Scott Christopher was my business partner, though for my part it was silent. Foreplay belonged to him, but I provided the financial backing and most of the clientele for his trade business. Two trades, to be exact: sex and drugs. Scarlet Lotus was my main source of income, but the auction and cocaine padded my pockets. Nicely, I might add.
Fuck those amateur pimps and dealers on the streets. That was nothing more than chump change. We catered to the elite.
Although I had a solid investment in his dealings, the only reason Scott was able to attract the rich and powerful was through me. Nose candy was the hang-up for a lot of well-to-do types, and I had my finger in the punch bowl on that one. An entrepreneur like Scott would never be able to approach men of the same caliber as the ones with whom I associated. Many of my business luncheons and hobnobbing with clients and prospective investors for Scarlet Lotus provided me with a little side action to boot. My promise of discretion was what brought the big fish in for a nibble. Once they sampled the goods, their business was hook, line, and sinker. They only managed to go deeper inside after that, securing a bit of pussy to satisfy their needs in whatever way their pervy hearts desired. We had a little something for everyone.
The cherry on top was that I knew all of their secrets. I smiled in their faces, shook their hands, and patted them on the back. But at the end of the day, I’d stab them in it if push ever came to shove and mine was against a wall. The need for contracts meant there was a paper trail, proof of their scandalous behavior. However risky those documents were, our clients considered it a worthwhile liability in exchange for the goods. I considered it a surefire bet they’d be team David when I made my move to take Scarlet Lotus for my own.
I loved my fucking life.
“And how are the numbers looking on our other venture?” I hung my jacket on the coat rack and walked over to test the sample of coke for myself.
Bending over the desk, I took the straw and put the tip to my nose and the other end at the base of one of the sculptured lines. Once I closed my other nostril with a finger, I shut my eyes and inhaled the superior white powder. Although it felt like fine sand being shot up my nose, the cut was so pure there was no burn, only an immediate numbing and the high that would make Mighty Mouse feel like the Incredible Hulk.
I slowly opened my eyes as the sensation took the fast track through the rest of my body. “Oh yeah, baby. That’s the good shit right there.”
On a normal day, I’d feel like I could take on the world. Put a little of the devil’s dandruff up my nose, and I knew I could not only take on the world, but the universe as well. The rich and powerful craved that feeling, became addicted to it. Given our clientele, it was no surprise our hugely successful and highly profitable cocaine biz was the envy of street dealers the world over.
I took a seat and propped my feet on the corner of Scott’s desk. He looked irritated, but he wouldn’t say shit about it. “So, the numbers on the auction?”
“Spectacular, thanks to the virgin on the block, but that’s nothing compared to my other news.” His face lit up with a devious smile. “I’ve got an interesting bit of information for you.”
I arched a brow at him because he was acting like a man who suddenly knew all the answers in life and was about to make me a deal I wouldn’t refuse. “Is that right? Do tell.”
“How about if I just show you?” He opened the bottom drawer of his desk and pulled out a manila folder that he slid across the desk.
I chuckled when I saw the name Delaine Talbot written in red on the tab.
I could practically see that sexy little smirk on her face from the Scarlet Lotus Ball when she’d torn me down. It gave me some serious wood. I knew word of mouth had been spreading among our customers and their colleagues, so I got pretty fucking curious as to the reason Scott would be holding a folder with my future conquest’s name on it. I flipped it open and scanned the singular document inside.
A satisfied smile crept over my face when I scanned what appeared to be a contract promising two years of Delaine’s life to one Noah P. Crawford. “Well, fuck me. Noah, Noah, Noah,” I tsked.
“Thought you might like that,” Scott said with a self-satisfied grin.
“Why didn’t you tell me this was going down?”
“I didn’t know he’d be here. He’s smart. When he called in, he did it anonymously. Wouldn’t give me his name, only a number and a very particular interest. A virgin. I honestly didn’t think I’d ever hear from him again because the odds of finding a virgin desperate enough to put her innocence on the menu are nil to none. And then Delaine Talbot,” he said with a wave of his hand toward the folder I was holding like it was the holy grail because it fucking was, “signed up on the day before the auction.
“I called him up, and he told me he might make the auction and that I should reserve a room for him just in case. Imagine my surprise when Noah Crawford walked through those doors.”
“Yeah, I bet.” I laughed as Noah’s signature stared back at me, right alongside Delaine’s.
I closed the folder and pushed it back across the desk. It took everything in me to do it, but at least I knew where the contract was and had access to it at any time. Scott would never hand it over to me to use in my conquest to blackmail Crawford into giving up his half of Scarlet Lotus. That would be too risky for the rest of his business. All of it: the auction and the coke. Not to mention his suppliers and the power players involved in every aspect would get twitchy if they thought he’d gotten sloppy and their dirty deeds were in danger of being exposed. It was best not to spook them.
I just needed to figure out a way to make my newfound knowledge work in my favor without risking life and limb in the process.
“If you decide to tell Noah you know, you keep my name out of your mouth,” Scott said, putting the folder back in his desk. “And if he figures it out, you better make damn sure you give me a heads-up so that I can clean house. I mean it, Stone. These people I deal with do not play well with others.”
“You worry too much, Scotty. Crawford isn’t about to step into a light that is unfavorable to him. Besides, I’m pretty sure I know how to get what I want without bringing you down in the process.”
I wasn’t confident my plan would work, but the important thing was that I had finally won. What had happened between Noah and me back at the office earlier that morning was my word against his. And although I would have had a valid case and would have thoroughly enjoyed dragging his name through the mud, there was no way I could prove what had happened. But this? There was just no denying this. I had it all in writing.