Taking a sip, I close my eyes for a second, savoring the taste. It reminds me of the slow nights when I would go to my father’s office and have a drink with him. We would catch up on the events of the week and reminisce on old memories.
“Celeste. What do you think you’re doing here?” The sound of Mike's voice makes me cringe internally.
I school my face and turn around to face the most annoying person in my life. His hair is disheveled and his shirt is unbuttoned, two from the top. Not a good representation of a respectable man people are to take seriously.
“Mike. Well, this is my club, isn’t it? I have matters to discuss and auditions to watch. Can I help you with something or are you just here to suffocate my space?” I take another sip, never moving my eyes from his.
“I run this club. Any matters, I have already dealt with.Why don’t you go sit over there and enjoy yourself. I’ll handle the auditions.” He tries to act cool but the panic in his eyes is evident.
“Mike, you look a little rough around the edges. Why don’t you take the night off? Celeste and I have things handled from here. You should really watch how you speak to your boss. Last time I checked, you really needed this job.” Antonio walks up to him, fixing his collar, brushing off invisible lint from his shoulders.
“You think you can come back to the states and waltz in here like you’re in charge? You have to be—” I raise my hand to cut him off.
“Watch it. I can have you removed just like I did your mother. So if you want to keep your job, turn around and take a night off.” I turn from him without giving him a chance to respond and walk over to the audition stage.
Sitting on the red leather couch, I cross my leg over the other and motion one of the bouncers to bring in the ladies to start. Mike’s going to be a real pain in my ass and I see how the girls look at him. Disgust is written all over their faces. They hate him as much as I do. I make a mental note to check in with the dancers’ manager whom I’m speaking with later to see how things are going with Mike and I’ll make a decision if I’m going to remove him permanently.
“He really needs to clean himself up if he’s going to represent this place. I don’t remember him being this grungy looking when your father was in charge.” Antonio takes his place next to me as the dancers enter the stage.
Now that I think about it, Mike always took care of himself, showing my father that he was respectable and worth something. Now that he has no one to kiss ass to, his true self-image comes out.
“Yeah, I wasn’t a fan. I’ll talk to Melodie about him when Ispeak with her. I don’t like the way they look at him. He’s too big for his britches and it’s time he’s put in his place and removed. He’ll go out swinging but I don’t really give a fuck.” I shrug.
The dancers presented to us are beautiful. We have two who take the pole, spinning and lifting their bodies so gracefully and the others seduce you with their eyes as they sway their hips back and forth. They dance at ease and confidence radiates from them. I really like that. I observe the men around us whose attention has drifted to the stage. They watch in awe, especially with one of the girls on the pole wearing pink lace. She’s a keeper.
“Ms. Hansley, do you mind if I could steal you for a second?” Melodie, the dancers’ manager, approaches me looking a little put off.
“Of course. Antonio, I think you have it from here. The one in the pink, I like her. She’s a yes for me.” I get up from my seat, dismissing myself as he nods.
I lead the way to the offices above the club. Choosing my father’s office, I sit in the leather chair behind the desk and gesture for Melodie to sit.
“What’s going on, Melodie? Are you okay?” I watch her as she sits, fumbling with her hands.
I don’t like the way her hands are shaking. Whatever is making her react this way, isn’t good.
“Yeah, I’m okay. The girls and I have concerns about the rumors going around about a serial killer. They call him The Jawbreaker. He’s been targeting dancers from different clubs and we can’t help but feel like we may be next. A lot of us have a lot to lose being single moms and no other family. We’re scared to leave in case we’re being followed.” Her eyes drift downward at her trembling hands.
I knew this was coming. Last night, I saw the newsreporting about this mysterious killer. He’s going to be a real pain in my ass.
“Melodie, I won’t let anything happen to you and the girls. I’ll increase security in and out of the club. You won’t leave alone, as you shouldn’t be anyways. I’ll have my most trusted men take care of you. If you’re fearful that you’ll be followed home, I can also have my men take you home and make sure your place is secure. I’ll look into this matter, okay?” I stand up from my chair, circling the desk to crouch down next to her taking her hands.
“You know, when we addressed this with Mike, he ignored us. Told us we were worrying for nothing. It was like he didn’t care. But you, you give us hope that we’ll feel safe again.” She takes hold of my hands with tears in her eyes.
“What else has Mike done here? I see the way you all look at him and I don’t like it.” I close my eyes briefly, taking a deep breath. I’m trying not to lose my shit.
“He would go through our tips at the end of the night and take a big chunk of it. He said it was a new policy. I know we had a portion we paid out but he nearly left us with nothing. Is that really the new policy? He’s also touched some of the girls inappropriately causing a few of them to quit.”
He’s done what? That greedy little bastard. Now, I’m down girls and in desperate need of hire to fill their spots all because of his thirst for cash. Son of a bitch.
“No, that’s not the new policy. He doesn’t have the authority to make any changes without approval. I’ll pay each of you the amount that he took. The staff is to not touch you, you understand? If anyone crosses the line, you come to me or Antonio and we’ll handle it. I’ll take care of Mike. He won’t be a nuisance going forward. You’re going to be okay. I swear to you.” I move away from her to look out the window at the busy night life.
“Thank you, Ms. Hansley. I appreciate you hearing me out. Your father would be proud.” She smiles before she leaves my office.
Once I hear the door click, I grab the closest thing to me and chuck it across the room causing the glass to shatter against the wall. What the fuck was he thinking? He’s stealing money from the girls, and no doubt dipping into our finances to cover it up. I could cut off his fingers for touching them.
Grabbing my phone from my pocket, I dialed out to Brock, the second in command to Antonio. “Brock, I need you to pick up Mike and bring him to the bunker. We have a thief we need to deal with.”
CHAPTER FOUR
