“Thatone, right? The one that went up on that porn site?”
I nod.
“Yeah, you could say you’re famous, sort of. I mean, how did you even get your hands on those candlesticks? And what inspired you?”
Sydney blushes and tries to hide her face with her curls as she giggles. “Oh, don’t remind me. I seriously can’t believe I did that!”
“It was sexy,” I shrug. “There’s no need to be embarrassed, and obviously, I was intrigued by your abilities. I don’t think that’s something that every woman would be able to do because it takes a particularly skilled, not to mention pliant, woman to pull it off.”
“Stop,” Sydney laughs helplessly. “So you saw my little porn movie, and then called Club Z directly? But how did you know? I mean, my face is kind of blurry in that video.”
I nod.
“Yeah, but you know how these internet sleuths are. I found the original clip on a tube site, and then checked the comments section. There were a few, and one of them directed readers to a Reddit sub-forum which then had links to Club Z.”
“Okay, that’s what I guessed,” Sydney blinks, raising her brows. “Yeah, that’s pretty intense.”
I nod.
“The internet is relentless. But yeah, I contacted Club Z after seeing your video, and that’s when things got tricky. At first, they disavowed all knowledge of both you and the video because I guess they didn’t want any trouble in case there were legal issues. Hell, I could have been the cops, for all they know. But eventually, I was able to convince them that I was legit, and that I wanted a membership. That’s when they put me through a crazy vetting process. After that was done, I was finally granted access, and the first thing I did was request you.”
Sydney nods thoughtfully.
“Yeah, Clay and Casper Richmond, the owners of Club Z, aresuperselective when it comes to potential clients. I mean, I even know some famous actors who have been rejected.”
I laugh, nodding my head.
“I don’t think anybody will be offering Johnny Depp a private membership just about now.”
Sydney titters.
“Yeah, he’s too notorious, and that’s the thing. Club Z doesn’t want or need that kind of attention.”
I nod.
“It makes sense. If you’re in the business of procuring women, not to mention putting on questionable parties, then you require discretion. Celebrities who engage in highly-publicized lawsuits are definitely not your bread and butter. In fact, I’d say that the extra attention is a hugeno-no for an outfit like Club Z, no matter how rich and famous the potential client is.”
“Yes,” Sydney nods. “Clay and Casper don’t want to get shut down any time soon. There could be a lawsuit buried in there somewhere, not to mention jail time. But how in the world did you manage to get the two of them to agree to fly me out to London? You know this is a beta service right?”
I nod.
“Yeah, and it was easy actually. I’m footing the bill for your travel and lodgings, not Club Z, so they had nothing to lose. There’s no way those motherfuckers were going to turn this deal down.”
Sydney giggles then.
“Well-played, sir,” she murmurs. “Very well-played.”
I grin.
“It’s worth it. I mean, I’m the CEO of a consulting firm, so the money isn’t really anything to me. In fact, I’d say that it’s just a drop in the bucket.”
Sydney nods, but looks confused too.
“Wait a minute. So you’re the CEO of a company, but you’re also working part-time for the TSA? Why?”
I shrug.
“Being a CEO isn’t difficult for me anymore because I’ve been in the position a long time. The company pretty much runs itself at this point because I have talented people working for me, and they know what to do. Not only that, but these days, my job consists of approving or rejecting things pretty quickly. I mean, once you know what you’re doing, you can get a good feel for whether things are going to work very early in the process. So I’d say I was working only half-days, even if I was actually in the office eight hours. The TSA thing was a lark, and I applied on a whim, really.”