Eileen adjusted the mirror on her desk again. A perfect view of the changing room through the door behind her deskâand quite a nice shot of a hunk in his undies.
Her friends had given her the fish eye when she said she was going to work for an entertainment placement agency and then were quickly deflated when she said it was purely a Santa's helper and kids' party clown sort of place, not a front for lap dances and strippers. But if they only knew. If they only knew, she thought, as the bell over the entry door tinkled and in walked two more hunks.
It was one of the perks of a low-paying job in a university town. Christmas break and young college men needing a temporary jobâand the miracle of padding and makeupâall added up to a chance to meetâand ogleâyoung men. And Eileen had a particular taste for young, virile college men.
"Names?" she asked, putting on what she considered to be her "fetching" smile.
"Steve Barden, and this here's Keith. Keith Osborne."
He was giving her the once over and smiled broadly when he got down to where her blouse wasn't buttoned all the way up. She considered Pride and Joyâthe left one was Pride and the right one Joyâto be among her best assets. When she saw the young ones approaching, she'd unbutton the top two, making sure there was plenty of cleavage to see. And an approach by an old codgerâespecially if he was being guided in by his wifeâcaused the buttons to close again.
"Santa or clowns?" she asked.
"Oh, I'm Santa, definitely Santa. I give good presents," Steve answered. Then he barked out a laugh that put Eileen somewhat off, even though he had great blond good looks and an athlete's body. "You think ya'll have enough padding for this bod to pass as Santa?"
"You look pretty padded already," Eileen responded, with a little laugh of her own. "Lots of trips through the cafeteria line?"
Steve reddened up, but she had just been pulling his leg; she knew the difference between muscle and fatâand this guy wasn't fat. Before Steve could retort, though, she pursed her lips sweetly and purred, "But it's very nice padding on youâand on Mr. Osborne here too."
Eileen wasn't looking at Steve. She was looking over at the thus-far-reticent Keithâa mysterious, dark, handsome thing with full, sensuous lips and hazel eyes. She saw the spark of interest in his eyes when she spoke her bantering come-on line. Just what she'd hoped to see.
But then she looked back at Steve. And she couldn't decide which she liked best. They both had their pointsâtheir very good points. She certainly would like to see their special points.
"And you want to apply for a Santa too, Mr. Osborne?" she whisperedâsearching for her Kathleen Turner voice.
"He'd make a better clown, of course," Steve said, interjecting his bark of a laugh before he went on, "but we're only looking for something over the Christmas period, so Santa it is for him too."
Ah, Eileen could certainly tell now which of the two was the assertive one. That helped her decide.
"Think you can get us some good gigs?" Steve asked, as he leaned down close. "We'd certainly appreciate that, and would be happy to show our appreciation."