48
June 2011
Things at Ruby’s Massage Parlour had been going fine in the few weeks since Ruby had found out she was the new owner. Because Ruby had always been the face of the club, none of the clients knew things were any different. The girls knew Victor was the previous owner but Ruby wouldn’t have expected them to share that knowledge. She had therefore managed to retain all of her clients. This included Ruby’s cousins who had become regulars ever since the first time they had walked through the doors.
The only fly in the ointment, as far as Ruby was concerned, was her anxiety regarding Gilly. His parole hearing had now taken place and he had been given a release date, which was fast approaching. Crystal hadn’t told her the exact date and, although Ruby had asked her to let her know as soon as he was out, she suspected that Crystal might not bother as her first loyalty was to Gilly.
With Gilly’s release imminent, Ruby had become hyper alert and distrustful of any new person who came into the club, wondering if they could be in any way connected to Gilly. So, when two strangers walked in and started looking around at the girls, Ruby was suspicious straightaway.
They were both dressed in sporty designer gear and baseball caps and, although the weather wasn’t particularly warm, they were both wearing tight fitting tee shirts, showing off their muscles.
One of them was below average height and of medium build, his huge biceps overcompensating for his lack of height or frame. He obviously put a lot of hours in at the gym. The other one had the height and frame to match the muscles, standing at over six feet and wearing a beard and a scowl. The smaller man seemed to be the leader of the two and he led the way across the reception area, strutting over to the desk.
‘Who’s in charge here?’ he asked.
‘Me,’ said Ruby, her back stiffening as she sensed trouble, and got out of her seat.
‘Aah, you must be Ruby then.’ As he spoke, he turned to his friend and sniggered.
At first his reference to her name unnerved her until Ruby realised that as the brothel was called Ruby’s Massage Parlour it was an easy assumption to make. But his next words unsettled her even more.
‘So, you’re the new owner now old Victor’s popped his clogs, are you?’
Ruby bristled. There was no way that was common knowledge, other than amongst the girls. Victor had always taken great care to keep his name out of things. But somehow this guy knew the situation, and it wasn’t a good sign.
‘That’s right,’ she said, fixing him with a hard stare.
‘Right, well in that case, it’s you that we come to for our money now.’
‘What are you on about?’
The man tutted and rolled his eyes as though she was being dense. ‘We’re the security firm for this place. Victor used to pay up regular as clockwork, but we ain’t had fuck all since he snuffed it so let’s stick to the same arrangement, eh? I don’t want you giving us any problems.’
‘And what do I get in return?’ asked Ruby, flabbergasted at first because, despite her experience as the madam of a brothel, she wasn’t very familiar with security firms up to now.
‘Our fuckin’ protection, of course,’ said the smaller man, becoming confrontational. ‘If you don’t pay it, we won’t be able to protect you from any problems, will we?’ He looked knowingly across at his friend then sneered before continuing. ‘Gangs raiding the premises, ripping the place up, beating up customers, maybe even hurting you and your girls, if you get my drift.’
As he spoke he grabbed hold of Ruby’s chin and lifted it. ‘Know what I mean, babe?’
Because of her height advantage Ruby soon escaped his clutches, stepping back and squaring her shoulders whilst glaring at him. ‘Get off my fuckin’ premises!’ she yelled. ‘How dare you come here and threaten me and my girls!’
There were several girls and two customers sitting in the waiting area and the sound of Ruby’s raised voice drew their attention. The small man glanced across, his expression serious, as he realised they’d been sussed. His type of business relied on covert threats without a room full of witnesses. He shifted uncomfortably then scowled at Ruby before lowering his voice and growling at her.
‘You’ll regret this!’ he said. ‘We’ll be back with our boss to see if he can talk some fuckin’ sense into you so you’d better be ready.’
Then he quickly fled the building with his goon following behind.
*
The threat had bothered Ruby and an hour later she was still jittery when she received a call on her mobile, the sudden ringing making her jump. She looked at the display and saw that the call was from Crystal so she pressed the call receive button.
‘Hi, you alright?’ asked Crystal once Ruby had answered the phone.
‘Yeah fine. Are you OK?’
‘Alright…’ Then she paused momentarily before saying the next words, ‘Ruby, I’m just ringing to let you know that Gilly’s being released tomorrow.’
‘Shit!’ said Ruby who then quickly tried to recover herself as she saw a client approaching the reception desk. ‘Crystal, I’ve got to go,’ she said. ‘But thanks for letting me know.’
Once Ruby had dealt with the client, her mind switched back to the call from Crystal then to her visit earlier that night, and she felt overcome by dread. The thought that she had been targeted by a protection racket terrified her. From her limited knowledge about them she knew they were bad news and, although she’d seen them off for now, she was worried that they’d soon be back for their money. Then there was Gilly to contend with. He was bad enough on his own without having any other problems.
Ruby would have liked to
