Damn Jon. Just as Braden thought, the man had been spying on him. But which one of his employees was feeding him the information?
He handed the officer his business card. “Acropolis is a restaurant and bar only. We do not, and will not, offer strip entertainment to our customers. This was all a big misunderstanding. Our waitress had an allergic reaction to a piece of bread and she acted out inappropriately. Now that she realizes she has this allergy, I can assure you it won’t happen again.”
The officer scratched his head. “I’ve never heard of an allergy that causes you to strip. You can consider this a warning. If we find any evidence that you’re running a strip club, we’ll shut you down immediately.”
He breathed easier. “Of course. That won’t be a problem. Please stop by anytime.”
The police officers turned and walked out, leaving a red-faced Jon behind.
“You might have fooled the police, but one call to the Michigan Liquor Control Commission and you’ll be lucky you don’t lose your liquor license for this little stunt.”
“Nothing happened. Now get out of my restaurant. You’re not welcome here.” It was bad enough when Jon was simply his competitor, but Braden didn’t want him anywhere near Lola.
“Nothing happened?” Jon held out his iPhone. “Then what is this?”
It was a video of Jenny stripping on the stage. Shit, someone had recorded it and sent it to Jon. Why hadn’t he showed the cops?
“What do you want?” Braden asked, his hands clenched at his sides. He needed to stay in control or he’d lose everything he’d worked for.
“You know what I want. You out of business. This tape will ruin you. If I gave it to the cops, you’d get a slap on the wrist and a fine. But if it got into the hands of the liquor commission, you’d never run a restaurant in Michigan again.”
“So what’s stopping you?”
“I thought you and I could come to an agreement. This is just business, Angelopoulos. I’m a good guy at heart. A family man. I’ll keep this video to myself if you convince Lola to sell me this property. I’ll buy it at full market value. Lola’s a great gal. I don’t want to screw her out of what she deserves. She’ll get enough money she won’t have to live on Ramen noodles while she’s traveling the country, I get the property, and you can open a restaurant somewhere else far away. You’ll sign a non-compete with me, stay out of the Greek food business, won’t open a restaurant within fifty miles of here, and I’ll keep this little video to myself.”
He smelled lavender only seconds before Lola came and stood next to him. “Jon, what are you doing here?”
“Hey, babe. I was just in the neighborhood and thought I’d come by and say hello. See how your studying’s been going.”
Braden turned to her. “You told him?”
“Yeah. I didn’t think it was a big deal.”
She’d unwittingly provided Jon with the ammunition to put him out of business, but he didn’t blame her. Jon had used her and she’d fallen for it. He might lose Acropolis, but he’d protect her from this slime.
He took a deep breath and turned back to Jon. “Give me a day to think it over. I’ll be in touch with you.” Needing a moment to cool down, he ignored his staff and went straight to his office.
He sat in his chair and dropped his head in his hands. What the hell was he going to do? He’d given everything he had to this restaurant. If he didn’t have Acropolis, who was he? Just another rich boy living off his family’s money. His whole identity was tied up with this place.
His restaurant was his home, the employees his family. They relied on him for more than their paychecks. When he’d discovered Christopher drunk on the job, he didn’t fire him. He’d sent him to detox and to an outpatient recovery program. When Jenny had gotten sick with some unknown stomach ailment and needed tests she couldn’t afford, he bought health insurance policies for his employees. Now her diagnosed Crohn’s Disease was controlled by medicine. If Acropolis closed, what would happen to them? They wouldn’t be able to work for him if he opened a place an hour away. Some of them took the bus to work.
Pounding the desk with his fist, a piece of paper floated to the floor. He scooped it up. It was the sheet music to the song Lola had been working on before Jenny’s strip tease.
He needed to speak with her. Needed to hold her in his arms. Everything else disappeared when he was with her. He shouldn’t have left her with Jon, but he didn’t trust himself not to wipe the smug expression off his face with his fists.