Deciding the scenes are turning me on too much, I go back to the regular side of The Lotus where I’m approached by Tommy, a longtime family friend, to hold a suitcase for Old Dog, a known assassin. I’m guessing the suitcase contains cash, but, per my usual M.O., I don’t ask.

“You’re the only one I trust to turn this over to,” Tommy tells me. “You’re dependable, just like your dad. The triad should have you take over for your dad. I get that you were in school at the time, but that job should be yours now. You’ve a right to it. I keep telling the Vanguard that the guy they have heading up counterfeiting right now just isn’t as good.”

“I’ve been approached by Lee Hao Young about it,” I reveal as I place the suitcase in a safety vault in my office and have one of my security guards stand watch.

“About damn time! That’s great!”

“I haven’t said yes yet.”

Tommy does a double-take. “Why not?”

“It’s the last thing my mother would want me to do.”

“Look, I like your mother, but women get scared easily. It’s part of their genetics, and she’s right to want to protect her only son. But what happened to your father was a fluke. I’ll talk to her. Let her know you’d have a lot of people, like myself, looking out for you.”

My mother likes and respects Tommy.

“You were meant for bigger things than this club,” Tommy adds.

I cock my head at him. “You know my mother. She rarely changes her mind.”

“Yeah, I know. Sharon is the most stubborn person I’ve ever met. But, ultimately, you don’t need her approval.”

“I know that.”

I think back to the nights I heard her sobbing in her room after my father died. I didn’t want to go back to UCLA at the time, but I did it mostly for her. My father had wanted me to get a college degree, too. Not because it would help me with the triad but because, in stereotypical Chinese style, he regarded it as a badge of honor. And I shied away from getting too involved in the Jing San business because of her. But it has been several years since my father died, and I’m getting bored with The Lotus. I’m ready for a new challenge, and my father would have wanted me to continue his legacy.

“Besides, you want to make your father proud, right?” asks Tommy.

I let out a breath and find myself wishing Bridget was coming to the club tonight. “Yeah,” I answer.

Tommy claps me on the back. “Maybe you’ll make an even bigger mark on the Jing San than your old man. Then all you need is a wife and kids.”

I must have balked, because he laughs. “I know, I know. You’re still young. Enjoy the women while you can.”

I raise a brow. “You’re married. That hasn’t stopped you.”

“True. Your dad was strangely devoted to your mother, but you could be more like me instead.”