The Club (37 page)

‘We can’t afford to lose two waitresses,’ Fabian complained when Jenna brought him up to date. ‘The rota is worked out to give us exactly the number we need each night.’ Not that he should even have to be telling her this, he grumbled to himself.

‘I know. But I imagine Tony forgot in the rush to get finished,’ Jenna said, defending him because she’d already okayed him taking JoJo and Vanessa. ‘It shouldn’t be too much of a problem if we shuffle everyone around.’

‘I don’t think Maurice would agree with you,’ Fabian replied tersely. ‘He relies on JoJo when it gets full later on. Patsy’s useless when there’s a rush on, and this is by far the busiest bar.’

‘Right, I’ll send Kalli down to help Maurice,’ Jenna said, knowing that he was right. ‘And tomorrow I’ll arrange proper cover. Okay?’

‘Not really.’ Fabian folded his arms now. ‘Kalli’s needed upstairs. We can’t let that stupid boy run the VIP bar on his own.’

‘Austin’s a good barman,’ Jenna told him, trying to stay calm – Fabian was annoying her now. ‘And he’ll have Diane to help him, so I’m sure they’ll manage.’

‘Neither one of them is good enough to run the VIP bar,’ Fabian pointed out, a note of exasperation creeping into his voice. ‘Kalli’s got to stay up there. If anything, we should send the boy down here to help Maurice and Patsy. But I’m still not happy about it,’ he added peevishly. ‘You should never have agreed to let him take those girls at such short notice. Anyone would think his stupid room was more important than the club.’

‘Okay, Fabian, I get the point,’ Jenna retorted irritably. ‘But it’s too late to do anything about it now, so we’ll just have to get on with it. I’ll sort it out tomorrow.’

‘I sincerely hope so,’ Fabian said, glancing at his watch. ‘Right, I’d best go and have a word with Maurice – make sure he doesn’t start sulking, or we’ll be buggered.’

‘I’ll send Austin down,’ Jenna said, heading for the VIP stairs.

‘Aw, do I have to?’ Austin moaned when Jenna told him he was working downstairs tonight. ‘I can’t stand Maurice. And that Patsy’s a right wimp. Please, Jenna, I’ll do anything you ask, but not this. I need to be with my Kalli.’

‘It’s not a bloody crèche,’ Jenna snapped, seriously pissed off that everybody seemed to be arguing with her these days. No matter what she said or did, somebody always had an objection. Or, like Tony, just disregarded her opinion.

‘
I
don’t mind going downstairs,’ Diane chipped in helpfully.

‘No,’ Jenna said firmly. ‘I want Austin down there. No offence, but he can handle a rush much better than you, Diane, and it’s the busiest night tonight, so I don’t want to take any chances.’

Nodding, Diane stepped back and left them to it.

‘Please,’ Austin implored, looking up at Jenna through his lashes. ‘I really, really hate Maurice. He’s a horrible old man.’

Jenna had to fight the urge to laugh. She knew exactly how Austin felt, but she wasn’t about to say that, because it was hardly professional. Instead, she gave him a mock-stern look and said, ‘Yes, well, just try and stay away from him as much as possible and you’ll be fine. If we’re still short-staffed tomorrow, I’ll think about letting Diane go down. But I need
you
down there tonight.’

Pulling a sulky face, Austin folded his arms. ‘Why isn’t JoJo doing it? I bet she’s skiving.’

‘She and Vanessa are working for Mr Allen now,’ Jenna told him. ‘So get used to it, and stop moaning. I’ll get onto hiring some new girls first thing tomorrow.’

‘Can’t you get boys?’ Austin suggested, perking up a little. ‘We could do with some fresh blood around here.’

‘Don’t you mean fresh meat?’ Jenna gazed at him knowingly.

‘Miss
Lorde
!’ he gasped, his eyes sparkling with delight. ‘I never thought you’d come out with something like
that
!’

‘Yes, well, maybe I’m not quite as stupid as I look, eh?’ she replied amusedly. ‘There are quite enough boys already, and I’m replacing
girls
, so there we go.’

‘Fine,’ Austin said, rolling his eyes resignedly. ‘Will JoJo and Vanessa be doing whatever they’re doing for long?’ he asked then. ‘Only I thought we were all working for Mr Allen now, anyway.’

‘He’s got a new project of his own,’ Jenna said evasively. ‘So they’ll be helping him out for as long as he wants them to.’

‘New project?’ Austin persisted.

‘An offshoot club,’ Jenna said, refusing to say more, because it was really none of his business.

‘In the storeroom?’ Austin said, his eyes burning with curiosity. ‘I
knew
there was something going on in there. So, what is it? Can I go and see it?’

‘Absolutely not,’ Jenna told him quietly but firmly. ‘If Mr Allen wants you to see it, I’m sure he’ll let you know. But don’t be making a nuisance of yourself,’ she warned then, her eyes clearly telling Austin that he wasn’t to approach Tony about it. ‘This is his and Mr Drake’s project, and they don’t want it to be general knowledge, so keep it to yourself. Understood?’

‘Loud and clear,’ Austin said, his mind already ticking over, figuring how he could get to know more without The Sopranos – as most of the staff now referred to Tony and Eddie behind their backs – finding out.

Leonard Drake!
He
’d tell him. The man had been following him around for weeks, and Austin was starting to believe that Kalli had been right all along. No, in fact, rephrase that – he
knew
Kalli was right. Leonard had the hots for him, but he was obviously too shy to come out and say it. Whether that was because he’d been in the closet so long that he’d forgotten where the handle was, or because he hadn’t even admitted it to himself yet, Austin didn’t know. But Leonard definitely liked him, and would probably tell him what was going on if he asked nicely enough.

A little bit of flirting couldn’t hurt. And why not? Now that he was finally losing weight Leonard was actually quite good-looking. And he was so nice, too – which was more than could be said for Xavier. That two-timing little prick –
little
being the operative word! – had bitched and whined and complained and scrounged his way through seven whole months of Austin’s precious life. It might be kind of nice to be with an older man for a change.

All depended how forthcoming Leonard was about this secret project. ’Cos you didn’t get nothing for nothing in this life.

‘Time you got moving, isn’t it?’ Jenna said, clicking her fingers in front of his face to snap him out of his trance. ‘You’ll have Fabian to answer to if you don’t get your backside downstairs in two minutes flat.’

‘Great,’ Austin muttered, dragging his feet as he made his way around the bar. ‘Maurice
and
Fabian. Can life
get
any better!’

‘Ignore him,’ Kalli said when Austin had gone. ‘He’ll be fine once he gets down there.’

‘I know.’ Jenna chuckled softly. ‘That boy should be on stage, he really should. Anyway, will you be all right without him?’

‘We’ll manage,’ Kalli assured her. ‘That thing you were just talking about,’ she said then, lowering her voice. ‘What did you mean by offshoot?’

‘I can’t really tell you too much,’ Jenna said, glancing quickly around to make sure that nobody was listening. ‘But Mr Allen and Mr Drake have opened a private members’ club, catering to old politicians and reclusive stars. But don’t tell a soul, because Mr Allen wants it to be strictly private. And I know I can trust you, but some of the others, I’m not too sure.’

‘I won’t say a word,’ Kalli assured her quickly. ‘And I’ll make sure Austin keeps quiet, too. And don’t worry about this bar. Me and Diane can run it with our eyes shut.’

‘I know you can,’ Jenna said gratefully. ‘And thanks, Kalli. It’s good to know I’ve got a friend in here, because I feel like I’m banging my head against a brick wall sometimes.’

Sensing that Jenna was troubled about something, Kalli reached out and squeezed her hand. ‘You sure it’s just the club that’s bothering you?’ she asked, her eyes dark with caring.

‘Yeah, course,’ Jenna told her, smiling softly. ‘It just gets to me sometimes, that’s all. Don’t worry about me. I’m fine.’ Seeing Melody coming up the stairs alone just then, she said, ‘If anyone needs worrying about, it’s that girl. She’s not been herself for ages.’

‘I know what you mean,’ Kalli said, gazing at Melody. ‘I feel really sorry for her sometimes. Mr Allen’s not very nice to her these days, is he?’

‘Can’t say I’ve noticed,’ Jenna lied, thinking it best not to go down the road of gossiping about Tony. ‘But I think I’ll go and say hello, anyway. See you later.’

‘See you,’ Kalli said, watching as she went.

Melody wasn’t the only one who hadn’t been themselves lately. Jenna was getting more and more irritable, and looked tired all the time, too. Come to think of it, she hadn’t been herself since Vibes had left. And she hadn’t mentioned him for a while, so he obviously hadn’t been in touch, which was probably something to do with her irritability. But there was nothing Kalli could do but be here for her if she wanted to talk. In the meantime, she would do her best to keep the other waiters and waitresses in line while they were understaffed, so that Jenna didn’t have to worry about that as well.

Melody was feeling a lot better than she had in a while. And tonight she was particularly upbeat, because Tony wasn’t going to be around to keep an eye on her – for a change. He was going to be far too busy with his secret little club – the one that Melody wasn’t allowed to go into, because it was a ‘man-only zone’, according to Tony. She knew he was lying about that, but she didn’t give a flying fuck. As long as Fabian wasn’t locked in there with him, she didn’t care
what
Tony was doing.

Fabian was her favourite-ever man again. He’d been so good to her since that night a few weeks back, keeping her well supplied with coke to ease the pain of smack withdrawal. She didn’t know what she’d have done without him, and she was dying to get something going with him again. He’d been keeping her at arm’s length so far, but she understood that. It wasn’t just the threat of having Tony on his back that put him off, he’d been genuinely disappointed in her for taking smack. But now he could see that she really meant it when she said she would never do it again, Melody was hoping that he would relax and they could start being honest with each other again. And tonight was the perfect time to talk to him about it, while Tony and Eddie were going to be locked away. It shouldn’t be too hard, because she was sure that Fabian felt the same way. And now she wasn’t looking so ill any more, and was dressed to kill, how could he resist?

But she’d have to wait before she went chasing him down. Zenith had only just opened, and Tony had another hour before his first night kicked off. Better to give it a bit of time and let him get really rolling before she made a move.

Smiling when Jenna came over to her table now, Melody said, ‘Hi, how are you?’

‘Knackered,’ Jenna said, flopping down onto a chair.

‘Already?’Melody laughed. ‘You’ve not been open two minutes. How are you going to last the night?’

‘With difficulty,’ Jenna admitted. ‘But never mind me,’ she said then, flapping her hand. ‘I’m just moaning for the sake of it. How are
you
?’

‘Feeling pretty good, actually,’ Melody told her truthfully. ‘I was a bit sick for a while, but it’s dying down now.’

‘I did wonder,’ Jenna said, smiling again. ‘We didn’t see you for ages, and you didn’t look at all well when you did come in. Tony just said you had a bug.’

‘Yeah, that’s right.’ Melody raised a hand to her throat. ‘Think it might have been a touch of Mono, or something. Totally wipes you out, that shit. Feels like the worst flu ever.’

‘Ah, the kissing disease,’ Jenna said, rolling her eyes. ‘I caught it when I first went to college. Nasty stuff. Lasted about three months, from what I remember.’

‘That’s the one,’ Melody nodded. ‘Still, it seems to be shifting now – fingers crossed. Fancy a drink?’ she asked then. ‘Or are you too busy?’

Pursing her lips, Jenna said, ‘It is going to be a bit busier than usual – thanks to your boyfriend stealing my waitresses. But go on. Why not?’

‘I have no ice,’ Juan said, walking into the dressing room where Tony was sitting with the girls. They were in costume now, their sequinned bras and panties sparkling beneath the sheer negligee-like gowns, but Juan didn’t even look at them.

‘You gotta be kidding me?’ Tony frowned up at him. ‘I put a bag in there myself this morning.’

‘There’s an enormous bag of water leaking all over the
fridge
,’ Juan said, folding his arms. ‘I don’t suppose that’s it?’

‘Fridge?’Tony repeated, slapping himself on the forehead. ‘Fuck! I thought that was the freezer. So, where’s the freezer?’

‘In the kitchen,’ Juan told him, his tone ever so slightly condescending. ‘Next to the sink.’

‘Fuck!’ Tony said again, glancing at his watch and seeing that they only had half an hour to go before people started arriving. Zenith was already open, so he couldn’t send anyone through the adjoining door to get another bag, and the girls definitely couldn’t go outside dressed like this. Leaning back, he stuck his head out of the door and yelled, ‘
LENNY!
’

Rushing out of the toilet, still fastening his belt, Leonard said, ‘Did you want me?’

‘Yeah, I need you to go round to the big kitchen and get a bag of ice,’ Tony said. ‘Seems someone forgot to put the last bag in the freezer like I asked, and it’s melted.’

‘Oh, right,’ Leonard murmured, not too thrilled at the prospect of walking all the way around the outside of the club and down the dark alley to get in through the backyard. But he could hardly refuse if
he
were the one Tony was referring to. He genuinely didn’t remember being asked to move anything into the freezer, but his head had been so full of arrangements, he must have forgotten.

‘Tonight would be good,’ Tony was saying now, a sarcastic edge to his voice that didn’t escape the girls, who smirked into their wineglasses.