Chapter 1
Pete
I looked out my office window onto the street as the rain poured down. It was New York at its most disgusting and I was grateful to be indoors, even if I was about to have a conversation with my business partners that I had no desire to follow through with.
“What’s up?” Jake asked as he strode into my office and threw himself into one of the leather chairs like he owned the place. Well, he did own a third of the place, but not my office.
I shrugged slightly. “We’ll wait for Neil before we get started.”
As if conjured from the ether, Neil appeared in the doorway. “You rang?”
“Have a seat,” I said, gesturing toward one of the other chairs opposite my desk. I waited until they were both seated, but kept my place where I stood. They were both alpha as fuck, something that made working together difficult at times, but I wanted them to remember who was the brain behind Club V and that without me the whole thing could fall apart. I kept my stance by the window, arms folded across my chest. I knew I struck an imposing figure and I wanted them to keep that in mind as I told them what had come to my attention.
What my college friends and now business partners didn’t realize was that we were currently sitting atop a house of cards that could collapse at any moment. One wrong move and we could come crashing down. I had been putting out fires, paying people off, and maintaining our exclusive vetting policy for a long time now. But there had been a few close calls recently and it was time they knew what had been going on behind the scenes and what I suspected was coming our way.
“I’ll cut right to the chase,” I began. “Remember the agent that we caught in the auction room a few weeks ago?”
They both nodded in unison.
“Well, that’s taken care of. Let’s just say he was looking for a discount on our wares.”
“Problem solved then,” Neil said with a wave of his hand.
I shook my head. “Not so fast. That’s the third one in as many months. We’re attracting their attention and I have a feeling that we’re an open secret amongst many in the bureau. We’re going to have to be on top of our game and make certain we keep this place locked down tight. We’ve got to really push the ‘exclusive gentlemen’s club’ angle for a while. Keep promoting to the right sort of people. The more important and influential, the better. People with something to lose are less likely to talk about what’s going on behind the scenes here.”
Jake nodded. “I’ve got a few events coming up. The Met Gala. A couple of charity auctions. I have a feeling we’ll pull in a few more members—of the sort you’re looking for—through those.”
I scratched my chin. “We’re staying ahead of this. I’m not too concerned about the FBI or any other agencies busting us—keep in mind, nothing we are doing here is against the law. It’s just…how they might paint it in the media.”
“We’ve got too much tied up in this—time, money, our livelihoods—to let anything go wrong now,” Neil added.
“I just wanted to make sure you both were aware of the status of the agent and that we are moving forward as if nothing happened there. I’ve taken care of the details and I think we’ll be fine for now. We’ve got to handle our PR a little more carefully though,” I said.
“What’s the plan with that?” Jake asked as he smoothed back his ponytail. The dude was still as slick as ever and groomed himself constantly, even when there were no women around to impress.
“Well, I’ve got an article lined up with a magazine. It’s really still in the planning stages, but I’ve been contacted by one of their feature editors. It’ll be good exposure to the sort of clientele we’re looking for and I think it will go a long way to convince the neighborhood we’re legit. The circulation isn’t very large, but it hits the demographics in this area that we want to reach.”
I cracked my knuckles and looked out the window again, less certain about the magazine proposition than I was letting on to my business partners.
“Anyway, what’s on the agenda for you guys this week?”
Neil leaned back in his chair. “I’ve got to be in Las Vegas this weekend for a large combined bachelor and bachelorette party that’s happening at that location.”
I raised an eyebrow. “Bachelorette party? We don’t have many of those. All club members?”
Neil nodded. “The bachelors are and it looks like the bride-to-be is interested in joining the club as well. She’s bringing her bridesmaids along for the ride and we’re hoping to secure a few of them as new members this week as well. A couple of actresses and a model. They’re into the open sex idea: we just have to sell them on what we’ve got to offer.”
“If anyone can do it, it’ll be you. What about you, Jake?”
Jake yawned and folded his hands behind his head. “Taking my girl to the Atlanta club. I want to show her around a little, let her see what we’re all about down there. And I think she might be interested in checking out some of what we have on offer down there.”
“Is this the girl you met here?” Neil turned to Jake and asked.
He nodded. “And after a month on my collar, she is wild and ready to enjoy the lifestyle.”
I rolled my eyes. “Good for you. Just make sure and take care of some business while you’re down there as well, okay?”
Jake winked. “I’ll take care of business.”
“I guess that covers it then,” I said, shaking my head. “I won’t take up any more of your time.”
The guys exited the office, leaving me to my thoughts. As much as I had tried to reassure them, I still had lingering questions about what was going to happen with the FBI and local cops. We were doing everything we could to keep things on the level at Club V all over the United States, but I could feel the walls closing in. I knew that soon someone was going to want some money on the regular in order to keep quiet. It wasn’t that we couldn’t afford that sort of thing, but our business was legitimate and I hated that we were having to fight tooth and nail to keep the authorities out of the place.
It all came down to the virgins. It had been my greatest idea, the one that put Club V on the map. In the midst of all kinds of exclusive sex clubs popping up all over the country and around the world, we were the ones doing something different. Well, we weren’t the first club to offer virgins, nor were we the first to have an elite auction block, but we were the first to do it all above board.