Chapter 6 KNOWING MORE

• Once I get off the phone, I feel a shade better. I call Leonard next and within seconds, he's in my office, wearing another suit. This guy.. . . it's a Saturday, yet he acts like he's got a business meeting to attend. Suits me just fine, actually.
• "Bring me the accounts book, Leonard." I need to get it over and done with and head over to the mines.
• "Can I get you anything in the meantime? Some drinks? Food? Women?"
• I shake my head. "Just bring me the accounts book."
• "Right away, sir." He bows and leaves.
• That's another thing. The man knows what respect means.
• Instead of waiting for him, I leave my office and walk through Stardust. I go down memory lane as I remember how it all started five years ago. I was making millions while dealing in drugs, but buisness suddenly took a different turn when I discovered precious gems and stones on the mine I bought.
• In a bid to funnel the extra funds and go under the radar of the IRS, I decided to open up clubs all around the United States. Los Angeles, New York and Miami. Stardust is just a year old and so far, it's the club that brings in the most. It boasts of fine high paying clientele that don't skimp when it comes to paying for anything they want. Drugs, call girls, booze, Star dust has it all and in the best quality as well.
• Gina, one of the waitresses, sights me and rushes over, asking what I would like to drink but I wave her away. It's too damn early to start drinking alcohol on a Saturday morning. On second thoughts, I call her back and order a double scotch on the rocks. She smiles and skitters away.
• As I sip on my drink, I pass the kitchen, my eyes immediately latching onto a form huddled in the corner. Tanya. Every other person is bustling around, cooking or washing dishes. Nuh, uh! I don't pay her to stand around and do nothing. Even though it's hot as hell inside the kitchen, I still step inside. Gotta set the record straight. If she's not pulling her weight, she's out. I don't care if she gets kidnapped once again.
• Everyone snaps to attention the moment their eyes land on me. Their spines become straighter and their talks seize. I wave at them as they chorus greetings and head straight for Tanya who is still huddled in the corner. Anger rises inside of me as I get close. "Hey, kid, I don't pay you to-"
• She turns round and the first things I see are her red rimmed eyes. She immediately straightens but it's a poor attempt. All the anger leaks out of me as I stand and stare at her foolishly. I never grew up in a conventional home. Father said mother walked out on us when I was just a baby. I don't have a sister, either, so I've never consoled anyone. Ever. Looking at this kid with eyes that have aged in the last week I saw her, wrenches my heart.
• "What's wrong, kid, someone threatening you?" If I so much as get a hint that someone is doing that, I would rip the person apart.
• She shakes her head as a tear slips from one eye. "I never. . . got to. . . see. . .my mother before she. . ." Another tear leaks from her eye. "Passed away."
• Damn! Her mother's dead.
• That's gotta really cut deep. The tears are coming out of her eyes at a profuse rate now, so I dig into my pocket and fish out my handkerchief then hand it to her. She collects it and blows her nose loudly into it. So I move close and pull her to me.
• The kitchen has gone deathly quiet. Even the sizzling of the fryers is a thing of the past. I look up into the eyes of perplexed stares.
• I get it.
• They've never seen me doing this before. Maybe I'm getting soft. Who the fuck cares. This kid's mother just passed. It's the least I can do.
• "This isn't a spectacle, get back to work." I say to them and usher Tanya out of the kitchen and into the corridor.
• I tell her I'll take care of her mother's burial but she shakes her head and says she's already been buried. "If you need anything. Anything at all, come to me, and that's an order."
• She smiles tremulously before I give her a week off to mourn her mother. She seems happy about this. There's even a bounce to her step as I watch her go. I make my way back to my office and as if on cue, my phone rings. Its Moro with information about hazel eyes.
• "Her name's Alicia. She goes to school at the UCLA school of nursing, she's got a best friend who works with her at Harry's cargo in downtown Los Angeles, and em. . . "
• "Spit it out." I say impatiently.
• "She's got a boyfriend."
• Like that has ever stopped me before. I tell him to got to the mines, that I'll catch up with him later. Once I'm off the call, I send for Leonard. "Yes, boss."
• Without looking up from the accounts book, I talk to him. "About your earlier offer. I need a woman."
• "Right away, boss." He says and starts to leave.
• "One more thing." I say as he gets to the door. "She's got to have hazel eyes."