Sexy Saturday

by Annalise Wells

  I take Joseph and Stacey through the reception area into the gambling side of the club. “You’ve captured this Alice in Wonderland thing down to near perfect, I feel like I am in the movie,” Stacey says.

  “We just hope everyone enjoys it the same when they come in,” I reply.

  “You have no worries there,” she adds.

  “We have no door yet, we don’t want too much attention,” I say. “And that is the short version.

  We walk back through the club reception and head back toward the door. Susan exits the office as we pass the bar.

  She took a long time?

  “You okay?” I ask.

  “Yeah, bad time of the month,” she says.

  “Ah,” I reply.

  “You have all your staff ready?” Joseph asks.

  “All apart from security and dealers which Brent is sorting, today. And as of now… we have one,” I say looking at Brent.

  “I forgot.” He shrugs his shoulders.

  “Come on, we’ll go back to the apartment, and we can wait for the others to arrive,” I say.

  “It sounds good to me,” Stacey says.

  “Where have you two been for so long?” I ask them.

  “I was supposed to meet an old friend, but when we got to the location, he wasn’t there. I left a message about where we were going,” Joseph says. We walk back and look at the place as we go. It really is amazing.

  “What time is it?” I ask as I pour the coffee.

  “Time for the others to be arriving at the airport,” Brent says.

  “How far is the airport from here?” Stacey asks.

  “Thirty minutes maximum, that’s with traffic.”

  Stacey sighs. “I feel guilty we got here first.”

  Brent looks at Stacey. “Trust me, after what we’ve been through the last few days, you are a nun!”

  “A little bit of guilt never hurt anyone.”

  Brent

  “There can still be strange faces in a crowd full of friends.”

  The car arrives and pulls into the courtyard. I see a few new faces and stand to wait to be introduced.

  “Brent, you sort of know Beau and Shona, and this is Tina and Orlando I presume… and lastly, Ty you already know, with his gorgeous Cally,” Bell says.

  “Pleased to meet everyone,” I reply.

  “So, what does everyone want to do first?” Bell asks.

  Tour is the consensus of opinion. We walk back into the club and begin to give everyone a full tour of the club. It’s a rousing success from the thoughts given by everyone, as expected. They have all had an input, so this was the true super club.

  I see Mike walking toward me. “The girls said the toilet was blocked. It was stuffed full of toilet paper,” he says.

  “Susan told us, she had to use the one in the office,” I reply.

  “God only knows how that happened.”

  “At least it’s sorted.”

  “When is the opening?” Beau asks.

  “We were hoping for next weekend, but we’ve only just found out some new information,” I say.

  “You better fill us all in then… the sooner, the better,” Beau says.

  We all walk into Bob’s office. He is busy scanning his system to see who has been messing around.

  “You should all sit down,” I say. Everyone takes a seat. I try to explain as best I can.

  “I am glad we are all here. Now we can all be singing from the same page,” I say. “We have pin-pointed four crooked city officials, they own a large area just outside the city limits. They are linked to fraud, not paying taxes, corruption, you name it, and we think they are doing it. This is where we need Beau and his expertise with Bob, once he is sure his system is safe.”

  “Is that true Bob?” Ty asks.

  “I think someone was snooping, but not anything to do with what we are looking at,” he replies.

  “Good, lock it down and proceed. Is there any sign of where the money goes?” Beau asks.

  “A dead end,” Bob replies.

  “We found out last night, they don’t use banks, they have a vault, and we think it is somewhere around the golf course,” Bell says.

  Beau leans forward. “We have cash going in, and none coming out, anywhere. They have to funnel all transactions back through their own offices… that’s the only way they can hide it.”

  “That’s it. That’s how they are making it vanish. The eight officials underneath them, they are making the records disappear,” Bob says.

  “Start checking that Bob,” Beau says. “And can you get any images of that golf course from above, we can’t check it from the ground.”

  “I will do that as soon as Mikey gets here,” Bob says.

  “Who is Mikey?” Beau asks. “Not my builder, Mike?”

  “This was his warehouse, he is safe. He is going out with me later to help find some card dealers,” I say.

  Beau looks perplexed. “You haven’t found dealers?”

  I sigh. “I will say it for the last time, ‘I forgot the dealers.’ Luckily, the city is full of them.”

  “I think that’s a minor problem,” Ty says. “I will have a ride around by the golf course and see if I can spot anything. I just need a bike.”

  “I will take you to that Chopper shop we met Drake at, I’m sure he will do me a favor,” I say.

  “What else is going on?” Shona asks.

  “We have interviews with dancers this afternoon. Janey is going through them,” Bell says.

  “I will help with them,” Stacey says.

  “Me too,” Orlando answers. Tina laughs and slaps his leg.

  “Jesus Christ, it’s like a whirlwind. My head is swimming,” I say. Everyone laughs as I sit down. Bell stands up and takes over.

  “Right, Ty and Cally are off scouting. Joseph is here with Bob. Beau and Shona are on finances,” Bell says. “Stacey and Orlando are helping with dancers. And Tina?”

  “Have you been through your stocks?” Tina asks.

  “No, not yet,” Bell says.

  “I’m on it,” she replies.

  I turn to Joseph as his phone rings. He stands and walks out of the office to answer the call.

  “We are all sorted for today then?” Bell asks. Everyone nods.

  “We better get moving, and we will meet back here for dinner. The restaurant is operational so we can have something in there,” I say. “Okay then, let’s say seven o’clock, back here.”

  “Sounds great!” Shona says.

  “Ty, we have to get you over to the shop first and get you sorted with transport. I will be back for Mikey and Brooke to find dealers,” I say.

  Everyone splits, and we walk from Bob’s office. Stacey walks over to Joseph as he is finishing his phone call.

  “What is it?” I hear Stacey say.

  “Not yet, we have to go and pick Owen up. He is arriving by bus,” I hear Joseph say.

  I continue to walk to the club with Cally and Ty. They stand to look at the club again.

  “I will be with you in a moment, I just have to get something from the office,” I say.

  Cally and Ty look around the stage at the giant Mad Hatter and the Alice as I walk into the office. Something just doesn’t feel right. I can see that a couple of the drawers in the desk have been opened and not closed properly. I take a small stack of cash from the safe and walk back into the club.

  “Mike, have you got a vehicle we can use?” I ask.

  “The work van,” he calls back.

  Oh fuck…

  “I will be back in a moment,” I say.

  I run back to the apartment. Bell is with Shona talking. “Bell, do you want to come with me?” I ask, pleading.

  “Why, what’s wrong?” she asks.

  “The only vehicle Mike has is that work van, you know I can’t drive it,” I say.

  “Go on, go, we can catch up later,” Shona says. She laughs.

  We walk back to the club. I turn to Bell. “I have the strangest feeli
ng,” I say.

  “What’s that?” she asks.

  “I don’t know if it’s because of what Bob said about his computer or what, but I felt like the drawers in the desk had been opened,” I say.

  Bell looks at me. “Maybe when the workmen were here?” she says.

  I look back at her as I toss her the vehicle keys. “Maybe you’re right. It’s probably nothing.”

  “There can still be strange faces in a crowd full of friends.”

  Bell

  “What goes around comes around.”

  Ty pulls out of the bike shop’s parking lot on his borrowed bike. Cally is on the rear seat with her arms gripping his waist tightly. We get back into the truck and Brent turns to me as I start the engine.

  “I am so glad everyone has come. I don’t think we could have managed,” he says.

  “We have been chasing a goal that wasn’t there, or that’s moved once or twice,” I reply.

  “Now we should have everything under control and be able to open… as long as we can approach these officials within the next week,” I say.

  “We might have to get someone else to approach them, they will be really pissed if they recognize us,” Brent says.

  “That might be too obvious, maybe Beau and Shona are the best two, they won’t take any crap from anyone,” I say.

  “I hope Mikey is back so we can get looking for these dealers. I am fed up with saying I forgot,” Brent says laughing.

  “I’m glad we have explained everything one final time, there are too many involved to keep repeating the updates,” I say.

  “I know how you feel, and I can see why Shona says if you can handle the ride it’s all worth it. We are so close, yet we are so far.” Brent smiles.

  “I tell you what though,” I say.

  “What?” Brent asks.

  “Did you know all the couples you met this morning have all come from clubs?” I ask.

  “You are joking, all of them?” he says.

  “Yeah, and they’re not just like casual relationships, these are rock-solid, last-forever relationships,” I say.

  “Who was first?” Brent asks.

  “It was Beau and Shona, they had an on-off, and back-on again thing, until they realized. Then it was Cally and Ty who had a real, love-hate thing.” I explain. “And then Joseph and Stacey.”

  “What about Tina and Orlando, she looks a bit older than him,” Brent says.

  “Tina had the original club where it all started, and she had a side job as well,” I say.

  “And then, obviously, it was Alex and Brooke in the Jamaican club, and that leaves us two,” Brent says.

  “We might just be the last two in a long line,” I say as we approach the club.

  “It’s easy to see who will be the next ones,” Brent says. “Who is single here?”

  “Bob is with Britney, but there is no way they would be involved with any of this, they are too young. The only single one is Janey, and there is no way she is going to fall for Mikey,” I say.

  Brent laughs. “That would be so comical though,” Brent says.

  “Janey is my best friend, I wouldn’t wish that on her,” I say. “I wouldn’t actually wish Mikey on anyone!”

  I pull to the front of the club. We step from the car and walk into the table side. Brooke is with Mikey. I see him spinning the roulette wheels.

  “I don’t know how she does it, but you were right, the first two tables were off, slightly,” Mikey says. “This one is the last roulette, and it’s a real bitch to level.”

  “Hurry up. Brooke has to go out with Brent to find some card dealers,” I say.

  “Okay, okay, can you please leave it be?” Brent says laughing.

  I grab hold of his arm and kiss him on his cheek. “I love it when you’re angry,” I say.

  Brent pushes the doors open and the stage is full of dancers. “Fuck, where did all these come from?” he says.

  “That’s what happens when you advertise, not a last-minute thing,” I say. “How’s it going?” I ask Janey.

  “We are flying through them. These two have been such a help, not just with choosing, but they’ve been putting some routines together.” Janey smiles.

  “Hmm,” Brent says as I pinch his arm.

  We walk into the courtyard and into Bob’s office. Britney is sitting on the couch. “Shouldn’t you be rehearsing?” I ask.

  Britney holds her ankle up. “I have twisted it,” she says.

  “Just keep out of the way,” I say.

  “Mikey, are you nearly ready? Brooke is almost finished.”

  “I am, I have my bag with me,” he says, patting a case that is firmly on his lap.

  “Beau. How are you going?” I ask.

  “Mikey did some really good work to start with. I can see from what Bob has here, they make payments to the government offices. And, before it gets to the bank, it gets mixed up and lost.”

  “So, it is just a paper trail?” Brent asks.

  “Yeah, a very good one I might add,” Beau says.

  “How about the vault?” Brent asks plainly.

  Beau laughs. “Britney came up with this. She said what if…” Beau says.

  I interrupt, “What if what?” I ask.

  “What if the cops are not real cops,” Beau replies.

  “And the answer is?” Brent questions.

  “There is no precinct in that area, but if you look at Bob's pictures, there is a precinct at the end of the golf course.”

  “The vault?” Brent says.

  “More than likely, we will see what Ty has to say when he gets back,” Shona says as she walks through the door.

  “Where is Tina?” I ask.

  “She was in the back of the office doing some checking,” Shona says.

  “There is no stock there,” I say.

  Shona shakes her head at me. “She was doing some… checking.”

  I nod without saying anything. Brent looks at me. “You women have this hidden language, what was that?” he asks.

  “I will tell you later,” I whisper.

  “Can we finger these guys or what?” Brent asks Beau.

  “We can, but we have to do it from the other way around. It was right to go after the four, but the eight under them are the weakest link.”

  “So, we made a mistake?” Brent asks.

  “Not at all, they should have stayed as a group, that’s how it works. Catch twenty-two, you can’t have one without the other.” Beau smiles.

  “So, we will be delayed?” I ask.

  Beau looks at me. “If we want to take their cash that’s where the delay will be. They will have no choice but to grant us the papers.”

  “Where is Alex?” I ask.

  Shona laughs. “Right behind you.”

  Alex smiles. “I was just on the phone to Ingrid.”

  “Is she the owner of that casino?” Brent asks.

  “Yeah. I’ve explained we are trying to get their money back, and if they help I will return what her husband lost in the card game,” he says.

  “That was generous,” Brent says.

  “You know how much force they bring with them?” Alex adds.

  “A lot from the sound of it,” Brent replies.

  “Come on Mikey, we have to get going, or we won’t be back for seven,” Brent says. He looks impatient, like when we go shopping.

  Brent kisses me on the cheek. They walk from the office, and I hear Brent telling Mikey they should take his car. Brent, you really have to drive... or at least start practicing…

  I go back to see the dancers and sit with Stacey. “How many more do you have to see?” I ask.

  “About twenty,” she says.

  “Wrap it up after that, we have to get ready for dinner when you are finished,” I say.

  “Sure,” she replies.

  I walk to the office and can see Tina walking around scratching her head. I walk in. “What’s wrong?”

  “This isn’t right.”

 
“Brent said that this morning,” I reply.

  “You have this place, where construction has not been completely finished, and there are no finger prints in the dust,” Tina says.

  “What do you mean?” I ask, curious to know more.

  “The desk has been wiped, quite recently.”

  “Just keep it quiet, something is obviously going on here,” I reply.

  Stacey has wrapped up the interviews. Beau is in the restaurant with Shona, Bob, and Britney.

  Britney has heard a lot. I wonder?

  I hear the rumble of a bike as Ty and Cally return. They walk into the club and look a little dusty from their ride.

  “A good day?” I ask.

  “Informative,” Ty says.

  “What time is it?” I ask.

  “Six thirty,” Cally says.

  I roll my eyes. “Where the hell are Brent and Joseph?”

  Suddenly, Brent walks through the doors with a smile on his face. “What are you so happy about?” I ask him.

  “Ten dealers in the bag and Mikey has gone home happy and confused,” Brent says as he picks me up in his arms and kisses me.

  “You seem in a good mood!”

  “I feel in a great mood, it’s all coming together,” he says.

  “I think you might be right,” I reply.

  We walk into the restaurant and take a seat at the table with Shona. Bob helps the limping Britney into a chair.

  “How sure are you about her?” Tina whispers to me.

  “Britney is okay, she is sound,” I reply.

  We all sit around the table. “We are just waiting for Joseph,” I say.

  “Always the last,” Beau says.

  “While we’re waiting we might as well get started,” I say. “In a nutshell, how are we looking with everything?”

  “My side is good,” Beau says. Shona nods.

  Ty wipes his face on a towel. “As Beau said, those cops are not real cops, they look like ex-military.”

  “Staff, how are we looking there?” I ask.

  Janey replies, “We have enough dancers and a few standby, they can all start rehearsing by Monday.”

  “Dealers. We know we have ten; eleven if you count Karen,” Brent says quickly, squeezing my leg.

  Joseph walks into the restaurant with another guy who I’ve never seen before, only heard about. “For the ones who don’t know him, this is Owen,” Joseph says. “And he has some news.”