“Thanks,” I said as I hung up and slipped my phone back in my pocket. “What’s up?” I asked Velvet as I followed her towards the back storeroom.
“I think someone’s tried to break in. The lock on the back door has been tampered with,” she said.
“Fuck,” I muttered as I inspected the lock. She was right; it had been messed with.
“Yeah, not good. And there were some guys hanging around last night that I’ve never seen before. Nasty looking fuckers.”
I looked up at her. Velvet wasn’t one to exaggerate. And she’d seen some shit in her life, so if she thought they were worth bringing to my attention, they were worth me worrying about. “Okay, I’ll get Griff to take a look at the surveillance and I’ll get some extra guys in to keep an eye on the joint. You let me know if you see them again.”
“Thanks, Scott. And thanks for getting rid of Darrell.”
“Was my fucking pleasure. Anyone else you want me to get rid of? With the mood I’m in, I’d be happy to go a couple of rounds with anyone who needs sorting out.”
She laughed. “Mmmm, I think I’ll steer clear of you for the rest of the day.”
I watched as she walked away. Velvet was one sexy chick and our customers couldn’t get enough of her. She had curves in all the right places, a seriously good set of tits and a spectacular ass that her long brunette hair almost hit. I didn’t do staff though, so Velvet was firmly in the no go zone.
J entered the storeroom. “Madison can sort out the kid for you,” he said as he came towards me.
I closed the back door and locked it. “Good. Thanks for organising that. Someone’s fucked with the lock, and Velvet’s seen some guys hanging around that I need to get Griff to look into.”
“Christ, if it’s not one thing, it’s another,” he said what I was thinking.
“Feels that way doesn’t it.”
He nodded. “Our first interview is here. You ready?”
I clapped him on the back, and smiled, “Yeah, brother. Let’s see if we can pick a fucking winner this time.”
***
“So, I heard the interviews were a bust,” Griff said, as he came behind the bar where I was pouring drinks. “And why the fuck are you making drinks? Don’t we have staff for that?”
I finished pouring the beer and handed it to the customer. “Cheers,” I said to him, and then gave my attention to Griff, “Not enough staff. Two of them called in sick tonight and I couldn’t get hold of any of the others.”
“Well, I’ll leave you to it while I go and find out if we know these guys that Velvet mentioned. And, J said to tell you that Madison has that cat under control,” he said, and then added, “He’s pissed that it’s staying at their house which amuses me no fucking end.”
“Someone has to look after it because Michelle sure as shit won’t and I can’t have it here all night while I’m working.”
He nodded, a frown coming over his face, “Yeah, that bitch is a sorry excuse for a human,” he said as he started to walk away. “I’ll let you know what I find.”
I lifted my chin at him. “Thanks,” I replied before going back to my customers.
It was just after eleven pm; I’d been here for nearly nine hours now and I’d had enough. How people managed to do this shit for a living was beyond me. People were so fucking rude; I’d had to walk away a few times tonight to avoid punching some of them. I needed to find new staff real fucking quick.
“Scott, it’s slowed down a bit. Why don’t you leave me to the bar for a bit. Go and take a break,” Amy suggested. She was my only bar staff for the night and she was right. She could handle it on her own now so I left her to it.
I wandered over to the table that Nash was sitting at. He’d been here for about an hour and was kicking back, enjoying the show. Diverting his attention from the girls for a minute, he eyed me and asked, “Why the fuck didn’t you get one of the guys to work the bar tonight?”
“I’m running out of staff fast and I didn’t want to chance one of the boys pissing any of the girls off. We can’t afford to lose anymore staff.”
“At least it’s a quiet night.”
“Yeah, thank fuck because I couldn’t handle many more rude pricks tonight.”
I looked up as Amy made her way over to the table with a beer in hand. “That for me?” I asked.
She nodded, “Thought you could use it.”
“Thanks,” I said as I took it from her, throwing some back without hesitation.
She laughed. “No problem, I’ll get you another one after I serve these customers,” she promised before heading back to the bar where there were two guys waiting for service.
“Spent some time today with Marcus trying to sort out this shit between Blade and Black Deeds. It was one big dick around. I don’t think Blade’s going to halt his operation, and I think it’s going to end up in one big blood bath with us in the fuckin’ middle,” Nash said after she left us.
“Fuck,” I muttered, “I don’t trust him. Christ knows where this will all end up.”