Page 104 of Fury
After what felt like fucking forever, the door opened. A red-faced Karen lit up when she saw him. “Mr. Amos, sorry for the wait.” She stepped aside.
He walked in, and his attention jumped to the bearded guy on the sofa, his wild hair covering one of his eyes. He wore a black shirt, black pants. Karen got busy smoothing her mussed hair.
Were they screwing?
“I’ll come back,” Carrera said.
The man left her office without saying a word. Karen shut the door as Carrera set the bag on her desk.
She hurried over, unzipped it, and pulled out wads of cash. “Do I need to count it?”
He didn’t give a fuck what she did. “Ten grand.”
“Wait, what? We agreed to twenty.”
“Your cut is ten,” Carrera said.
“ButIpay the dancers.”
He said nothing.
After a few seconds, she said, “One less thing for me to do.”
He turned to leave.
“Did you want to chat for a bit? I mean, you are my highest paying client.”
Her cheesy grin wasn’t sweetening the offer, but he wanted to gain her trust, so he eased into the guest chair. She dropped into her chair, pulled a bottle of whiskey from the desk drawer, along with two shot glasses, neither looking clean.
Jesus, that’s nasty.
“Can I offer you a nip?” she asked.
“I fuck sober,” he replied.
An audible sigh floated from her lips. “So, Mr. Amos, what do you do when you’re not here?”
Refusing to answer her questions, he crossed his legs, flashed a smile. “A beautiful woman like you should be on stage. Why hide back here?”
Her face went tomato red. “Oh gosh, thank you. I’m not a dancer, plus, my skills are better used behind the scenes.”
“How long have you run the club? Or do you own it?”
“I’m very tight with the owner, so I run everything. I’ve been here almost six months.” She glanced at his clothes. “Your clothing is very nice. I’d love to buy my boyfriend a sport coat like yours. Where do you shop?”
“My clothing is tailored in Italy,” he said. “I fly over twice a year for fittings.”
“Wow,” she murmured.
“How do I access the VIP rooms?”
“I let you in.”
“You’re here seven days a week?”
She nodded. “I love my job.”
“Karen, I prefer privacy and anonymity. Isn’t that what the private rooms are for? I’ll need a keycard.”
