She sure did hope so, because she had a feeling that when her cousins and her father found out, they weren’t going to be too happy.
* * * *
Luther gave Eliza Grace a kiss on her cheek goodbye. She really was awfully shy and he knew it had a lot to do with her age. Twenty-four, petite, but sexy as anything and she didn’t seem to have a clue. Once she realized how hot she actually was, she would be breaking hearts all over the place.
He chuckled to himself. He could be a slime ball and work his way into her bed. It would be easy to seduce her, but Clarissa said Eliza was off limits. Clarissa was smart and she always knew everything about the women who worked for her.
As he glanced up toward the stage he saw Simeon as well as Daville and Vic, Simeon’s security. He saw them arrive a good hour ago and watched them check out the prospects. Although Luther hadn’t expected them to stop in tonight, he was always prepared. Si liked a certain type of woman. At least he always seemed to lean toward one type. Large breasts, sexy body, and easily controlled. His buddies were a bit different. Daville and Vic could be mean sons of bitches. Especially when they drank too much.
He made his way over and greeted them with a smile and a show of excitement that they were here. It meant he was going to make some money, and they were going to get what they wanted. That included drinks on the house and any woman of their choice.
“Si, so nice to see you. I wasn’t expecting you for another couple of weeks. How was Europe?” he asked, knowing they were doing business abroad, and it had something to do with people Clarissa knew as well. He didn’t ask questions, he just gave them what they wanted and got paid a lot of money for keeping his mouth shut and accommodating them.
He looked to Daville and Vic but both men didn’t reach hands out to shake his. Instead they barely looked at him. He was no one to show respect to, just someone they owned.
He cleared his throat and asked if they needed anything. Si, with his dark eyes, slicked back hair and very important, classy demeanor licked his lower lip and squinted at Luther.
“We had to end our little vacation early. Seems there was a problem with one of the deliveries. Some changes need to be made. Just a few precautions.”
Luther swallowed hard. “I hope I wasn’t at fault for anything, Si. I’ve done everything you’ve asked of me.”
Si gave a slick little smile. “Of course you have.” He looked around the place.
“The band is getting better and better. Got some new talent, I saw,” he said and took a sip from the martini he drank from.
Luther nodded his head. “They’re doing great. I get new singers in all the time now and see how the crowd likes them.”
“The crowd liked the petite little brunette that sang tonight,” Vic said and stared at Luther, looking him over and making Luther feel like such a nobody. Man, these guys were intimidating. He knew they were capable of crazy shit. Hell, he heard Daville and Vic did time for some pretty nasty stuff.
“Who is she?” Daville asked.
Luther felt his chest tighten. They couldn’t possibly be interested in Eliza Grace. Fuck.
“The singer?” Luther asked.
“The one you were keeping really close to you a little while ago at the bar. She yours?” Vic asked him.
He swallowed hard. If these men set their sights on Eliza there wasn’t anything he could do about it. Maybe if he mentioned she worked with Clarissa that might make them keep their distance. Clarissa had a thing for Si, but she was also on his payroll.
“She’s not mine. I just hired her to sing here twice a week. She has a great voice and the crowd seems to like her a lot.”
“She has an incredible voice. She’ll make you a lot of money. How come she isn’t working more than two nights?” Daville asked him. As Daville looked at him with those dark evil eyes Luther felt his throat close up, he was that intimidated by these men.
“She works for Clarissa,” he said and Vic and Daville looked serious.
“Modeling. I saw her the other day at Clarissa’s. Seems she has multiple talents,” Si said to him and took another sip from his martini. Luther did not want to mess with Si. Anyone who did could wind up disappearing. He knew to play it cool.
“Yes. She just did some super sexy fundraising calendar. Clarissa said she’s got real talent there. She’s booked for a lot of events and shoots, that’s why she can only work here two nights a week. I have to call Clarissa to confirm, of course,” he added and knew he sounded nervous. These men made him a nervous wreck.
“We need the back room Friday night. Got a new line of girls coming in for trials. You know what we need, right?” Si asked, changing the subject and getting back to business.
Luther nodded his head. “I’ll take care of everything, Si. You know that,” he said to him.
“Good. We’ll arrive around eight, the women will trickle in from there on like usual. I’ve got about a dozen clients coming in, so you need to set up the private booths and partition off that small room. The bars fully stocked in both rooms.”
Luther nodded his head. He was mixed with emotions of fear and also excitement. He would get a hefty payment for providing the back rooms, never mind the open bars and the bartenders. He would need to prepare the back room, close off the hallway leading to it so nothing could be heard and raise the volume on the music. He hoped no one picked up on anything. The last thing he needed was for the cops to find out he was assisting in a prostitution ring and allowing new girls to be trained and broken in in the back room.
“Anything else?” he asked Si and Si shook his head and then looked away from him. One look at Vic and Daville and he knew he was being dismissed. He walked away and hoped that everything went perfectly on Friday. Simeon held the mortgage on Luther’s and at any time he could get rid of Luther and replace him. He wished he had never had such a gambling problem years ago and had needed Simeon to bail him out. He was stuck under his thumb forever.