CHAPTER 7
Shar
The evidence I collected is going to be what closes this mess down. I walk into the dressing rooms and the three cleaners are standing side-by-side looking somewhat nervous. Now, I’m sure Mr. Pembleton has spoken to these three already, but that is of no matter to me. I will still say what has to be said, and if they don’t like it, they know where the door is.
“Ladies, what pride do you take in the work that you do?”
An eyebrow raised as the question left my lips. As expected, I received no replies. “Well, let me inform you. From where I’m standing, you have none, no pride at all in what you are paid to do.”
One of the women opens her mouth to speak and I give her the look that I practiced with Mia in prison. The one that told everyone to stay away from us if they didn’t want to get hurt. It did the job I wanted it to. She closed her mouth and looked at her feet.
“Let’s have a walk around, so I can show you what you need to do, and keep doing, or you’ll be losing your jobs. I won’t allow the club to pay for a company that is not doing what the contract stipulates.”
Again, I eye them before proceeding to show them the images I have taken, pointing out problems with a lot of disgust in my voice.
I drag them around the club, showing them where I took the evidence of their lack of cleaning. I also explain that their breach of contract entitles the club to terminate, and the compensation outlined within the contract.
Cord and Ryder, who have not said a single word up to this point, are smirking at the way the three women are becoming more and more depressed with the situation. I shut that down with a scowl, because let’s be honest, it should never have come to this point. The club should have been on top of it and I’ll be speaking with Sharp about this when I get back to the clubhouse.
The next hour is spent with me filling the three in on what is expected, what needs to be achieved before the month is finished, and that I expect them to have higher standards or I’ll replace the company with one that actually cares about their clients.
Once the women were starting to work, I turn to Ryder. “Did anyone get the utility room cabinet fitted?”
Cord responds before Ryder has a chance, “Yeah, it’s done, and it has a new sink. Crack ordered we keep an eye on the place so it doesn’t get in a fucking mess again.”
“That’s good. One of the things ticked off my ‘Let’s get it done’ list.”
Ryder grabs my arm gently and leads me to the entry of the apartment. “Come on, Shar. Take a look at this mess.”
Oh, he’s not wrong. The apartment above the club is in dire need of ripping apart and renovating. It has what looks like 1960s wallpaper and cabinets. I give Cord and Ryder a look that has them both bust out laughing. I walk from room-to-room, and it could be beautiful and bring in either a lot of rent, or be a good place for the manager to live.
“I reckon we should have Sharp rip this place apart. I mean, it’s a huge apartment, and it could be damn awesome if it had someone put time and effort into the place.”
Cord leans on the wall with a shoulder and looks down at me.
“I agree. I’ll speak with Sharp about the place,”
I respond.
Back downstairs in the bar area, some of the serving staff have arrived. I turn to Ryder and quietly ask, “Can you get me some of the t-shirts with the strip club logo on, please?”
“Sure thing,”
he replies, before walking away quickly towards the office.
I have looked over the payroll information carefully, and did so before I had studied the contract for the cleaning company. But the bar staff is a different issue, and it seems I don’t have to worry about any of them. I have spoken to them previously, and they have organized themselves well.
Ryder returns with the t-shirts and I hand them to the staff, instructing them to wear black pants so they all look alike but without costing them too much for work wear. Black pants, after all, can be purchased cheaply enough, and the t-shirts are free from the club.
“Okay, everyone, listen up. I don’t want any complaints about your attitudes towards customers. If anyone is being a handful, you speak to one of them behind the bar, a bouncer or the manager on duty. Even one of the club’s brothers will deal with customers that get out of hand. You do not mouth off or be rude. Now, another thing is tardiness. It will not be put up with. If you are on shift, you be here on time, or don’t bother working here, it’s fairly simple. We will be running a tight ship.”
I look at one of the younger servers. She can’t be more than twenty-one, and that’s at a push. “How old are you?”
I ask bluntly.
She blushes to her hair roots, but gives me a quick answer. “I’m twenty-one and started working here three days after my birthday. I know I look younger, but I can show you ID to prove my age.”
“Why are you working here?”
“I have an elderly grandmother, who I live with. I’m paying for the utilities and everything else. It was a case of getting a job, any job.”
“Can you cook?”
I have an idea bubbling to get her out of here, because I really don’t think she is the sort of person that should be working in a strip club. She is obviously a real sweetheart.
“I can cook. I actually wanted to be a chef, but it wasn’t going to happen so I learned to cook using cookbooks and the internet.”
Now she shows some sparkle in her attitude.
“Okay, I want you to come to the clubhouse Sunday morning and cook lunch for everyone. If you can do that and it’s good then I may be able to offer you a job being chief cook at the clubhouse.”
Colt grins, Ryder nods his head, and I give a satisfied smirk when she nods her head enthusiastically.
Sunday morning, and back from a short solo run within the clubhouse compound, Lira, who is the young woman from the strip club, has arrived. She is wearing black pants and a white t-shirt. She has her hair tied in a messy bun with a chopstick holding it in place. I have to admit that made me smile.
“You can use whatever you want in the fridge or freezer, Lira. If anyone tries to mess with you, then call out to Colt who is going to be hanging around in case you need anything, or to any of the brothers. Colt is just outside the kitchen in the bar area.”
“Thank you, Shar. I think I’ll be okay. Do you know how many I’ll be cooking for?”
“Hm, let’s think…if you consider thirty, but remember, these men can eat a huge pile each.”
“Oh, okay, I’ll remember that.”
I grin because I can see the wheels turning in her mind, and the small frown between her eyebrows has her looking cute, I have to admit. She’s a lovely young woman and I hope this works out, as it’s a better job than working at the strip club and having strange men slap your ass or try to touch you inappropriately.
After finishing my conversation with Lira, I look around for Crack or Brawl in the bar, but neither is around. Trip, however, is sitting at the bar with a large mug in front of him.
“Trip, can I ask you something?”
“Sure.”
I notice he’s drinking black coffee, and he’s looking a bit worse for wear. Probably had too much to drink last night! Not my business, so I don’t comment on the fact and get down to what I want. “Can you make sure the club women don’t mess with Lira in the kitchen? She’s doing us a solid by cooking a meal for everyone. If she does a good job, I’m hoping she will become the cook for you all. But if the women mess with her, she’s liable to say she doesn’t want to work here.”
“Okay, I can do that. We could do with a good cook because we’ve not had a decent meal in a long time. The shit they put on plates gives you the shits, so I don’t eat whatever they put out.”
I can’t hold my giggle at his response, because I don’t want to imagine any of the brothers running to the toilet every five minutes to empty their bowels. Yuck.
Later, after the stunning meal Lira served up to us all, I head out to the strip club. I want to see the place in action on a busy day of the week, and Sundays are busy.
Everything is running smoothly. I notice the bar area is spotless and running as it should. The three bartenders I spoke to are working as a team, and there is a much more confident feel behind the bar with them even passing bottles to each other.
The servers are looking good in the new outfit of black pants and t-shirt. I think it will stop some of the grabbing from the customers. The stage area where the strippers are dancing looks far cleaner and is showing a shine which it didn’t have previously.
Taking a seat at one of the reserved tables, I look at Sharp, who is giving me a strange look! “What?”
I can’t help but ask.
“Nothing,”
he replies, but he’s still giving me the look!
Trip leans forward and I turn to face him fully, “Lira did a good job in the kitchen, Shar. Are you going to offer her the job? If you are, do you know what hours she’ll work and if she’ll be living at the clubhouse?”
“I will offer her the job as long as Sharp is okay with that?”
I look over at Sharp, and he gives me a nod. “Yeah, she’ll work whatever hours she needs to, but her pay will go on an hourly rate so she may earn more some weeks than others, but I want her basic pay to stay the same. She lives with her grandmother, who she looks after, so I can’t see her living at the clubhouse.”
“Okay.”
Trip leans back in his seat and he has a look on his face that I can’t interpret either. Maybe I’m losing my body language and facial expression skills?
“Sharp, the acts are not particularly drawing a crowd, are they?”
I state, turning to look at him again.
“No, I agree. They are the same old thing all the time. Once you’ve seen them, there is nothing to bother with.”
Sharp takes another swig of his beer before looking at Crack, who is mumbling about needing to see something different.
“What about the pole? We could add pole dancing twice a week. One day during the week, and maybe Saturday nights? Of course, our dancers would have to be trained. I don’t want to imagine the damage this lot could do to themselves or customers without proper training.”
The look on Crack’s face says it all.
“That would work. It would be better than the boring shit going on now,”
Runner adds to the conversation. I hadn’t realized he was even listening since he’d sat at the table next to Trip.
“Can you bring that up in your next church, Sharp? Also, you need to decide on whether I can have the go ahead on renovating the apartment upstairs. Do you want it put up for rental or is it going to be a manager's residence so you can give them rent-free accommodation with a lower salary?”
Throwing all this at Sharp has him wiping that strange look off his face, and I have my own grin of satisfaction.