Time passed and the year was nearly up; Tony and Jake were soon going to find out how much Ralph Gold would want for the club, which was now very much a going concern.

Sharon had hired more dancers who encouraged the customers to buy cheap champagne at top prices. These were all well-known wealthy men and each paid their fees, then made a point of going to Tony’s office to meet him – the man behind the myth.

This was the part that Tony enjoyed the most. No one knew anything about him, other than he was Italian and came from a wealthy background. If only they knew, he thought to himself, if only they knew I’d lived on the streets, and used to go through dustbins for food.

Tony and Jake still visited the local pubs and kept in touch with the landlords, as Tony didn’t want to appear as though he had taken his eye off the ball for one second. When he felt someone was taking advantage he reverted back to his old ways, showing his short temper and using his fists. He might be ‘Mr Lambrianu’ to his wealthy customers, but he was also still Tony who didn’t suffer fools gladly.

The strippers at the club were exclusive and signed a contract; while working at Tony’s club, they weren’t allowed to work anywhere else. This way, if the customers wanted to see their favourite stripper, they had to come to Lambrianu’s. The strippers were happy; they were well-rewarded, everything was above board and they paid their taxes. Plus, they also got good cash tips from the men and commission on the champagne they sold.

Sharon discovered some men didn’t like to share their favourite girls with the other punters and, despite the fact they were all married, seemed to get a little jealous when their favourite stripper was showing attention to someone else. Sharon had a word with the accountant about this, omitting Tony and Jake from the conversation, and he suggested installing VIP booths. That way, a man could have the woman he wanted to see dance exclusively for him. CCTV cameras were installed in these booths, so there was no reason for the strippers to feel unsafe or that they needed to offer anything more. Of course, exclusive exotic dances came with an exclusive exotic price. Tony and Jake were surprised these men were prepared to pay it, but pay it they did, and the revue bar nights became even more popular.

4

THE KING OF SIN

The ‘king of sin’ – that was what the newspapers started to call Tony Lambrianu. No stone was left unturned when it came to his private life and his business world.

There is no such thing as bad publicity, so this reputation only made the women love him and the men envy him. Tony made a point of having a woman of model status on his arm, every night. And yet, as much as the money poured in and Tony and Jake’s lives took on celebrity status, Jake was worried. He felt there was something lacking, but he couldn’t talk to Tony about it, he knew he would just laugh it off.