Hard Bargain: a Billionaire Suspense Romance (City Sinners Book 3)

by Kenna Shaw Reed

  Hard Bargain

  City Sinners

  Book 3 - Ibby

  KENNA SHAW REED

  ALSO BY KENNA SHAW REED

  Loving the Band (Reverse Harem)

  Seducing the Band in Lockdown

  Playing with the Band in Lockdown

  Enjoying the Band in Lockdown

  Reuniting the Band in Lockdown

  City Sinners (Billionaire Suspense)

  Broken Trust (Erebus)

  Random Fantasies (Darius)

  Hard Bargain (Ibby)

  Reckless Gamble (Scott)

  Aussie Military Romance:

  Avenge Her (Darby)

  Protect Her (Mack)

  Save Her (Doug)

  Defend Her (Ed)

  Choose Your Own Romance: A Complicated Marriage

  The Politician’s Wife

  The Unfaithful Wife

  The Unforgiving Wife

  The Perfect Wife

  Choose Your Own Rockstar

  The Rockstar’s Wife

  Choose Your Own Romance:

  The Uni Student

  The Intern

  The Bad Kitty

  Romance with Passion (Angsty Romance)

  Trusting his Heart

  A Billion Reasons Why

  Never Second Best

  Shattered Hearts

  Christmas Kisses

  Her Christmas Romance Surprise (Pia)

  Her Surprise Christmas Noel (JoJo)

  Unwrapping Her Christmas Gift (Abbie)

  Her Surprise Christmas Kiss (Zara)

  Standalone romance:

  HEAT

  Who is Alex

  All books can be read standalone or in any order. As you would expect, Reverse Harem and the Choose Your Own Romance series have cheating (although you can pick a path in the choose your own that doesn’t).

  If you love Hard Bargain, then please leave a review. Reviews are like hugs for authors and I can never get enough!

  For Mr. Shaw Reed.

  Because I love you forever, and you make every dirty fantasy come true.

  Copyright © 2019 by Kenna Shaw-Reed

  All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the author except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Cover: Kenna Shaw-Reed and Chanel Campisi

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are solely the product of the author’s imagination and/or are used fictitiously.

  The Deal

  Ibrahim (Ibby)

  “Are you sure you know what you’re doing?”

  My long-time friend, sometimes business partner and perpetual dealmaker, Lachlan Marriot cautioned. His uncharacteristic concern for my welfare outweighing the size of his potential commission. “If it all goes pear-shaped, you won’t be the only one affected.”

  “Make the deal.”

  I knew the power of my dark eyes and didn’t waver. Staring down each of the businessmen in the private viewing room of my second office at The Club. One by one their gaze faltered before mine.

  They wanted access to my chain of successful Australian nightclubs for their own business purposes. I needed, no, I wanted their connections and support to facilitate my next project. A risky concept venue which needed rivers of immediately available liquid cash.

  “You understand the terms?”

  Garrison Templeton spoke with the authority of a man surrounded by security goons. Rumor had it, Garrison didn’t even need to utter an order. So paranoid about listening devices, he used normal conversation as code. No one outside his inner circle knew whether a request for a scotch neat meant a drink or someone would end up in the drink.

  “Five-million-dollar line of credit plus removal of any roadblocks from any level of government, planning authority or labor.” I repeated, allowing a lazy smile to hide my urgency. Truthfully, I needed three million, but five would allow my project manager to sleep at night and any left-over would allow me to pay it back quicker.

  “In return, you will give my associates access to your nightclubs so they can run their offices from a dedicated VIP area.” Garrison waited for me to nod. A heart attack waiting to happen, the red blood vessels on his cheeks not the only sign of his excessive living. The only thing bigger than his ego was his stomach.

  “Mate, we can find another way,” Lachlan cautioned again. This time louder. Even though he’d pulled this deal together at a fraction of his normal fee, Lachlan probably didn’t want our future business arrangements to be dead in the water. Emphasis on dead. “I still have a couple of contacts in Hong Kong who are interested.”

  If Garrison felt threatened by potential competition, he didn’t show it, instead nodding and playing to his audience of five goons. “Mr. Marriot, do you really think your Hong Kong associates would be more patient if Mr. Mercia doesn’t or can’t deliver?”

  “Garrison, I meant—” Lachlan stuttered for the first time since high school.

  “Your lack of faith in your customer and friend grieves me. It gives me reason to be concerned.”

  “What I meant was—” Lachlan’s tan was now whiter than our silk shirts. Damn it, I dressed up for this shit show?

  “I now ask for greater security over my investment.”

  Years of martial arts trained me to swallow nerves and hold my frame firm. I allowed a deliberate gaze towards Lachlan, silently urging him to shut the fuck up. The original terms were bad enough.

  “Mr. Templeton,” I said, opening my palms to show no disrespect. As I took a step closer around the table, each of his goons took two. Towards me.

  “You can call me Mr. Garrison, or Garrison once we’ve finalized our arrangement.”

  “I don’t know what else I have that you could want. You’ll be making far more from my nightclubs than even street interest payments. I only need access to the line of credit for six months until my normal cash flow catches up.”

  I knew the greatest risk would come from removing Garrison’s team from my nightclubs after repaying the debt. Fake a punch while kicking out the legs. Time to see if my signature move would work in the boardroom. “How about we look forward to a mutually beneficial arrangement, and start talking about the rent you’ll be paying me after I return your money with the agreed interest.”

  Garrison laughed, “We don’t need to have that discussion today. I’m sure we can come to an arrangement that is mutually satisfying in good time. You haven’t heard what additional security I would like.”

  He turned in annoyance towards the subtle knock at the door.

  “I thought we’d be celebrating by now and ordered refreshments,” Grateful for the interruption which would give Lachlan time to apologize his way out of additional security, I called out, “Come in.”

  Two of my hostesses wheeled in trolleys of tapas and Australian champagne.

  “Is that all Mr. Mercia?” Katie’s voice was as soft as she was beautiful. Yes, I’d always had a thing for petite blondes, but I deserved a bloody knighthood for going out of my way to avoid mixing business with Katie’s pleasure. My life had stayed perfectly balanced with one-night randoms and no emotional attachment.

  Months of working together, I’d become an expert in watching Katie—not Kathryn or Katherine but Katie Elias—from a distance. Admiring Katie while keeping my cock on a leash. Whatever it wanted or I thought I needed had to be kept under control. One night with Katie would never be enough and I wasn’t looking to become boyfriend material.

 
; “We’re all good, see that we don’t get disturbed?”

  I couldn’t get Katie and Chelle out of the room quickly enough. Not only were Garrison’s eyes firmly attached to Katie’s breasts, but his goons seemed to lack control over their hands as Chelle walked by.

  Yes, The Club had its own security staff, but I hadn’t wanted them in the room with me. I thought Garrison would be all business and less asshole. I hated being wrong.

  “Gentleman, I had hoped we’d have concluded our negotiations by now. The Club is off limits for our discussion. My partner has been most insistent that I keep the two sides of my business separate. I’m happy to negotiate on our future renting arrangements at a later date, and trust that if we can’t come to a mutually satisfying agreement, that once my debt is paid your people will leave my nightclubs without incident.”

  “I’ve changed my mind.” Garrison said to the room in general. I’d lost his attention in preference to the view from the full-length window. The Club was fully booked tonight, and my would-be business partner had the perfect vantage point to watch grinding bodies on the dancefloor below. “The two women who were here. They work for you?”

  “They work for The Club. They are hostesses, nothing more. None of the girls here are for sale.”

  “I’m not looking to buy them, but as my additional security, if you fall behind with payments at any stage, you will hand their employment contracts over to me.”

  “Ibby!” Lachlan quickly interrupted. “Darius will have your balls if you do anything to put The Club or those girls at risk.”

  I wished Lachlan would keep out of it. Making me look weak by bringing Darius into play wasn’t going to keep The Club or the girls out of play.

  “Unless, of course, you don’t trust your judgement?” Garrison mocked. “You don’t believe in this concept venue?”

  “I respectfully decline your request for additional security.” Time to hold my nerve, trust in the eyes that had never let me down before. Risking my money and nightclub empire was one thing, but it was hard enough ignoring Katie as a woman. I’d never be able to think straight if her employment contract was at risk. “I don’t trade in people.”

  “Of course, you do!” Garrison mocked, fogging the one-way window with his breath. I should have held this meeting anywhere else. Why the hell had I chosen The Club? It had been like bringing a child to a candy store and not expecting them to get a sugar craving.

  “No, I don’t. They are hostesses. Nothing more.”

  “Oh, Ibrahim, you trade in people every day. Any time you take over a business you take over the employment arrangements for people. I’m asking for a simple assurance in your self-confidence. I need to be confident in your ability to repay me.”

  “You have my nightclubs.”

  “You want a lot of money, but your only source of cash flow is the nightclubs.”

  “Which are bloody successful, you don’t need additional security.” I didn’t mean to let the façade drop or snap. The last thing Garrison needed was to see my stress at either losing the money or risking the girls.

  “Then accept my additional request as payment for the insult that Mr. Marriot inflicted. Inviting me here to negotiate with you in good faith and then threatening to walk away like a spoilt brat and seek other financial suitors. Ibrahim, you hurt my feelings and the only way my feelings can be repaired is the thought of those two beautiful women working for me if my judgement has been in error and you don’t repay your debt as agreed.”

  “The women here are paid to hostess, nothing more. I can’t agree to put them into an employment situation not of their choosing.” I tried to match his posh accent with posh words, only they made me sound like a child pretending to sit at the grown-ups table.

  “Oh, Mr. Mercia, it will be fun doing business with you. A nightclub owner who cares for his staff. Who would have thought? Fine, I’ll make it easy for you and your conscience.”

  I sauntered over to stand next to the man, faking confidence and swallowing my pride while watching the way his eyes tracked Katie as she worked between tables. Twirling around just out of reach of the male customers, with Steve the security guard only ever a few metres away.

  It would never come to handing over the contracts, I tried to assure myself. While Garrison got a hard-on watching adults grind, hump and do whatever else came naturally on the ground floor, I did what came naturally to me. Math. Mentally calculating and recalculating the spreadsheets of cashflow and projections, the project estimates, and contingencies.

  Even if one nightclub had a downturn in revenue, I had others. Even if the economy suddenly tanked, people still needed somewhere to party.

  My clubs had been the hottest venues for over five years.

  I paid the best wages and hired the best staff who had one job to do; make every customer want to come back—with their friends.

  I remained confident that the numbers still added up. I couldn’t imagine a scenario where I couldn’t get this asshole out of my life within six months. My fist clenched as a male hand graced Katie’s black booty shorts before being twisted behind the owner’s back by the ever-watchful Steve.

  “I’m listening,” I reminded Garrison, as much to finish our discussion, as to interrupt his ogling of Katie.

  “Most employment contracts allow an employee to give notice. I assume two or four weeks for your staff”

  “Yes.”

  “Then, my dear friend, that is our arrangement. In the event that you are more than two days late for any progress payment, you will transfer the employment contracts for those two women to me. They will be free to tender their resignation on the spot, however they will have to serve out their notice.”

  “Working for you?”

  “Yes, working for me. They will serve out their notice period working for me at the same wage you’ve been paying them.”

  “As a club hostess, and nothing more.” I stressed, making a mental note to confirm my additional condition, “After all, that’s what’s in their employment contract.”

  “Of course. Dear, Ibrahim, don’t you trust me?”

  No, I didn’t. But for the sake of Katie and Chelle, I hoped I could trust me to make the repayments.

  “That was fucking intense,” Lachlan poured us drinks as a different hostess escorted Garrison and his goons from The Club.

  “Yeah, don’t think my blood pressure could take that every day.”

  Not caring about my two-hundred-dollar shirt, I used the sleeve to remove Garrison’s smudges from the glass. Okay, it also gave me a reason to look down below. One thousand bodies, half naked and grinding together, I searched for the only one who mattered.

  “Look,” Lachlan said, filling his briefcase with reams of papers. Why couldn’t the bastard just use a laptop like a normal person? “I don’t agree with what you’ve done, but I’m here to help you make it happen.”

  “Thanks, mate, are you sure all the suppliers are ready to go?”

  “You’ve got the best project team. We’ve got contingencies on top of contingencies. You leave the project to the experts and focus on making sure the money keeps coming in to pay down the debt.”

  “I wouldn’t have agreed if I thought the girls were at risk. You know that, right?” In a way I needed Lachlan’s reassurance. The numbers added up. The risk was negligible. It had to be.

  “I should have kept my mouth shut.” Lachlan topped up my empty glass and joined me. “I’ve seen him operate before and should have realized his glass jaw would take offense.”

  “Yeah, letting me know about Hong Kong before we started would have been better than throwing it out on the table. But what’s done is done.”

  “Are you gonna tell Darius?”

  “Nah.” The Club had become mine and Darius Patera’s home away from home, the staff were our second family. “He’s been pretty clear what will happen if I mix my nightclub activities with The Club. He’ll either buy me out or kick me out.”

  “Would that be
so bad? You’d get the money and kiss Garrison goodbye.”

  I’d thought about it, but there had been one problem with selling my stake in The Club. No more reason to be here. No more reason to—

  Katie and Chelle shared a joke down on the floor and my stomach did that special twist that only happened around her. People downstairs couldn’t see us through the one-way window, but somehow Katie must have known I was thinking about her. Within minutes, her thigh high black latex boots were making their way up the spiral staircase to the private viewing rooms.

  No, I couldn’t and wouldn’t sell. Just because I couldn’t make the mistake of mixing business with pleasure didn’t mean I was ready to cut The Club free.

  “Mr. Ibrahim, can I get you anything?” Katie appeared at the door. Damn, there had to be other ways to take her offer. No, I couldn’t tell Miss Katie Elias either what she could get me or do for me.

  “No, Katie. Thanks for tonight.”

  “Your business meeting was a success?”

  “We got the deal, not exactly as planned, but it will work out.” It had to, I thought.

  “Of course, it will. Everyone knows that your nightclubs are the place to hang.”

  “Thanks Katie, and please thank Chelle for me.”

  “Certainly, Mr. Ibrahim.”

  “She calls you that?” Lachlan asked after Katie left us alone, again.

  “Her choice, not mine. The staff call Darius, Mr. D when customers are around, and I get Mr. Ibrahim. It’s good when we need to go down and settle issues with unsettled customers.”

  “What do you call her?” Lachlan smirked, knowing me well enough not to leave it alone. Despite my protests, he wouldn’t fall for my bullshit. Not after my reputation of fucking my way through staff and customers.

  “I haven’t and won’t. She works for me.”

  “Never stopped you before.”

  “Maybe I grew some morals, had to happen at some time,” I kept my tone light, but couldn’t resist watching Katie’s ass sashay down the circular staircase. Me and a hundred other eyes glued to the black latex hugging her ass.