Page 44 of Powerful Deception
I finish off my scotch and button up my suit jacket before making my way out of the room and head down the hallway.
The music that circulates through the floor surrounds me like a cloud and it does so until I knock on the designated door and get let in by the guard inside.
I take shit seriously here and each one of my private rooms has a guard standing inside to protect all my dancers.
The guard gives me a nod, closing the door behind me.
As soon as I walk in, I watch as nine heavily intoxicated women cheer on one of my best male dancers, as he performs for them.
My presence doesn’t catch anyone’s attention, that is until Todd, my dancer, gives me a slight nod before going back to his routine.
It’s the nod that makes the one and only Helen Baker turn to me. Forgetting all about Todd and her friends, Helen comes over to me with a big smile on her face as if I’m about to give her the prize money.
“Dante, I wasn’t expecting to see you tonight.” She says, reaching up and placing a kiss on my cheek as if we are old friends.
We aren’t. I barely tolerate the woman on school grounds, and my club is no different.
I give her a nod. “I heard that you had rented out a room and I thought I would stop in and see if anything was needed.”
Lies on top of more lies.
“Oh, that is sweet of you.” Helen says a little too excited. “We must be very special if the owner himself is stopping in to check on us.”
“Special indeed.” I say to her before moving the conversation in a different direction. “There was actually something that I wanted to talk to you about. Do you mind if we step out real quick?”
That grabs her attention. “Oh, what about?”
“Just a school thing,” I say as I open the door a bit and wait for her to walk through.
Helen hesitates for a second, and if I were more caring, I would say that she’s a little terrified to follow me out of the room, but she does it, nonetheless.
I close the door behind us, putting a barrier between us and her friends, the hallway empty of any spectators.
“What is it that you wanted to talk about?” There’s a shakiness in her voice, the fear bleeding through.
I don’t answer her, instead I close the distance between us, pushing her back until she is against the wall.
“How about you going up to my nanny and telling her that my daughter not only needs to see a therapist but also a plastic surgeon?”
Helen lets out a little gasp, as if she is shocked that I know what happened today.
“She’s the nanny, Dante. You can’t believe everything she says.”
She’s right on that one, but I don’t tell her that. I also don’t tell her that I have my doubts about said nanny.
“Do you really believe that if she didn’t tell me, I wouldn’t have heard it from somewhere else? You severely doubt my abilities, Helen.”
I watch her throat as she swallows. She must be nervous or scared of what this conversation is going to turn into.
She should.
“If I didn’t say it, someone else would have.”
A chuckle leaves my mouth at her statement. “Maybe you’re right.”
“There is nothing you can do about it anyway. The words have been said and I’m not one of your employees that you can fire.” The confidence that this woman has is fucking astonishing.
Does she have any idea who the fuck I am?