The only time I saw Duke was through his window. At times, I thought it was creepy how he stood above the crowd, watching down like he was the king of the castle. Actually, he was. He commanded attention, oozed sex appeal, and made women crazy if he dared to come down from his perch.
I was feeling antsy that I hadn’t attempted to snoop. How could I? I wouldn’t know where to begin. My guess was he locked his office if he wasn’t in the building. I hadn’t even been able to use my womanly charm to cause Duke to make the first move, like Gwen had advised me.
It’s only been a week. Give yourself a break. You’re still trying to get to know the lay of the land.
Though it was hard to do much with Duke’s second-in-command, Vince Russo. He had an eagle eye like his boss, always scanning the club. But Vince had the manners to check in with me every now and then.
I could at least say Vince was nice and a gentleman, opening doors if I was around or trying to get to know me. Unless Amber, one of the waitresses, was near. She seemed to bare her teeth at me whenever Vince and I chatted.
Matt relayed to me that Amber saw me as competition. She and Vince were fuck buddies or maybe more. If I wanted to know gossip, Matt was my guy. He didn’t initiate it, but he had his ears wide open.
Matt nudged me out of my stupor. “Did you hear Amber calling you?”
I followed his line of sight to the petite strawberry blonde waiting for her order at the end of the bar, fuming red.
I could hardly hear over thethump, thump, thumpof the bass. At least the noise was my excuse. There had been a few times before we opened, when the club was quiet, that I hadn’t answered to my alias.
She threw her hands up, clearly wanting to tear off my head. “Hurry up, Joy. Time is money around here.”
I couldn’t argue that point. Matt and I had been racking up the tips. I usually left the club with about five hundred per night in my pocket from my portion of the tip jar. The crowd might lean more toward the younger generation, but the weekends brought out the rich business folks who wanted to let their hair down, particularly the women.
I placed the drinks on Amber’s tray. “Sorry.”
“You need to step it up,” she said rudely. “You’re slow. You’re always looking up at Duke’s office, and you’re deaf. Matt heard me, and he’s on the other side of the bar.”
I bit my tongue and smiled. An argument with Amber would only draw attention to me that I didn’t want, but maybe a brawl would light enough of a fire under Duke’s ass to bring him out of his castle.
“Thanks for the advice.” I pivoted on my heels and helped a bald guy sandwiched between two groups of rowdy ladies at the bar. “What can I get you?”
He watched Amber breeze off as if he knew her.
I snapped my fingers at him. “Dude, I don’t have all night.”
I was tired, my feet hurt, I was starving, and I needed to use the bathroom. I’d forgotten how exhausting working on my feet for hours on end could be.
“Heineken.” His strident tone carried over the music.
Vince ponied up to the bar. “Joy, Duke wants to see you in his office when the show starts.” He gave me a warm grin as his blue eyes sparkled beneath the strobe lights overhead.
“’Kay,” I said.
The dancers in the cages put on a show on the hour. I had a few minutes before it started and maybe a chance to use the bathroom.
I popped the top of the Heineken and took the bald guy’s money. Then he melted into the crowd.
I cleared empty glasses and beer bottles from the bar, feeling like someone was watching me. Sure enough, Duke was in his office window, dressed in black pants and a light-blue dress shirt rolled up on his forearms. He was alwaysGQready, except for the night I’d been watching him through my scope. Then, he’d been wearing black jeans and a T-shirt with a skullcap on his head—a far cry from a business suit, for sure.
“Does Duke always stand like an eagle up there?” I asked Matt.
The corners of Matt’s lips curled upward. “Always. He’s kind of scary. But I caution you—don’t dip your pen in the company ink, if you know what I mean. Many waitresses past and present have tried, and those who’ve succeeded have walked away with broken hearts. He’s not the settle-down kind of dude.”
Matt had no idea what I knew about Duke. I wondered if he had knowledge of Duke’s illegal enterprises. I would guess not. And if he did, I doubted he would share.
“Good to know. I don’t do steady anyway.” I just needed intel about guns, the cartel, and a possible war with those who’d stolen the guns.
Besides, an ATF agent and a criminal weren’t exactly a recipe for success.
Matt closed the distance between us, his gaze tracking mine. “I’ll give you one last piece of advice. Keep your nose behind this bar, and don’t give Amber any reason to screw with you.”
