Page 23 of The Billionaire's Temptation

“Well, gentlemen,” he said as he stood up, “since I’m the old fart in this trio, I’ll leave you to your plans. Enjoy your evening.”

And he walked away. Straight into Emily’s office.

“What’s up, boss?” she asked immediately.

Emily was a beautiful brunette who didn’t take crap from anyone! Except Hendrix, the head of security, that is. There was something strange happening between those two, but Levi was staying out of it.

Levi respected Emily. She’d worked her way through business school and knew how to apply her knowledge to her expert management of the club. She managed a staff of over fifty people and was able to coordinate services for some of the most finicky people in the world. Soothing the ruffled feathers of the elitist, entitled men that attended this club was Emily’s specialty.

“You know Chad Stevens, right?”

Emily grimaced and leaned back in her chair. “Yeah. I know him. Kind of a dud, isn’t he? Not exactly the type you usually hang out with. And he’s never applied for membership. He only comes to the club when he’s with a friend who is a member. I doubt that Chad has any income, so he wouldn’t qualify for membership.”

Again, Levi’s choice in promoting Emily to manager was confirmed. “You’re right. He’s not really a friend, nor would he qualify. But I suspect that he’s about to do something bad to a friend. Any chance you could–”

“Say no more,” she replied, lifting her radio, clicking on her computer monitor. A moment later, images from the gaming room popped up. “Ann, code one four two at table twenty-seven.”

A moment later, a feminine voice replied back, “Code one four two confirmed. Table twenty-seven.”

Levi smiled, nodding with approval. “Excellent.” He stood up. “I’m guessing code ‘one four two’ means that Ann is going to hover near table twenty-seven and carefully eavesdrop?”

“Yep!” Emily replied with a jaunty smile. “She and Margaret will tag team. We’ll have information for you in about thirty minutes, if not sooner.”

“You’re awesome,” Levi replied with a chuckle as he left the manager’s office. He nodded to Hendrix, the head of security who was passing by Emily’s office. “Hendrix, we might need to revoke the membership of a couple of people.”

Hendrix stopped, his eyes narrowing ever so slightly. As a former special forces guy, Hendrix knew stuff. Hendrix knew more about the members of this club than anyone. Plus, he knew how to get things done, quickly and without a fuss. “Please tell me that you mean that wimp Chad and his sidekick Harry.”

Levi shifted. Hendrix was a tall guy so they stood eye to eye. It was nice to not have to look down at someone. There were very few people who were as tall as he was.

“Why do you say that?” Levi asked.

“Because I saw Harry doing a line of coke in the storage room. I was just bringing you the video footage and to ask permission to revoke his membership so I could kick his ass out.”

Levi’s jaw tightened. “Permission granted. But hold off for about a half hour. Ann and Margaret are getting some information for me.”

Hendrix chuckled. “Those two boys are idiots. Ann will have whatever information you need in five minutes. Chad and Harry are so entitled, they don’t even bother to look for security cameras and ignore the wait staff until they need a new drink. They think the whole world is just going to let them get away with whatever they want.”

Levi agreed and watched as Ann walked over to the two men who were talking intently. The waitress didn’t interrupt them, but simply stood back a few feet from where the pair were talking.

Ann moved over to the table in question, trying to appear casual. She’d done this too many times to count. The men at this club considered themselves immune from the rules by which the rest of the world were required to abide. To make it worse, they didn’t even care that they were hatching illegal plots, as long as the rule breaking benefited them.

“Can I get you gentlemen anything from the bar?”

Ann knew about Chad Stevens. Harry was a lesser-known quantity, but Ann had been waiting tables for long enough to recognize the glazed look in his eyes. And the evil intent that lurked there as well. Chad was just a wimp who liked to pretend that he had power, but the truth was, Chad was a loser.

Sure enough, Chad leaned back in his chair and allowed his eyes to move up and down Ann’s body, insultingly thorough.

“Why the hell did the club change the uniforms of the waitresses?” Chad demanded, reaching out to attempt to grab her hand.

Deftly, Ann moved out of his range. “The black slacks and white dress shirt allow the staff to be more efficient in providing service to the club members,” Ann replied, trying to keep her revulsion from showing on her face.

Harry snorted, then wiped a hand under his nose. “I prefer the previous uniforms,” he announced in a tone that indicated that he resented the fact that his opinion didn’t carry enough weight to change the dress policy. “They were hotter.”

Ann did a small half-bow, sarcastically acknowledging his comments. “So, nothing from the bar?” she asked, turning as if she were about to leave.

The men glanced down at their drinks, then nodded. “Yeah, we’ll have a refill,” Chad announced, then grinned at his friend. “A pre-celebration!”

Ann nodded professionally. “What are you gentlemen celebrating?”

---