In fact, Savage hadn’t seen such a jump in his club’s cash flow since Lil’ Miss Lulu hit the stage not long after Fantasy Plus had opened for business. Lulu was another dancer whose popularity he didn’t fully foresee. A petite Haitian who immigrated to the States after the devastating earthquake of 2010, Lulu was a barely legal, flat-chested, narrow-hipped, redbone beauty with caramel skin and a tight, auburn afro. Her appeal, Savage quickly learned, wasn’t so much from her beauty – aside from the gap between her two front teeth, her freckled face was perhaps a bit too long and her small, light brown eyes a bit too narrow – as it was from her youthful, nubile appearance, for she looked much younger than even her young age allowed. After realizing this, Savage decided to play to her strengths and instructed Lulu to shave off her pubic hair. After she did, when she danced she no longer looked just young, she looked prepubescent, wholly illegal. From this, her fame throughout the region became legendary. With her success the audience at Fantasy Plus grew drastically and helped to establish the club as the premier destination for black exotic dancers.
Where Lulu’s success was borne from her youthful-looking innocence, Toni’s was from exactly the opposite. Toni was all woman, from her full breasts and shapely hips, to her glamourous looks and grace upon the stage. After she had come to terms with her fate and Savage had begun spending more and more time with her, he had found that the hair that had grown unrestricted under her arms and between her legs while she had been held in captivity was now long and lush, giving her a distinct sexual appeal that he had never felt from any other woman. To him, her au naturale beauty transcended that of any well-manicured woman he had ever been with. He found her attraction was not just a surface one drawn from her beauty, elegance, and grace, it was drawn, he felt, from a much deeper attraction, a primordial, visceral, spiritual attraction. Whenever she was up on the stage dancing, her naked body majestically commanding everyone’s attention, Savage would imagine her as the eternal Mother of Man, the Life Giver, the Holy Goddess of the Gods.
Up on the stage, amidst the flashing lights, the smoke, the mirrors, the heavy beat of the music, Toni truly was a goddess among men. She moved, and every eye, every soul in the club moved with her. Savage knew he didn’t have the capacity to love, not anymore, but he also knew that if he had, he would love Toni. So, instead of love, he allowed her to possess him, to consume him, to take him emotionally as high as a heart such as his, one heavily laden with the corroded scales of vice and malevolence, could soar.
Savage watched from behind the mirror as Toni’s set ended and she had exited the stage. With her absence, it seemed as if she had taken the heart and soul of everyone in the club with her. It took well into the next dancer’s act before any of the energy began to return. Savage went to his desk and sat down and watched the dancer now on stage without really seeing her. His mind was on Toni.
It wasn’t long before there was a soft knock on the door. Savage smiled and slid his chair back, leaving ample space between him and the desk.
“Enter,” he said.
After Toni entered, she closed and locked the door behind her. She then turned off the overhead light and walked over to Savage without a word. She stood before him and, without making eye contact, slipped off the sheer robe she was wearing and began to dance for her audience of one. Savage took her in with his eyes for as long as he could before grabbing her by her slowly gyrating hips and pulling her toward him. His hands roamed all over her body. He pressed his face in between her breasts and kept it there, breathing her in.
“Girl, you just don’t know what you got, do you?”
Toni pushed him back in his chair. “I know I got what you want, Mr. Savage.”
Savage stopped her from kneeling down between his legs and pulled her onto his lap. “Hey, mama, we can do that later, okay?” he said. As he massaged her left breast, Toni stared blankly off into middle space. “But right now, I got a little surprise for you.” His hand slid down her flat belly and sliced its way in between her smooth, warm thighs. Toni didn’t react as the hand slid upward into the heat between her legs.
“You got the pipe?” she asked.
Savage laughed as he kissed her on the neck. “Damn, girl. Is that all you thinking about right now? Getting high?”
Toni stared at the wall behind Savage without answering.
“Well, before I let you hit that pipe, I got some good news for you,” Savage said into her neck.
No reaction.
Savage removed his hand from between her legs and turned her face toward him. “Yo, you hear me? I gots news for you. Shit, girl, if you don’t want to hear what Hollywood’s got to say then—”
“What is it, Mr. Savage?” Toni said without interest.
“Damn, girl, show me some life. I’m out there busting my ass tracking down Ruby for you and you’re acting like I ain’t nothing but a piece of shit. Fuck that.”
At the mention of her sister, Toni showed the first sign of emotion since entering the office. “You found Ruby?”
“There you go. How ‘bout that? When you’re getting what you want, then you come around to where you should have been in the first place.”
He jammed his hand down in between her legs again and began stroking her roughly. “Yeah, maybe I did find her. But we’re still working out the particulars.”
“What does that mean? Who has her? Is she okay?” Toni asked desperately.
“Like I said, bitch. We still working out the particulars, but here’s what you need to know right now. Ruby’s alive and she’s in Atlanta.”
“Atlanta? How...”
“Now here’s what you gonna do...” Savage pushed her roughly from his lap and slid open the bottom drawer of his desk. He started to punch in the combination but stopped and said, “Turn your ass around. I don’t want you seeing this.” He waited until she turned around and then unlocked the safe and pulled out her cell phone.
“Okay, here you go, turn your ass back around.” He handed her the phone. Toni looked at it like it was something she had never seen before. “You gonna call your mama and put her mind at ease, you hear? You gonna tell her you’ve been in contact with Ruby and she’s fine and that she be living down in Atlanta now.”
Toni had a hard time processing what she was hearing. “Ruby’s in Atlanta? Why can’t we go down there and get her?”
“Listen to me, Toni, god damn it. You’re gonna tell your mama that Ruby’s found a job down there and that you’re gonna take a semester off of school to go visit with her.”
“But why cant’ we just... Mr. Savage, I can’t take a semester off from school?”
Violence shone in Savage’s eyes as he hollered out, “Bitch, what the fuck you think you’ve been doing lately? It sure as hell ain’t been going to no damn college.” He glared at her until the violence dissipated from his eyes. He spoke calmly. “Now you gotta do this for me, baby, okay? There’s no other way. You gotta tell your mama that you’re going down to Atlanta to be with your sister.”
Before Toni could question him again, Savage gave her a look that shut her up. “You got to do this for me, Toni, you hear? Because we sure as hell don’t need your mama sending someone around here looking for you like you came looking for Ruby, you feel me?”
He handed the phone to Toni. “Go ahead on now, call your mama. It’s all charged up.”
Toni turned the phone over in her hand as if she didn’t know how to operate it.
Savage snatched it back from her and pressed the power button to wake it up. He shoved it back into her hands. “Make the god damn call, bitch.”
“I’m sorry, Mr. Savage, but I don’t think I can do it. I can’t talk to my mother like this...” She looked down at herself. She was naked except for her high heeled shoes. She tried to hand the phone back to Savage.
Savage slapped her hand away. The phone fell to the floor. “Bitch, did it sound like I was asking you? Now pick up that fucking phone and call that whore of a mama of yours before you make m
e do something to you that you sure as hell don’t want me to do.”
“But...but she’ll know I’m lying, that something’s wrong.”
“Why you lying? Your sister is down in Atlanta. You know this because I told you so. And soon enough, your ass will be down south with her too. Now call your mother fucking mama before I get to slappin’ the shit out of you, you hear?”
Toni dropped to her knees to reach for the phone under the desk. She picked it up and held it in both hands and stared at it. The phone represented her first opportunity to contact someone outside the club since she first entered it looking for Ruby. The thought scared her. She wasn’t sure that life outside the club would welcome her back. She felt she could never again be that self-determined college student she once was. That person had died the moment she met Savage.
Savage grabbed her by the arm and yanked her back up onto his lap. He jammed his hand down in between her legs and grabbed her genitals hard and squeezed. He got close to her ear and said, “How ‘bout this? Make the fucking phone call now or your mama dies.”
With a shaky finger, she opened up the phone app and selected recent calls. She saw that it had been over a month since she last spoke with her mother. Why hasn’t her mother already sent someone for her, she wondered. The thought filled her with dread. Maybe something happened to her.
When she selected her mother’s number to put the call through, her mother’s smiling profile picture popped open and filled her screen. Heavy tears rolled down Toni’s cheeks as the phone rang and she waited for it to be answered.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Atoast to our honored guest, Mr. Zlatko Pulev,” DeBlanc said as he held up his glass of champagne. He glanced over at Ruby to make sure she had followed suit. She had.
Zlatko Pulev smiled and bowed humbly in response to DeBlanc’s gesture.
“Mr. Pulev, on behalf of—”
“Please, please, Mr. DeBlanc, call me Zlat,” Pulev said graciously, his Bulgarian accent soft but distinct.
“Well, sir, only if you agree to call me Louis,” DeBlanc said, equally gracious.
Pulev nodded his acquiescence.
“Well then... Zlat,” DeBlanc began again, “on behalf of my father and the entire DeBlanc Enterprise, International family, it is my pleasure to welcome you to our flagship resort. And may I just say that tonight, sir, as we come together in what I am sure will prove to be the beginning of a very long and rewarding relationship, your every wish is our command.” After saying this, DeBlanc stepped back and flung out his right arm dramatically, as if making an offering to his guest of everything within sight of the opulent private dining room and beyond. The resort’s senior management, standing next to the dining table as if in military ranks, began to applaud.
Pulev, looking truly impressed by the welcome, held up his glass of champagne and said, “Louis, may I in turn just say that, on behalf of myself and the New York consul, our embassy, and our entire Bulgarian government, we thank you for being such a gracious host and we look forward to a long and mutually prosperous friendship. I only apologize that my wife Evgenia is unable to join us.” He turned toward the management team and raised his glass of champagne to them, next he reached over and touched glasses with Ruby, and then he and DeBlanc touched their glasses, cueing the management team to nod their heads in a bow and then dismiss themselves while a line of formally dressed servers began streaming into the room, each carrying a glistening silver tray of fine cuisine.
Pulev leaned over to DeBlanc conspiratorially and said, “But as for your kind offer to make my every wish your command, I must warn you Louis...” He paused and eyed Ruby hungrily, “...my wishes can be very commanding, indeed.”
DeBlanc followed Pulev’s eyes toward Ruby, who was responding to Pulev’s blatant, if not unspoken, command with a suggestive look of her own. DeBlanc laughed and said, “Well, had I known your poor wife would fall ill and be unable to attend, Zlat, I would have had one of Ruby’s friends join us, you know, to balance out the table.”
Pulev chuckled at DeBlanc’s remark as he continued to stare at Ruby. He then leaned back in his chair, allowing the server standing by to place the dainty yet elegantly plated amuse-bouche before him.
The resort’s chef de cuisine, donned in a crisp, white double-breasted jacket, black-and-white houndstooth pants, a white linen necktie knotted loosely around the neck, and a towering toque blanche set squarely upon his shiny, bald head, stepped forward, bowed smartly, and, in an overly-thick French accent, proudly introduced the first course as a Scallop Sashimi Lollie, and went on to explain with smug pride how the scallop was lightly seared and dusted with coriander, all set atop a fennel-cilantro salad seasoned with a ponzu dressing and garnished with kaffir lime sauce, citrus foam, and volcanic Hawaiian sea salt. It was a dish, the chef said enthusiastically, that he created especially for the occasion.
After the chef bowed and stepped back, the sommelier stepped forward and presented to Pulev a 2010 Lucien Le Moine Chevalier Montrachet, a Cote de Beaune Chardonnay with a buttery yet complex bouquet, one which, she said, should complement the chef’s beautiful amuse-bouche perfectly. With a much-practiced efficiency, she uncorked the wine, set the cork within a small silver dish and placed it before Pulev, and then poured a smattering of the wine into his glass. The Bulgarian dramatically squeezed and sniffed the cork, he then stuck his prominent and veiny nose deep into his glass to take in the Chardonnay’s bouquet, next he swirled the wine and inspected its color, and finally he poured the wine into his mouth and swished it around to coat his entire palate so as to experience its full flavor. After swallowing, he gave his consent to the sommelier with a majestic nod. When the wine had been poured for each of the diners, all the attendants exited, with the head server standing by within earshot just inside the dining room’s arced entrance.
Pulev folded the entire lollie into his mouth and then, while still chewing, said to Ruby, “Forgive me, Ms. Black, for I must spoil such a lovely meal with the mention of business.” Then, looking to DeBlanc, he said, “But I now was hoping we could make this a working meal instead of waiting until after we’ve finished when my senses would be dulled from the fine food and superb wine. If what I’ve heard of your reputation for negotiation is accurate, Louis, and I’m sure it is, I am going to need my full wits about me so as not to be taken advantage of.”
DeBlanc, impressed by the flattery, said, “Please, Zlat, the last thing I would ever want to do would be to take advantage of a new friend.”
Pulev took a long pull from his glass to wash the scallop down and then licked his thick, moist lips before he said, “Yes, I’m sure you wouldn’t, Louis. Regardless, shall we begin?”
“Yes, but before we do, let’s at least have the next course served, shall we?” DeBlanc turned to the server, who, without a word, sprang into action.
After the soup course was set, the chef’s introduction made, the next bottle of wine presented and poured by the sommelier, and all the attendants dismissed, including the head server, Louis said to Pulev, “So, shall we begin our discussion?”
Pulev smiled, but when he realized that DeBlanc had intended for Ruby to remain with them throughout, he grew concerned. He looked at Ruby as he spoke. “Please forgive me, Louis, but, due to the sensitivity of our discussions, I must regretfully request that our beautiful Ms. Black please excuse us.”
DeBlanc smiled and said dismissively, “Oh, please, Zlat, you can regard Ruby’s presence here as you would the flower arrangement in the center of the table. Nothing at all to worry about, I assure you. Besides, I understood from Consul Rudenko that this meeting was for the two of us to get to know one another and would involve only the most preliminary of discussions.”
Pulev looked at DeBlanc. “I’m sorry, Louis, while it certainly is not my intention to offend either you or Ms. Black, I must insist.”
DeBlanc did little to hide his agitation at the request. He nodded to Ruby for her to leave and then said, “Well, then I
must apologize, Zlat. Had I known Ruby would be such an inconvenience, I surely would not have—”
“Come now, Louis,” Pulev said, raising from his chair as Ruby rose to leave, “how can such a beautiful woman be an inconvenience? It’s just that I will be representing the Bulgarian government in our discussions, the nature of which—”
“Please, Zlat, we’re talking about hotels and casinos, not nuclear armaments. But, if you insist,” DeBlanc said with a wave of the hand, “Ruby, that will be all, my dear. I’ll have your dinner brought up to our room.” He made sure to give a slight emphasis to the word our.
Pulev walked over to Ruby. “If I may, please allow me to make up for my rudeness, Ms. Black. Say afterwards, in my suite, for a digestif, perhaps?” He took her right hand and kissed it.
Ruby, uncertain how to respond, looked to DeBlanc. DeBlanc pondered the situation for a moment before saying, “Yes, Zlat. Ruby would be happy to meet with you afterwards to allow you to make up for your rudeness. Now release her so she can leave us at your request and you can then try to convince me to use one of my resorts to launder the money you and your Bulgarian buddies intend to embezzle from your government.”
Pulev, unsurprised by DeBlanc’s biting candor, chuckled and said as he escorted Ruby out of the room, “Ah, I see my government’s research on you is accurate after all, Louis. You truly are going to be a tough one to negotiate with.”
The Good Kill Page 10
