“It’s a pleasure to meet you.” He extends his hand and I take it.
Things get a tad awkward when he looks down at my non-existent engagement ring, but he doesn’t usher a word. It’s clear he knows who his boss is. I’m sure there are a million questions running through his head, but he looks too scared to ask them.
“Nice to meet you, too.”
“Winston is the club manager,” Ren says.
“I’m the man who makes it all possible,” Winston responds with a nervous chuckle.
“That and my money.” Ren laughs and claps him on the shoulder, but Winston is stuck between a laugh and a gulp. “Let’s show Lilly around and you can run through what you have planned for tonight.”
“Of course,” Winston says and quickly takes us on a tour of the club.
He explains tonight’s event is for a luxury car dealership. Can’t Say I was too shocked, Ren loves his flashy cars. He says it’s for a friend of the family. They are trying to generate more business.
Apparently, that’s why Winston and Michael, the owner, decided to have six ridiculously expensive cars on display inside the club. So, I figured it’s a showcase, maybe new stock and a buying party.
But then he started talking about it being open to the public. And well, that’s when I got super confused.
“So, why are there cars in the club?” I need to try and stop this madness.
Winston just frowns at me, looking incredulous. “Because they are sexy.”
Ren nods, agreeing.
I on the other hand, roll my eyes. “Yeah, but they don’t drink alcohol or buy themselves. They’re just going to take up space. Plus, you can’t let people touch the cars. Definitely need a lot of space roped off around them and security. Insurance will be expensive. Then you don’t even get your money back from the door or alcohol sales cause you’re at half capacity.” I shake my head. “One car on the stage. The brightest coloured and run their promo video on the screen.”
I look down to his list for our next topic. That one is not up for discussion. It’s ridiculous.
No one argues, Ren shrugs to Winston and nods for him to make the changes. It doesn’t take long before Winston directs his questions to me instead of Ren. From what I gather, this isn’t what takes up a lot of Ren’s time. I’d say whatever has him constantly looking down at his phone does. He’s been half listening during this entire walk through, preoccupied by his real work.
I’m not silly I know this is a place for Ren to clean his money. I’m used to it in this life. But it doesn’t mean you should let money fall out the drains, because this club has such great potential. The space is incredible, but there are glaring problems with it. Like the lack of fire exits, I’m surprised it hasn’t been shut down yet. Plus, the two bars, they are too few for the size of this place and way too far away from the VIP booths. No one paying the big bucks should wait that long for a drink.
But clearly, it’s not Ren’s priority. His priority comes strolling through the door. Dante, Dave, Tommy and another guy I don’t know stand off to the side, their faces not looking pleased. In fact, they look murderous.
“Excuse me.” Ren interrupts Winston and turns to me. “I’ll be right back.”
I nod, looking at the other men and watch as Ren walks over. As Winston continues to talk, I can’t take my eyes off him. Whatever is happening, he looks pissed. I know because I’ve seen Ren pissed. Immediately, I know this workday has come to an end.
It’s confirmed when he looks up and finds my eyes. His expression doesn’t change, but I can see it in his eyes, something is definitely wrong.
He doesn’t break our stare as he takes long strides towards me.
“Winston, can you excuse us for a minute?” he says politely, as much as one can be who doesn’t actually look at the person they’re talking to.
“Sure, no problem. I’ll be at the front bar if you need me,” he says to both Ren and me.
But we’re both so focused on each other that we don't respond or watch him walk away.
“Something’s come up,” he states the obvious.
“Okay," I say, slowly, unsure what else he wants me to say. "Well, I got this here. You go take care of it.”
He doesn’t move, watching me, surprise flickering across his face. As soon as it happens, it's masked again, and his intense eyes return. Then I frown, and my stomach sinks, realising this could be even worse than I first thought. Sergei pops into my mind. Maybe he’s made a move. I try not to overreact before I need to.
“I’m going to need to be focused today,” he says, his eyes trained on me, speaking in his code.
I’m guessing that means it’s dangerous. What surprises me is my heart rate picking up. It’s been a long time since I was worried about one of the men in this life going off to 'work'. I used to pray Sergei had a fatal Workcover incident. This is new. The caring. It’s insidious, and out of my control.