Page 172 of Roberto

I expected business to be slow at first, especially since our new pricing was exorbitant –

But Lau came through on that front, as well. The first night was filled with businessmen not just from Asia but from around theworld.

And as Lau had predicted, they didn’t even blink at paying $3000 US (and upwards) per hour.

The money started rolling in…

The cops never darkened our doorway…

And I never once heard from my father.

Life was good.

Not everything was champagne and roses, though.

There were problems – and I don’t mean the kind that come with runninganybusiness, like employees getting sick or the plumbing breaking.

The biggest problem was Mr. Han.

He was Lau’s right-hand man – the one who did the dirty work.

One look at him and I could tell he was a gangster. He just dressed a lot better than the average triad goon.

He had a dead-eyed look to him – a real sociopath. Very handsome, but scary.

He was repeatedly disrespectful to my staff. When he tried to be rude to me, I chewed him out in front of the entire club, calling him a little-dicked butt-boy for his boss.

He just smiled in amusement and went back to his drink.

He didn’t retaliate, though. Apparently, he had orders that I was off-limits.

But, by the same token, I couldn’t bar him from the club –

Because it was Han who brought in the high-rollers.

At least once a week, he would show up with an extremely rich guy who would throw money around like confetti.

One time, out of curiosity, I tallied up the contributions of Han’s ‘friends’ to the bottom line.

The money they spent was 60% of our revenue.

So Han was untouchable.

Unfortunately, the men he brought around (always men, never women) tended to be entitled assholes.

And they started wanting drugs.

Drugs had floated around my old business, After Dark, but it was individual customers who brought them.Inever supplied them.

Han pulled me aside two weeks after the opening and said, “My friend wants some cocaine.”

“Tell him to go find some, then,” I retorted. “He can get it on any street corner in Wan Chai.”

“I’ll handle it tonight, but you need to start offering it in the future.”

“No!” I said, incensed. “I’m a businesswoman, not a drug dealer.”

Han looked at me in disgust before walking away.

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