Club Manhattan: Parts One and Two

by Jennifer Louise

  “Hey, son. Thanks for scheduling this. I really needed to get out of the office for a few.” He clapped me on the back as he rounded the table and sat down with a heavy groan.

  “What has got you looking like your dog just died?” I couldn’t think of any other analogy for the look on his face. It was quite odd.

  “I’m just dealing with some shit at the office right now and it has been weighing heavily on my mind.” When the waitress approached our table, she hadn’t even finished her ‘what would you like to drink’ speech before my father blurted his order.

  “Whiskey, Neat, Double.”

  “I’ll just have a Scotch and soda, please.”

  When the waitress was out of earshot, I caught my dad staring out the window, looking lost in thought. “What could possibly be that bad at the office that you would order a double shot of whiskey?”

  He levels me with a blank stare. “Someone is stealing money from the company.”

  I was completely blown back by his admission. “W-what? How? Um... who do you think it is?”

  “Fuck if I know. That’s what has John and I pulling our hair out trying to figure out… hence the double shot of whiskey at one o’clock in the afternoon.” He was completely exasperated and looked like he had aged several years since I last saw him.

  “Dad. I don’t understand. How or who could be doing this? I mean, most of your employees have been with you for years. Is there any trail that leads to one person more than the other?”

  “Son, I thought I had loyal employees. But one of them has been wire transferring funds to several offshore, and might I add untraceable accounts. It has been a few thousand here and there over the years, but it looks like it may be totaling a couple of million at this point. Now, it’s not going to bankrupt our business, but at this point, it’s the principle of the fact that someone is stealing from us.”

  When the waitress appeared again with our drinks we both fall silent. We each take a long pull from our drinks as we let the heaviness of what was just said, settle around us.

  “Aidan, do me a favor though. Don’t tell your mother. I don’t want her worrying unnecessarily. John and I will figure it out eventually, and then I will fill her in.”

  “Sure. Whatever you think is best.”

  After the proverbial bomb that he dropped, I didn’t ask if he wanted to play golf. We finished our lunch and talked about the next time we would get together. I could tell his mind was elsewhere. He said he wanted to get back to the office and trudge through the data from their online network to see if they could find any trail of where the funds were going.

  When I got back to my office, I couldn’t help but think that I should do a cursory check of my own records, just so make sure that there wasn’t anything out of the ordinary. And the first person I thought to call was my tech-savvy and favorite club owner, Grayson Morrison.

  I gave him a quick call to see if I could pick his brain. “Hey Grayson, do you have a few minutes for me to get some input?”

  “Sure. Input on what?”

  “Well, remember when you recommended the security system and software for my father and I a few years ago?”

  “Of course. It is one of the most hack-proof systems there is. Why, is there a problem?”

  “Maybe. I don’t know. My father and his business partner John have realized that someone is stealing money from the company. They know it is an inside job and that money is being sent to several untraceable accounts overseas. They can’t figure out though, who is doing it.”

  “Hmm… well, it would have to be someone on the inside. Is there someone who is getting ready to retire soon?” He says with a chuckle, but it got me to thinking.

  “Now that you mention it… one of his exec’s is always talking about how he is going to retire in Barbados and live the high life. Maybe it’s him?”

  “Well, the good thing about that security software is it’s not hackable from the outside. So, whoever is doing it, you can narrow down to someone who works for your Dad and John. Do you need a PI on this too? You know, I know a guy?”

  I laugh at his comment. He always knows a guy. “No, that’s ok. I have a PI that does a job for me and my father. I’m sure he can help when the time is right.”

  “Ok, just let me know if you need anything else. Oh, and hey… I haven’t seen you and Chloe at the Club recently. You guys going somewhere else?”

  “Of course not. We just have been, how should I say… going through a rough patch right now.”

  “Uh oh! Trouble in paradise already?”

  “Well, you remember my ex Alex, right?”

  “Yes. I never did like her. She is too uptight. I think she needs a good flogging!”

  I could not agree more and laugh at even the mere thought of her enjoying anything about the BDSM lifestyle. “Uh… yeah, no. I never even tried to be dominant with her. She was straight up, lights off, under the covers, vanilla all the way.”

  It was Grayson’s turn to laugh. “Shame really. So, what makes you bring up Alex?

  I took a deep breath and let it out in a rush. “She showed up in my private gym… in my sauna… while I was in there in only a towel. Chloe walked in and saw us and of course, Alex wasn’t wearing anything but a towel too.”

  “Fuck! Dude, what were you thinking?” Grayson sounded surprised, but I heard an underlying smirk in his voice.

  “Hey… now don’t get the wrong idea. It was completely harmless. We weren’t doing anything other than talking. She was telling me about her parents getting a divorce and I was venting about the fight Chloe and I had earlier that day. But that isn’t what Chloe saw when she walked in.”

  “So... what did you say? I can’t imagine Crystal letting me off the hook for that one!”

  “Yeah, well, let’s just say that I saved face by telling Alex that I never wanted to see her again and explaining to Chloe the truth. What she walked in on, was completely innocent. But Alex, being Alex, couldn’t let it go and ran her mouth. It was easy from that point to just throw her out and alert security to ban her from the building. Chloe was hurt, but glad that I didn’t try to lie my way out of the awkward situation.”

  “Dude! You got lucky Chloe didn’t throw you out and ban you from the building too! That shit is fucked up. Seriously, Crystal would have had my balls.” I think we both shuddered at that thought.

  “Yeah… well… that has definitely put a strain on our relationship, hence the reason we haven’t been at the club lately. She’s hasn’t been exactly in the mood this week. She has a lot on her mind as it is, and I’ve been adding to her stress. We are still getting the hang of this living together thing. I don’t know how you and Crystal do it, but it’s been stressful for us.”

  “You’ll get the hang of it eventually. Just wait until you add a few kids to the mix. Then the fun really starts.”

  “I can’t even think about that right now. Hey, but what about you and Crystal? When are you two having kids?”

  “Soon man, soon. We are having fun practicing and trying.”

  “Well, I know you two will make great parents. I can’t wait to be the pseudo-uncle that spoils them rotten and then sends them back.”

  “Noted. But hey, if you need any help with the security breach problem that your dad is having, just have his IT team give me a call. I can walk him through a few things or hook him up with my IT guy.”

  “Great, man. I appreciate it and I’m sure my father will too. Take care and I hope I can convince Chloe to get in a club visit, once I get out of the dog house.”

  “Later.” I heard Grayson laughing at me as he hung up. I really do need to grovel at Chloe’s feet and at least get her talking to me instead of at me. I need to find out what has her still on edge. I think it’s time to reopen the conversation that we were having before the whole Alex situation happened.

  That’s a good of a place as any, to start.

  Chapter 12

  Chloe

  It turns out that my fri
end Jasmine from the club wasn’t the proverbial ace in the hole that I thought she would be. She and I reconnected on social media after the long years away from my time in Georgia. When I contacted her to get the evidence I needed for the Karen Williams divorce case, she wasn’t any help. She told me that, like the daddy/daughter play that he and I engaged in, he was only into fetishes and talking. When I asked her if she knew of any infidelity, she wasn’t much help there either. I guess old John was just a purvey sleaze with a kinky side.

  I knew mine and Jasmine’s testimony to this kinky behavior wasn’t going to be enough to add to the infidelity allegations, so I sought out help from my mentor, Crystal Morrison. She suggested that there was another angle we could explore.

  So here I sit, on a Friday night with a glass of wine in hand, with years and stacks of financial reports sprawled on the floor in front of me. When I asked for them, Karen had the foresight to have these documents already gathered. She knew they would come in handy someday soon. I needed to find a pattern in John’s finances to see his spending habits, and if he was spending money on a mistress, or a girlfriend, I would find it in these documents. I knew he had to have one. He sure spent enough money in the club years ago to show some kind of a red flag in these statements.

  My eyes were going to cross from looking at these numbers, and they were staggering. I had no idea that John and Aidan’s dad’s business was so lucrative. I mean, I knew they were successful, but these zeros are obscene.

  Aidan got home about thirty minutes ago and headed straight for the shower. We’ve been tiptoeing around each other for days and it is just one more thing that I’m stressing about. But when he walked into the room with no shirt and his sweatpants hanging low on his v-shaped waist, I stopped all movement and stared at this beautiful man.

  “See something you like?” His smirk is all knowing, and my mouth is hanging open as I shamelessly gawk at his sexiness. He plops himself down next to me and picks up one of the many stacks of papers strewn about around me.

  I clear my throat and take a gulp of my wine to clear my thoughts. “Um… yeah… I do actually.” I make a show of licking the wine off my lips and his eyes immediately dropped to my mouth. Gotcha!

  His eyes are locked with mine as he leans in, stopping a breath away from my lips. “Chloe. I need you. I’ve missed you.” Those simple words make my breath hitch and I shiver. I no longer care that I’m mad at him. I need him too.

  “What are you waiting for?” That was all the invitation he needed, and our lips snapped together like two charged magnets. Our kiss was frantic and controlled, much like our life. Two forces coming together that should stay apart, but the pull is too great. Before I know it, I was on my back with the weight of his hard body on mine and his cock straining to be freed from the thin material of his pants. I can feel how it is begging to get inside me.

  Aidan’s lips break free of mine and sensually dissent to the side of my neck, behind my ear to the place that makes my body come alive.

  “Baby, please don’t make me wait.” It has been too many nights of torture to see his exquisite body lying next to me each night, knowing that my pride is too hurt to make the first move. Putting all of that aside, I need this man to fuck me!

  We frantically remove each other’s clothes, what there is to remove. We each only had on the bare minimum. When we are completely naked, and Aidan is poised above me as we lay on the floor of the living room. He reaches his hand between us and tests my entrance. “You know I’m wet. I’m always ready for you.”

  That is all it took. He reared back and drove into my awaiting lower lips, finding the sanctuary of my body. The body that will be forever his. The body that will be forever in his control.

  “I fucking love you Chloe. I don’t want to fight with you anymore.” He accentuated each word with a balls-deep thrust. He was powerful in his stride and consuming with his love as he sped up his endeavors.

  “I’m not going to last much longer baby. You need to come before I do!” Aidan. A considerate lover and one that has me completely on the edge. My body arches and my mind goes blank. The stars and blinding white light behind my eyes are like beacons calling me from the other side.

  Before the last quakes of my orgasm had subsided, Aidan is joining me in his release. His grunts and groans are so melodic, and I know that I’ll never tire of hearing them. He’s my forever. My one and only. And that makes me smile.

  When our breathing is no longer labored, and I can open my eyes and focus again, I realize that Aidan is still hovering over me and his smile matches mine.

  “What? Why are you looking at me like that?” The caramel color of his eyes pierces through my baby blues and I’m lulled into his eternal web.

  “I’m just thinking that we made a mess on this floor. All of the papers you were looking at are all over the place now.”

  “Well, in that case, you’ll just have to help me clean up… and while you’re at it, you can help me decipher what I’m looking at.” He groans at my request but reluctantly helps me dress and straighten the pages back into their right piles.

  “Before you distracted me,” he gives me a side glance and a smirk, knowing it was my instigation the whole time, “I was trying to make sense of these statements.”

  “What are you looking for exactly? And why do these all have John Williams’ name on them?”

  “I’m working on Karen Williams’ divorce case remember? She thought I could find something in these financial documents that could help establish a pattern. I’m specifically looking for similar amounts of money that are being deposited or sent to the same location or person. With the adultery charges that Karen claims, she’s confident we will find something in one of these statements.”

  Aidan has a concerned look on his face and is timid with his question. “Are you ever going to tell me your connection to this case?”

  I take another big gulp of my forgotten wine and brace for the conversation that started the whole argument. “Remember how I told you that I knew John Williams, from when I used to work at the Diamond Club? Well, turns out, Karen somehow figured out my connection, and knows that John used to frequent the club. She was hoping that me or one of my previous co-workers could cooperate her infidelity claim. She is certain that he has been unfaithful numerous times and she assumed that I could help her with that claim.”

  I took a deep breath in through my nose and out trying to stop my nerves from getting the best of me. Aidan just looked at me with the same look of concern, but this time he nodded his head in understanding. “I know that you didn’t have a sexual involvement with John years ago. I wholeheartedly know that you weren’t that type of girl back then. But what does that mean for you now? How are you going to prove her claims?’

  I lean over and kiss his furrowed brow and down to his swollen lips. “It means more than you know that you don’t think less of me and that you believe me when I say, that I was never sexually involved with John. He just had crazy fetishes that the girls at the club played a part in.”

  Aidan shakes his head as if to clear the images. “Ok, I really don’t need to hear the details of his sick past. I just want to know how I can help now.”

  “See these pages and pages of financial statements? Karen thinks that there is something in them that will prove John has been secretly paying a mistress. If we find it, we just need to find out who she is.”

  “Chloe. Thank you for trusting me with helping you on this. I know you aren’t exactly supposed to be sharing this information with me. You have my word that I will keep this to myself.”

  “Babe. Of course, I trust you. Besides, you have a better head for business than I do, and I think you can make better sense out of these accounts and numbers faster than I ever could. You are doing me a huge favor.”

  “Ok then... hand ‘em over.”

  We spent the better part of the next few hours going over pages after pages of documents, highlighting the similarities on each page. Aidan too
k their personal family account and I took the pages containing the business accounts. When we were all done, we swapped pages to see if we missed anything.

  “Aidan take a look at this. There are reoccurring transactions to an offshore account. Looks like a business in Sweden. I didn’t think your father and John did business in Sweden.”

  Aidan’s eyes snap to the statements in my hand and what I have highlighted on the paper. “They don’t.”

  “Do you think he has a mistress in Sweden?” I was hoping this was the smoking gun we were looking for, instead of the alternate thoughts that were sitting like a rock in my stomach.

  “No, I think it’s a bit more sinister than that. Hold on. I need to call my father.” Aidan stepped into his home office and called his dad. From the living room, I could hear the one-sided conversation, but it was enough to understand what was happening. When Aidan disconnected the call, I could see the storm of concern and anger on his face.

  “Aidan. What’s wrong? I heard you mention something about embezzlement. You don’t think that John is stealing money from the company…. Do you?”

  “Actually, Chloe. That is exactly what I think. My father and I had lunch recently and he said they were investigating missing funds and thought it was an inside job, but he would’ve never imagined his own partner could be the one that was the insider.”

  “W-what? I can’t believe it. Here we were looking for a lover and now we may have proof that John is a felon. Well, ain’t that some shit!” I had to cringe at that last comment. Sometimes my twang comes out when I get nervous.

  Aidan is staring out the window in disbelief but laughs at my comment. “Yeah... this is some fucked up shit alright!”

  “What’s your dad going to do?” I start cleaning up the mass of paperwork from the floor and file it back into the box that it was delivered in.

  “Well, for starters, I’m going to fax him one of the pages that we found and he’s going to verify the accounts. If it matches to the business and he can prove John is embezzling money, then I guess there’s only one thing to do.”