Fire and Desire (BWWM Romance) (3 page)

“I rather be early than not on time.” Antonio flashed a perfect set of teeth.

“Point taken. Come on in, and have a seat.” Emily led him to her formal dining room instead of the den area she’d used to interview the girls. Artwork from the Orient donned the walls and shelves, gifts from her father. He was a retired Navy man and had traveled to China, Korea, Japan, and the Philippines.

Emily motioned for Antonio to have a seat in one of the burgundy chairs positioned at her oversized glass table. She made her way to the head of the table, where her paperwork was already laid out.

“This is a very nice room. I can tell you took a lot of time with it.” Antonio’s arm flexed as he grabbed the chair and pulled it out. His muscles were snug around the hemline of his short sleeve.

“Would you like anything to drink? Water, tea, or Pepsi?” She needed a moment to compose herself. Antonio was nothing like she expected. Though she loved black men, this Italian man was not to be overlooked. Only in movies had she laid eyes on men who looked like him.

“Water please.”

She nodded and went to her kitchen. Emily was glad she chose to conduct the security interview in a more professional manner than she had for the models. There was no way she would’ve been comfortable sitting on the couch next to him.

Taking a deep breath, Emily returned to the room in full business mode. “Let’s get started, shall we? Why does your company think you’ll be a good fit for me? They could have sent anyone.”

“The position description says security, but being this is a home and the line of work you’re in, they felt you needed more of a body guard. That’s more of the role I fill.”

Tilting her head to the side, she asked, “What’s your opinion about my business?”

“It’s a lot different than what I was expecting. I’ve been to plenty of strip clubs…” He scratched his head. “I was thinking…I don’t know what I was thinking.”

Emily laughed. “Were you expecting a brothel?”

His cheeks reddened. “No, but even if it did, I wouldn’t have an issue doing my job and keeping the girls and you safe.”

“That’s good to know. What was your job before this?”

“A Marine but once a Marine always a Marine.”

“Really?” He had her full attention. She leaned forward on the table. “How many years you serve?”

He stuck out his chest. “Ten.”

“Impressive.” She scanned his body. His broad shoulders and muscles suited him well. Emily could see him wearing one of the Marine outfits she saw in her dad’s many photos. He always told her of the Marines on their ships. “Why’d you get out?”

“Don’t worry. I had an honorable discharge. I was just ready for a change. It’s hard to have a family when you’re always in the desert.”

“I see.” She nodded. “Can you please fill out this form?”

She slid him the paper and waited patiently as he filled it out. When finished, he handed it back to her. Emily looked it over and smiled at his answers. The questions were nothing more than standard interview questions found online, but she wanted to see how he handled filling them out.

“Well, that’s really all the questions I have for you. You come highly recommended by the company. I think I’ll give you a shot. I’ll contact your company and work out the details.”

“I have to a confession to make,” Antonio said with a serious look on his face.

“Yes.” She bit the inside of her cheek in confusion. After the crazy day, she had she braced herself for anything.

“I own the company. You don’t need to contact them.” He handed her a blue business card with white lettering. Antonio’s name was listed name as the CEO. “After I left the Corps, this was something I decided to invest in.”

Her mouth dropped. “Then what was all of this about?”

“I conduct all of my interviews to make sure I’m dealing with a legit company. My employees are not some club bouncers. They are more on the line of body guards. Even though I have it in black and white on my website, people still try to hire us for their clubs anyway. With a name like The Playhouse, I had to be sure.” A sly grin spread across his face. “Besides, what man in his right mind would pass up an opportunity to meet with the owner of a business like this? I do fill in for my workers from time to time as well.”

Emily opened her mouth to speak, but she heard movement on the stairs.

A strawberry blond poked her head in the room. Her eyes were glued to Antonio. “Mercedes, I’m gone. Don’t forget I won’t be back for a few weeks. I’m going to visit my mom in Canada.”

Emily looked at her watch. An hour had past while she had been interviewing Antonio. “I have you marked down. Enjoy your vacation, Sapphire.”

Sapphire nodded and continued on her way.

Emily turned her attention back to Antonio. “So, Mr. Owner, do you have any questions for me?”

“How often are the girls here?”

“Around the clock. Up until now my sister Keisha and I have pulled watch. There are certain girls I’m okay allowing in my home alone. I started out with just doing eight to midnight during the week day and closing my door at three on the weekend, but with this being an online business, everyone’s in different time zones. There is no such thing as not having someone online.” She took a drink of water. “And my club will be open soon.”

Antonio nodded. “And what are your expectations for my company?”

“I’ll need twenty-four hour security here, and once the club is open, I’ll need two or three guys for normal club hours.” She tapped her hands on her notepad. “I used to work in a small building as a lingerie model a few years ago. They didn’t have security. One night, they were robbed and held at gunpoint. Thankfully, I was off that evening. The area wasn’t the best, but things can happen anywhere. I want my girls safe. I thought living in a residential area would be safer, but as business started growing I’m no longer sure.”

His hazel eyes looked deep within her, making Emily wonder what was going through his head. “Can I get a tour?” he asked.

How could she have forgotten? “Of course. Let’s start upstairs.”

She led him up to her office to view the cameras.

He eyed the monitors. “This is a nice setup.”

“It covers three rooms on this level and three more in the basement. Monitors two, three, and five are all the online models.” Her pride came through in her smile.

“Now I’m impressed. Mrs. Washington, my company will have no problem providing security for you.”

She blushed at his formality. “Good.”

“I’ll email you my standard contract and any more questions if I have them. If you’ll excuse me, I have to get to another appointment. Time seems to have gotten away from me.”

Emily led him back downstairs to the door. “I’ll give you a call once I’ve reviewed the contract.”

“I look forward to hearing from you. Enjoy the rest of your day.”

She closed the door behind him and leaned up against it, this time not in frustration. To her surprise, her heart rate increased. The slight contact her arm made against his as she held the door had given her goose bumps. Though she was in the adult industry, it had been over a year since anything other than her vibrator had been between her thighs. Antonio’s touch made her tingle. She shook it off and headed to the kitchen. It was time to start slow cooking the roast for her son and the night crew.

Chapter Two

“And our top story for the hour, a family was playing cards with friends when armed men ran in their house, robbing them, injuring three people and killing another…” the news anchor woman said.

Emily winced, then turned the television off.

Meeting with Antonio had been one of her better decisions. True to his word, the contract came that evening, and as promised, she called him once finished. The following day, he sent Ryan to her home. It had been two weeks, and they’d fallen into a routine. Emily heard his truck pull up, and she headed to the door.

With Ryan arriving, she was free to go to her appointment with her realtor regarding the property downtown. The building was only one block away from one of Atlanta’s most popular strip clubs, which meant the area was properly zoned.

They said their hellos as he came in and she left. Time was a factor with traffic on 85 South. She needed to get there and back before rush hour.

Excitement flowing through her, she sang along to the music as her black Audi zig-zagged between the traffic. As she neared her destination, she noted different people standing in the rain at various bus stops.

“The head diva won’t be caught dead on the bus nor train next to addicts and babies with rotten pampers,” Emily said, winking at herself in the review mirror.

She had enough of that experience a few years earlier when her car broke down and she couldn’t afford to get it fixed right away. She needed to get to work at an office building across town, and the bus was her only option. She ended up being smashed next to a woman holding a baby whose pamper smelled like he took a dump weeks ago. The mother’s body odor was just as foul.

To make matters worse, a crack head kept walking up and down the aisle harassing people. “Gimme twenty for this iPhone,” he said, breathing on the back of someone’s neck. The screen was cracked and the back was held together with a rubber band. “You got a dollar? How about some change?” He flashed his rotten teeth and had a huge pee stain on his pants.

Closing her eyes, she pretended to sleep for the rest of the ride downtown. He ignored her, continuing down the aisle. She endured episodes like that for a month before she could afford to pay for her car repairs.

Emily let out a laugh and made a right turn. The weather was so nice she wished she had ridden her Ducati motorcycle. She had joined a bike club,
Atlanta Hot Girls
, a few months earlier after talking to one of their founders on a social network. She loved the look on people’s faces when she pulled up on her ride. Most females sat on the back as a passenger, or if they rode solo, they as looked harder than some men.

Emily pulled up and saw Shayla was already outside of her SUV. She had informed Emily prior to scheduling an appointment that the building had been on the market for over a year so she could definitely get the price reduced.

Shayla stopped inspecting the building and headed toward Emily. She checked out Emily’s upgrades to her car. “Nice rims. When did you get them?”

“I ordered them a week ago. They came in yesterday. What do you think so far?” Emily replied, checking out how nice her old college roommate looked in her baby blue business suit. Shayla had been a trendsetter since college. She would take an outfit that Emily thought wasn’t fit to be curtains and make it look beautiful.

“The structure isn’t bad, but I won’t give it a thumbs up until I see how well they kept it up inside.” Shayla led her to the door and punched in a code on a keypad attached to the handle.

The old warehouse appeared to have several new renovations. This was something Emily felt she could work with because of the size and location.

Shayla walked around knocking on walls, shaking pipes, and testing the stairs, giving the building a thorough inspection. She checked every inch of it from the structure itself to the plumbing before she finally gave it mid-thumbs up little over an hour later.

Dusting off her hands, she commented, “There were a few things I want to discuss with the seller before putting in a bid for you to purchase it.”

“That’s what I’m paying you the big bucks for,” Emily joked.

Once outside, Emily nudged Shayla, looking in the direction of a woman going into the back door of the strip club.

“She better go make that money to pay for the state tax increase,” Shayla said.

“She better do more than some shaking up in there if she wants to pay those or property taxes,” Emily said, still ticked off at the increase on hers. She could more than afford the increase, but the fact that more than tripled still had her eyes sore from popping out her head when she opened her mail.

“On a more serious note…” Shayla hugged her. “I am so proud of you. You’ve always been a hustler when it came to getting what you want and taking care of business, even if it was something as simple as convincing me to walk up to a prison to get out of the cold.”

“Thanks girl.” Emily laughed. “I can’t believe you brought that up. That’s a pre-Mercedes tales of the broke experience!” She popped her friend in the arm.

“See you later!” Shayla dodged the playful blow and took off in the opposite direction.

Emily was still laughing as she made her way to her vehicle. Her mind went back to her college days. The weekend had arrived, and she and Shayla were on the road to a party at another nearby college. After driving forty-five minutes, they arrived and realize they’d been tricked. The party was nothing more than a group of guys getting high, drinking, and pretending to be rap stars.

“Oh hell, no, let’s go!” Emily had backed up to the door.

“Come on have a drink,” one of the guys coaxed them in.

It was either get back on the road or stay and have a drink. Emily gave in and was soon laughing with the rest of them. She waved off the marijuana but had more than her fair share of alcohol.