‘Personally, now you’re up and running, I think you should start charging people to come in. That would make the club more exclusive, and not just a “walk-in” joint. People like that, to be able to afford to come in, it makes them feel special. If you did have exotic dancers here, and it was all in good taste, again, people would have to pay to come in, they’d tip the girls, and you could pass off lower quality champagne at top prices. All these rich men want to impress the ladies.’ The accountant smiled at Tony.

Now Tony was calming down, even he had to admit this man made sense. Paying to come in would make it more exclusive. It would seem like a treat and people would look forward to rubbing shoulders with the people who could afford it on a regular basis. Even the rich and famous liked to see pretty women taking their clothes off. Plus, if it was done exclusively for the wealthy, it wouldn’t be the dirty mac brigade walking in off the streets. He looked at Jake and then at the accountant.

‘How much do you think we should charge for the clubbers to come in and dance the night away, then?’ Tony really didn’t have a figure in mind. How much would people pay for a good night out? Surely, charging an entry fee would lose them custom.

‘Considering everything they’ve read about you in the papers and magazines, a lot of people will want to come to see the man behind the stories, and then dance the night away. You would be their number one entertainment. I would say a hundred pounds, with discounts for parties, and so on.’

The accountant was all very nonchalant about charging a hundred pounds to enter a club, but he knew for a fact he wouldn’t pay it himself.

Tony looked surprised. ‘Are you saying I’m like some animal at the zoo that they all come to see, or something?’ He was disgusted at the thought.

‘You’ve made that reputation for yourself. You always have a lady on your arm. Gossip is circulating that your bed is never empty. The models love you, because there’s no such thing as bad publicity. They have their photos taken with you, and before long their agents are ringing them with offers of a photo shoot. Let them pay for the pleasure.’

Tony hadn’t seen it like that. He was just having a little fun, but now he was in the public eye, he supposed everything was news. ‘Okay, you’re the accountant, let’s try it,’ he said.

‘Go and see to your guests, we’ll talk about this in the morning.’ The accountant put his glasses back on, hunched over and started tapping away at his calculator again. Jake stood up and opened the door, indicating to Tony that they should both leave the man in peace.

Tony made a point of walking over to the superintendent he had spoken to earlier. ‘Excuse me, sir. If I were to consider putting dancers on during the week, what licence would I need?’ Tony showed him full respect, even though his stomach was churning.