Chapter 12
Sebastian
A kid and husband? At least, that’s what it looks like from the photos Tim pulled from a surveillance camera outside her apartment. But I was in her apartment, and I didn’t see anything to indicate she lived with someone. Granted, I didn’t spend a lot of time searching through drawers on my way in or out that night, but I’m fairly certain I would have noticed if there had been wedding photos on the walls or toys on the ground.
But the photos on my computer don’t lie. That’s definitely Emma, and she’s definitely with a dude and a kid.
“I’ll do some digging now that I have photos.” Tim is already punching keys on his computer while I look at the photos he emailed to me.
“Thanks, bud.” I close the lid to my laptop and head out the door. Abbott asked me to meet him for dinner tonight. I tried to beg out of it, but he insisted. So, I’m meeting him at The Chop House in twenty minutes.
I don’t want to waste too much energy thinking about what-ifs and maybes. Either she’s married or not. Either she has a kid or not. I’ll find out the answers soon enough. And when I do, I’ll be able to make real decisions on how to proceed. Truthfully, I almost hope she does because then the decision will be made for me.
I won’t see her again, and I can go back to how things were. I’ll visit the girls at Pearls a few times a week, and I won’t get caught up in anything that might possibly lead to a relationship. Because that’s the last damn thing I need to be thinking about right now.
~**~
When I arrive at the restaurant, I’m not surprised to see Jason standing in the waiting area. Jason is Abbott’s twin brother and the more conservative of the two. When we were kids, Jason was the one who’d cover for us when we snuck out to raise hell with the Mayson boys. And when we needed a ride after getting drunk at a party, Jason was the one always at home studying, just waiting for our call. He’s a good guy but too uptight to hang with us on a regular basis. This must be important if Abbott’s bringing in the brains.
“Jason, it’s been too long.” I pull him into a quick hug, patting his back. “How are you?”
Jason gives me a simple shrug. “Good. You?”
I chuckle at that response. “Still a man of few words, I see.”
“My brother says enough shit for the both of us. I’m just evening things out.”
“Can’t argue with that.” I take a look around. “Is he here yet?”
“Not—” Jason stops speaking then nods toward the front door just as Abbott walks through it.
“What, you guys didn’t order our drinks yet?”
“Just waiting for you, man.” He shrugs out of his jacket before giving it to the maître d’.
“Abbott.” Jason gives his brother a half hug. “Why are you always late for our meetings?”
Abbott laughs. “I’m busy. I can’t just leave my club without making sure everything’s running smoothly.” He waves his finger between me and Jason. “I don’t think my partners would appreciate if I just bailed whenever I have dinner waiting for me.”
He’s not wrong about that. Jason and I are both cash investors, but Jason also has quite a bit of time and effort sunk into the club. He’s a venture capitalist and has invested in most of the companies Abbott and I own. Pearls is one of Jason’s seedier enterprises, but also one of the most lucrative.
We’re quickly escorted back to a private table, and Abbott wastes no time ordering two bottles of wine. I don’t really pay attention to what he orders because I don’t actually care. Whatever he gets will be good. I’m not a huge wine drinker, but with a nice steak, a glass or two of Cabernet can’t be beat.
We barely place our orders before Jason asks the question on both of our minds. “So, Abbott.” He swirls the wine in his glass and looks up at his brother. “Tell us what you’re trying to drag us into now.”
A huge grin covers Abbott’s face. “I thought you’d never ask.”
I take a drink from my glass and lean back in my chair, waiting. Abbott likes a dramatic pause before delivering good or bad news. “You know the West Samford Motel, right?”
Jason rolls his eyes, and I just smirk, already knowing where this is going.
“Yeah,” I say. “Didn’t they shut it down last year?”
That motel was notorious for being a place for CEOs and visiting businessman to hook up with prostitutes. It was a thing for years…decades. But the previous owners went bankrupt about a year ago, and it’s been closed ever since. Abbott has mentioned the place a few times over the past few months, and I’d kind of hoped he would’ve forgotten about it.
Clearly, he hasn’t.
“I bought it.” Abbott is beaming with pride as if announcing spectacular news.
“Why?” Jason and I ask at the same time.
“To fill the gap in this space.”
“Is there a gap?” Jason asks.
“I happen to know that there is,” Abbott responds. “I only went to the place a few times when it was open, but it served a market that is currently untapped.”
Abbott and I have access to the women at Pearls, so we aren’t feeling any kind of pinch when it comes to easy sex. But there aren’t many places right in the area where you can get laid by clean, attractive women who aren’t shooting up their earnings as soon as you step away.
I take a drink then place my glass back on the table. “So, you bought it already? Now what’re you gonna do with it?”
Abbott smiles and rests his hand on my forearm and then reaches across the table to do the same on his brother’s. “I think the question is, what are we going to do with it?”
“Oh, no. No way.” Jason pulls away from his brother’s grip. “You can run a whorehouse if you want to, but I’m not. I have a reputation to think about.”
Abbott waves away his brother’s concerns. “It’s hardly any different from being co-owner in Pearls. Just wait until you hear me out.”
I take a big swig from my glass, knowing I’ll need a buzz just to get through this night. “Okay, shoot.”
“I think we should get into the consulting business,” he says as he grabs a piece of bread.
Oh, hell. This should be good. “What kind of consulting?” I take a piece of bread as well, hoping it’ll dull the light headache already beginning to form behind my left eyeball.
“Relationship consulting. See, we bring in beautiful women,” he looks at Jason and shrugs, “we can even bring in some guys if you want.”
Jason just shakes his head without acknowledging Abbott’s comment. We’ve known Jason is gay since high school, but he’s never actually come out to any of us. We’ve tried to get him to admit it, but I’m not even sure if he’s even admitted it to himself yet. We’ve never seen him in any sort of relationship, so maybe he just takes care of himself with porn. I don’t know if he thinks we don’t know or if he thinks we’ll have a problem with it.
Either way, it’s an unspoken truth among our friends.
“These women will be relationship consultants. Our ‘clients,’” he uses air quotes around the word clients, “will pay for ten or fifteen minutes of relationship coaching.”
“Why would they do that?” Jason asks.
“Because relationship consulting is legal. It’s something they can justify to their wives if they’re ever questioned. Fuck, they might even be able to use their flex benefits to pay for it.”
I raise my hand to interrupt him. “How much are they paying for this fifteen-minute coaching session?”
“I don’t know. A grand? Maybe two?” Abbott doesn’t seem too concerned with those kinds of details right now. “Anyway, as soon as they’re done with their official session, the girls will still have forty-five minutes available to ‘hang out.’ If they choose to invite their clients back to their room ‘off the clock,’” again he uses air quotes, “there’s nothing illegal about that.”
“You might be on to something,” I concede. It’s a little more flagrant than I am usually comfortable with, but any action would be happening behind closed doors between consenting adults. That’s at least a little more discreet than women walking around fully nude on stage at Pearls. I look Abbott in the eyes and smile. “I’m in.”
We both turn to Jason and wait for his response, knowing he’s always the tough nut to crack.
“No way.” He pushes away from the table as if he’s going to get arrested just for sitting too close to us. “Why do you need me, anyway? You guys have enough money to make this happen without me. I don’t need this kind of trouble in my life.”
Abbott gives him an indulgent look, placating him. “You know why we need you, Jay. You’re our planner. You see things we don’t think about. Besides, who will help me pick our male consultants?” He winks at his brother, and Jason’s cheeks pink up just a bit. Though I’m not sure if that’s from fury or embarrassment.
“Fuck off,” he says quietly to Abbott before looking back at me. “You’re really on board with this idea? A whorehouse?”
“I’m on board with capitalizing off all the horny, rich bastards in this town who are looking for local ‘relationship advice.’” I hold my tongue as the server refills our glasses from the bottle on the table. As soon as we’re alone again, I raise my glass up to Abbott’s. “And if that means I can hook up somewhere more comfortable than a wooden chair in one of Pearls’ back rooms, all the better.”
As predicted, Jason takes some persuading. He lists about a million reasons why it’s a bad idea. Some are completely valid points, proving that what Abbott said was true. We do need him to be the brains of any real business ventures we undertake. And Jason knows that too. Despite being scared to admit his sexuality or even admit that he has any…Jason cares for his brother and would do anything to protect him.
So, by the time our dinner plates are cleared, we’ve gotten him to agree to at least consider partnering with us. It’s not a firm commitment yet, but a maybe from Jason always turns into a yes.
“What about the consultants?” I ask between bites of raspberry tart. “You got anyone in mind?”
“A few.” Abbott pulls up a notes app on his phone and slides it across the table so I can see it. “I’m thinking Vickie and Angel for sure. Maybe Timber and Everly. That’s my first round anyway. If they all say yes, I might reach out to a few friends with clubs in the area to see if they have anyone looking to make a few extra bucks during the day.”
“You’re thinking business hours?” I hadn’t given much thought to when the consultants would be working, but most meetings and doctor’s appointments take place during the day, so that makes sense.
“Yeah, at least in the beginning.” Abbott hits a few buttons on his phone and pulls up a PDF file. “Here are some notes I’ve got so far. I’ll send them to both of you, but basically, we’d have most girls on-site during the day. Maybe one or two nights a week we can do evening sessions, but I think the opportunity here is during regular working hours.”
“I agree.” At first glance, Abbott’s notes look better than I expect. He’s obviously put some thought into this. “And we won’t be cannibalizing Pearls.”
“Exactly.” Abbott claps my shoulder in agreement. “I still want those guys in the club at night with all their cash… But if there are daytime dollars to be had, we might as well grab those too.”
Jason chuckles quietly. “Will it ever be enough, brother?”
Abbott gives his brother a slow grin as he pulls a Cohiba Behike cigar out of his pocket. “Ya know, Jason, I don’t think it will.”
“Um, don’t you owe me a box of those?” I point at the cigar he’s holding between his teeth but won’t light inside the restaurant. “From that bet you lost.”
Abbott laughs and pulls the stogy from his mouth then offers it to me. “Oh, yeah. This is yours. The box might be a few short, but it’s in my den. Remind me to give it to you when you come by.”
“Asshole.” I brush the wet cigar away from my face.
Abbott just sticks it back between his teeth as he turns to his brother. “Have you decided yet?”
Jason is staring at the untouched plate of fruit in front of him before he quickly glances at his brother and then me. “You really want to have guys in there too?”
Abbott laughs out loud as I fight to hold back a smile. “I knew that would get your attention.”
Jason smiles shyly then digs his fork into a raspberry. “I’m just wondering.”
“Yeah, I know you are.” Abbott loves teasing Jason. I think that’s part of the reason why Jason has never admitted or denied being gay. But if he’d just fess up, Abbott would back off and be completely supportive. I hope Jason figures that out before he’s too old to enjoy being out and proud. “For a friend, right?”
Jason doesn’t look up at him. “Yeah, maybe.”
“Perfect.” Abbott pulls out his credit card and hands it to the server just as she approaches with the bill. “Then you tell your friends that if they’re looking for relationship consulting with a man or a woman, you know of a place that will be able to service them.”
Just the mention of being serviced makes me think of Emma and how she took my cock down her throat like a pro. Fuck, now my dick is half hard, and I’m stuck with these guys for at least another half hour. “How soon do you think it’ll be before the servicing can begin?”
“I’ll talk to the girls this week. If they’re on board, we can probably be up and running within a month or two. I met with Trevor and Cash from Mayson Construction this morning and got a bid. They can start on Monday and think the fascia work will only take a few weeks. Most of the other renovations are already done. It was in decent shape when I bought it. I just needed to convert a few banquet rooms into small offices.”
“What do you need from me?” Jason asks, surprising both me and Abbott at how quickly he’s come around.
“That’s the spirit, Jay.” Abbott’s wide grin mirrors my own. “I’ve got a preliminary business plan worked out, but you guys should take a look to see if there’re any holes. Whatever you say goes. While you’re doing that, I’ll work on procuring our consultants.”
“Need anything from me?” I take the last bite of my tart. “Other than money?”
Abbott shakes his head. “Nope, that’s it. I’m tied up in the real estate, so if you bankroll the operating costs while we get going, you can probably avoid most of the day-to-day dealings, if you want.”
I do want.
My attorneys can get me out of any mess that might come from being associated with a place like this, but I don’t have much interest in hanging around too often. Whether it’s a group of hookers or a group of consultants, they’re all after the same thing.
Dollars.
And as soon as they know I’ve got some, I go from predator to prey.
And that’s only fun when it’s on my terms.