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“And me. I’ll need a key for it.”
I gritted my teeth. Not wanting to concede. “Cara, can you please make Mr. DeLuca a key for this door for tomorrow?”
“Yes.” She pulled out her phone and made a note of it.
“I’ll make sure they’re done before I leave.” Beni firmed before he walked back into the storage room, ending the conversation.
I rolled my eyes and climbed the steps to the main room. The bar lit up from the new bottles, and the beautiful glasses were on the highest shelves inside the glass cabinetry behind the bar. It seemed to brighten up the room and add an expensive value to it. The light gleamed from them and drew your eyes. He may have been on to something.
The bartenders were behind the counters wiping them down. The cluttered boxes were gone, the new glasses cleaned and shelved, and the men were gone from view. All of the other bars in here were stocked just as beautifully.
Hmm…
When the doors opened, people filed in and the tables began filling. Lines formed at the bars, and the music changed from the lighter stuff that the DJ was playing to hits that made you move. The dance floor went from being sparse to full. I put in my earset so that I could hear what was happening.
“Sold my first three bottles of Maestro,” Jill said from the VIP section.
I turned her way and saw Beni up there talking to the birthday party that was up there. Cara had greeted them when they’d first arrived. I’d have my turn up there in a bit. Three bottles of Maestro Dobel were in barge coolers I’d never seen before. There was also fruit and a place to sit their glasses to keep them chilled.
I hate to admit it, but it elevated the VIP section. The guests seemed to love it and if they did, so would I. The night progressed smoothly with all three of our VIP stations booming with business. More bottles were purchased and more money was spent. The waitresses were happy too because that added to their nightly tips. The place seemed on fire tonight and I knew Beni had something to do with it. There was a line outside of people waiting to get inside and we were filled to capacity.
“Care to dance with me?” Beni asked when I stepped out from the bar area to take some supplies up to the VIP section.
“Can’t. I need to get this up there.” I said. Not even a moment later, one of his guys took the stuff I was carrying and moved toward the bar in need.
“And now?”
“It’s not professional. So, no, thank you.” I walked away before him this time and managed to evade him for the rest of the night.
When we closed, I plopped on the first stool I came to and sighed in relief that this night was over. I kicked off my shoes for a moment to let them rest before I went upstairs. My staff worked around me, cleAming up the mess. After a few moments, I joined in and helped. When they only had a bit left to go, I moved upstairs to my office where I let the reports generate. Cara would be downstairs putting the cash until it was taken care of tomorrow morning by my accounting person.
“What do you think?” Beni asked while standing in the doorway.
“I thought that you’d be gone by now,” I admitted.
“No. I thought I’d come to check out the sales.”
I handed him a stack of reports and he sat across from my desk to read them.
“You know that you can read them directly from the screen. You don’t have to print them. It’ll save the reports.”
I snorted. “Remember, I’m not stupid. I prefer the printed version so I can make notes for changes.”
“Would you like for me to show you how to do that on your computer?” He asked.
“No.”
“Hmm… Tonight proved to be over two hundred percent up. It made more money than you have in the last ninety days on a Saturday. It could be a fluke, but I think the changes helped. We just need to replicate it again.”
“Sure.” That’s all I had when I refused to say that he was right. “Not bad for a legit business, right?” I looked at him head-on as I waited for his response.
“Actually, no.” He sat down the reports. “Implying something, Simone?”
“I know what you do and I don’t want to be involved with a man like you.” I held steady not wavering from his steely eyes.
“What is it that you think I do, Simone.”
“You’re a DeLuca. It’s not a secret what you’re into.”
