“Can’t see me changing the way I feel about you.”
“Problem is, Freak, I feel too much. And that’s what’s making me cautious. You’re a biker. I always saw myself with a nine-to-five man, not an outlaw.”
“Just adds a bit more spice in your life.” I grin as I say it.
“I want to be sure this is going to work.”
“Why don’t you come down here? I can show you it will.” We were off-the-scale hot in bed together.
“Maybe I will. What about for Ace’s birthday?”
That’s weeks away. “How about I come up there when he comes to stay with you when summer break starts?”
“Uh-uh,” she replies with a lightness in her tone. “Not in front of Ace until we’re sure, remember?”
“I’m already sure,” I respond. “Just waiting for you to get on the same page.”
“I’m reading the same book.” She sighs. “For now, that has to be enough.”
“Hey,” I start. “How do you feel about phone sex?”
“Goodnight, Freak.”
I’ll take that as a no. Smiling, I tell her, “Goodnight, darlin’. Dream of me.”
“Always,” she whispers, then ends the call.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
FREAK
My hand hadn’t been very satisfying, nowhere as good as having Toni in my bed. But I’d slept well after all the driving I’d done this weekend. Now it’s time to remember my first loyalty, after Ace, is to my club, and after my time away, Royals needs my attention.
I have a meeting lined up with Stalker to go through the accounts, particularly about a discrepancy he’s found between what comes in and what goes out. That’s on our private books, of course, the ones that keep a record of our money laundering. Due to Stalker’s magic, the only books the IRS will ever see are squeaky clean, balanced perfectly, and are completely fictional. It’s the difference in our not-so-legit income that Stalker’s concern is enough to involve me. Someone’s dipping their hands in the cash register, and that is just not acceptable.
So that leads me to bring in Rattler and Paint, the other two members who are regularly assigned to work at the strip club. The four of us put our heads together to work out who it could be. The bartenders are at the top of our list as they’d have the best opportunity and access. We come up with a plan to all bea little more hands-on so we can watch them, and agree to set up cameras in secret. When we unearth the culprit, he’s going to find out what our motto really means. Nobody fucks with the Kings.
Then comes one part of the job that I don’t resent doing – taking the girls who’d like to work for us through their audition. Of course, that involves watching them perform their routines on the stage, and what’s not to like about a striptease? While I like to think I’ve an eye for what will attract more customers, and assess the girls’ assets as well as their moves, part of my judgment is how hard they can make my cock. The couple that come in on Tuesday afternoon both look promising, though one seems to need a little more practice. She’s got fluidity of movement, but the way she stripped down to her bra and panties was awkward at best.
But as she’s got the assets to work with, routines can be improved. Once they're both dressed, I give them the normal spiel.
“This is how it works. We pay you a decent retainer, and you keep all the tips. We provide security for the private rooms for lap dances, which is the most we expect you to do.” I pause, catch the two pairs of eyes with mine, and add, “Some of the girls like to provide a more complete service, if you get my drift. If you want to do that, then that’s up to you. No pressure, it’s not expected. If you do decide it’s something you’d like to offer, there will always be someone around for you to call on if things get out of hand. There are panic buttons in all the rooms.”
Silky, or was her name Satin? Hell, if I can remember how she introduced herself, asks, “And what percentage of those extra earnings will the club expect?”
“Twenty-five percent.” It’s less than any pimp on the street who’d take most of what they earn and leave them with nothing.
The other girl, Amethyst, the one whose performance had not been so smooth, looks nervous, her hands twirling around each other. “And if we don’t want to be fucked?”
“Then you dance and strip. You can keep it to the stage.” I shrug. “We’re not running a brothel. We just know that some of you girls want to earn a little extra, and this is us giving you a safe place to do so.”
Her friend nudges her. “Ames, you don’t have to do anything you don’t want to.”
Ames scowls. “I don’t even want to take my clothes off on stage.”
So why the fuck is she auditioning at a strip club? I don’t appreciate my time being wasted. “Then don’t.” It’s no skin off my nose. An inexperienced stripper can learn. One who’s reluctant wouldn’t make a good show or help our reputation. I make a decision on the spot. “You…” I point to the one whose name begins with S. “Can have the job. You…” My finger moves toward Amethyst. “Don’t sound like you want to work here anyway, and with that attitude, I’d be wasting both our time to take you on.” Hardly pausing, I turn my attention to the first girl. “We’ll need your details, your legal name, and address to get you set up on our records.”
“I want to be paid in cash.”
