He brought me back to the front entrance and through a door in the coat check room that led to a shadowed hall. Flipping on the switch, the hall lit up, and we made our way into the back of the club with a store room, two offices, and the entrance to the locker room, where an older woman was bustling about folding towels and getting items ready.
“Hey, Desire, how are you?” Braxton greeted.
“Oh, hello, darling, doing just lovely. Did you bring a new recruit with you? She seems a little fancy to be doing a job like this,” she murmured under her breath as Braxton hugged her.
He laughed and gestured to me. “Allow me to introduce Astin Caprioni, the new underboss to the Caprioni Family.”
Desire dropped to her knees and held her hands up like she was praying. “Please forgive me, ma’am. I had no idea nor did I mean any disrespect.”
I looked wide-eyed at Braxton, but he just shrugged, so I kneeled by the woman. “It’s quite all right. You had no idea, and to be honest with you, in your shoes, I’d also assume any woman coming here was looking to work. Please get off the floor… there’s no need for this.” Helping the woman to her feet, I gave her a soft smile. “There, that’s better. Now, do you mind sharing with me what brought about that reaction to meeting me?”
“I’m not sure I should say,” she commented, chewing on her bottom lip. “See, I really love this job looking after these girls, and they’re like my own children since I couldn’t have any.”
“Would it help if I promise I won’t fire you as long as you answer my question?” I offered.
She looked between me and Braxton who nodded in encouragement. “My brother is Big Time, the leader of the Red Tigers.”
“Ah…” I said, now understanding the full picture. “Let me just state that your brother put himself in the position to be scolded by me because of his big mouth. I warned him to watch how he spoke to me, but he chose not to listen. The actions of your brother have nothing to do with you.”
“Thank you, ma’am. I truly appreciate that. Most wouldn’t act so kindly,” she pointed out.
“Yes, well, don’t let that get spread around too much,” I joked with a wink. “Now I assume you’re the den mom for the club?”
“Yes, ma’am, I’ve been working with this club for about ten years now. Seen girls come and go, but I make sure they’re looked after and have what they need. I’m also in charge of keeping an eye out for any rough play with the customers the girls won’t speak up about,” Desire explained with pride in her voice.
I reached out and gave her a reassuring squeeze on her shoulder. “Thank you for being there for them. We ladies need to look out for each other. It was a pleasure to meet you, but I do have a meeting I have to attend.”
“Of course, just holler if there’s anything you need,” she assured me.
Stepping out of the locker room, Braxton unlocked one of the offices and flipped on the lights. The office itself was pretty straightforward, which made sense since he moved between all of them, and we had a manager running the day-to-day.
“Where’s the rest of the staff?” I asked.
“The club doesn’t open until five, so they come in around two or three. I figured having one set for noon and one at one o’clock would give us the space to ask what questions we needed to. You wanted to keep this low profile, so this will ensure that. Cherry Pie dances out of this club, but Alfie works at the Tropical Martini, an all-male club,” Braxton informed me as he gathered a few items from the office. “I had Alfie’s employee file sent over for you to look at as well as Cherry’s.”
I could tell that Brax was trying hard to act like nothing had happened between us, so when I grabbed his arm, he flinched. “Look at me,” I said softly. When he didn’t, I let my hand trail down until I gripped his in mine. “Please.”
That seemed to do the trick, and I could see so many emotions swirling in them that I couldn’t even begin to decipher. I leaned in and kissed him, letting my lips melt against his, needing to reassure him. He felt so lost, and I hated that for him. It took a moment, but he returned my kiss, letting his other hand wrap gently around the back of my neck, his thumb caressing my cheek. I pulled back and rested my forehead against his just letting us be for a moment.
“Give me a little time, Brax,” I murmured. “This isn’t a choice either of us should make lightly. I’ve had my heart broken, and I won’t do that to someone else if I can avoid it. So please, will you allow me time?”
“My queen, I’ll wait for as long as you need me to if that is your request. If you tell me there’s a chance, then that’s all I need right now,” he answered, pressing a chaste kiss to my lips before stepping back and running his knuckles along my jaw. “No matter what you choose, we’ll be fine. I’ll make sure of it.”
I nodded and jumped as a knock sounded on the door before Ryker stepped into the office. Braxton was still very much in my personal space, and it was clear that something had happened between us, making Ryker pause. “Sorry, I should have waited for an answer before entering.”
Braxton started to step away, but I didn’t let go of his hand, bringing him to a halt. “You’re fine. Thank you for making the time to join us.”
“While Jace phrased it as a request, I knew it wasn’t,” Ryker said as he slipped his hand into his pockets. “Although I’m not sure why exactly I am needed here, Jace was more than happy to take my place.”
“Jace isn’t the head of security,” I stated. “If there’s a problem and one of these employees has been trading secrets for money or whatever else it might be, I need repercussions to be swift. I, of course, can do them myself, but I feel for the business as a whole if they know that when I have you with me, sentencing will be swift.”
“I see. So you play judge and jury while I’m the executioner,” Ryker concluded.
I gave him a bright smile. “Exactly.”
Releasing Braxton’s hand, I moved behind him to sit at the desk and look over the two files he provided me. “Oh, I also need to set up a meeting with Harrison and Raymond tonight. Somewhere public, dinner, drink, something to that effect since I’m sure with how the meeting with Alejandro ended, he won’t keep my identity a secret for long.”
“I can make that happen,” Braxton offered. “What time do you want the meeting?”