Jewel shook her head and sighed, leaning a little closer to her. "I strongly suggest you don't lie to me. I don't like it and neither does Mr. Vasquez," she insisted, nodding toward the man at the bar. "Lying will get you disciplined at best and dismissed at worst. Do you understand?"
"Yes, ma'am," Clem whispered although she really didn't. "I'm going to be nineteen."
"Hmm, well that seems a little closer to the truth," Jewel said with a nod. "You're quite small," she noted. "I would have guessed around sixteen."
"No, ma'am, I swear I'm going to be nineteen. My Ma was small boned too," Clem insisted softly.
"You're definitely pretty enough, or you will be once you're cleaned up. With the proper undergarments, we'll be able to make your breasts a little more appealing. You're obviously not ignorant. Have you had schooling?"
"Actually, I taught school, ma'am."
"Really, where?"
"Back home in West Virginia. Once I completed my studies, I was given a certificate. I can show it to you if you want."
Jewel laughed. "That won't be necessary. Most of our customers don't care if you can even speak proper English, let alone write it. Tell me, Miss McKay, do you have any idea what being one of my girls entails?"
"I think so, ma'am, I mean yes, yes, I do," she quickly stammered, blushing fiercely.
The man in the back stood as he laughed out loud. Clem shot him an evil glare and he laughed louder as he approached with a long-legged stride.
"Jasper, there is no reason to rude. This doesn't concern you," Jewel said, her voice showing the first hint of displeasure.
"Oh come on, Jewel," he replied with a drawl. "I'm one of your best customers, at least as far as drawing in poker players. Surely you don't have to resort to hiring children?"
"I'm not a child," Clem hissed looking him over derisively. "Just because you wear nice clothes and have clean fingernails doesn't give you the right to judge me. I'll bet you've never worked a day in your life," she continued, somehow managing to look down her nose at him despite the fact that he towered over her.
"Well, well, the little cat has claws," the man called Jasper stated with a smile as he picked up a lock of her hair and fingered it. "I like a woman with spirit," he continued. "If you take her on, I have first dibs." Grinning, he slapped Clem's ass crisply as he walked toward the door.
"Get out of here, Jasper," Jewel ordered with a smile as she snatched Clem's arm and stopped her from stomping after him. "You don't want to tangle with him," she warned. "Let it go and come into my office," she said gently. "We have quite a few things to discuss.
Clem released a breath from between her teeth.
"Who is that dude?" she asked watching him over her shoulder as Jewel led her away.
"Jasper Montgomery. He's considered one of the more prominent citizens of Culpepper Cove, although at times I'm sure I don't know why. He's a professional gambler by trade, but he's wealthy in his own right, family money I believe although I couldn't swear to it.
"As a rule he's in here several nights a week, cleaning the gold out of the pockets of any miner foolish enough to challenge him to a game of cards. He doesn't show much interest in going upstairs, which is a shame," she sighed. "He's very attractive."
Clem heard the man behind the bar growl, watched Jewel hide a smile and filed that information away for further consideration.
Chapter Two
Jewel sat behind her desk, the fingers of her hands steepled as she regarded the young woman before her. Clementine McKay was a bit of an enigma. While Jewel could certainly understand her desperation, Lord knew she'd seen it often enough and experienced it herself, the young woman did have other options.
At the moment, Clementine was incredibly dirty and unkempt. With a smile, she remembered thinking the same about another young woman under her roof. The first time she'd seen Della, all she could see was the color brown. A bath was all it took to show the woman's physical beauty. Love and a lot of Nettie's good cooking had gone a long way, allowing the woman to begin giving glimpses of her inner beauty as well.
Pulling her thoughts back to the present, Jewel gave her full attention to the woman currently seated before her. Clementine's figure was seriously lacking in womanly curves, much more suited to the young boy she portrayed herself to be. Those were all things that could be dealt with. A little padding here and there could do wonders and most of the men she would service would have already had enough to drink they wouldn't remember if she was lacking. Frequently satisfied customers were men who passed out long before they crawled between a woman's thighs, crowing proudly the next morning of their stamina because they'd spent the night in one of the girl's beds while she slept elsewhere.
Of course, there were the insatiable ones too. It took an experienced gem to handle them. "Are you a virgin?" she asked suddenly and bluntly.
"Yes," Clem admitted, sticking her chin up and refusing to feel inferior because of it.
"Do you have any other skills?"