When we met up for our business meeting, I slid my last fifty-dollar bill across the table and told him that I was employing him as my lawyer. At first, he was just staring at me like I had killed someone or something and needed to get out of it. That man is still my lawyer today.
It was months of back and forth communications about legal matters for the club, not just the guests that would be coming, but my staff too: I didn’t want to break any laws; I didn’t want the guests to ever have a upper hand on me; and, I never wanted my girls to get hurt - that one was my biggest concern. I told Adam, my lawyer, that this needed to be done, and we needed to do it right, I didn’t care how long it took.
Once Adam and I finally got all the legalities in place, I was on the hunt for other businessmen that I needed. Someone to handle the financial side of things; I had big plans for the club, and if all was going to go right, I was going to need someone to look after the money.
Carl was another guy that came to the strip club, and I got him on board without much convincing. He said that his job was boring, and the club might liven things up in his life; Carl has been the best person that I could have gotten on my team. He told me when I could buy something, and when I was being stupid with the money. Well, he never said it to my face, he would tell Aiden or Rhys, and they would talk to me. Carl went to those two as they were going to be partners in The Club, because to buy the mansion I needed some help. So, they bought ten percent of The Club, each. Carl thought it was easier to talk to them, than to me. But one thing is clear: without Carl, I would have wasted a lot of fucking money.
It took a while to finally have everything in place. I knew I needed a bigger house for everything that I wanted for The Club. So, another four years of working hard and saving money, was what I had to endure. It was hard, but worth it, when I finally had the money, with some help from Aiden and Rhys, to buy the mansion.
Eight years of patience, eight years of working hard got me everything I wanted in life, eight years taught me a few things. Trust, I’d never trusted a lot of people, Aiden and Rhys were about the only ones. But I needed to trust the team I was bringing into this, building it from the ground up was hard; but not trusting easily was the hardest part. Now, though, I have a team that I can work with. I learned about business along the way; I learned a lot of lessons about networking, kept everything simple, especially my business card. It’s a simple black card with the words ‘The Club’ on it, and on the back of it, it has a phone number. Simple. Nothing fancy. I hoped it would make people have questions, and that their curiosity would drive them to call. But we’re selective in our networking; we only target places where we know the kind of people who would enjoy the club. Most of our business comes from word of mouth, now. The biggest lessons I learned: have patience, work hard, be dedicated, exploit and capitalize on every opportunity, every contact, be smart, and everything you’ve always wanted will be yours.
Now I stand in front of a door, not knowing how to get what I want in life. I don’t think those skills will help me now. This isn’t a business transaction.
Fuck I feel like shit. She hates me, I get that. I hate me right now, but I’m a man that knows what he wants, and right now it wants to feel the beat of her heart.
She is mine, and no one else deserves her love but me.
Nobody else deserves to love her, but me. I can keep telling myself that, trying to make myself believe I did the right thing here.
I open the door, and I take a deep breath as I take a step into the room. I make sure I stand in the darkness; I don’t think I want her to see me yet. I don’t know why, but I’m not ready.
I lick my lips as I watch her slowly rise off the floor. I'm taken back by her beauty. The light from the hallway shines perfectly on her.
I gaze at her body; at her legs, fuck her legs are sexy. I take in every inch of her slim body; and I linger at her breasts, which fit perfectly in the dress. I reach her face and take in the sight of her lips; I have no words for them. Moving my eyes quickly from her lips, I continue my journey to her eyes. Emerald diamonds stare at me. Fuck, I wasn’t expecting her to be this beautiful. I swallow the lump in my throat as I stare at her for a moment.
"Are you that scared of showing me your face, you won't step into the light?" Her voice sends electric vibrations through me. I do have to admire that she's not showing any fear. "Or is this some fucked up version of Beauty and the Beast? When you step forward, you're going to be this big ugly beast, and those two behind you, are the Candle and Clock."
I pinch my lips together to try to stop myself from laughing. Rhys and Aiden are going to hate being called that but, at the same time, I'm tossing around her idea in my head. Is she that far off the truth; am I the beast in this story? Maybe.
I take a small step forward but stop the moment she takes one step backwards, away from me. I watch her eyes as she stares at my lips, and I make sure that no other part of my face comes into the light.
"I thought we could have some food," I say. I continue to look at her face trying to read her, but it's hard. A face of an angel, so peaceful, holding back her fear, but it's there. I think I see a tiny amount of fear escaping her eyes.
Her eyes move to Rhys and Aiden behind me. "And if I don't, are the Candle and Clock going to guard my room?" she snaps, and I hear both of them whispering behind me.
I look her up and down, again; every muscle in my body wants to go over to her, to touch her. I want to feel the beat of her heart, which beats for me. I need to take this slow, but I don't think I can. The pull towards her is crazy and too intense for me to stay away.
“Beth will be in, in a moment. I take it you would like to freshen up. The bathroom is right through that door.”
She looks over, and I take that moment to leave, before I do something that would be very wrong.
Without saying a word to the guys, I walk down the stairs. I need a drink, a fucking strong drink.
I didn't think she would be as beautiful as she is; I mean I was hoping she’d be good looking, but this is a new level of beauty for me. I've never seen anyone, not even the girls that work here, have the beauty like Brooklyn. Her eyes are spellbinding which could make me do anything she wants me to.
I hear Rhys and Aiden behind me.
“She was calling me the Candle-”
“Like fuck she was, we all know that I’m the Candle.”
I shake my head, is this what these two are arguing over right now?
Rhys continues, “The Candle is the best one.”
“Will you two shut the fuck up, is this what you two…?” I break off, as I see Beth walking into the dining room. “Can you please take her some clothes up?”
Rhys and Aiden are still bickering about pointless shit. Beth doesn't say anything to me and instead makes her way to them. They're telling her what happened, and I hear her laugh at them, then turns to me.
"The girl has a point, you have to show her that you're anything but a beast," she turns around and leaves the dining room.
I down my drink and I fill the glass again; the guys have finally stopped arguing.
“You seem lost, you’ve not said anything about Brooklyn since we left her room,” Aiden talks first.
“What do you want me to say?” I ask as I lean against the wall.