16 #3
Jerome laughed, taking back his jacket and Dani grinned, feeling decidedly reckless, encouraged by his subtle flirting.
God, he was just stunning when he laughed.
Dani’s heart skipped a beat. She turned away from him and headed towards the door, scared he’d catch her openly admiring him while he slipped on his jacket.
She was sure it was written all over her face.
Jerome followed her, allowing his eyes to drift over her exposed shoulders and back, then down to her behind.
He managed to reach out for the door before her and she glanced up at him, his hand taking hold of the handle.
“You look flushed.” Jerome’s comment made Dani redden more.
“Yes, well… um… it’s probably the adrenaline, or the heater.” Or the fact you’re so close to me and sexy as hell.
Jerome blinked down at her, his dreamy eyes sparkled and a smile curved over his lips.
“Or maybe it was because of your jacket,” Dani added bravely.
She pulled the door open and stepped back in to the hot pulsating atmosphere of the club.
Jerome faltered a second before following Dani, her comment jolting him.
She moved quickly through the crowds and Jerome let his eyes follow her back to where the rest of the staff were gathered.
He really couldn’t make her out. She sometimes was shy, then out of the blue, she’d come out with some unexpected remark.
He furrowed his brow and shook his head.
He really needed to stop spending so much time thinking about her.
Jerome opened up his office door and was confronted by a grim-faced Paul.
“Who was it this time?” he asked, slipping into his chair.
“No one important. They’ve been taken by the police.”
“It’s getting harder to keep them out. We know the major dealers but they’ve so many runners. Did you catch them before they did any major dealing?”
“Hard to say, boss. They had a fair amount of cash on them.”
Jerome rubbed his face. He was adamant that his club stayed clean. He had a zero tolerance of drugs but he also wasn’t so naive as to think that the dealers would keep out of his prestigious club. It was inevitable, but he’d be damned if he’d let them get away with it.
“Where did you catch them?”
“They were loitering around the back bar. We moved them out to the back. Thankfully, they didn’t cause a scene.”
Jerome knew Paul wouldn’t openly threaten anyone, but he had what could only be described as a very persuasive manner. “Follow it up with your leads. That’s the third incident this month,” Jerome added, clearly agitated.
Paul nodded.
“I really need to know we can control it, especially with Christmas coming.”
“I’ll get in touch with some of my old colleagues down town.”
“Good. Everything else under control?”
“Of course,” Paul smirked.
Jerome visibly relaxed. He had enough to deal with, and he didn’t need to worry about security here as well.
With his police training and contacts on both sides of the law, he knew Paul was the best. If there was anyone Jerome could trust it was Paul.
Jerome sat down at his desk, allowing his eyes to drift to the photo he had of Alessandro and Kara.
“Do you still have contact with that private investigator?”
“You mean Scott?”
Jerome nodded and Paul stepped closer to the desk.
“Yeah. You think we should be using him to find out who’s behind the runners?
” Paul tried hard not to sound affronted.
The club security was his domain and he wasn’t comfortable letting someone else take over.
In the four years he’d been in charge at Sky he’d never needed anyone’s input to keep the club clean.
“No. I know you have that covered.”
Paul loosened up, but Jerome didn’t even notice. His thoughts were focused on how he was going to get the number of the investigator without arousing suspicion. “Seni asked me if you knew of anyone. He’s working on a case that needs some… well, subtle investigating.”
Paul pulled out his phone and scrolled through his contacts, then reached for a pen and paper and scribbled down the number. “Here. Do you want me to call him first, tell him Seni will be calling?”
“Sure. Thanks. He’s discreet, isn’t he? From what little Seni told me, he needs total discretion.”
Paul looked down at Jerome staring at the piece of paper he’d handed to him.
He knew something was wrong. After closely working alongside Jerome for over four years, he’d become somewhat of an expert at reading Jerome’s moods.
“Yes, he’s solid, you don’t need to worry.
Is there anything else? You seem preoccupied.
Don’t worry about here, we’ll keep things clean. ”
Jerome sighed and nodded. “I know, Paul. I’m fine, just a lot on my mind.
Thanks again for this.” Jerome slipped the paper into his jacket pocket and stood back up again.
He knew Paul would be the best person for the job.
But he couldn’t let him know about Liz – he was too close.
If Jerome was being perfectly honest, he really didn’t want his friend and colleague knowing his personal problems. It was bad enough that Cosimo, Seni and Peter knew.