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“But I have topayhere. I can’t afford any of these girls.”
That’s a damn lie and we both know it, considering how much I pay him for his information. I take a look at who’s on stage at the moment, nodding in approval when I see the choreography.
“Jasmine is really stepping up her game,” I comment, gesturing to her. “I might need to promote her to top girl soon.”
She grabs the pole and twirls around it, then ends up doing splits against it. The flimsy fabric covering her leaves almost nothing to the imagination.
He watches her, but he only shrugs. I know he doesn’t like the truly experienced girls, anyway. He could push for free services here, and I might even indulge him from time to time, but he’s never even bothered to try.
“She’s okay,” he says.
“Nah, I bet she’s better than everybody at Ntimacy put together.” I pull out a few bills from my wallet and wave them in the direction of the stage, waiting until Jasmine has met my eyes so I know she’s seen me. She’ll come over once her dance is done.
I place the cash on the table between us and reach out to grab Slayer’s beer, taking a sip before he can protest. “So, did you get the stuff I wanted?”
“Yep,” he says, glaring at me. “You can get your own beers here. You know how much they charge for a fucking drink here? It’s highway robbery.” He snatches the mug back from me, taking a gulp from it. “At least it’s good shit.”
“Of course it’s robbery. How much do you think those investment types earn in a single day? They can afford it.” I raise my hand to signal the waitress going around the tables. She’s dressed only slightly more respectably than the dancers.
“Hi, boss,” she says, a notepad already in her hands. “What can I get you?”
“Hi, Cherry. How’s your day been? Got good tips already?”
Cherry smiles at me. “Yep! I’ve been saving up so my kid can get one of those new gaming systems for his birthday. I’m more than halfway there. There was this huge party here last night. They ordered almost two grand worth of drinks and food. And that’s not counting the private dances.”
Slayer starts to shift uncomfortably, because he hates how I chat with everybody. It makes me want to prolong the conversation even more.
“That’s great! When’s his birthday? Let me know. I’ll send something too.” I already have my phone out to make a note of it. Cherry demurs a bit, but of course she isn’t going to turn down a gift from the boss.
“You really don’t have to…” She says, after I’ve already written everything down.
“It’s no problem at all. You know I want to look out for all the girls here.” I laugh when I catch Slayer’s sour expression. “Anyway, can you get me a piña colada? Tell Lisa she can spruce it up however she wants.”
“Of course! I’ll be right back with your drink, boss.” Cherry heads off to the bar to put in the order, ignoring one table that’s been looking impatiently in our direction. She really should have stopped to take their order, too, but pleasing the boss takes top priority.
Slayer shakes his head, and while I can tell he wants to make some sort of snarky comment, he keeps it to himself. Instead, he says, “Lauro’s in deep shit with the feds. He tried to branch out, but went to the wrong person, and ended up with an informant.”
“Damn. Sucks to be him.” I lean back in my chair and keep my eyes on the stage. “You think I should cut my losses? I already… disposed of his consigliere. It wouldn’t be too hard to sever ties entirely. Although it’s a shame. I really did want to take Nilo under my wing. Show him the ropes. Terrify him.” I laugh a bit. “You should have seen how he squirmed when I groped him. Really thought I was going to do something to him right there in front of his daddy.”
Slayer laughs. “Think Daddy would’ve stopped you? Really?” He takes another long drink of his beer. “But there doesn’t seem to be anything about Nilo. I mean, preliminary investigation because of his dad, but he seems to be clean.”
“Well, duh. He’s a baby. Twenty-two, according to him. It’s the first time I’ve seen him at events. He claimed we’d met before, but I don’t believe it. Maybe he was lurking in the background somewhere, but he’s definitely never been part of the negotiations proper.” I tap my chin. “I wonder if something happened to his older brother, the one who did show up more. I’d actually expected him.”
Cherry returns then, carrying my piña colada. “Here you go, boss. Lisa said to tell you she’s thinking of adding this version to the menu, if you like it.”
I take the drink from her and give it a quick sip. It’s sweet, like piña coladas usually are, only there’s a slight hint of an extra fruit. “Is this… raspberry?”
“Yes!” Cherry grins. “What do you think? She’s been experimenting with other fruit flavors.”
I take another long sip, letting it swish in my mouth for a bit so I can fully absorb the flavor. “Well,Ilike it, but I am not hard to please.” I push the drink in Slayer’s direction. “What do you think?”
“I don’t drink that fruity shit,” Slayer says, not picking it up. “And we’re not here to menu plan or whatever, remember?”
I roll my eyes. “Yes, yes.” I take the drink back and take another quick sip. “All right, this has my approval, but just in case, have Lisa make another three and send them to that table of very impatient looking men, would you? See what they think. Put it on my tab.”
I gesture to the table in question, and Cherry startles a bit.
“Oh, them. I don’t think they’d like fruit cocktails.” Cherry’s smile turns a bit strained. “They’re more the rum-and-coke kind of guys.”
