Gunner (The Bad Disciples MC Book 1) Page 18

  “Ok, here we have DJ Flex Up, mixing the tunes to keep the party people dancing,” Harrison said doing a little dance and his best infomercial voice.

  The DJ didn’t appear to be over fifteen but the kid was mixing and flowing beats like there was no tomorrow. He had a bright future if he could speak at all.

  “As you can see we have two long bars—one on each side of the club. Yes, there are going to be that many people here each and every night.”

  Zander noticed that there were two bartenders on each side. One man and one woman each, and all four of them looked like they were peeled off the covers of romance novels. They would entice whoever to buy as much alcohol as they could; that was the key plan of any establishment.

  One of the female bartenders noticed Zander looking at her and smiled at him. She leaned forward and revealed a bit of cleavage under the guise of filling a drink order. She met his eyes, cast her gaze back down, and then back up seductively pursing her lips slightly.

  Oh, she was good.

  “Wow, that is some good talent there,” Zander said.

  “Oh, her talents extend far beyond bartending, trust me,” Harrison said.

  Zander laughed good naturedly but he knew that Harrison was telling the truth. There were a lot of women in this city who would sleep their way to the top or even towards a better spot then they were in right then, even if it was nowhere near the top. Suddenly that bartender did not seem so sexy anymore.

  Harrison continued the tour and took Zander into the back through a doorway that led to the kitchen. The kitchen was spotless and beautifully organized. The staff was running like a well-oiled machine. The head chef was speaking with a heavy Italian accent barking orders loud enough that it would make the guy from “Hell’s Kitchen” squirm in his pants. The cooks were quickly mixing and putting together dishes with expert precision. It was almost surgical.

  And everything was clean and tidy. Zander expected any kitchen to be somewhat messy, especially with a club as busy as they were, but he was pleasantly surprised to see how everything was spotless. That was a sign of a strong business.

  At the end of the line were several plates of excellent looking food being picked up by sexy waitresses wearing short, tight skirts and tight, white tank tops that left little to the imagination. Those girls were going to get tipped a lot, he could tell.

  He never would have expected a night club to also have a kitchen like a five star restaurant. He had to admit that the idea of investing in this place was really starting to grow on him, despite the company he would be keeping.

  “Pretty sweet, eh?” Harrison asked as they left the kitchen almost reading Zander’s thoughts.

  “Pretty nice,” Zander said. “Not too bad.”

  “The fun continues,” Harrison said as he led Zander up the stairs to the top floor.

  They reached the top of the stairs and continued down a hallway to a doorway at the end. Beyond the entrance much to Zander’s surprise was a large room with a very big hot tub in the middle of it. Two beautiful women were snuggled up with a middle aged man. They all waved at them as they came in.

  “How are things Garland?” Harrison asked.

  The man smiled. “I have no complaints.”

  “Great to hear it,” Harrison replied as he exited the room with Zander behind him.

  “What was that?” Zander asked.

  “Oh, just one of our regulars having a great time. The Jacuzzi room is available for a thousand bucks an hour. If you want to have some guests each of them is a thousand per hour too.”

  “Running a house of prostitution are we?”

  Harrison laughed as he led the way back downstairs.

  “Not hardly. What goes on behind that door is none of my concern. They are not paying for that.”

  “You are the master of loopholes,” Zander said stepping off the last step. The club was already filling up quite a bit, and now some wealthy looking guys were starting to join the girls standing around getting drunk.

  “That I am,” Harrison said.

  Just then some lights went on in the far corner of the club revealing a large stage that had been hidden under darkness before.

  “Now things are about to get interesting,” Harrison said. “I’ve got to go speak with a few of my other business associates who just walked in. The auction is getting ready to start, so make yourself comfortable and have some drinks. I’ll be right back.”

  Zander watched Harrison half jog across the room to greet a group of guys who were squeezing themselves into a large circular booth in the corner. The guys were definitely having a fun night out on the town.

  He ordered a Long Island Iced Tea from the sexy female bartender, the same one who had given him the gushy looks earlier. She leaned over once again, this time way farther to give him an ample look down at her massive, natural cleavage. Oh, it was so tempting, but he had other things to look into tonight. Although, if he did not find anything among the girls onstage that really grabbed his attention this girl might be worth the time.

  Zander grabbed the drink and took a sip. She’d made it very strong. How sweet, she was trying to get him drunk and earn brownie points at the same time. As if the drink could do more to help her case then her outstanding cleavage show could.

  As he started to leave the bar something caught his eye. At the end of the bar in a striking red dress that clung beautifully to every sexy curve was an amazing looking creature. She was a woman, but the term woman was almost an insult to describe the Angel he saw before him. She was beyond human beauty. It was as if something out of a dream had just walked into his field of vision completely distorting his reality and all conscious thought, striking it from his mind altogether.

  He suddenly heard every cheesy love song, saw the ending of every insipid romantic movie playing over and over in his head and he longed to be a part of them.

  Before he even had a grip on what he was seeing he was standing in front of her. She was even more beautiful up close. There was something so pure, so innocent, but oh so capable about her. The sparkling eyes, those full and pouty lips. Oh, he was feeling that he might indeed be in trouble.

  It was then that he noticed several other amazing women gathered close by off the end of the bar area. It appeared to be a lounge area he had barely seen from the other side of the club. There were couches and a few small coffee tables. The women were all drinking and having fun hanging with each other. Were they part of the auction? That would explain it.

  Something odd was happening to him; he was having trouble really thinking straight in the presence of this woman. He’d never had that kind of problem before.

  “Hey, there,” Zander said.

  The woman looked up at him. She did not say a word but her eyes began to scan over him as if he were auditioning for something and she was judging everything about him. His mind wanted him to feel self-conscious but he just smiled at her.

  As her eyes landed back on his she finally smiled at him.

  “Hi, there.”

  5

  Ember

  Ember felt her whole body freezing as the man approached her. She’d been lost in her own little dream world listening to the loud dance music and sipping her drink trying to pay attention to whatever nonsense Violet was going on about (something about her ex-boyfriend buying her a goldfish that was already dead) and suddenly this immaculate looking specimen of a man was standing in front of her.

  She could not help herself as she looked him over head to toe, his deep voice resonating in her chest, the vibrations continuing all over her body giving her deep tingles.

  “I hope I didn’t scare your friend off,” the man said glancing sideways for a second.

  Ember was confused for a moment but followed his gaze where she saw Violet walking away grinning at her. She was the queen of being obvious that was for sure.

  “Oh, no. She is ok, I think. Actually, I’m pretty sure she has never been alright, but I only just met her,” Ember said.
>
  “I know too many people like that,” the man said. “I’m Zander, by the way.”

  “Hi, Zander by the way. I’m Ember,” she joked. She wanted to crawl under a rock. That was perhaps the lamest thing she’d ever said in her life.

  He didn’t seem to notice as he stood there and took a sip of his drink.

  “What are you drinking?” Ember asked.

  “A Long Island Iced Tea,” he replied.

  “I’ve never actually had one of those before,” she said. Ember wanted to smack herself. The stupid thoughts kept turning into words that she was actually saying. What was wrong with her?

  “Really? Not much of a drinker?”

  “Oh, occasionally. But I stick to basic stuff,” Ember said.

  “Here,” Zander said handing her the drink. “Try it, but I can assure you there is no actual tea in it.”

  She smiled and took a sip.

  “Wow, that is actually really good,” she said. It was hard for her to believe she’d never tried this before. It was sweet with a hint of sour and lime.

  She handed the drink back to him finding it somehow sexy that she’d drank after him.

  “So, what do you do?” Zander asked her.

  “Care to venture a guess?” Ember asked. She was curious why he would ask her this question knowing that she was basically working right now. Apparently he did not make the connection that she was part of the auction. Maybe it was not as obvious as she thought it was. For some reason she felt as if she stuck out like a sore thumb because of it. Zander not being able to tell right away eased her nerves a bit. Or it could have been the alcohol. She made a conscious decision to go easy the rest of the night on the liquid courage.

  “Well, you just seem like someone who has her hands in many things. I’m pretty good at assessing people and I take you for someone with a lot of ambition and passion.”

  Ember wasn’t sure whether to smile or roll her eyes. If she paid attention to his statement under the right tone it sounded just like some cheesy line, but on the other hand it really could have been the sweetest thing too.

  “Well, that is a good guess,” she said. “This is actually my first time here. I heard about it and just decided to try something new. It’s always fun to meet new people, right?”

  “It can be, but it really depends on the person,” Zander replied.

  “Is that why you are here? To meet someone special?”

  “Perhaps, or perhaps I already have.”

  Ember felt the blush coming on and she tried to blink it away. She let out a huge sigh hoping that he didn’t notice. This guy was so smooth. She wasn’t sure she’d ever met anyone like him. There was something about him… everything he did from the way he said his words, his tone of voice, body language—it all screamed confidence and sexual magnetism.

  “That sounds like a line I might have heard in some Hollywood chick flick,” Ember teased.

  Zander smiled, unfazed. “Maybe that’s where I snagged it from,” he said.

  “Are you admitting to using canned material? That is so early millennium, isn’t it?” She said.

  “I think that there are a finite number of truly great, memorable lines in history. And the greatest ones have more than just the one application. You can use them in a lot of different ways, and they never go out of fashion. So, I think if you wish to be in good company then it’s perfectly acceptable to say something that has been said before, but you must put your own creative spin on it. People do this all the time, but most of the time they aren’t even aware of it.”

  Ember found herself becoming entranced in this man. She could sit there and listen to him speak all night long. That deep bass baritone voice, his tonal inflections, the way he added just the right amount of emotion to key phrases with a perfectly well-placed eyebrow raise or corner mouth smirk—it was irresistible.

  “I totally agree,” she said. “When you put it that way you could stand there and recite the entire movie ‘Casablanca’ and I would think it was fascinating.”

  “I’m not much of a Casablanca fan,” Zander said in a teasing voice.

  “Really? You don’t like the classics?”

  “I didn’t say that,” he replied. “I prefer ‘Gone with the Wind’.”

  “Ah, so you prefer Gable to Bogart?”

  “Gable always had more swag, and he had better women. Most of Bogey’s women were too helpless and whiny for my taste.”

  Ember laughed. She’d never met a man who talked like this.

  “So, you like strong women?” She teased.

  “I do. I love a woman who can hold her own and take as well as dish it out. That is the ultimate turn on. A helpless woman just seems too weak and helpless.”

  “What is your opinion of me?” Ember flirted. It was time to see what this guy really thought of her.

  He leaned in and smiled. She caught a whiff of his strong, masculine cologne. “Oh, I think you are definitely a strong girl.”

  “Well, thank you,” Ember said. “Do you think I would be the type to fall for Gable or Bogey?”

  “I think you could have your pick,” Zander said.

  “I like to think so,” Ember replied. “So, are you going to buy me a drink?”

  “No, but you can buy me one,” Zander said.

  Ember laughed. “That is funny,” she said. She hadn’t actually heard that line in a while.

  Zander was not smiling. “I’m serious. You should totally buy me another drink. This is after all 2017. You are a strong, independent woman. There is nothing defeminizing about buying a man a drink, now is there?”

  She felt her eyes growing wide as her mind scrambled to come up with a witty answer. But after about twenty seconds she realized that she had nothing.

  “I guess so,” she said sheepishly.

  Zander smiled almost victoriously. “Great.”

  He ordered another drink. As the female bartender fixed it Ember noticed the anger emanating off her. She knew that the bartender wanted Zander, as did most of the women around, but could she be any more obvious?

  Ember took the moment to glance over at Violet. She was sitting with several other girls who were all watching this flirtation take place and laughing their heads off. They were rooting for her at least.

  She had to admit to herself it did feel weird to be buying drinks for a man, but at the same time it was hilarious and a bit empowering. If she’d thought quickly she would have ordered it for him too and she would have picked the drink. Something cheap and lame, like an ultra-light draft beer.

  “Wow, this tastes even better when someone else buys it,” Zander said rubbing her face in it.

  “Well, you are just welcome,” Ember said mockingly with a smile. After a few moments, “So, are you going to bid on me?”

  Zander smiled. “I don’t think you are allowed to ask me that.”

  “Hell, I don’t think you are allowed to even be talking to me right before the auction. I guess we are just going to have to learn to live with breaking the occasional rule.”

  “I’m more than OK with that, actually. I break rules all the time,” he said.

  “Oh, you must work on Wall Street,” she teased.

  “Not exactly,” Zander replied. “I own a real estate company; that is the main gig. But I also buy startups and turn them into huge businesses, I’ve ventured into the restaurant business as well. But I don’t want to bore you with the details. This is all about fun; not work.”

  “I see, you don’t like what you do? You know they say if it feels like work then you shouldn’t be doing it.”

  “Really? Who says that? I don’t know if I’ve ever heard anyone say that exactly,” Zander said. “They do say if you do what you love it will never feel like work.”

  “Well, do you?”

  “Do I what?”

  “Do you love what you do?” Ember asked.

  “I do. I wouldn’t do it otherwise.”

  “How about you? You never did really answer my quest
ion about what occupies your precious time,” he said with that sly smile.

  There was a devil in that smile and Ember could not wait to meet him.

  “Well, I don’t do anything nearly as exciting as what you do, but it fills the hours of the day. I work for a marketing firm downtown. I’m basically not much more than an assistant right now,” Ember said. She hated telling him this. Somehow it made her feel like she didn’t deserve to be talking with him, but she wasn’t going to lie and make up something to try to prove that she belonged there.

  “Everyone has to start somewhere,” Zander said. “Perhaps you haven’t found your calling or your passion yet.”

  “Well, I’ve searched far and wide but I haven’t found anything as exhilarating as business for me. I just haven’t been given the chance to actually have input or share my real ideas with anyone. It seems to me that a college education has qualified me to do nothing but secretarial work. It gets a bit frustrating.”

  “I hear that,” Zander said. “I was lucky in that my uncle taught me the real estate business early on. He had a small business flipping houses and I got into it at an early age. By the time I graduated college I was pretty much in business for myself.”

  “Wow, that is pretty interesting,” Ember said. It also somehow made her feel worse about her own situation. But it was impressive that he’d started that young.

  “Well, like I said there was some luck involved in the early part of things. It did take me a bit of time to realize that real estate was a business I wanted to be a part of. Sometimes the muse strikes early and sometimes it strikes late. And sometimes people refuse to see it for what it is.”