Page 31 of Bourbon Kingdom
JETT
“Mr. Black is available now,” Aubrey, Zane Black’s assistant said, as she escorted me back to his office.
She was your typical secretary, blonde, busty, and sexy. I applauded Zane for having good taste; I wouldn’t have expected anything less from the man. Even though she was quite beautiful, there was something about her that told me her hair didn’t match her mind. She seemed intelligent and loyal; I liked that about her. And what I liked best about her was she didn’t seem to eat me alive with her eyes. It was refreshing.
We walked up to a grand door and I allowed Aubrey to open it for me, escorting me into Zane’s office.
“Mr. Black, Mr. Colby is here to see you.”
Zane Black, a real estate mogul in New York City, stood up from his desk while buttoning his jacket and walked toward me. The man had quite a story, working from rags to riches, making a name for himself without help from anyone. He was a man to be admired.
Sticking out his hand, he introduced himself, “Mr. Colby, what a pleasure.”
I took his hand and said, “You can call me Jett.”
“Then, please, call me Z. No one really calls me Zane, and Mr. Black seems too formal for both of us. Can I get you anything to drink?”
“I’m quite fine right now, thank you.”
Quietly, Aubrey closed the door on us and Zane led me to the sitting area in his office, a move I found to be quite humble. Any other power-hungry man would have had me sit across from him at his desk, but not Zane, he welcomed me into his office and offered me an even playing field. I liked him already.
“Thank you for seeing me on such short notice, Z.”
Zane crossed his foot over his knee and relaxed in his chair, his easy posture making me feel more comfortable.
“I have to admit, when I heard you wanted to meet, I was intrigued as to what you wanted to talk about, since we’re both bidding for the same piece of property. Does this have anything to do with that?”
“It does,” I said, shifting in my seat and adjusting my jacket.
There was a limit on the information I wanted to divulge when it came to talking to Zane. I didn’t want him to know about Goldie, because that would show weakness, and I didn’t want him to know about my feud with my father, because that would show jealousy. I wanted him to know the basics, but I wanted him to work with me.
“How important is Lot 17 to you?”
A small grin spread across Zane’s face as he thought about what I asked him. I could see this wasn’t going to be as easy as I thought it would be when I first walked in. He was easygoing, but he was still a business man.
“It would allow me to expand my racing business. I have some thoughts about racing down in New Orleans, and Lot 17 would help with that.”
Zane Black owns Black Top Racing, an underground racing company in New York City. Black Top Racing wasn’t how he made all his money; it was a hobby he developed once he’d made his billions. The whole concept of Zane’s racing was actually intriguing, and I considered standing in on one of his races one day because of the uniqueness of his speedway. Thanks to Jeremy, I knew all about his underground secrets.
“What would you say if I told you I had access to the Riverfront Expressway Tunnel and could get you the rights to the underground road?”
Visibly, Zane perked up at my mention of the unfinished underground expressway in the heart of New Orleans. It was a tunnel the city started to build to ease traffic in 1960, but it was never completed, and instead of opening it up, it was closed off to the public. The Expressway was an attribute I knew Zane would be interested in obtaining, since he kept his speedway private.
“You’ve peaked my interest. What do you need from me?”
Smiling inwardly, I folded my hands together and said, “There are three bids up for interview next week: you, me, and Rex Titan. Lot 17 means a great deal to me. I have plans to make a park for the local Boys and Girls Club, an organization that’s very dear to me. Right now, Rex Titan has the upper hand, due to his illegal plans, which have caught the eyes of some city officials.”
“What do you mean illegal?”
“Currently, he has a gentleman’s club, which a good portion of the city’s elite attend—”
“Don’t you have a club like that?” Zane asked.
“I do, but mine differs from theirs in a vast way. In my club, the women hold the cards. They are never touched, never naked, and earn all the money from the members. It’s a classy form of debauchery, where they use choreography and handmade outfits to entice the members. Rex’s club is, unfortunately, more of a brothel, where club members pay to have sex with the girls. Although, I don’t have proof of the inner workings of the club.”
“And you want to bring them down, but need information on the inside, and can’t do that yourself,” Zane cut to the chase.
“No, I can’t.”
