and turned her head to see the most enormous man she had ever laid eyes on, his skin deeply tanned and his hair full of dreadlocks.  She watched, shocked, as Dimitri approached him, displaying a deference she would never have thought him capable of.  Lijuan collected her costume and props and went backstage.  She had just put her outfit back on when Dimitri reappeared.<br/><br/><em>"Lily, get your ass over here!"</em><br/><br/>She hastened over, fully expecting to be told that she hadn't been good enough and was fired.<br/><br/><em>"The tall guy out there, with the hair... you saw him?"</em>Dimitri was the kind of guy who thought 'foreign' meant 'deaf.'  Lijuan smiled and nodded politely, her ears ringing.<em>"Well I am here to tell you that he owns half this fucking town."</em>He paused to let his words sink in and Lijuan tried to look suitably impressed.<em>"He wants you to sit with him.  Get some Champagne from the bar, the good stuff.  You keep him happy, ok?  He is now your personal God."</em>Dimitri grimaced and decided not to mince words.<em>"He will want to touch you, kiss you maybe have you sit in his lap, ok?  You let him do what he wants.  He will pay you, very good tip, ok?  Can you do that, because if you can't I'm going to have to send another girl over."</em><br/><br/>Lijuan deliberated but only or a moment.  She needed the money and being kissed and groped wasn't really that big a deal.  If this man really owned half the city then the compensation might just be worth the ordeal.<br/><br/>"Ok, I can do that.  I will keep him happy."<br/><br/>Lijuan fetched an ice bucket with Champagne and a couple of flutes, then wondered if it was presumptuous to take over a glass for herself.  She was agonising over the dilemma when the bartender slapped her ass and sent her out with both glasses.<br/><br/><em>"Don't just stand there keeping him waiting!"</em>He hissed.<br/><br/>She approached him warily, while trying to appear relaxed.  She had unfortunately reached his table before she realised that nobody had told her his name.<br/><br/>"Hi there."  She purred.  "Did someone order champagne?"  She set the bucket and glasses down on his table and sat down on the chair beside him.  She had to crane her neck just to look him in the face.  "Are you having a good night?"  She ventured, wondering what the hell she was expected to say.