With a Twist (Last Call #4)(4)

Simon hired me on the spot after an impromptu interview, while we sat at the edge of the main stage one afternoon and watched tits and ass gyrating all over the place.

Starting as a bouncer, I soon proved my worth. I constantly accepted small "assignments" from Simon that I'm sure were illegal, but he didn't trust me enough to tell me the details. It may have been "picking up a package" from an associate to "delivering a briefcase full of money" to another associate. I never asked questions, did my job well, and proved to Simon that I was loyal and could keep my mouth shut. Within two months, I was promoted to General Manager.

My first major breakthrough in gaining Simon's criminal trust had to do with the prostitution that was rampant within the club. I had been told ahead of time during my debriefing that the club had been busted a time or two for it. It was small potatoes and nothing that could bring Simon Keyes down. But it gave me an in with him. It didn't take me very long to figure out it was pervasive and that most of the women were in on it. Watching footage of the cameras that were installed in the VIP rooms confirmed it for me.

So I made my move.

"Simon …  got a minute?" I had asked as I knocked on his office door one night after closing.

Despite the fact that this guy was a complete scum, you'd never know it by outward appearances. He was a good-looking guy at age forty-two with stylish, dark hair, thousand-dollar suits, and a cultured air of civility about him.

"Sure …  come on in, Raze," he told me as he closed a ledger book on his desk and then stood up from his chair. I walked in, shut the door, and watched as he opened up a safe behind his desk. After he stowed the ledger in there and shut the door, he turned around and sat back down, directing me with a sweep of his hand to take a chair opposite his desk. 

"What's up?" he asked as he steepled his hands in front of his face.

"Listen …  I've been watching things carefully, and I think you got a problem. The girls are fucking the customers for extra money in the VIP rooms."

I watched him carefully for his reaction, but I really didn't need it to confirm what I already knew. That Simon Keyes was very much aware that this was going on in his club. The man never missed a thing and because he got a portion of the girl's tips each night, he knew exactly where they were making that type of dough.

"Oh, really?" he said neutrally. "That's not good."

"It's not good the way it's going down," I told him, watching him cock a curious eyebrow at me. I pressed on. "There's no reason why you shouldn't be getting a cut of that business. Those girls are working on your clock. Any money they make …  well, that's only because you give them the opportunity to dance here."

I paused and waited for his reaction. I saw it …  just the tiniest of uplift to the corners of his mouth and deep interest in his eyes.

Still …  he was cautious with me, because I was not in the circle of trust yet. "But prostitution is illegal. I don't need that kind of heat."

I snorted hard …  for dramatic effect, and leaned forward in my chair. "Don't matter if you don't get caught," I told him smugly. "I just hope you're getting a fair cut off that action for yourself."

Simon's eyes narrowed for an instant, and then he opened the door for me, giving me my first glimpse inside his circle. There were only two people there that I knew of so far. Simon Keyes and his right-hand man, Lance Portman.

"I already know the girls are fucking for money, and I get a cut," he said, while flicking off imaginary lint from the corner of his suit coat. His gaze was intent, gauging me for weakness.

I expected no different, and my answer was ready. I wanted to show him I was ready to be in the circle.

"Not really surprised," I said with praise, stroking his already over-inflated ego. "You're a savvy businessman after all. But I can make you more money."

He looked at me thoughtfully and leaned forward on his desk. "How's that?"

"I've got some experience in this. Right now, you've got a handful of regular customers that partake. I'm betting I could vet out additional potential customers, set a price menu …  charge big because these fuckers will pay for it, and then you split the net with the girls fifty-fifty. Plus, I can smell an undercover cop a mile away."

This was true since I was a cop myself, but that was something Simon would never know. I needed to get word to my handler that the local police needed to lay off Simon for a while …  let this little prostitution scheme play out so I could use it as a platform to get Simon to trust me further.

"And what do you want out of this? For your troubles?" he asked with a hard glint in his eye.