“Just remember, you’re protected there, no matter what. You can leave at any point, anytime you want to. There won’t be any questions asked at all. You can just talk to the men, keep them company, or you can do more; it’s all up to you.”
“Thank you, Roxie. I really, I just…,” I paused because I wasn’t exactly sure what I wanted to say. “Thank you.”
“I hope you’re still thanking me the next morning,” she said with a wry
smile. “I want you to stick close to me the first night, alright? When I’m performing, I want you in the front row, where I can keep an eye on you. It’s busy on Friday nights, so just keep your cool, remember who you are and why you’re there, and stay in control, okay?”
“Yes, ma’am,” I said with a wink. It was about to be go time.
6
DYLAN
“W hat do you mean that one was taken off the market? It’s
perfect!” I stared at my phone as if the speaker on the other
side could see the fury on my face.
“I’m sorry, Dylan, the city council have condemned the building for some reason. It’s no longer for sale,” Liz, the real estate agent, said from the other end of the line. “I will keep looking.”
“Please do,” I growled and cut the call. There wasn’t anything else I could say, really, so I ended the call. It was infuriating.
“I know this is the work of Trent Thompson, I just know it is,” I said to the person across from me. Freddy, the man who had shown me the ropes around town, and who knew all the right hands to shake. Obviously, Trent Thompson did too.
“It looks like he doesn’t want the competition, that’s for sure.” Freddy stubbed out a cigar and sipped at his brandy.
“I don’t get it. The place is crawling with resorts. It runs out of rooms on a regular basis during the summer, but he wants to block me?”
“Competition is fierce here, even if rooms do fill up. People want the newest, the latest, and they want a great experience. Something shiny and new at another hotel might draw the bookings away. Can’t say that I blame the fella, to be honest. It’s good strategy. Keep the new people out and you won’t have to compete so hard.”
“Fuck him,” I growled and glared at Freddy. “Whose side are you on
anyway?”
“Yours, my new friend, but I’m a realistic man. I’m not going to piss on your head and tell you it’s raining. I’ll tell you the facts of life, and the truth is Trent doesn’t want you here. That’s a fact that can’t be changed.”
I wondered for a moment if my past was the real culprit here. I’d been adopted, but not as a baby. I’d been old enough that the rumors that I’d killed my real parents had been plausible, if not likely. The rumors had persisted throughout my life. They’d included allegations of abuse, abuse so horrific that I’d snapped one day, killed my real parents, and ended up at an adoption agency.
Like the questions about Jesse James, I didn’t bother to sway people’s opinion on the matter; it was pointless.
Something like that followed you, and I could even find mentions of it in online forums still. It wasn’t talked about as much now, people soon had forgot about me, and more sensational killings eclipsed anything I might have allegedly done. Could that smidgen of history be the real reason Trent had worked so hard thus far to keep me out of the resort business here?
“I’d like to kick a few levels of sense into that man.” Then I thought about it some more. “Actually, I think his brothers help run the business too. I’d like to break them all, show them they can’t keep me out.”
Freddy looked at me with skepticism, but he nodded. “I don’t doubt you could do it too.”
“I could, one way or another.” I couldn’t think of how though. The brothers had bought up a lot of the property I wanted, and they had now blocked the sale of the latest place I’d decided to make a bid on. How could I break them?
It wasn’t a matter of money. I was a rich man, the properties I had on the west coast of America kept my bank balance eye-wateringly high, and I could buy almost any place I wanted to.
I really liked the atmosphere of Myrtle Beach, though, and I wanted to expand out this way as soon as possible. “Damn them all.”
I clenched my fist and pounded on the table. “What you need to do is relax, son. Ole Freddy will find you something. I promise.”
I nodded at the man, but I knew his kind of friendship came with a price I’d
have to repay at some point. I didn’t want to be beholden to him, and I wanted to find a place on my own. It didn’t look like that would happen, however.
“Zoning laws suck here, by the way.” There was a lot of property I could buy, develop into a resort, and make a killing off of, but zoning laws dictated what could be built where here, and they restricted a lot of land. Those laws were in place mainly because of hurricanes and were meant to help conserve the lush beaches in the area. I could understand that, but still.
“Can’t get around those. Many have tried and failed.” Freddy sat back in his seat at the bar we’d come to for drinks and a chat. We were in a dark corner, and the place was almost empty, so our conversation was private.
“I’ll think of something.” I sipped at the beer I’d ordered but hadn’t touched yet. Liz had called the minute I sat down and dropped the latest bomb on me.
“I’m sure you will,” Freddy said softly. “You heading over tonight?”
I knew what he meant. Elmo’s. “Yeah, hopefully I’ll find something to take
my mind off my troubles. I’m starting to get lonesome.”
“What are the girls like in Kansas?” Freddy asked and tipped his empty glass at the bartender for another.
“The same as here. It’s not all farms and windmills, you know? Our cities have some of the sweetest ladies you’ll ever find, and a lot of them are the right kind, if you know what I mean.”
We chuckled together, and Freddy said he’d have to travel out that way one
