Since I’d promised Edward we wouldn’t discuss business tonight, I banished even those thoughts of it and laughed as one of his guys told a joke.
Dinner was winding to an end when Joe sat forward again, catching my eye as he cleared his throat. “I’m glad we took your deal in the end. We came close to walking away from it, you know? If you hadn’t come into the room when you did, we might not have been here right now.”
“To be honest, my lawyer warned me against going. I’m just happy nobody got offended when I joined. I know it’s not customary for someone new to enter negotiations so late in the game.”
Edward chuckled, shrugging his narrow shoulders. “It was out of character, yes, but speaking to you over the phone and then in person, I knew you were the new owner the company needed. You have one hell of a reputation, my friend.”
“I promise all the bad things you’ve heard are true,” I joked, then let my expression grow serious again. “It all worked out for the best in the end. As happy as you are to have me is as happy as I am that you let the company go to me. I’ve looked into several shipping lines like yours over the years, but none of them were the right fit.”
Another round of tequila was ordered and passed around. We didn’t talk business as such, but we were definitely inching closer to it.
The guys were all interested in knowing more about how my company operated and how our relationship would work, while I gained more insight into the way they were being operated now.
Okay, so maybe we are talking business.
Edward sighed beside me and dragged his hands over his smoothly shaven face. “This is getting out of hand. We have plenty of time in the coming days to have these discussions.”
“What do you suggest we do about it then?” I was genuinely curious.
Having this conversation while everyone was drinking probably wasn’t a good idea anyway. It had started organically enough, and it was all information I needed, but I recognized it wasn’t the best time. “Is there anything we can do to distract them?”
His eyes flashed as his lips curved into a smirk. “That depends. Are there any strip clubs around here?”
“Yes.” I frowned but schooled my expression before he noticed it. “There’s one not too far away from here actually. It’s very exclusive.”
I hadn’t ever been there myself, but I knew about it. Strip clubs had never been very high on the list of places I liked to frequent, and I wouldn’t go alone anyway.
Edward, however, was suddenly ready to go. “Lead the way then, Ricci. Gentlemen, eat up. The real party is finally about to start.”
Their excitement was obvious when he told them where we were going and it mounted all the way there. Meanwhile, I quietly resigned myself to the abrupt change of plans for the evening.
Maybe it wasn’t such a big change at the end of the day. The club I’d planned on taking them to after dinner also offered dancing and women that tended to be scantily clad. Sure, they weren’t naked, but a lot of them might as well have been.
I was tempted to call Aldo so I’d have some company but decided against it. I’d buy the guys lap dances or whatever it was they wanted and find myself a corner to drink in until they were done. Maybe the mood of the place would drag me in when we got there and I’d even indulge in a lap dance for myself as well.
I doubted it, but stranger things had happened. I just didn’t understand the allure of being turned on in a place where nothing could be done about it, only to have to go home to rub one out alone later anyway. It seemed a little pointless.
The guys around me didn’t seem to agree. They spilled out of the limo when we arrived and eagerly waited for me to make the necessary arrangements for us to be allowed entry.
As soon as we stepped into the wide-open space on the inside with its pulsing music and colored lights, I all but lost track of them. They scattered toward different sections of the stage where a couple of girls were engaged in their performances.
I reached up to loosen my tie and sighed as I headed to the bar. I’d barely found an open seat when a woman carrying a tray of drinks slammed it down on the bar counter beside me. She didn’t even seem to notice me, though.
Blonde hair fell in curtains around her face as she hung her head and breathed deeply but erratically. Her hair shone in the low, bluish light running along the bar and shifted as she shook her head.
In her black leather miniskirt and a crop top, her curves were on almost full display. In my opinion, she was much sexier than the women currently dancing around the stage.
Miles of smooth, toned skin practically glowed. Her ass swayed a little as she moved to tuck her hair behind her ears, and my hands suddenly itched to reach for it.
I wouldn’t ever grope a woman, but damn, if I didn’t want to run my fingers along every curvy inch of her hourglass figure. Her head lifted, but she didn’t turn it toward me. From this new angle, though, I could make out some of her facial features.
It turned out she didn’t only have a body made for sin and sex but also the face of an angel. Her cheekbones were high and her nose was straight as an arrow, yet as statuesque as those features could have been, they were too soft to be described that way.
Long, dark lashes framed oval-shaped eyes that appeared to be a deep shade of blue, but I couldn’t be absolutely sure. Her
