In the back of Nine Lives—past the Ready Room, the small kitchen, coat check, and the bathroom—are four VIP Rooms for specific clientele who request a private dance. They’re organized from worst to best, with the most premium of the rooms—The Rose Continental—only given to clients who had Hermès originals or could afford them.

To put it bluntly, Jévon and I were not the types of people who usually frequented its rose marble splendor. Well, scratch that, ...