by Autumn Sand
Her eyes cast downward. “I’m not sure if I would be the right person for this.”
“You are.”
A few seconds tick by as I listen to her tiny breaths. “So, I just have to figure out who I think Pedro planted inside of the club?”
“Yes, that’s all. I’ll take it from there.”
She bites the inside of her lip and then her eyes brighten. “Well, we do have some new hires. It could be one of them. Everyone else at the club is our old staff. They’ve been with Tony from the beginning, and I can’t imagine them betraying him.”
“New hires? When did they start?”
“Hmm, about three weeks ago.”
“What happened to the staff that they replaced?” I take her hand and walk her back to the seat she vacated.
Sitting down, she crosses her legs. “Well, one went back to school. The other missed living in Virginia and moved back to his old hometown.”
“Who hired the new people?” Could it be them? I’m hoping it is that simple.
“Tick hires the staff. Tony rarely gets involved on that level.” She reaches for her glass and takes a hefty drink.
“Okay, start with them. Become their friend and find out more about them. Report what they tell you to me.”
“I guess I can handle that.” She relaxes a bit.
“And let me know if you see anything unusual or hear anything,” I add. Quickly, I give Chicken the signal to hand her the burner phone.
“I have a cell already.” She holds the phone in her hand and looks at it incredulously.
“You’ll use this one to contact either myself or Chicken.” As soon as I say his name, I feel an overwhelming need for her to speak to me only.
“Fine, I guess I can do that.” She places the phone on the table.
“Our numbers are already set up in the contacts. You’ll see El’s number under ‘Dad’ and mine under 'Bro,’” Chicken explains.
She picks up the phone casually and laughs. “Oh, not under ‘Papi’?”
Not sure how she managed it, but by saying “Papi,” she got my dick hard again.
“I guess I should go.” She rises, her dress clinging to all of her curves.
“Chicken will escort you home.” I walk with her inside the house.
“No worries, I’ll take a cab.” We’re already at the front door and I want to stop her. I have to keep repeating the mantra: Business before pleasure.
“Chicken will take you. And remember, you can reach me anytime on the phone.”
Her eyebrow lifts at the way I say, “Anytime.”
Chicken is now holding the door open for her. She looks at me one last longing moment before disappearing with him.
The following day, I arrive at Pulse and pull out some bills from my purse to pay for my cab when the passenger door swings open, startling me. My purse falls to the floor as my eyes land on the reason my heart is now in my throat.
“Naldo.” I place my hand over my chest. “You startled me.” The adrenaline leaves my body quickly and I lean back in my seat.
He bends to pick up my purse and hands it to me. “Sorry ’bout that. Saw your cab pull up and thought I’d be a gentleman by helping you.” He reaches into his pocket and pulls out some cash and hands it to the cab driver, then holds out his hand to me
With his help, I’m able to get out of the car with ease in my tight skirt and high heels. “Aren’t you here early?” I ask as I walk ahead of him and towards Pulse’s doors.
He rushes ahead of me to open the double doors for me, bowing slightly with a smirk on his face. “Yeah, Tick asked if I could come in a little early today and help with a shipment that’s coming in.”
I pause and turn around to look at him. “Tick?”
His head bobs up and down goofily. “Yeah. Besides, I could use the extra bread, so I came in.”
Did Tick forget I usually handle the shipments? Since Manny has been away, I’ve been checking in every shipment. Is this his way of punishing me for leaving with El last night?
I spot Tick talking to one of the wait staff and decide to have it out with him. He turns around to face me as I storm over to him with Naldo in tow.
“Didn’t expect to see you today,” he says as he signs a paper and absentmindedly passes it behind him.
My cheeks heat with fury. “Why exactly wouldn’t I be here today?”
“You seemed to have chosen a side last night, and it wasn’t with us.” He crosses his arms over his broad chest. The same chest I used to have my lips on.
“You know something, Tick, fuck you. Don’t you dare act like you give a shit about me and what I do, or who I do it with.”
Naldo begins backing away from what is the beginning of an all-out war between me and Tick. This is an argument we should’ve had a long time ago.
“We do care about you. That dude is bad news. You need to stay away from him.” He wags a finger at me, like I’m a child who needs to finish my vegetables on a plate.
“You guys care about me?” I throw my head back in sarcastic laughter. “If you don’t want me to handle the shipments, I’ll just go home then.” I spin on my heel and march towards the door.
“Tals,” Tick yells out, but I don’t break stride.
Fuck him.
“Tals, seriously. Wait.” He jogs up behind me.
I abruptly stop and he bumps into me, making me stumble forward. This would be the closest we’ve come to physical contact since he and Cyma became a couple. All of my life, I’ve fought for acceptance and love from all the wrong people. I want more, more than a sinner like me probably deserves. With ragged breaths, I turn to face the man I used to love. “I’m tired of you treating me like shit.”
My emotions get the best of me as tears fall down my cheeks. I swipe at them angrily, makeup be damned.
“Tick?”
My back stiffens at the sound of his wife’s voice. Cyma walks over to the two of us as I try to angle myself so she can’t see my face. Humiliation creeps up my back as I feel her eyes bore into me.
“Babe, sorry, I forgot we had a lunch date.” He bends to kiss her tenderly.
“Is everything okay?” Her hand rests on his chest but her words are directed to me.
“Yeah, Tals and I were having a staff meeting.” He dismisses our conversation and a pang goes through my heart.
“If you’ll excuse me,” I stammer out the words and walk away from them, the farther the better. When my hand lands on the doorknob to my freedom, I hear Tick yell out.
“Tals, I still need you for that shipment.” I know this is his way of apologizing to me. I nod silently and walk towards the back.
Naldo falls into step with me. “Everything okay?”
“Yeah, just some old history between us.” I toss my purse onto one of the tables.
“Hey, pretty lady,” Jason, our delivery guy, says as he places some boxes on the table near me.
“Jason, hey. You’re early today.” I take the clipboard with the packing slips from him.
“Yeah, leaving work early today and wanted to beat traffic.” I follow him towards the back door where his truck is parked.
“Good for you, wish I was leaving work early today too.” After my confrontation with Tick, I feel I need the rest.
“I keep telling you to come away with me one weekend.” He winks.
Jason is five foot eleven and in his mid-twenties, with cropped brown hair and dark blue eyes. As fit as he is, he still has a round face that makes him look like he is seventeen. We flirt constantly with each other but for some reason, I never took him up on his offers for a date.
“One of these days, I just might take you up on that.” I turn around to Naldo, who is lurking in the back. “You can count the boxes in the truck and make sure the bottles aren’t broken.”
Naldo nods and goes to the back of the truck to do as I directed.
Jason points to behind him in Naldo’s direction. “New guy?”
“Hmm?” I look up from
the papers. “Oh yeah, he’s been here a few weeks. He’ll be helping me out with the shipments.”
“Tick’s been hiring more new staff here lately.”
I look over at Naldo, who is now on his phone in a hushed conversation. “Yeah, he has.” My attention is fully on Naldo and I wonder if I should try to get a better listen. He might be the person El is talking about. But before I can walk closer, Naldo looks over at me, so I stop and give him an awkward smile. “Everything okay?” I ask as I brush my hair behind my ear.
“Need a sec.” He holds up one finger and walks down the alley for privacy. I watch him from afar.
“Earth to Tallie.” Jason waves his hand in front of my face. I blink and focus on him, losing sight of Naldo.
“Sorry ’bout that,” I say and walk to his truck. “I’ll just finish up the count so you can be on your way.”
I turn around to glance at Naldo only to see he’s disappeared.
Sitting behind my desk, I try to concentrate on the mounds of paperwork in front of me for my various businesses. Every paper I pick up, I see Tallie coming out of my bathroom, wearing nothing but a smile. I toss another document to the side, grumbling under my breath. What time is it? I glance at the clock on my desk and rub my eyes.
Am I seeing that correctly?
Two in the morning?
That’s when I notice for the first time that the lights are on in my office and it is dark outside.
“Why don’t you go out and blow off some steam?” Chicken places the folder he was reading down on his lap.
Leaning back in my leather chair, I stretch. Instead of relieving the stress, I feel I just added to it. “Any calls?”
Chicken cocks his head to the side. “Man, you’ve asked that question every hour on the hour. You gotta give her some time to gather some information.”
“It’s been four days. She should have something by now.” I push away from my desk and stand.
“It would’ve been easier on all of us if you had fucked her that night. Get her out of your system.” He chuckles.
I fight the urge to throw him out of my office. Instead, I walk towards the door with Chicken hot on my heels.
“Get the car ready,” I command as I walk into my bedroom to change clothes.
Minutes later, I’m sitting in the back of my Escalade with my entourage following behind on our way to my club, Edge.
Edge is a high-end underground fetish club. The only way people can gain admittance is through membership, and that is a lengthy screening process in itself. People gladly pay me one hundred thousand per year for admittance at Edge. I offer it all right here under one roof. What Edge is not is a brothel—I don’t sell sex. I simply offer the members a free environment to experiment freely if they want. Each floor in the club has a different fetish theme, some not for the faint at heart. There are nightly shows from paid professionals of the sex trade, and most of my guests come just for the shows alone. With their certain memberships, they get their own private rooms, to bring their spouses, lovers, or both.
Raul, my driver, pulls up to the back entrance I use to go in without notice. Immediately, someone opens the passenger door and I step out of the car, adjusting my suit jacket. Another person opens the club door for Chicken and I.
When we reach the end of the hall, we have an option of two doors—one leads to the main club, the other to my private rooms. Because I’m bored, I choose the main club.
“I’m fine from here,” I say to Chicken. My guards at Edge blend in well with the clients and I’m as safe here as I would be at home.
Raul, who has parked the car, is now inside, mingling with various patrons. One of the perks I give my men is complete use of Edge, something they take full advantage of.
“I’ll be upstairs,” Chicken says before he goes in the opposite direction.
Raul walks over to me.
“Want something?” I ask as my eyes scan the area for something entertaining.
He looks down at his feet before looking up. “I just want you to know that I’m thankful for the opportunities you have given me. I know I wasn’t shit when I started running with your crew. I made a promise to you then that I would never let you down.”
I cast a bored look at him. This is what he is in my presence for? My silence makes him uneasy and he shifts on his nervous legs.
“It’s an honor to be your driver.” He holds his hands up. “Just so you know. I am grateful for this job.”
I wait for whatever this conversation is leading up to because I know it’s coming.
“I was hoping I could get bumped up for more important jobs. I know Chicken been needing a right-hand man since Miguel’s death. I thought—”
“So, you thought you would go over Chicken’s head and come directly to me?” I cock my head to the side.
His eyes widen, stunned, and his lips tighten as he mulls over if he, in fact, made a mistake in speaking to me. “N-no, no disrespect to Chicken or you. I just thou—”
“You just thought speaking to me would get you in. If you looking to get bumped up, Chicken is the man you speak to. I don’t get involved on that level unless it’s someone special.” I step back and give him a hard stare. “And you, my friend, are not that special. So, if you want to keep driving cars for me for the rest of your life, I suggest you find your place, which obviously isn’t here.”
Dismissed, he lowers his head and slowly walks away. I give the interaction all but a second to think about before I move on to other things.
The aroma of sex is thick in the air and makes my dick hard. Two women, sisters who I’ve fucked before, come towards me. Not the best fuck I’ve had but not boring either. Their father is a billionaire media mogul who controls some of the biggest television networks in the country. He spoiled his daughters with every whim they ever had. Thirty-two years old with three divorces between them and more mileage on their pussies than a speed racer’s car.
“Mmmm, look what the dog dragged in,” one of them purrs as she rubs my chest.
“Where were you the other night?” the second twin whines, and I suddenly remember why I stood them up.
Removing her hand from my chest, I place it on her twin’s breast instead. “Something came up.” My eyes roam the crowded room for something more entertaining.
They fondle each other’s body and moan. “Want to join us?” they say in unison. I cast my eyes casually on them before something else—or rather, someone else—catches it instead.
“Perhaps later,” I say, already walking away from them and towards Tallie. What the hell is she doing here?
She’s sitting on a man’s lap and laughing. Her hair bounces down her back in loose curls and for a moment, I picture wrapping my hands in her red mane as her head bobs up and down my dick.
Her mouth drops open when her eyes land on me and ultimately my scowl.
I tower over her and her date, my fists hidden in my pockets.
“Hey,” she says.
“Hey yourself,” I manage, in between grinding my teeth.
“Jason, I would like you to meet—”
I shove my hand out, startling both of them. She almost falls off his lap, and he wraps a hand around her waist to steady her. I give a second thought to shaking his hand and float the idea of squeezing his neck instead.
He shakes my hand with his free hand, proving himself to be a multitasker. That could be fixed if I have his other hand removed from his body. My eyes remain frozen on where it sits on her waist.
“I’m the owner of this club, Jason.” I squeeze his hand to the point of drawing out a grimace from him.
“Oh wow, that’s awesome.” He smiles as he rubs his hand. Problem solved; his free hand is now nursing the other and is no longer on her.
“You own this club?” Tallie stands.
“You didn’t call,” I spit out angrily.
She blinks back confusion. “I thought I was to call you only when I—”
“So, Jason, you’re a me
mber of my club?” I look at his obvious off-the-rack clothes and quickly determine he couldn’t afford a membership in my club, much less the drinks.
“Oh no. My boss is a member. He lets us come as his guests.” He points at a balding, middle-aged man on the couch, surrounded by a few women who are hanging on his every word.
If memory serves me correctly, his boss is a few grand in the hole in gambling debts with the club. He has a liquor distribution business and services most of the clubs and restaurants in the area which, in itself, is a lucrative business. But his gambling problem has him in hock up to his neck.
“Is that so?” My eyes narrow on this Jason before I turn back to Tals. “This would be the reason you haven’t checked in?” I tip my head towards Jason.
“Everything okay?” the bouncer from Pulse asks.
What the hell is this?
“Everything is fine, Naldo.” She smiles at him and then my mind races. She’s fucking both of them?
“Yeah, everything is cool, Naldo.” My words come out chilly and Naldo hesitates before stepping back. Probably the smartest decision he has ever made in his life.
She stands there, glaring at me with her blazing green eyes. The laughter that surrounded her before I interrupted is now a thing of the past when she looks at me. Her mouth pouts and the only thing I can think of is shoving my dick in every hole she has. The performers on stage orgasm to a loud applause and I become drunk from the scent of their arousal. Her attention moves to the stage while study her in that Kelly-green dress with the plunging cowl neckline.
I fight the urge to grab Tallie and fuck her right here in front of everyone, and give them a different kind of show. Without my awareness, my feet carry me towards her. As her painted red lips part and her eyes hood over, I think we are finally on the same page. Wordlessly, I extend my hand, only wondering for a moment if I’m perhaps reading her wrong. That thought is pushed to the side as she places her hand in my own.