The casino was only a week away from opening, and it looked stunning. Graham had everything in order and was drilling the staff, not only with regard to their specific duties, but also their ‘meet and greet’ mannerisms. Tony had given him a free hand, and he was as proud and excited about it as if it were his own place.
Magazines and newspapers were full of gossip about the opening of the Lambrianu casino, people were already curious and waiting just to get a glimpse of the inside. The ‘Lambrianu Casino’ sign was high in the air, in now traditional pink neon. It looked amazing.
Huge glass chandeliers hung from the ceilings. Alarmed glass-fronted banking areas, where people either bought or cashed in their chips, stood out and provided easy access for people to exchange their money.
Even though everything was alarmed and secure, and had been handled by a security company that specialised in that kind of thing, including banking systems, Tony still had his own men on hand. He had them discreetly patrolling the area, with guns carefully hidden, in case they were searched.
Sharon had laughed at the idea. ‘Who the hell is going to burgle or raid the casino, knowing who owns it, and what would happen to them if they did?’ she had said.
Tony took her point but didn’t care; he wasn’t taking any chances. There was a lot of money involved, this could make or break him. Security monitors had been placed everywhere, on the insurance company’s instructions, and he was leaving no stone unturned.
Opening day finally arrived; Tony was nervous and his palms were sweaty. He and Jake had decided to go to the casino early, to make sure everything was ready for the customers. They were surprised to see that Graham had all the staff lined up like soldiers on parade, awaiting their inspection. It was a long process and, thankfully, they all wore name badges. Graham walked with them, introducing the staff and explaining what area they would be working in. Tony and Jake remained poker-faced, as though it was all matter of fact and they had done this numerous times, even though inside their hearts were pounding.
After the inspection, they walked upstairs to the main office and both gave a sigh of relief, once they were out of sight. ‘Bloody hell, Tony, my arm is aching with all that hand-shaking, I didn’t realise how many employees there were.’ Jake was rubbing his arm, and shaking it.
Tony ignored him and went and sat down on the huge leather swivel chair at his desk. Jake’s desk was at the other side of the room.
‘We’ve made it, Jake. Did you see all those people? They looked at us like we were gods.’
They both sat in silence, deep in thought, taking in everything that was going on around them. They had come a long way from the old days, leg-breaking for the protection money the bossman had demanded from the local publicans.
An hour later, Graham came up to inform them it was time to open the doors to the public. They were ready for business. Tony stood up, straightened his tie and swept his hair back. ‘Graham, just a minute please.’ His voice was genuine and sincere; he had a lump in his throat and fought to contain his feelings. ‘It might be our casino, but this is your opening night. Thank you, we couldn’t have done it without you.’
Tony and Jake both walked up to him and shook his hand. They could see how much Graham appreciated their acknowledgement of all his hard work.
‘Thank you, Mr Lambrianu, fingers crossed all goes well.’ He also felt a little humble that these well-known, much-feared men had graciously taken the time to thank him.
‘Call me “Tony”, and this, of course, is Jake. You’re the manager of this empire, this is your baby. Good luck, Graham.’ Again, Graham nodded at them both, then he left.
Jake poured two glasses of whisky and handed one to Tony. He felt they both needed it. ‘To us, boss,’ he said, and raised his glass in the air for a toast.
It was time for them to go down to the casino and watch the proceedings. After all, this was opening night, people would expect them to be there – including the journalists and photographers who wanted to be the first to spread the gossip.
They couldn’t hear much activity below and that bothered them. Had no one turned up? They looked at each other, before pushing the door to the casino open. They were hit by a burst of noise. Of course, Tony thought, the room is soundproofed! No wonder we couldn’t hear anything! To their surprise and delight, people were swarming in. Customers were at the tables and the staff were all busy. Waitresses walked the floor with large silver trays of drinks, tending to all the gamblers desperate to win a fortune.
Jake pushed Tony forward. ‘Time to wander around and play host, Tony, work your magic.’
Tony felt proud and nodded. After all their hard work and planning, it had finally come together. He felt a lump in his throat, and stuck out his chest with pride, as he surveyed the room, bustling with customers. He walked forward in between them all, wishing them good luck and shaking hands with some of the people he knew and recognized from the club.
Newspaper photographers took photo after photo of Tony and the casino, journalists interviewed him and Jake about how they felt on their grand opening. They were both very nonchalant about it, and played it very matter of fact. They were businessmen, this was just another project.
‘Lambrianu Casino a roaring success’, read the reviews in the newspapers the next morning. Each and every one of them told the story of the night’s proceedings and there, in the middle of it all, were photos of Tony smiling and posing for their cameras. Everything had gone brilliantly and, under Graham’s watchful eye, very smoothly.
GENTLEMEN ONLY
The opening of the men’s club was a much more low-key affair. The waitresses were dressed in black satin bustier corsets, which looked like tight-fitting bathing costumes, sleek and figure-hugging and, of course, they had on the trademark pink bow ties.
Members of the club wandered in and out at their own pace, spoke to Mathers, and acknowledged Tony as the owner, but not as an equal. In fact, Tony felt snubbed by some of them. He knew that most of them were high-class gentlemen with breeding, born into money. Sometimes, that alone made him feel inadequate. He had never felt like this since he was a child, wanting acceptance and not knowing how to get it.
Even though he now had plenty of money and lots of businesses that were flourishing, these ‘gentlemen’ still saw him as a protection racket boss with an eye for the ladies, and a bad reputation.
‘You and they are wrong, Tony. You were born into money, for God’s sake. You’re Lambrianu wines. You own half of Italy. Remember?’ Jake was doing his best to make Tony feel better, though he could see his efforts were wasted. He knew Tony wanted some form of respect from these men. Approval, if you like.
Mathers noticed Tony didn’t spend a lot of time at the club, and that even when he was there, he kept himself to himself and let his maître d’ run things. He also gave the entertainments room a wide berth, not wanting to be associated with the strippers.
It seemed even when everything appeared to be going right in Tony’s life, there was always something to bring him back down to earth.
‘Problem, Mr Lambrianu?’ Mathers said, raising his eyebrows at Tony on one of his rare visits.
Tony pushed back his hair with his hands. ‘No, Mathers, you have everything in hand. You don’t need me here, time for me to leave.’ Tony walked towards the door.
‘You have no need to stay in the shade just because you’re not a respectable married man, Mr Lambrianu,’ Mathers said. He looked Tony up and down. ‘If I may make an observation, I believe a double-breasted suit jacket would suit you more than the one you are wearing.’
Tony looked at Mathers and grinned, which took some of the stress away. ‘I tell you what, Mathers, why don’t you come clothes shopping with me and give me the benefit of your experience.’
‘Good idea, sir, that is just what I have been thinking,’ was all he said.
Tony felt it was blatantly obvious that this was what Mathers had wanted all along. At least if he chose the clothing, he c
ouldn’t constantly find fault with it.
Tony backtracked a little; he was curious about what Mathers had just said. ‘What do you mean, Mathers, about being a married man? Is that why some of the members feel more comfortable with Jake in the room, because he’s married?’ He looked at Mathers and waited for a response.
Mathers put his fist to his mouth and gave a cough. ‘All the members here are married, sir. You and your colourful reputation, if I may say, seems to set the cat amongst the pigeons. To be a gentleman, you first have to dress like one. But remember, Mr Lambrianu, even the most respectable of men have skeletons in their cupboards; you just have to know which cupboard to look in.’
Tony wasn’t quite sure what Mathers was talking about, but he would find out. He couldn’t believe his single status seemed like some kind of threat to these men. Were they afraid that just because he played the field a little, their wives would think they were following his lead?
It was time to go back to the nightclub, but Mathers had certainly given Tony something to think about.
Somehow, he felt safer there, on home ground as it were. Maybe he would have a drink with Roxy and some of her friends and live up to his tarnished reputation as a ‘good time guy’. But he vowed to himself he would make these holier-than-thou members accept him, one way or another.
***
‘How come your butler never tells me how to dress?’ said Jake, while having a drink with Tony. ‘Or does he think I always get it right.’ Jake was curious, Mathers never mentioned how Jake was dressed.
Tony took another sip of his drink and glanced at Jake. ‘Because, even dressed in the best Savile Row suits, Jake, you still look like a scruffy bugger. There is no help he could offer you.’
They were both smiling, it was an ‘in’ joke, the way Mathers always went out of his way to reprimand Tony. Even when Tony and Jake were alone, in their boxer shorts and T-shirts, Jake would scold Tony and say, ‘Whatever would Mathers think?’
‘If I had Ralph Gold’s seal of approval, those members would be eating out of my hand. He’s as thick as thieves with them.’ It was still playing on Tony’s mind.
‘Forget it, Tony, it’ll all sort itself out in the end. Ralph Gold knows we want a meeting with him, and he’s forever dangling the carrot in front of our noses. “Yes, boys, I’ll let you know when I have an appointment free.” That’s all he ever says,’ said Jake. They were both exasperated. Considering all the money laundering they were involved in together, and the deals they had done, without actually discussing things with each other, Tony felt it was about time they talked properly.
‘Maybe I’m just stressed, with one thing and another. I think I’ll go and see what the ladies are doing, I could do with a spot of light entertainment of my own. Let’s see, over there, to the right, is the lovely Roxy, waiting for her prince charming, and on the left is Bernice, waiting for a decent quickie before she goes home to her boring husband.’ Tony took a coin out of his pocket. ‘What do you reckon; heads for Roxie, tails for Bernice?’ He was grinning broadly, and waiting for Jake’s answer.
‘I’d say why not both, unless you’re not up to it anymore.’
Tony picked up his glass and grinned, showing a perfect set of white teeth.
‘Now that is a bloody good idea, Jake, why didn’t I think of that. One warm up quickie, and the rest of the night’s my own.’ He picked up his glass and walked away to where Bernice was waiting for him.
‘You’re worse than he is.’ Sharon was standing behind the bar collecting the cash register receipts. She leaned over and gave Jake a peck on the cheek. ‘By the way, tomorrow night is Ashley’s men’s night, if you know what I mean. Why don’t you come along?’
Jake nearly choked on his drink. ‘Not bloody likely! If I want to see a guy stripped down to his bare arse, I only have to go to Tony’s apartment early in the mornings, when some woman has stayed over. Not a pretty sight.’ Suddenly Jake had a fleeting thought. ‘So, has there been a lot of interest in the idea, then? Is Ashley sure the members would like that sort of thing in the club?’
Innocently, Sharon looked up from the bar where she was looking at the till rolls and putting them into a bag for the accountant to check. ‘Oh, yes. Apparently, once Ashley threw out the idea, some of the members were asking what night he had it planned for.’
Sharon hadn’t realised what she had said, but it certainly got Jake’s mind working. He looked over to where Tony had been standing with Bernice. He had gone, and no prizes for guessing where. Jake wanted to talk to Tony about some of these respectable members. Mathers was right; some of these respectable married men had skeletons in their cupboards, alright. They liked looking at men! No wonder they all liked Ashley. Sharon had even laughed that some of the male waiters made more in tips than the ladies did. This was certainly something to look in to, and Mathers, without betraying a trust, had tried dropping the hint to Tony.
‘Maybe I’ll pop over to the men’s club tonight to see what Ashley has got planned. Will you be going over there later?’ said Jake. He wanted to speak to Ashley privately; this was business.
***
Jake opened the door to the entertainment room and was surprised to see that it was busy. The strippers had a full audience. When he’d passed the other lounges he’d seen some of the older men sitting in the comfortable wingback chairs, with their brandies and cigars; some were even asleep. He hadn’t expected more of them to be in the entertainment room than in the lounges. It was proving to be a money-spinner.
Jake looked around the room. It was dimly lit, with only the bright spotlights focused on the dancers on the stage and a couple of lamps above the bar. He spied Ashley standing amongst the men, laughing and joking. It seemed he was doing Tony’s job and playing host, and these men were lapping it up. There were a lot of men there, the number seeming to far outweigh the members’ list.
Jake caught Ashley’s eye and discreetly beckoned him over. He saw Ashley look up and then excuse himself. ‘Jake, love,’ he said, as he reached him, ‘it’s nice to have the pleasure of your company.’
‘Come with me, Ashley, I need a quiet word.’ Jake walked away to a private room he knew Mathers used as a staffroom. He entered, waited for Ashley to follow him in, then shut the door behind them. Ashley could tell by the look on Jake’s face this was not the time for silly jokes.
‘Who are all those people?’ said Jake. ‘Not all of them are members.’
Ashley sat down; he too was serious. ‘Members have always been allowed to bring a guest with them; didn’t Mathers tell you that?’
Jake shook his head. He was a little perturbed. He hadn’t known that members could have guests and he wondered if Tony did. ‘Sharon tells me you’ve had a lot of interest in your men’s night.’
Ashley nodded. ‘Yes, there has been a lot of interest. I knew there would be, I told you so, didn’t I?’
‘You did, but why, Ashley? Why are these old fuddy-duddies so interested in seeing men dance around half-naked? They don’t strike me as men who would even approve of that kind of thing. So, go on then, enlighten me.’
Ashley let out a deep sigh. ‘Jake, Jake, Jake, where do I begin? Some of these men are ancient, I admit. In their day, people still went to prison for liking men, so they hide it, get married, have kids and do all the usual things that respectable men do, but sometimes they need to be themselves. That’s where this exclusive club comes in. There’s a code of silence, here. As they say, “what happens in Paris, stays in Paris”. What did you think the rooms upstairs were for? Yes, some of the men get put to bed when they are too pissed to go home, but others use it to be themselves, and indulge their natural urges.’ He looked at Jake and cocked his head to one side, as though explaining to a child.
‘You’re telling me, some of those old guys – stockbrokers, police chiefs and government officials – use this as a knocking shop for gay guys.’
‘Ouch! Jake, that wasn’t nice.’ Ashley looked offended. ‘Does it mat
ter what job you do, or who you are? Didn’t you always fancy women when you were a penniless guy? Just because you’re loaded now doesn’t make a difference, does it?’
Jake nodded, Ashley had a point, and he was being unfair. He was just shocked. This place seemed so strait-laced, he couldn’t believe it. ‘Does Mathers know any of this?’
‘Oh, yes, Jake, Mathers knows everything. Nothing goes on here that he doesn’t know about. Before you ask, he’s not gay.’
‘Mathers lets all this go on and doesn’t bat an eyelid. Is that what you’re saying?’
‘Jake, come into the real world. Some of those guys out there went to famous public schools, and believe me, from what I have heard, that kind of thing is common practice, there. Mathers has been butler at some of the grandest houses going, and I was once his under-butler.
‘You have to be discreet. You see everything and say nothing. Stuff like this is all old hat to Mathers, he’s seen it all before.’
Jake was gobsmacked; this was new territory for him. He didn’t know a lot about public schools or what supposedly went on inside of them, but Ashley and Mathers seemed to, and now so would Tony. Maybe this was just another reason why they didn’t want Tony hanging around. He brought attention with him, people always wanted to know what he was doing and who with. These men didn’t want attention; they paid for privacy.
‘Where do you come in, Ashley? Do you turn tricks for this lot?’ Jake sounded harsh, and he knew it, but he wanted some truth.
Looking him directly in the eye, without his usual flamboyant smile, Ashley looked his age, possibly older. ‘I’ve done my bit in the past, Mr Sinclair, I don’t deny it, but these days I’m more of a go-between.’ His tone was serious and he was even using Jake’s surname, and giving him the respect he deserved as his boss.
‘You mean you’re a pimp. Tell me, Ashley, just a couple of last things. These guys who entertain, are they all above the age of consent? And is Ralph Gold a closet gay guy?’
Nasty Business Page 10