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I pull back and give her another kiss. “Then you’ll have to stay at home all the time and just be naked.”
Isabella laughs and places a hand on my chest. “Oh, that’s exactly what you’d like, isn’t it?”
I nod. “I make no apologies.”
Isabella is running her fingers through her hair when Ernesto pulls up outside of the club. In silence, I take Isabella’s hand and lead her outside. I frown when I don’t see the usual line of people and only one bouncer outside of the double doors. Inside, there’s a group of people scattered throughout; a few are gyrating on the dance floor, and a couple are in the VIP section upstairs, but the music is turned down low.
I nudge Isabella in the direction of my private rooms. “Why don’t you go ahead, and I’ll catch up?”
She gives me a confused look before hurrying off.
Once the door clicks shut behind her, I gesture to the nearest employee, a short and bald-headed man with a tattoo winding up one arm. He pales when he recognizes me but doesn’t stop moving.
“Bring me the fucking manager on duty. Now.”
Wordlessly, he ducks behind a set of curtains, and I pull out a chair at the bar. The bartender with a mohawk pours me a drink. I knock it back and drum my fingers against the counter. When the manager, a tall and dark-haired man in a suit, comes out, he has his fingers linked together. He stops a few feet away and nods to the bartender, who pulls out the entire bottle of brandy.
In silence, he pours us both a generous amount and disappears.
In the background, the music continues to play, and the smell of alcohol and sweat rises through the air. Lenny pulls out a stool next to me and sinks into it. “Business hasn’t been doing well since the war. People are too afraid to come.”
I swirl the drink around the cup. “And why wasn’t I told?”
“I thought I could turn things around, boss. I—”
I slam my glass against the counter and twist to face him, adopting my most menacing look. “Send people out onto the street. Offer free drinks or whatever goddamn promotions there are. I don’t care how you do it, but get it done.”
Lenny’s dark eyes widen. “But—”
I grab Lenny by the scruff of his neck. “What did I tell you when I hired you?”
Lenny swallows, and some of the color drains from his face. “You want results, not excuses.”
I give him a firm shake. “Or?”
“Or it’ll be my head on a platter,” Lenny finishes in a smaller voice. “I’ll get right on it.”
I shove Lenny away, and he stumbles back. “Good. Get out of my sight.”
He spins on his heels and disappears back behind the curtain. I finish my drink, push the stool back with a screech, and stand up. After unfastening a button on my jacket, I glance around the half-empty floor and linger on the bouncer in the corner. He meets my gaze and straightens his back when I give him a curt nod.
My mind is spinning and racing to come up with a solution until the truce goes into effect. I push the door to my room open and exhale. Isabella is already up on the pole in black lingerie that shows off her bulging baby bump. She doesn’t say anything as I sit down on the couch and prop my feet up on the table.
She gives an awkward twirl and presses her back to the pole. “Can I do something else?”
“I love watching you up there.” I unfasten a few more buttons to take my jacket off. “You have no idea how sexy you look.”
Or what a welcome sight she is with everything else happening.
I know I have to deal with my floundering business and the after-effects of the war with the Natoris and Philipses, but for now, I want to enjoy the show.
Isabella gives her hips a little shake before spinning around.
I lift my drink up to my lips and eye her over the rim.
When she climbs off, her black heels clicking steadily against the marble floors, my stomach tightens. I down the rest of my drink when she reaches me, and I crook a finger at her. Isabella smiles as she drapes one leg over me and then the other so she’s straddling me. Slowly, she lowers herself onto me and wriggles. I grip her waist and smirk.
“I love the confidence, dove.” I press my mouth to her lips and exhale. “I like this side of you.”
