‘Don’t worry about it, Tony. Whoever it was drove the price up high against the other bidders.’ Jake laughed. ‘They did you a favour; none of these guys were going to pay that, and now they’re seriously pissed off that you didn’t have to pay it.’

Tony nodded. It made sense, but he was still curious.

Once the auction room had cleared, it was time to go to the auctioneer’s office and pay his debts. Everything was finalised, and papers were to be drawn up in Tony’s name as the new owner. At last, the auctioneer handed Tony the keys to the casino.

Tony looked at Jake and then back at the keys; he had won. It had definitely been a gamble, going for the casino, and he had held the winning hand. ‘Who was the telephone bidder, do you know?’ he said to the auctioneer.

The auctioneer looked awkward and flustered, and didn’t seem to want to say, but said he would check with the staff who were on the telephones.

‘Leave it, Tony, what does it matter?’ Jake couldn’t understand why Tony was so interested; he thought it was better left alone. Whoever it was had done no harm. If anything, they had turned the bidding events around and it had cost Tony no more than he had been prepared to spend. Was it really worth fighting over?

‘Just interested, Jake, that’s all.’ He would make it his business to find out, because he knew the auctioneers had done their homework. No one was allowed to just ring the auctioneers without any identification and make a bid. So who the hell was it?

They left the auction room and got into the car, and Tony told John, his driver, to take them to the casino. John was full of congratulations; he knew Tony had wanted this, and had heard him making plans for it on many occasions.

‘Why do you want that men’s club, Tony? You never mentioned it before,’ said Jake. He was still surprised Tony had bought that place, as well.

‘A well-known men’s club, in the heart of the West End? It just appealed to me. It would be a good place for another strip club, don’t you think? It’s already got a reputation as “gentlemen only”.’

Jake nodded. The place was small – although the auctioneer had called it ‘intimate’ – but it had a good reputation and wasn’t run-down.

‘Fair point, I see that now. I presume it’ll stay a men’s club, full of beautiful women, to make it even more exclusive.’ Jake smiled. Tony had foresight. He had seen this opportunity and got the place relatively cheaply, because it had been overlooked by the other bidders.

John pulled up at the casino and the men got out of the car. Tony took the keys out of his pocket and opened the doors. The place was still in good condition, and it wouldn’t take a lot of work to make it more to his own taste. He would need croupiers he could trust, and knew a casino not too far away that trained them. He liked the idea of fresh faces, people who would only ever know him as their boss.