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She pushed a file toward me and I could feel my eyes widen before I had the wherewithal to stop myself. I had so much on my plate already, what on earth could this be about. I opened up the folder and was greeted with the logo for an exclusive gentlemen’s club—Club V.
“I want you to find out why I can’t get in,” Lauren said with a laugh.
I glanced up at her. “I’m going to guess it’s because you aren’t a gentleman.”
She tucked a strand of her blonde b
ob behind her ear. “You’re right about that. But also you should know it’s not just an exclusive gentlemen’s club, nor is it a match-making service, or any of the other fresh coats of paint they might try to put on the place. Nope, that’s not what Club V is about.”
I thumbed through the pages in the folder and looked for anything eye-catching that might tell me what was really going on there.
“Drug front? Money laundering? Embezzlement?” I had no clue based on what I was looking at.
“You can’t tell me you haven’t heard of it? I’m surprised. You’re exactly the sort of woman they might approach.”
I looked at her, bewildered. “What is this place?”
Lauren leaned in closer with a grin. “It is the most exclusive sex club in the U.S. They have locations in almost every major city. It’s open sex, BDSM, swapping…you name it, Club V caters to it. They have got a billion dollar business on their hands and the client list is impossible to get your hands on, though there are rumors floating around about who has been seen entering and leaving the building. They value the privacy of their members above all else—well, aside from possibly saving their own skin when the feds finally come around to stop what they’re doing.”
I frowned as I stopped going through the pages, looking up to meet Lauren’s eyes. “What are they doing that the feds would get involved with? Consenting adults can do whatever they want. I mean, as long as it isn’t prostitution in a place where it’s illegal.”
“Bingo!” Lauren cackled. “There’s a rumor going around that these fellows have an auction block where—you will not believe it—they auction off virgins to the highest bidder. I’m not certain if it’s true like I said it’s a rumor that is floating around and I want to know what’s behind it. Where there is smoke there is fire and I have a feeling things are pretty hot inside of Club V.”
My eyes went wide again. I had heard of a lot in my time at the magazine. The rich and famous were always into weird stuff and often it was borderline illegal, but outside of really terrifying kidnapping films, I had never heard of anyone actually auctioning virgins.
“You can’t be serious?”
Lauren nodded. “I am. And I was also serious about saying they won’t let me in. I’ve applied for a membership half a dozen times. They know where I work and they do an extensive background check on all their members. I’ve made it so far to an office in Manhattan where I had a meeting with someone who vets prospective members, but nothing further than that. There’s a location here in New York, their first, and people are aware of that, but you can’t even try to get close enough to photograph the entrance. It’s deliberately darkened around the club and you would have to know where it was located exactly to ever make your way inside. Security is all around and they make sure to scare off anyone who tries to take photos. I suspect they’ve got an in with the local police as well because they keep the place pretty clear of anyone who isn’t supposed to be there.”
“Jesus,” I uttered under my breath. “So where do I come in on all of this?”
“Well, I considered getting you to apply as a member, but I realized it would take far too long from application to approval for this story to get to press. That and they would do a check on your salary and I’m afraid what we pay you here isn’t enough to get your foot in the door, not unless you plan to go work there.”
I shook my head. “That’s not happening.”
“Indeed not. So, I called in a few favors and got you some credentials from a magazine that they will be happy to allow access. You see, they’re trying to do a little housekeeping right now. They want all the right words making their way into the public about them. Rumors about the auctioning have been swirling around the place for some time now and it’s looking like there is a little federal heat on the place. They want to double-down on the gentlemen’s club angle. These credentials will get you in without a problem and we’ve already set up the interview with the founder of the club.”
It didn’t surprise me that Lauren had been able to work her magic on what sounded like a very extensive operation, but I still had a hard time believing that she was picking me to go in for what was bound to be a very difficult assignment, especially when she knew the pile of things that were on my desk and how much I had to turn in within the next month.
I flipped through the pages again, checking out the list of contacts for the New York location. For some reason, one of them stood out to me, but I couldn’t put my finger on it.
“You’re perfect for this assignment, Penny. You’re young, beautiful, and exactly the kind of woman these guys go for. I wouldn’t be surprised if he made a pass or told you more than he intended in the interview.”
I sighed absently. “So who is it I’m going to be interviewing?”
“The founder, who is also one of the three owners—Pete Wilson.”
It hit me like a bolt of lightning then. Pete Wilson. We had gone to college together and…I wished I could say that I hadn’t thought of him or pictured his face a thousand times since then, but it wasn’t true. Pete Wilson had stayed in my mind all of these years, a very painful reminder of what my life used to be like. I found myself gripping the folder with some force.
“Is everything okay?” Lauren asked: a look of some concern on her face.
I looked up, smiling. “Fine, absolutely fine.” Fucking fine as hell. This was like the universe dumping an amazing opportunity in my lap. Finally, I was going to be able to pay Pete back for what he’d done to me. “When would you like me to get started?”
“Do a little research on him today, see what you might be able to find online. I know he’s single and very eligible, which you might be able to use or you might not. I’m not telling you what to do about that or suggesting anything. It’s just…up to you. We’ve got the initial interview set up for two days from now. I think it’s enough time to get prepared. Keep in mind there will be a series of interviews since we’re doing a ‘profile piece’ on the business.” She slid the credentials for the other well-known men’s magazine across the desk to me. “And don’t worry: they’ve already created a dummy account for you over there with a few articles to your credit. If he does any searching for you online he’ll see that you’ve been working there for a short while and have some stories under your belt, but not many.”
I nodded and took the materials and started to stand. “What about everything else I have currently?”
“This takes priority over everything.”
