Chapter 29 – Elie
The longer I waited for Sasha to call me back, or to hear from Mariah, the more upset I got. I had a feeling that those two women were up to something. After a big payout like the one from the auction, I had a feeling that they were going to try and get out of the business. Sasha had habits that were going to be hard to cover for very long without me, but Mariah was different. She didn’t have anything holding her to me. Not yet.
I called Bruno into the office and asked him to go find Mariah. I had a feeling that she was still at Scott’s house, and that wasn’t going to do. He had paid for a night, and no matter what happened in that night, she was supposed to come back to me.
After Bruno went out to look for Mariah I called Lex in to bring me Sasha. I’d told her not to come without her friend, but now I wanted to see her. I would be able to get a reaction and some feel for what was going on if I was around her. Right now I was just guessing, and by the way she’d talked on the phone, it felt like I was losing her too. I needed to pull her back into my web before it was too late. She needed a reminder of what I could do for her – or to her.
I sat back and watched some of the action that was going on in the rooms, but with so many of the girls missing in action there wasn’t a lot to see. I was going to have to address this issue. It was like the girls thought they were running things. I was going to have to make sure that everyone knew where they stood. I was starting with Mariah and Sasha because they were the ones making me the most money. Those were the two that I couldn’t afford to lose.
I felt unsettled, and when I got a call from Travis a little while later, the feeling only increased. I knew that he was going to be pissed that he’d lost the chance with Mariah, but even my own interventions hadn’t been enough. I’d thought that Scott wasn’t going to show up because of a comment I overheard Sasha making, but I should have known that he wasn’t going to turn down such a chance. Not many people could have. It had been hard enough for me to not bid myself.
“It’s all water under the bridge now, Travis. It’s done. The auction is over and there’s nothing more to do about it now.”
“You need to give me a chance with her. Not a couple of hours or a night, Elie. Let me take her on my business trip to Dubai. That will be about a week, and I’m sure that I’ll get her to see things my way by the end of it.”
He was trying to make himself sound good, but I didn’t think that he realized that he too was talking about taking Mariah from the club.
“I don’t know if she would be willing to do that, Travis. Have you talked to her about it?”
“Why should I have to? She works for you, doesn’t she?”
“Yes, she does, but they have a choice.”
“Maybe that’s the problem, Elie. You’re too soft on these girls. You give them too many options. Tell her to come with me. I’ve been a good client, and you’ve done this before.”
“I have, and look what happened with Lisa. You never brought her back. Do you know how long it took me to get the cops to stop sniffing around here? I told you before that there would be no more meet-ups with my girls outside of the club.” Where I could keep an eye on them. Even here there had been times he’d gone too far and I’d had to have one of the security crew intervene. He was a good customer, but I also knew that he had issues.
“Come on, Elie. I’ll make it worth your while.”
I wasn’t ready to agree or disagree. I wanted to talk to her first and see what was going on. I couldn’t tell Travis that she was missing, but I did mention that she was off for the night. “I’ll talk to her and get back to you. I’m not going to promise anything, though.”
“I’ll have her one way or another. You might want it to be the way that makes you some money in the process, but that’s just my opinion.”
His veiled threat didn’t sit well with me. I knew the man was capable of some pretty bad stuff. I didn’t like dealing with him, but in this line of work, that kind of came with the job. There were many dark and twisted men who visited the club, but Travis was one that I wished I’d turned away after he got too rough the first time. His offer would make me a bit of money, but there was a real danger that I would never see Mariah again. The fact that I might lose her anyway crossed my mind too, though. She was pushing her luck, and maybe there was a scenario in which I gave Travis the go-ahead. He wasn’t worried about my permission, but he was worried about not being able to come back. He needed the Fetish Club as an outlet for his proclivities and as a never-ending source of fresh girls.
When I got off of the phone with him, Lex was back with Sasha. I have to say that she didn’t exactly look to happy to see me. He hadn’t even given her the chance to get dressed, it looked like.
“What’s the meaning of this, Elie? You send your men to grab me out of bed like I’m being kidnapped or something.”
Her voice was louder than it should have been, and I didn’t like the flash of anger in her face. It was obvious that Sasha hadn’t been prepared to come see me tonight. That irked me, and I told Lex that I would take it from here. I knew exactly how to handle Sasha.
“You’ll do well to remember who you’re talking to, Sasha.”
She opened her mouth to say something and then closed it again like she’d thought better of it. I almost wanted her to start something. Then it would give me all the reason I needed to punish her. I knew just what kind of punishment I wanted to give her, too. Travis had given me ideas. None of the girls liked to spend time with him, but I knew that Sasha hated him more than any of the others. The two of them had a history together.
“I’m sorry, Elie. I just wasn’t expecting your goon to come and get me. You know that I would have come if you asked me to. I always have before.”
“Things are different now, though, aren’t they, Sasha?”
She looked uncomfortable, and I knew then that the feeling that I’d had was right. She was worried about other things, not the club anymore. She was going to leave me. I was sure of it now.
“No, Elie, they’re not. I just had a long night last night and I wanted to take a bit of time off. I never ask for extra time, and I didn’t think that it would be that big of a deal.”
“Well, it is, Sasha. I count on you, and if you don’t show up, it just sets a precedent for the rest of the girls. They’ll think that you’re getting special treatment because you’re mine. I can’t have that, Sasha. You need to work tonight. Travis is coming in for a little while, and I need you to take care of him. He scares the other girls.”
Sasha had a look of apprehension in her eyes, and since I knew exactly what was in store for her, I liked the look on her face. This would teach her to play games with me.
“What about the money from the auction?”
“I’ll have it for you before you leave, minus my fee. I decided that my fee was going to have to be a little higher for this. You understand, don’t you?”
Her teeth ground together and I knew that she wanted to say something. Most likely her tongue was hurting from how hard she was having to bite on it as she sat there. I didn’t blame her. I had always seen a little of myself in her. I just didn’t like to see that fire towards me.
“Of course, Elie. I know that you’re always fair with the fees. I’ve done well working for you.”
The change in her demeanor was just more of a clue that she was going to be gone soon. A less perceptive man might have seen her accommodating reply as a good sign, but I just didn’t. I knew that it meant she was holding it all in and it wasn’t even worth it for her to fight about it. Did that mean that she planned to leave me? I really just wanted to know what was going on with her. After Travis got a hold of her, maybe she would be reminded of how much worse it all could be. I was a saint compared to that man, even if I was the one sending him her way.
We didn’t say much more to each other. We didn’t have to. Sasha had to get ready for Travis, and I was still trying to find out if there was any word about Mariah. I called Bruno to check, and he said that he was still looking for her. I should have sent him to Scott’s, but I figured that after last night those two wouldn’t see each other again. I had a feeling that I was going to take Travis up on his offer. Maybe Mariah needed to see how much she needed the protection of a guy like me. She had to see that I wasn’t the worst one out there.