Kane’s smirk told me he saw right through my cool attitude. “No problem, Cash. Maybe I’ll hook her up with Samson. The ladies like him.”
Samson looked everything his name implied. Giant with muscles and long blond hair, he was requested more than any other of Kane’s performers. The Godivas had kept him busy for hours at their party, and he’d left with enough tips to fill a bank bag. Kane knew all this too. Nothing like a little brotherly ass busting.
“Samson sounds fine, Kane. He’s experienced,” I bit out, struggling to keep my cool.
“Yeah. He’ll treat her right. Don’t worry. I think she just wants to loosen up a little. Nobody knows how to loosen a woman up better than Samson.”
Fuck. As much as I didn’t want to admit it, the very idea of that Fabio type doing his phony seduction routine with Olivia made my stomach turn. And my half-brother’s thinly veiled reference to Samson loosening anything on Olivia got under my skin. Kane had called my bluff, so I had no choice. I had to show my hand. “I don’t think Samson is the man for the job. He might be a bit much. Olivia doesn’t need that.”
Kane raised his eyebrows in surprise. “You know what she needs?”
“She doesn’t need your resident fucking gigolo, Kane. All she wants is a taste of our world, not enough to choke on as she tries to swallow.”
Another rare smile brightened up his face. “Well, then what do you want me to give her? Are you thinking you want me to do it? You don’t have to worry about that non-fraternizing clause. I’m not like Stefan.”
The thought of him taking care of loosening up Olivia was barely better than Samson. My half-brother had a penchant for the rougher side of things, if his choice in piercings and the rumors I’d heard were any indication of his preferences. I couldn’t imagine him having the patience needed to take care of a woman like Olivia. She didn’t need Samson’s heavy seduction or Kane’s rough style. A woman like her deserved something more sensual, something I doubted neither Kane nor Samson excelled at.
I typed Olivia’s name into my calendar for Friday night. “I think that might be unnecessary. Leave this to me. I’ll take care of it. You said she reserved Friday night, right? Just make sure I know the time and what room you give her.”
“I’m surprised, Cash. You never bothered to get involved when Kate took advantage of the fantasy rooms.”
Looking up from my laptop’s screen, I said, “Olivia isn’t Kate.”
Kane smirked. “No doubt. Kate knew how to have a good time. That’s why her husband made her quit this job with you. From what I hear, he thought you were fucking her. I don’t think you were, but I can tell you that girl knew how to party. Olivia, on the other hand, could very well be a virgin for all I know.”
Kane’s gossiping about my former assistant amused me. He said so little that when he did say something like that I couldn’t help but imagine him like some Peeping Tom on the upper floors spying on our patrons as they lived out their fantasies. Maybe that strong, silent thing he had going on was all an act.
“I had no idea you knew so much about my assistants, Kane.”
Leaning forward, he tapped his knuckles on the top of my desk. “Just takes a little paying attention. Kate was a good time. I liked her. As for Olivia, I get the feeling she’s a bit more uptight. It’ll be interesting to see how this all goes.”
Closing my laptop, I shook my head. “I don’t want her to feel like she’s doing anything wrong, so don’t say anything to Stefan so she gets scared off.”
“Not a word, Cash,” Kane said as he stood to leave. “I’ll put her in one of the smaller rooms on the top floor so you two can have all the privacy you need.”
He turned to leave, but I stopped him. “One more thing, Kane. Make sure you make it early, around midnight, and make sure she wears a blindfold.”
Kane said nothing, but the look on his face showed I’d piqued his interest. I had no intention of explaining what I planned for Olivia, though. That was between her and me now.
And then just as my day was looking up, in walked another dose of misery for me to deal with. Looking up at Kane as the two met at the door, one of Tampa’s VICE squad, John Sheridan—or as we called him when he wasn’t around, Shank—had a look on his face that told me anything I’d been worrying about with Stefan would be child’s play compared to what he wanted to discuss.
“Kane, how you doing these days?” Shank asked as they shook hands, the question meant to be a thinly veiled reference to my half-brother’s past run-ins with the law.
“Same as always.” Looking over the policeman’s head, Kane shot me a look of disgust. “Don’t worry, Cash. I’ll take care of things.”
“John, what can I do for you?” I asked as he sat down in front of me and smiled that greedy, cop smile he always gave me.
“Just my usual monthly visit, Cassian. You know how this works.”
Reaching into the file cabinet behind me, I grabbed the envelope Shank had come for. I handed it to him, and he slid it into his jacket pocket, as always. “I do, John. You know how thankful we are for your help.”
Shank patted his chest where our monthly payment sat inside his coat. “I like working with you, Cassian. You’re a real businessman who understands the way of the world. You’ve got a nice thing going here. I’m happy I can help to keep it nice.”
Nice. I’d heard that word from Shank enough to know it meant he wanted something. Something more than the twenty grand we paid him every month to make sure Club X didn’t get shut down. Hesitant to know what he wanted, I leveled my gaze on his pockmarked face and stared into his dark eyes. “What can I do for you?”
Expecting him to want something akin to a pound of flesh, I was surprised to hear his next words. “Did you know I have a daughter?”
I’d anticipated a different answer, and as worry ebbed from me, I shook my head. “No, I didn’t.”
Leaning back in his seat, he smiled and for a moment I thought I saw a proud father in the man who shook me down for protection money every month. “I do. Her name is Lorraine, after her mother, God bless her soul. It was just the two of us after my wife died, so she’s my entire world.”
Unsure of what to say since this John Sheridan wasn’t someone as easily hated as the one I usually dealt with, I nodded and mumbled, “That’s nice, John.”