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“I’ll come, see you when I get back from Vegas, okay?” I say, reassuring her. “I’ll take Luca for the day, and you can go do something for you,” I suggest.

“Sounds good to me,” she answers, her voice sounding a little lighter.

I look at the time on my phone and know I need to end the call.

“Sorry, sis, I gotta go. I have a meeting I need to get to,” I say, taking the phone from the stand and picking up my keys.

“Sure thing, Luca…” she calls, “come say night to Uncle Marco.” Luca appears on screen and waves.

“Bye, Uncle Marco.”

“Bye, bud, talk tomorrow.” And then the screen goes blank, and my chest feels a little lighter. Talking to my nephew and my sister has become part of my evening routine. No matter where I am in the world, I’ve never missed a call with them, and it’s the one part of my day where the world stops and nothing else matters but them.

Before leaving, I change into a black dress shirt, suit pants, and black shoes, then head out of my office toward the back exit to the parking lot, dreading this evening’s meeting, but they are big investors and could mean the difference between another club opening or not. I unlock my car, settle into the leather seat, turn on the engine, and spin out onto the busy New York street, cranking up the stereo and tapping my fingers against the steering wheel to distract the heaviness in my chest. Tonight, I feel off balance, and I can’t pinpoint why.

“… we think this is the future and we would like The Boardroom franchise to be a part of it,” Tanner says, sliding a brown folder over to me. Tanner is around my age, light brown hair, and has that boy next door look about him. It’s clear from watching their dynamic that Oscar is the brains of the company and Tanner is the charm.

I eye the folder, the noise and bustle of the club making it a little hard to focus. Being in the club industry, I’m no stranger to a business meeting in a bar, although it would never be my first choice. I pick up the folder and flick through, noting the figures on the back page. It’s a heck of a lot of money they are willing to invest.

“I’ll have to discuss this with Jack and Harry, of course, but it’s a great offer,” I say, nodding as I turn each page. What they are offering is great, but what they don’t know is that we have other offers to expand. Until I see the other offers, I’m keeping my cards close to my chest.

“The entire business proposal is there. Look over it, take a few weeks, and then we can get together and plan our future relationship together,” Oscar says, running a hand through his salt and pepper hair. He’s about ten years older than me, and a little arrogant.

I smirk. “You are making it sound like a marriage proposal,” I say.

He lets out a deep belly laugh. “I like to think of my business arrangements like a marriage. Just like my wife, you’ll need to sign on the dotted line to get any cash from me.” He grins, flexing his jaw that looks like it’s been carved by surgeons.

Wow, what an ass.

“We’ll look it over and get back to you,” I say, looking at my phone and noticing it’s nearly midnight and so is a great time to make my excuse to leave.

“I need to head back to The Boardroom. It’s been a pleasure, gents. I—” I go to continue, but Oscar interrupts.

“Oh, you can’t go yet. You’re about to see the reason we brought you here.”

I eye him curiously and look around at the small, intimate club with a lounge vibe. Brown leather chairs and dark wood tables fill the room. I saw there was a main room below when we entered, but we were shown to what I assumed was a VIP area. There is a wide stage next to our table, which, until now, I hadn’t paid any attention to. The opposite end of the room is a mirrored bar that stretches across the room and all the staff are women in tight black dresses, and I’ve been curious about this place since Oscar suggested we meet here. It’s not your usual club, it's a cigar lounge meets a burlesque show.

“You’re going to want to stay for this, trust me,” Oscar says, his facial expression matching Tanner’s. As if right on cue, the lights dims, and the room erupts into loud cheering. A sultry beat flows through the room, and a singular light appears in the middle of the stage, focused on a woman, dressed in a black skin-tight bodysuit, black heeled pumps, and her long dark hair hanging down her back as she sits in a hoop hanging from the ceiling. She clicks her fingers in time to the beat of the music, and when the tempo changes, the hoop spins to face the audience, causing the men to whistle and clap enthusiastically. She leans back, dropping the top half of her body so she hangs from the base of the hoop. My eyes drift from her long, toned legs and up her body till it lands on her face, which, to my surprise, is covered with a masquerade-style mask.

She continues to maneuver and twist her body through the hoop. Holding on with one hand and widening her legs as the hoop rotates above the stage. I glance round the room and watch as the men in the room look on in awe. She moves effortlessly, commanding everyone’s attention. The lights flash,snatching my attention once again, where more women appear in similar outfits and masks, taking positions at the poles that have appeared. I sense it’s about to get a little wild when some of the girls enter the crowd and meander around the tables.

Oscar twists in his seat and grins. “I told you; you didn’t want to miss this.” I nod in acknowledgment, and then my eyes are back, focused on the women on stage. A redhead appears behind Tanner, trailing her index finger across his jawline before disappearing.

I lift my whiskey—my one drink for the evening—and as the cool liquid trickles between my lips, I’m stopped in my tracks. My eyes zone in on the woman who was in the hoop as she now moves front and center. She has curves that would drive a man wild, and when she drops to her knees, throwing her head back and smoothing the palm of her hand from her throat down her body to in between her legs, my dick strains against the fabric of my briefs.

Fuck, who is that girl?

She stands out for many reasons—her hair that shimmers like silk with every movement. The stage lights make her red mask dazzle, catching my eye. My jaw tenses as I watch in fascination. She moves like she’s gliding on water. Smooth and effortless, and when she turns and contorts her body in a way that has her ass up and hips tilting, it’s then I notice how perfectly heart-shaped her ass is, and fuck, if she’s not the hottest woman on that stage.

I lean over towards Tanner. “Do you know any of their names?” I ask, pointing to the stage.

“Nobody knows. They aren’t allowed to give out the girls’ names. They give out fake ones. It’s all secret to protect their identity. Believe me, I’ve tried finding out a few,” he yells over the music. “But you can request a private dance. That’s the only way to get real close to them.”

I sit back in my chair, my gaze never leaving her. I’m not often caught off guard by a woman. It takes a lot to hold my attention. I’ve never been short of a female companion, but there’s something about her. I’m drawn to her, I want her, and as I watch her dance, I decide that I need to find out who the girl in the red mask is.

Chapter Six

Brad