“And it was just the two of you?”
“Yes,” I said slowly.
“Go on.”
“We were just sitting there, when all of a sudden we saw a commotion in front of us. When we heard the shots and saw the people running, we ran in the VIP room.”
“You say you heard shots.”
“Yes.”
“Was it a single shot or more than one?”
“Well, the music was playing so it’s hard to be sure, but I think I heard more than one shot.”
“What happened after that?”
“Nothing. We were told that we couldn’t leave until the police talked to us. After that I went home.”
Then his questions got personal: Where I lived, what I did for a living, and how often I went to the club. I told him that I came to the club pretty regularly and gave him my correct address, ’cause he could check those things out if he wanted to know. I told him that I sold insurance, glad that Sasha got one of clients to get me a license without having to take the test. After that, he thanked me for coming in and told me that I was free to go.
As I left the interview room was when I saw him. The eye candy I had the bad feeling about the first night we came to the club. He wasn’t iced-out or as well dressed as he was the last time I saw him, but it was definitely him. I knew right then that he was a cop.
As quickly as I could, I put on my sunglasses and dropped my head. I walked out of there considering the possibility that he could just be there like I was, to give a statement about what happened the night before at the club. I didn’t know and didn’t care which one it was, I just got out of there and hoped he didn’t see me. Once I got to my car and was on my way out of the parking lot and thought about it, they’d only made the people that were in the VIP room stay and he wasn’t one of them. No. He was a cop; I was sure of it. And since that was the case, I had to consider the possibility that this wasn’t a coincidence. Maybe they brought me in for him to ID me. I made the decision right then and there: We needed to stay out of the clubs for a while.
9
After that incident, we laid off Sensations for a couple of months. During that time business had been very good. I no longer felt the need to make elaborate public displays in order to market the ladies. I had reached the point where I wanted to be in this business. Now that I had stronger contacts, I was always one of the invited guests at social gatherings. I was running my program exactly the way Sasha ran hers. Now, it was me carefully scrutinizing all of the men, making note of those who were their with dates. And before I left, I’d have leads on new clients. With all the new business, I was thinking about adding some new talent.
I was sitting around the apartment relaxing with Diane one afternoon, and we were talking about our increase in business. I had just offered her, her choice of the last three appointments that had come in. “What times are they?”
I ran my finger down the appointment schedule on my laptop. “Uh, seven, ten, and a late night will call.”
“Jackson?”
“Of course.”
“I’ll take them all,” Diane said.
“What?”
“You were just sayin’ that business was so strong that you had to handle some new clients.”
“And?”
“I’m trying to keep you from havin’ to go out like that.” One thing I had to say about Diane, she was true to her word. She was a good ho. “If business is so good, why don’t you recruit somebody?”
“I’ve been thinking about it, Diane; I really have. And I’ve been looking at some women, sizing them up. I just haven’t found what I’m looking for.”
“What about Creme? She’s been all over me to talk to you.”
“Oh hell no! Creme likes to powder her nose too much.”
“True that,” Diane agreed as Bella came in the apartment.
“Hey, Bella,” we both said.
“That is not the type of person we want to invite into our family,” I continued.