AllFreeNovel
Share Us
She’s the reason I’m here tonight, now, watching, readying myself. She doesn’t know it yet, but I’m about to react to this opportunity. To insert myself to become her new reason.
Looks like she’s a reason to stay in Columbus a while.
This club is on the ground floor of one of the larger office buildings in the city. It’s one of the many buildings my family owns. I own nightclubs here in Columbus along with Cincinnati and Cleveland. I divide my time between the three cities, preferring Cleveland as my home base. And that’s mostly because my family leaves me alone there. They insert themselves into my life far more often when I’m here.
My clubs are upscale, trendy. And they stay that way because I’m proactive. I calculate and then I act. I operate in business districts and near the airport of each city and my clubs are also wired for surveillance. Because the conversations picked up in bars in business districts, blue collar areas, as well as airports can be valuable for a variety of reasons, none of those reasons wholesome.
Surveillance is why I know as much as I do about Chloe. It’s not usually me that’s listening and we don’t generally listen live, but tonight was different. A staffing issue required my personal attention, so I tuned in to the bar area in order to pay attention to a bartender who’s been stealing from me and my patrons.
I had grounds to fire him within twenty minutes of paying attention. He’s fucking with the drinks and skimming cash as well as ripping off our customers. Watering down booze for some, switching shelves without charging accordingly, and diluting drinks to grog once he figures a patron is half in the bag while pocketing the difference. I’ve got audio and visual proof the greedy fuck is even screwing some customers for change. Someone half-snapped or distracted hands him a bill and he gives change for a smaller one. Saw him do it twice tonight. Once, it was missed, the second time the customer looked embarrassed when she called him out on it, probably feeling like she appeared cheap. He played it off like an innocent blunder.
I can fire him with cause. When I overheard the accusation from another staff member, I looked over the background check we ran on him when he was hired. He graduated high school in the same class as my brother Ash. This means he would know better than to fuck with anyone in my family. As my father always says, steal from a Steele and you’ll lose much more than you took.
I take theft personally.
I was just about done paying attention to the bar when the conversation happening between the brunette my eyes are on now and her friend piqued my interest. This girl was pouring the depths of her longing out to the busty blonde from upstairs who slipped me her number about a year ago. I tossed the number. A woman making a move on me isn’t something I find sexy, and I prefer not to shit where I eat.
I clued into the conversation by the tragedy and the longing, getting fully snagged when it turned sexual. And now my eyes have been on the brunette, Chloe, on the dancefloor for the length of three songs.
My phone rings, pulling my focus away.
Grace calling.
I reject the call and fire a text off to a guy I use for security and investigation services that need a little extra finesse. For background checks that need a deeper dive. Kenny lacks a typical moral code of conduct and loves money. He comes in useful from time to time.
Go deep. Subjects: Adam in Columbus. In a car accident seven months ago that resulted in paralysis. He’s in journalism. Writes for a local magazine and news website. I want a dossier on him and his fiancée. Chloe. Deep on both. Chloe: close friends with a blonde named Alannah who works somewhere in the offices above the Downtown club. Give me the basic rundown on Alannah too. Priority 1 on Chloe. P2 on Adam. P3 on Alannah. Photos coming.
He responds about two minutes later, despite the fact it’s 10:30 on a Friday night.
Deadline? More info?
I reply.
Whatever you can get in one hour via text on Chloe. The rest, by the end of tomorrow in a file. I’ll be at Downtown tomorrow night, too. Bring me dossiers directly. Contact Shep for surveillance as Chloe and Alannah are here now. Gimme five mins to give him a heads up.
I take a few snapshots of the monitor in front of me and forward them to him. One is of her dancing. One of her laughing. The third, she’s twirling.
He responds.
1 hr without a last name?
Yeah, I’m a demanding client. But I pay well.
I write back.
I’ll get you a last name. Hang tight.
As I ponder my actions and my upcoming few moves, my phone alerts me to a voicemail message.
Grace can wait.
I eyeball the monitor again and see a guy touch Chloe’s shoulder. Something foreign invades my system and I’m immediately craving violence, bolting to standing.
I forcefully shove the sensations away as I grab my handset and press the digits for my head of security, who answers on the first ring.
“Shep,” I clip into the phone.
“Yeah, boss?”
