“I’m surprised that you would drop them off at a nightclub.”
“They’re both grown. Besides, the guy that owns the place is a client of mine. He won’t let anything happen to them. Plus, the owner is one of the old high school friends Trish bumped into yesterday. He invited her to the club. Trish talked Darlene into going with her. They’ll call a cab when they’re ready to come home. That is if they don’t find a ride home,” he said with a smile.
“Yes, sir.” David finished his drink and put it on the coffee table. He stood up.
“You know where the club is?”
“Yes. I never been there, but I know where it is.”
Mr. Jacobs also stood.
David extended his hand to Mr. Jacobs, and they shook hands. “Thank you for your help, sir.”
“You’re welcome and good luck.”
*******
There were two lines formed outside of the club. It was a thirty-minute wait, but David finally got to the front of the line at The Clover Club. He reached for his wallet to pay the doorman.
“David? David Shaw?” the African American man said. He was dressed in a green dress shirt and black jeans.
“Yeah,” David said.
“You don’t remember me, but maybe you remember my mom, Ruth Davis? You were her lawyer when she sued her employer two years ago.”
Recognition registered in David’s eyes. “Oh, yes. Mrs. Davis and you must be Chuck.”
“Yeah…yeah. You were able to prove that my mom’s new supervisor fired her because she was black. You got her a settlement out of court and got the supervisor fired.”
“How is she?”
“Oh, she’s great. She started a catering business a year ago. It’s really working out for her,” Chuck said.
“That’s great. Listen, do you know Trish Truman?”
“Yeah, man. My mom used to work at Trish’s grandmom’s restaurant years ago.”
“Have you seen her tonight?”
“Yeah, she came bee-bopping through here with the blonde she hangs out with all the time…Dolly?”
“You mean, Darlene?” David asked.
“Yeah, that’s her name. Anyway, they’re inside. I didn’t see them leave.”
“Thanks, Chuck. How much do I owe for the cover charge?”
“It’s on me,” Chuck said. He turned to the skinny kid behind him. “Hey, Bobby, hook my man, David, up with a green wristband.”
The two men shook hands. “Thanks, Chuck. I appreciate it.”
“And I appreciate what you did for my mom. Have fun in there.”
After David got his wristband and checked his coat, he started walking behind a group of six. Two bouncers opened the double doors for them to enter the main area of the club. The rap music and flashing lights blasted David in the face.
“How can anyone hear themselves think in here?” He meant it as a rhetorical question to himself, but a girl with pink streaks in her hair looked up at him.
“What? What did you say?” she yelled over the music.
“Nothing!” he yelled. “I was talking to myself.”
She smiled and shook her head. “Oh. You want to dance?”
David smiled back at her. “No thanks. I’m looking for someone. Maybe later, okay.”
She continued to smile. “Okay, handsome.” She started squeezing through the crowd.
David had no idea where to look first. It was like a million people were crowded into one place. He decided to start on the dance floor. After a half a dozen ‘excuse mes’, he got to the dance floor. His eyes widened at a familiar face.
Ted was holding a mixed drink and grinding against a brunette with short hair who was wearing too much makeup. Her legs were shoulder length apart- giving Ted better access. David made his way over to them.
“Ted. Ted!” David yelled. The music grew louder the closer he got to the dance floor. Eventually, David got close enough to pat Ted on the shoulder. “Ted!” he yelled.
Ted turned his head around to look at him. His eyes grew wide. Then, he started laughing. The girl he was bumping his pelvis against kept wiggling against him. She didn’t seem to notice or care that Ted had stopped dancing. Ted kept holding her by her waist. She had her hands around his neck.
“What the hell are you doing at The Clover? Not necessarily your type of hang out!” Ted yelled.
“What do you think?”
Ted looked at him. “Beats the hell out of me.”
“Trish is here.”
“How do you know?”
“Mr. Jacobs told me. He dropped Darlene and her off earlier.”
A sudden look of panic appeared on Ted’s face. “Darlene’s here?” Ted asked.
David smiled. “Yep.”
Ted tightened his grip on his dance partner, which made her stop wiggling. “Hey, Barb, let’s get another Christmas Volcano.”
“Okay!” she yelled.
“Let’s go to the bar, man!” Ted yelled.
It took them ten minutes to make it to the bar, but the music wasn’t as loud there.
The bartender approached them.
“Get us three Christmas Volcanoes, my man,” Ted said.
“No. Nothing for me,” David said.
“Make that two Christmas Volcanoes,” Ted said with a sour look at his brother.
The bartender nodded his head and went to make the drinks.
“Why don’t you live a little? The Christmas Volcano is The Clover’s signature drink of the season. Try something new,” Ted said.
“Try something new? Look where the hell I am. And the only volcano I’m interested in is about yah high,” David said and put his hand out next to him estimating Trish’s height. “With beautiful brown eyes and luscious lips,” he said and sat down on a free bar stool.
“Aw,” he heard Ted’s companion swoon. “She sounds pretty…and feisty.”
Ted laughed. “Only when provoked. David, you remember Barb?”
“No. I never met Barb.”
“Oh. Well, let me make the introductions. Barb, this bleeding heart sap is my brother, David. David, this wild bodacious beauty is Barb. She’s a hairdresser.”
“Oh, the lawyer brother. Nice to meet you,” she said sweetly.
“Nice to meet you too, Barb,” David said.
The bartender returned with two drinks in tall hurricane glasses. The liquid at the bottom was green, and at the top was red. White smoke rolled out of the drinks like they were on fire. David cocked his eyebrow up.
“Twenty dollars, Shaw,” the bartender said.
“What?” David said in amazement at the price.
“Here’s twenty-five. Keep up the good work.”
“Thanks,” the bartender said and walked away.
“You two are going to drink a drink that’s smoking?” David asked with astonishment.
“Sure am,” Barb said and grabbed one. She quickly started to suck it through the green straw.
Ted laughed and took a quick sip of his drink. “Take a sip of mine. See if you like it.”
“No thanks. I don’t know what your mouth has been doing tonight,” David said.
“Ha… ha… ha,” Ted feigned sarcastically.
A black man with short dreadlocks approached them and stood in the same place as the bartender did. “Hey, Ted. David, I haven’t seen you in years.”
David’s mouth dropped open. “Barry Bartman? The last time I saw you, you were playing for the Broncos.”
Barry smiled. “Yeah, I blew my knee out three years ago. Luckily, I finished college and didn’t live a lavish lifestyle while I was in the NFL. As you can see, I’m a business owner now.”
“You’re the owner of this place,” David said with shock.
“I’ve been the proud owner of The Clover Club for two years now. Glad you decided to come to our Christmas party tonight,” Barry said and he leaned closer to the brothers. “We got some fine looking honeys in here tonight. You are single, right? I didn’t notice a ring.”
“Barry, you know my brother is a lawyer. Maybe you can put him on retainer.”
“Ted.”
Barry laughed. “I think Ted is trying to help both of us out. See he knows I don’t have a lawyer anymore.”
“What happened?” David asked.
“He got disbarred.”
“Ooh, someone was a bad boy,” Barb said.
“You got that right, baby. The idiot got busted in a whore house in New York – that had underage girls working there. He was so hiked up on cocaine he didn’t realize he got arrested until the next morning - in jail. Can you imagine that?”
David shook his head. “No. What do you need a lawyer on retainer for?”
“Oh you know, I get the occasional lawsuit from patrons. Like, a fight broke out, someone feigns injury. Of course, my bouncers take care of any disturbances as quickly as possible. Then there’s the occasional ‘My eyes were strained from the flashing lights in your club’ routine. I also have a couple of rental properties, too. My lawyer drew up the rental agreements.”
“I see,” David said.
“David, give the man your business card,” Ted encouraged.
David was about to say that he didn’t have any, but he remembered that Trish pestered him to carry some in his wallet. He reached for his wallet and pulled out a business card and gave it to Barry. “If you’re interested, call my secretary and make an appointment for next week.”
Barry smiled and took the card. “Maybe we can do some business.”
With that out of the way, David got to the business he wanted to attend to. “You invited Trish Truman to your club tonight, right?”
Barry looked surprised. “Oh. You’re looking for the number one honey. Can’t say I blame you. That hair, those eyes, and that body. Damn, she really filled out nice-,” Barry stopped talking when he noticed how David was looking at him.
Ted had one hand on David’s shoulder. Ted was also making cutthroat motions across his neck trying to signal, Barry.
Barb watched with wide eyes.
“Hey, David. I didn’t mean no disrespect. I didn’t know you and she had something going on. Look, let me get you a drink - on me. What do you drink?”
“He likes scotch on the rocks,” Ted answered for him.
Barry reached underneath the bar.
“David, Trish is a pretty woman. Men are going to look at her. It’s just something that we do. You know that,” Ted said.
“Yeah, Barry’s a sweetie. He didn’t mean any harm,” Barb said.
Barry poured a generous amount of scotch in a glass over ice. “There you go. I apologize, David. I didn’t know she was your lady. Are we cool?”
“David?” Ted asked.
David took a deep breath. “It depends. How good is this scotch?” he asked as his face softened.
Barry laughed. “The best in the house.”
David took a sip. It tasted like his old brand in New York. “We’re cool,” he said with a smile.
Barry, Ted and Barb smiled.
“I’ll sweeten the pot. I’ll tell you were Trish is hanging out in here. I gave Trish and her gal pal the hook up.”
“The hook-up?” David repeated trying to figure out what he meant.
“Yessiree. They’re in the VIP section of the club. You got to have a green wristband to get in.”
David looked down at his green wristband and was even more grateful to Chuck than he was at first. Ted looked down at his green wristband.
All three men looked at Barb, who was looking down at her black wristband. Her lower lip poked out. “That’s fucked up,” she said.
“Sorry, baby. Rules are rules,” Barry said.
“Sorry, Barb. I have to go play wingman for my brother,” Ted said.
“It’s all right, Teddy. Thanks for the drinks and the dances. I had a fab time with you as always,” she said with a smile.
Ted knelt down to give her a hug. Barb grabbed both sides of Ted’s face and gave him a kiss. It lasted longer than a ‘just friends’ kiss. Ted didn’t try to fight her off.
“Mmm. Still the best kisser at The Clover Club. Come by the salon sometime. Maybe we’ll get to close the shop together again.”
“Yeah, I hope so,” Ted said with a mischievous grin.
“Bye, fellas,” Barb said and walked away with her drink.
“Bye,” Barry and David mumbled.
“Come on, guys, I’ll take you to the girls,” Barry said.
“I know how to get to the VIP, Barry,” Ted said.
“It will take you fifteen minutes to make it to the elevator or the stairs in this crowd. I can get you up there a lot quicker.”
“Yeah, how?” Ted asked.
“Grab your drinks and meet me at the end of the bar,” Barry said and pointed to his left.
They did as Barry said. They stood next to the wall and waited for him. They didn’t have to wait long because Barry opened the bar walk through and let them behind the bar before leading them to the back where there were loads of liquor bottles and boxes. He made a sharp right and opened a door that was painted black. There was a staircase in front of them.
“Keep following me, guys. Ted, do me a favor and close that door behind you,” Barry said.
Ted closed the door. The stairwell was dimly lit, but you could see where you were going. Barry got to the top of the stairs and opened another door. David could hear music again, but it wasn’t as loud as it had been downstairs. Barry held the door open for them, and Ted and David walked through. They were behind another bar.
“This is it, fellas. The VIP section. It has all of the same things, but less people, more lighting, and some luxury booths.”
“Where’s Trish?” David asked.
“There, David. Looks like her and Darlene are getting down on the dance floor,” Ted said and pointed.
They watched the girls for a moment. David examined Trish’s red dress with the halter neckline. Her cleavage was pronounced and the hem was midway up her thigh. She wore matching red heels. Her hair was parted on the side and full of curls at the ends. He wanted to walk over and carry her out of the club right then and there.
A tall, skinny white man approached them. He had brown floppy hair, and the girls looked happy to see him - too happy. They embraced him at the same time, and Trish gave the guy a kiss on his left cheek as Darlene kissed him on his right.
“Who the hell is that?” Ted and David asked in unison.
Barry slowly looked at the brothers. “If I didn’t know you two were a couple of years apart, I’d say you were twins. The young man in question is Phillip.”
“Phillip what?” Ted asked with a frown.
“Dunn. Phillip Dunn. He’s from England. Seems to be another childhood friend of Trish’s and apparently Darlene’s, too.”
“Know anything else about him?” Ted asked.
“He’s some sort of international banker or investor or something like that. Dunn goes back and forth between the states and Europe. He has an aunt that lives in Clary.”
The brothers kept watching the girls make a fuss over Phillip.
Chapter 24
Trish and Darlene danced to What’s My Name, by Snoop Dogg, when an old friend approached them.
“Hey, double trouble!” he yelled over the music in a British accent.
They both turned around. “Phillip!” they exclaimed in unison. Trish hugged the left side of Philip, while Darlene hugged his right side.
“I haven’t seen you in ages,” Darlene said with excitement.
Trish kissed Phillip on his left cheek as Darlene kissed the other side.
“Mmmm, that’s because I have to work for a living,” he joked.
“Hey, we work for ours. Darlene is getting her masters,” Trish said with a smile.
“And Trish works hard at being fabulous,” Darlene slurred.
They all laughed.
�
�Who are you here with?” Trish asked.
“No one. I’ve been coasting back and forth between VIP and steerage most of the night.”
“Well, in that case, join us at our private booth,” Trish invited and bragged at the same time.
“I’d be honored, love.”
The girls hooked their arms around Phillip’s. On their way to the booth, Trish asked the waiter to bring them three Christmas Volcanoes. When they reached the half oval shaped booth, Trish slid in on the left side, and Darlene and Philip slid in on the other.
*******
Ted and David stared across the room as David sipped his drink slowly. Ted gave his back to the bartender, he didn’t want it anymore. The waiter that Trish spoke to approached the bar.
“Hey, Drew, what did Trish order?” Barry asked.
“Three volcanoes,” Drew answered.
“From the dance floor they don’t look like they are feeling any pain,” Barry said.
“Trish is pretty relaxed, but the blonde is straight up drunk. Not sure if she needs anymore to drink.”
“Have they eaten? Had water?” Barry asked.
“Very little water and they’ve only been eating the free bowls of chips.”
“Okay, let them have the volcanoes, but take them some water and food. Order some nachos and wings.”
“What kind of wings?”
“Get them a large order of plain, mild, and BBQ. Try to make it quick,” Barry said.
“You got it, boss,” Drew said and left to follow instructions.
Barry turned around to face the Shaw brothers. “Okay, guys, I got an idea.”
Ted and David listened as they stewed.
*******
Phillip was pleased that he was in between two ladies. “Ah, what a delicious sandwich we make.”
The girls laughed again as they got cozy next to Phillip. He put his arms around both lady’s shoulders. He read the sign out loud in the middle of the table, “Reserved, Truman. Where’s Robert?”
“Oh, that’s over. We split. He left me for an old lady with money. Lots of money,” Trish slurred.
“Yeah, men are pigs. Except you, Phillip,” Darlene slurred.
“Thanks, Darlene. Trish, darling, I’m so sorry,” Phillip said with sincerity.
The Lawyer Page 13