“As you can see, your princess was treated with respect.” At least that was what I hoped.
“You had her half naked… in front of a crowd…”
“I didn’t dress your daughter. I’m sure you’re aware of that.” I waved to the door his muscle waited outside. “Someone’s tailing her and would report to you everything, including how she was dressed. I could have taken advantage of her. She was primed and ready and begging for what she got. I could have had her on her knees, swallowing my cock.”
Haddad got to his feet so fast, the chair spun. Maybe I’d gone too far.
“How dare you?” he sputtered.
“No, how dare you come into my office when I did nothing. The members of this club sign non-disclosure agreements. For a woman with your daughter’s needs, this is the safest place for her.”
I held my ground as he rounded the corner. When I didn’t back down, he glared at me.
“I don’t understand her,” he said before muttering in Arabic or some language I didn’t know. “She gets this from her whore of a mother.”
Somehow, I doubted that. Based on this conversation, I thought Sara might have daddy issues. But I kept that to myself. “As I said, she’s safe here. Nothing will happen to her she doesn’t consent to. My floor workers are trained to know when a timeout is needed even when our guests don’t.”
“Guests,” he spat. “You’re getting paid.”
“That’s the nature of commerce. If I didn’t get paid, your daughter could have gone somewhere else where her needs weren’t considered at all.”
In silence, he seemed to think about what I said and come to the right conclusion. “You’re right.”
I nodded, not needing the validation.
He pointed in my direction. “I also see potential.”
And there it was. I could have written a script for how tonight would go. He was taking a predictable path.
“Commerce. Your words, right,” he said.
I said nothing.
“Your wealthy clientele may have other needs that I can provide.”
“Before you say something on the record”—I pointed at a visible camera, not one of the hidden ones— “this is where this conversation ends for the both of us. Let me just say that to keep things safe for my clients, there is nothing you can purchase in the club—not drinks, sex, or anything illegal.”
“Drinks?” he asked.
“Yes. To keep things safe for all, it’s important that no one is drunk. Each member is entitled to two drinks a night as a part of their membership fee. There are no on-site purchases.”
“But…” He glanced at the camera.
I finished for him. “Consent is questioned when someone isn’t in their right mind. They may make choices they come to regret or say they wouldn’t have made.”
“Ah. But they can come to the club already fucked up, so to speak.”
“They can. And a well-trained staff can spot that and deny entry, as per the contract signed by every member.”
“You can’t spot it all,” he said.
“No, I can’t. But I can do my best and reduce risk for all by doing so.”
“And what if I want a membership?” he said.
Yet another thing I guessed he would say. “You can put in an application. There’s currently a waitlist.”
“My daughter—”
“Your daughter was extremely lucky. We had a spot open. With her youth, her family background, I thought it was safer for her to bump her up the list and give her the open spot. You see, I know young women like her can find themselves in trouble in the wrong company.”
“So you’re doing me a favor?”
“No. I did her a favor. I didn’t want her to become a statistic.”
He stepped forward, trying to intimidate me. Though he was taller, he was also round in the middle. If it came to a fight, I could take him. But I was sure we were both armed and it would end up a standoff.
“What if I insisted?”
I held my ground. “I would hate that for you and her. I could make that video public.” His jaw dropped and before he could say something, I finished. “And don’t think you can destroy it. The file is in the cloud. If anything happens to me or my assistant, that video, along with everything that happened in this office, goes viral and the police will be called immediately.”
He laughed. “And if I called your bluff?”
I shrugged. “Try me.”
“You may think you have me by the balls, my friend, but I’m not American.”
We were not friends. “No, but you also come from a conservative country. That video would bring shame to your family.”
His lips thinned.
“You aren’t the first man with power and money to throw your weight around. What you should realize is I’m doing you a service in a clean and efficient manner.”
“Clean? You threatened to expose her and myself.”
“Only because you threatened me first. You came here to intimidate me, thinking you could possibly own me. I have no desire to ruin your daughter’s life, but I value my own and that of my employees. Remember this—she will get what she needs, either here or somewhere else. You’ve seen the place. You’ve seen how she was treated. You should feel better.”