Tony and Jake both agreed, one of the first things they needed to do was gain access to the old members’ names, so they could invite them back. The men were probably devastated to no longer have somewhere private to call their own. The staff who had worked there previously were hoping that maybe the new owners would employ them. That had been one of the requests of the widow of the former owner, and Tony thought it was a good idea, as well.

Why spoil a good thing? Tony thought. This butler, or whatever, already knew the members and would have a good rapport with them. He would also know all their little quirky ways and how they liked things done. He would be a real asset.

As he walked out of the club and into the sunshine again, Tony felt happy. Things seemed to be going well, business was on the up, his money-lending business was flourishing, and all of his collectors had turned out to be good, decent guys, just waiting for a second chance. Not once had their collections been short, although how they achieved that was their business.

As he was driven back to the club, Tony mentally made a list of things that needed to take priority. ‘It’s going to be a busy week, Jake, we’ve got a lot to do.’

Jake nodded. He knew this, and hopefully so did Sharon. It seemed they both led their own lives these days. At some point things would calm down and maybe, just maybe, they could get their own life on track – although it seemed whenever he had thought that in the past, Tony had come up with yet another scheme.

‘We need the accountant to sort out the money side of things, and I presume he’ll want to use the casino for his laundering activities, too. Well, he’s got away with it so far, so let’s see. Those licences need sorting properly and, of course, the decorators need to go in and put our own stamp on both places.’

‘I presume at some point we’ll get to eat?’ Jake was smiling to himself; he knew full well when Tony was all fired up like this, nothing else mattered.

‘I want to go and see the widow of the previous men’s club owner; maybe she could contact some of the staff for us, including this butler guy. He’ll be able to put us in the full picture of the place.’

‘Let’s go and see the accountant first, and let him know we’ve bought them, then he can work his magic. Then let’s sort out the lawyers, and they can work theirs. We also need to go to that croupier training school, and see what they have on offer, but firstly, I need a bacon sandwich and a coffee. No arguments.’

John heard Jake and pulled the car into the side of the road, near a well-known greasy spoon – one of those cafés where cholesterol is never mentioned and fried breakfasts are all they have to offer.