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loving me.” It had been a long time since he’d been as nervous about something as he was about this.
    “Oh, sweetie, you’re so easy to love! This will all work out. I have a good feeling about it.”
    “Cousin,” Vic said, taking Tony’s hand. He couldn’t think of anything to say that would sum up how he felt about Tony, but that was okay – Tony understood. He dropped Vic’s hand and hugged him hard, and they stood like that for what seemed like forever.
    “Nikki’s right, you know, cousin-brother. This will all be fine.” Tony took Vic’s face in his hands in true European fashion. “Think of it as an adventure. And keep us up on what’s going on. We’ll get together next week to talk about the project, okay?”
    “Yeah. Maybe I’ll have something good to report by then.”
    “I’ll hold you to that,” Tony said with a grin.
    Vic got into his car and started home. Tonight might not be the deciding factor, but he wanted to bring his A-game. The rest of his life was riding on it.

    “I thought I’d be the one to call this time,” Steve told Laura when she answered the phone on Saturday afternoon. “Stokes has another assignment tonight and I need a bartender. Can you come in?”
    As much as she hated being there, she could use the money, and it was hard to say no to her boss. She wanted to ask, Is Vic Cabrizzi going to be there?, but she knew that would send up red flags to Steve. And would she be asking because she wanted to avoid him, or because she wanted to see him? She wasn’t certain. “Yeah, sure,” she told him. “I’ll be there.”
    “Great. See you then.” The phone went dead. She was on the hook for a Saturday night. He acted like she didn’t have a life.
    Well, actually, she didn’t.

    Vic was at the club at five before six. When he walked in the front door, José said, “Boss man told me to expect you. His office is all the way at the back. Go to the private room hallway and keep going. To the right, by the door with the exit sign.” The door buzzed and Vic walked through. Then the office door popped open and José whispered, “Hey, by the way . . .”
    “Yeah?”
    “You look fucking hot!” José said and winked at him.
    What the hell?, Vic wondered, trying to figure out what he should say. “Um, thanks?” He couldn’t help wondering, Is there something I should know here?
    Rattled, Vic wandered through and went straight to the back; he didn’t even notice the heads turning as he walked through, mostly female but a few male. He knocked, and Steve said, “Come on in.”
    Vic wasn’t prepared for what he found on the other side of the door. Steve sat at his desk, his feet up, and a drop-dead gorgeous woman who looked to be in her thirties knelt beside his chair, head down, hands resting on her legs palms up, knees about as far apart as she could get them. And she wasn’t wearing a stitch. Perfect presentation. Where did Steve get these women?
    “You can get up now. Go and put on your skirt. And wait for me in the chair in our regular place.”
    “Yes, sir. Thank you, sir.” She stood, turned, and left the room without ever even glancing at Vic. Well-trained, he thought. “Did you train her, or was she . . .”
    “Sub wannabe. I’m working with her to see if I want to keep her. I’m just not sure. Awful lot of responsibility.” He looked Vic up and down. “You look, well . . . you look damn good.”
    “José said I look hot,” Vic said without cracking a smile.
    “José would know. He’s got a good eye.” Vic shot him a curious look. “He swings both ways. Lucky bastard. And he should know hot; he’s pretty damn hot himself.” Steve wrote something on a notepad on his desk, then stood. “Ready?”
    “As ready as I’ll ever be.” Vic took a deep breath and sighed it out. Here I go, he heard a voice in his head say.
    “I want you to watch some of the scenes, get a feel for what’s customary around here. I’m going to go and do one with