Chapter 13Silas
Chapter 13
SILAS
“ I t’s about time you stepped up and started taking on a bigger role within our family, son. You’ve been playing too much at that college, and I’m now ready to give you an assignment,” my father says, ending a phone call and leaning back in his desk chair, as if he is all-powerful in this position. I walked in here shortly after dinner, and I had to sit and wait for him to finish his phone call, despite the fact he called me to his office. Sitting in a chair across from his desk, I lift my foot to rest on my knee in an attempt to get comfortable. It’s been a long week of avoiding certain people, and when Father messaged me earlier in the day, this was the last thing I wanted to do after classes ended for the week.
“Yes, Father,” I respond. He seems to ignore my droll tone, which is unusual for him. Father is too distracted, though. He’s such an arrogant dumb fuck, too old to understand my daily routines. I’m making a name for myself. One of hard work and determination. Old age seems to have made him senile, and he can’t remember that I’m in school for business. Training for my combat team takes several hours a day, too. Does he acknowledge any of it? No. He sits at his office in the city, luring people into deals that benefit him. Then he comes home at night, working from this office for countless more hours. The benefit of being a dragon is a dedicated work ethic, I guess. It’s how he afforded to buy such a grand home three years ago.
His office is impressive, featuring dark green walls and warm, wood floorboards. The sconce lighting offers an intimate glow and isn’t very productive for work; however, it is evening, and he isn’t likely working too hard. The furniture is deep red leather, an armchair sitting by the fireplace, and a sofa off to the side. The aroma of the furniture fills the room, mixing with the smoke from the fire. Bookshelves line two walls, offering a vast selection of research for his business proposals.
“Remember that errand I sent you on after your sister’s funeral?”
My brows furrow as he continues to drone on. “Yes,” I say with hesitancy.
“Well, I finally secured the deal,” he blusters. “After four fucking weeks of negotiations, the former owner of Erotic Dreams finally agreed to sell it to me yesterday. We are already looking into buying out the adjacent building and expanding. I have huge plans, son, and you’re going to have to step up and take on the responsibility of running this location. I will oversee the opening, and any major changes, but the day-to-day business will be yours. It’s time to put this business education you’ve been working on to use.”
I sigh as his excessive need to hear himself talk becomes oppressive.
“I understand,” I say. “What did you have in mind as a purpose? Are we continuing to run Erotic Dreams as a dance and sex club?”
“Yes, of course,” he scoffs. “Erotic Dreams will be the front of this extra business, and we can recruit clients to cross over. The side business will be very similar, but more…hands on,” he says, an evil glint sparkling in his eyes as he grins.
“As I said before, I will be overseeing the setup of this business, including whatever business model you come up with for the clientele. Once it opens, you will be in charge of the day-to-day business. Hire a manager or work it daily yourself. I don’t care; it will be your responsibility.”
“What does that mean, though? More ‘hands on’? I’ll need more information in order to hire staff to fill it.” I’m on board with a part of the business being mine to run as I see fit, but I just don’t understand what exactly is going on.
“Don’t worry about hiring the staff. I’ll be personally interviewing each potential worker. You will come up with a way to get clientele into the business, as well as a way to charge them.”
“That’s fine, Father, but you’re still not being clear. What is the purpose?” He’s beginning to frustrate me with his circles.
“Don’t you question me, son!” He explodes out of his chair, nearly knocking it over in his outrage. “Like I said, this will be more hands-on. The clients will be able to participate in a more intimate nature with the staff.”
“Is this a brothel? That has to be regulated in the district on the other side of town.” I can’t help clarifying, because I’m not sure how often he visits the Red-Light District in Kalakai Cove.
“No; not exactly, I mean.” His hand reaches up to rub his chin as he walks out from behind his desk and begins to pace in the room. “The staff won’t be paid for their services like a normal brothel. I don’t want it classified as that. But that’s going to be your job to come up with something while I ‘interview’ the staff. If you can get this together, start spreading word of mouth around, and make this launch a success, I have a part of your inheritance to give you. It’s an expensive heirloom from your Mother that I stashed away. I’d be willing to pass it along to you as a rite of passage if you don’t fail me.”
My eyes widen at the mention of a prize. An expensive prize, at that. My interest is piqued, and I can’t help but wonder what treasure has been saved for my first business venture.
“All right,” I continue, “just who do you see as clientele of this business?”
“I plan on appealing to younger people–students at the university and young professionals just stepping out. This will be a higher class place, so the cost of admission will be great, but we need to figure out just how to get people in the door, but also to keep them coming back.”
Thinking for a few moments, I consider our options. “If you want me to market to people my age, then I’d suggest making sure it’s almost like a club or party atmosphere. We should have alcohol with infusions for an up charge.” I consider our options, and then I continue. “Doesn’t Hudson Del Mar have a magical infusion company? Maybe we could work out a deal to have him create unique infusions?”
“I could do that,” Father murmurs.
“What if we had him add an additive, something to crave more?” I consider that for a second.
“I’ve got it,” I say, standingand rushing over to Father. “We want a party atmosphere, so let’s host a party. We can bring in all the ‘talent’ to show them off. Then we can hand out free drink tickets, and as soon as they walk in the door and redeem that free drink, they’ll be hooked. They’ll keep drinking and indulging in our bar, which means they will stay longer and spend more money.”
“I see… Yes,” Father says, turning to walk back to his desk. As soon as he sits, he grabs the phone to dial out, but then he pauses. “How would you get these people in the door after the first night?”
“I’ll recruit kids around campus,” I say, moving to stand in front of Father’s desk. Kids who want to be popular and want more from me than I do from them. The socially inept ones that would do anything. We give them the free drink tickets, and tell them that they can earn more for how many people they refer to us. Maybe we’ll give them entrance tickets and free drink tickets. I’ll have to think more about that, though.”
“Ok, yeah, I can see how that would work.” Father seems to consider everything I’ve said until this point. “We’ll have to narrow down the design, including the interactive rooms and the bar with tables and seating. We’ll have to meet there once I buy out the other building, son. We’ll complete a walk-through to plan it out, and then you’ll have to find a contractor and vendors. This cannot be pushed back; I’ll want to open ASAP. I figure we can narrow down an opening date once we have the contractors on site. That’s when I’ll start my rigorous interview process.” His smirk at the thought is revolting and lecherous, making me glad I’m not a part of those decisions. “And remember, this is a delicate venture; we’re going to need people who can keep their traps shut.”
Considering this already sounds shady as fuck, I’m obliged to agree with him. I’ve always known Father wasn’t one of the most honorable men; I just thought he skated around the edges of the rules on the right side. This is crossing the line, and I don’t even fully know what he has planned yet. And I’m supposed to be responsible for this business? I’m in for a lot of work to stay out of trouble with the Kalakai Governing Authorities.
“Alright,” he says, “I’ll be in touch. I want you to nail down all aspects of the marketing and daily running procedures in the meantime.”
“I really wish I knew more about this business,” I sigh. “Are you sure you don’t want help interviewing the staff?”
“Don’t worry, son. I can handle recruiting the talent,” he says as his phone rings. “You just get the clients in the door.”
When he answers the call, I take that as my cue that he’s done with me. What a fucking asshole. As I turn on my heel, I overhear my father bluster. “Hudson! Just the man I'm thinking about. How are you doing?”
I fucking hate that man sometimes. Dismissing me like I’m some lackey and not an actual business partner pisses me off. I should tell him that if he wants me to run the business, then he won’t have any control at all, but I can’t do that; not yet, at least. The old man is unstable with his rage, and I’m just going to have to bide my time.
As I wander the halls of my parents’ elaborate home, I consider the time. It’s now well into the evening, so Mother will already be in bed. I wish I’d had the chance to say goodbye, but I need to fly back to campus. I decide to jot down a quick note to tell her I love her, and then I make my way to the back garden.
The dark sky currently hides any moonlight, so I find it hard to stash away my clothes. Once I’ve managed to find everything, I run and launch myself into the sky. It’s time I head back to campus, because unfortunately, I still have exams to study for. I actually have to graduate, or my dad will call me a failure and disown me. It’s not like that’s surprising; that’s always the attitude he’s taken to anything for my sister and me as we grew up.
As I soar through the clouds, I realize I’m living a metaphor of my life. I’m so caught up in the murkiness of everythingaround me that I can’t seem to find my way. The clouds I’m having to fight to fly through are so heavy with rain that has yet to fall, reminding me of the chaos in my head. I swear, I wish I could just make sense of my life.
First, the princess. I’m still jerking off nearly every night to her, choking on my dick. Gods, that was a glorious sight; it felt even better. I didn’t remember her throat feeling that amazing. Maybe she has practiced with some guys around campus. Honestly, I’d be lying to myself if I thought that was true. I know in the back of my mind that it was her at my mercy. Harbor Aquino has withstood everything I’ve thrown at her, and yet she still stands strong. Making her kneel before me, at my mercy, was a wet dream come true.
I’m getting more and more frustrated with the fact that Harbor hasn’t faced the consequences of her actions. The longer time passes, the more it irks me that she’s still walking around, potentially bringing whatever trouble she’s gotten herself into around the whole school. My blood boils every time I see her in class or walking the halls, to the point that I have had to avoid her. I can’t exhaust myself daily by tearing apart heavy bags in the gym because my anger has gotten out of control. It doesn’t help that my father has had me working on this special project. I haven’t had time to consider how to make her pay. When I can see her tears, her heartbreak… I think that’s the moment I’ll finally feel at peace. I think.
Who knows, maybe I’ll have to do something more drastic to be rid of the stalker. She’s been there, every day, since this school session started. At first, I thought she was just no one, but now I know she’s used my sister as an excuse to come back as soon as she could to track me down. She probably asked Beth about the club that night. Beth knew I went to Erotic Dreams to party; when she was old enough, I told her about the dance club. That’s probably why the princess was there that night. She was there, hoping to tempt me and sink her claws into me. I’m so fucking thankful I broke myself from her spell before I fell too deep.
Then there is Kane. Ambrose is a pompous asshole, always one step behind me. He’s strived to knock me out of my premier position as combat team leader since we both first started at Terranea. Only now, he’s flipped the tables, and he’s got me completely on my heels. I’ve never been attracted to men before him. Maybe it is him, or maybe I’m just into men and women. I don’t know. All I know is I’ve never let someone control me like he did at the gym. And in the showers, fuck . He’s been making me into his, molding me to fit what he wants, and I’m beside myself with figuring out how and why I’m allowing it.
There was something about him last week that I couldn’t resist, though. It’s like he knew what I needed. He gave it to me, making me take it. Well, I tried to fight him. I didn’t know what to expect, and he backed me into a corner. Technically, you backed him into a corner. Fuck. I’m so twisted up about it, because gods dammit, he felt so fucking good.
Am I attracted to guys now? Or is it only Ambrose? Kane has a way–a charisma–that goes beyond his incubus. He is always putting the team we’re on at ease, able to determine what is the best way to calm us down during a tournament. Everyone but me, he loves to rile me up. I shake my head, trying to clear the clouds from my thoughts and eyes.
Dipping beneath the cloud bank, I skim just underneath, allowing my wings to carve through the low-hanging mist. I love the feeling of flying through the clouds, but with everything my father has going on, and then my thoughts drifting to Kane, I’m too distracted. As the Terranea campus appears over a hillside, it makes me sad that a favorite childhood memory was wasted on the chaos surrounding me. I vow to myself that I will take advantage of the next cloudy night to reminisce properly with Beth in the sky.
As I land in the clearing in the woods outside Bromberg House, I shift and pull out my clothes from the storage cubby I’ve hidden. I quickly dress, walking through the woods and directly up the front steps of the dorm. As I open the door, two girls dressed for a party descend onto the lobby floor from the stairs. I glance up, but as soon as they see me, their conversation stops.
An eerie quiet settles over the lobby as they approach the door. I keep my eyes averted until, just as they pass, their stares capture my attention. Why the fuck are they staring at me like that? I sneer at them because I feel their judgment. What for? Who knows? It’s here in the room, thick like a murky fog rolling in from the coast.
“What the fuck are you staring at?” I bark, as their heads swivel when they pass me. They scurry away, running out the door like little mice. Ignoring their hasty retreat, I run up the stairs and pass down the hall toward my door. Once I’m able to unlock and enter my apartment, and I shut the door and lock it behind me, my tension drops from my shoulders. A weight is finally gone; I can finally be myself, at least for one night.