Rotten to the Core (2 page)

She had called Jay straight away
,
to warn him that her lunatic brother was on the warpath. He wasn’t answering his phone, so she had just left a teary answer
phone message asking him to call her as soon as he got it.
             
So she was pregnant
:
big deal
.
Billy was probably more worried about his own life and his own reputation than he was about hers.
The way Billy had reacted you would have thought she had
 
just told him she was selling herself on the streets for a fiver a go.
             
She wasn’t as stupid as Billy had often
assumed:
she and Jay had been together for just over a year. A whole year ago
w
hen Goldie’s nightclub had first opened, from the moment Kate saw
Jay
, she just knew that
he
was for her. She had managed to keep it a secret from Billy up
to
now, which pleased her no end
,
especially given the way he had just reacted. Billy liked to think he knew everyone’s business around here, she knew he would no doubt be even more enraged when he realise
d
that he was the last one to find out about his little sister
’
s fella.
             
She placed her hand on her stomach and felt a warm
,
fluttery feeling. She couldn’t believe that she had a tiny baby growing inside her
:
Jay’s baby. It was still early days in her pregnancy so she wasn’t showing. She still had to remind herself
,
sometimes
,
that it was really happening.
             
Jay wasn’t like
most
men
where she lived
. He didn’t need to go around threatening people to gain respect; he kept his head down and worked hard for his money. She
had
kn
o
w
n
that he was special the moment she had met him. Why couldn’t Billy just be happy for her and keep his bloody nose out of it
?
 

2

Paul Goldie fel
t as if he had really arrived. Goldie’s
was going to be London’s most happening nightclub.

With Paul
,
you always knew where you were. He was a
s
straight up as they c
a
me
;
you give respect to get respect
,
he always said, and he lived by that. He was an excellent boss and he treated his workers fairly. He was always cool and calm where business was concerned, but if anyone was stupid enough to cross him they would pay dearly. He wouldn’t take any shit from anyone. Everyone wanted a piece of
 
Paul
.
M
en wanted to befriend him,
to
have him on-side
,
h
e was that sort of bloke, the life and soul of the party
: w
herever he was
,
was generally the place to be
, as
h
e had a real vibe going on. As for the wom
e
n, they threw themselves at him. He was a real
looker
, dark and rugged with twinkly eyes
:
the whole package. Most importantly
,
though
,
he had ‘that spark’. One of
Paul’s
main qualities o
n
which he prided himself was his intuition
;
he lived by it and it had
taken
him far. He knew who the people were
who
always seemed to be after something. The ones
who
always seemed to be on the take, out for whatever they thought they might be able to get. They were easily spotted from the word go, and he never let them close. Sometimes he would use them to his advantage, play them at their own game, but he preferred to surround himself with people he could trust. To have a few real friends
was
always better than to have a room full of fake users
was his creed
.

Looking around the club he felt a surge of pride at what he had achieved in such a small s
pace of time. The top floor of
Gold
ie’s
was a
 
private members club
,
a modern day gentlem
e
n’s club. The exclusive membership cost a lot
,
but money wasn’t an issue with the members. Quite the opposite
,
in fact, the more money some had the more others tried to outdo them. If there was anything big or worth knowing about going down in London, you could bet your life someone in that room would be the brains or
the
brawn behind it. No women were allowed access
,
apart from the
ones provided for the men’s personal pleasure. Sexist it may be, but that
’
s what his punters wanted and that was what they got, and what’s more that’s what worked.

The area
was kitted out so tastefully it was hard to imagine the sordid going
s
-on that it would no doubt be used for. It was already a huge success and word had spread quickly among the
men
. It was just a chilled out place for like
-
minded men to have a few drinks, talk business or if the mood took them to indulge in a bit of pleasure. Th
at
pleasure came in the form of top London call girls
who
were paid to cater for the men’s every whim. There were a few large booths so that the men could have some privacy with the girls should they choose to, which most of them regularly did. The men were happy because their wives would never find out, the girls were happy because they got tipped well for their services, and Paul was happy, because his little empire was raking him in an absolute fortune. There were
drugs being handed around like
Smarties
up there, but Paul knew when to turn a blind eye. Drugs were a mug
’
s g
ame, he
would never fall victim to
depending on them to get his rocks off. But
,
of course
,
there was money to be made supplying them
,
and Paul had a couple of guys there to make sure that his members
got what they wanted
. His stuff wasn’t cut with anything dodgy, so the men knew t
hey were better off getting thei
r gear here. It was not something that he personally got involved with, it just wasn’t his thing, but he was more than wise to the whole supply and demand thing, and if there was a demand, he would be sure to be the one supplying, it would be stupid not to.

The
specially fitted
big plasma screens flashed up scenes in the main part of the club, and were very popular with the members.
The screens allowed
them to watch young girls grinding about on the dance floor below them and to keep a general eye on those coming in and out of the club. There were cameras fitted everywhere in the club and the security and bouncers were shit hot
;
if anyone even looked like they wanted to kick off they would be dealt with immediately. With the
things
he had going on here, Paul wanted minimal trouble.
             
With all this in mind and the right décor and music, the club had a vibe about it. It was the place to be, and
Paul
was like the cat that had got the cream. He smiled to himself as he looked around at the club
;
it had only opened last week and it was heaving, there were at least
four hundred
people in already and the night was young.
Emma handed Kate a shot glass and picked
up
her own
from
the bar
.

             
“T
o us
,
babes
:
t
he hottest girls in here
,
” she giggled
,
as she unsteadily lunged towards Kate.
Emma was pissed already
,
and it was only nine thirty
in the evening
. Kate
wished
they had slowed down on the shots now. She could more than handle her drink
,
but her friend was a bit of a light-weight
.
Kate had just wanted to have a good night
;
now she was worrying about her tipsy friend
.
             
“
Em
, you’re going to have to take it easy
,
babe
;
I’m not spending the night in the toilets again. This dress cost me the best part of my wages
,
and I’m not having you puking anywhere near it. Here,
 
let me get you some water
,
”
Kate
insisted
.
             
“No
,
Kate!” slurred Emma
.
“I’m fine honest, I’m just enjoying myself. Chill out
.
”
             
The music was booming, the DJ had worked in some of the best clubs in Ibiza and his tunes were going down really well
;
the dance floor was packed
and
as he played a new tune that had only just been released that month, everyone started cheering
.
             
“Oh my God, it’s our song
,
” shrieked Emma
,
as she dragged Kate towards the dance floor.
             
Emma was singing along as she threw herself about on the dance floor, grinding sexily
with
any bloke who happened to be nearby. She wasn’t naturally pretty like Kate
,
but she did have two huge attractive assets, both 34E to be exact, and most men spent more time looking at them than her face.
Emma
wore too much makeup and always made sure
that if there was a party going on
,
she was the main attraction.
She and Kate had been mates since school, and although she thought the world of Kate she was a bit jealous of her too. Kate could give
any model a run for her money.
She was naturally pretty,
she
didn’t even need makeup. She was tall and skinny too
,
which always pissed Emma off as she couldn’t even seem to so much
as
look at a cake without gaining five hundred calories.

Emma
had
to work that bit harder when she was out with Kate to let the men know where the real action was
:
it generally worked, she had slept with so many she had lost count. She’d even managed to get herself a bit of a reputation
,
but she didn’t care. It was like a competition, which Emma was winning and
in which
Kate wasn’t even aware she was participating.
             
The girls danced for what seemed like ages,
then:
“
Em
,
babe, I need the loo, you coming?” Kate shouted over the banging music
.
             
“Yeah
,
babe
,
I could do with a break, this guy behind me is getting right on my tits now, keeps groping my arse every five seconds
.
”
             
They both looked round to see
a
nerdy
-
looking guy smiling at them whilst putting his arms out towards Emma’s waist.
             
“
U
rgh
, get off you fucking loser
,
” Emma shrieked.
             
Kate led her friend by the hand off the dance floor
.
“Ha, bet you thought you’d pulled some real fit bloke until you turned around
,
” she laughed
.
“Come on
.
”

The bathroom was done up to look like a posh boutique,
with
ornate mirrors
and
cosy expensively upholstered furniture
;
there were a couple of beauticians on hand to touch up the girls
’
makeup. Whoever had set this up had a bit of class
,
Kate thought
,
looking around.