Tony nodded his head; he knew exactly what Graham meant. He felt as if he was always on call. On the odd occasion, he disappeared to Elle’s house and it was only there that he felt he could really be himself. Jake was around, if needed, but sometimes Tony just wanted to escape the limelight and eat Elle’s sausages and mashed potato, and lounge on her sofa, watching nothing in particular on the television while Elle was at bingo.

There were no journalists there, no photographers to catch him out when he wasn’t wearing one of his famous Savile Row suits. Everyone wanted the showman. He knew he had only himself to blame for this, he had wanted the publicity and played up to the cameras for it, but sometimes having no privacy made life hard.

That was another reason he had liked the idea of the men’s club. All of the rich, elite men had used it as an escape from the public eye. Maybe he should take a leaf out of their book. Everyone needed their own space. Jake went home with Sharon, back to their home and their own little nest. That was where they could relax and be themselves. Of course, Jake and Sharon had a much bigger house now, much nearer the West End for convenience, but it was their much-needed space to be alone.

‘Can I think about it, Mr Lambrianu? I mean no disrespect, but it would be a lot to take on.’ Graham knew who Tony was, and he had heard of his gangland reputation, so by no means did he want to upset him.

‘I respect that, Graham. Bear in mind you’d be free to hire your own assistant manager, someone as trustworthy as yourself. After all, whoever you hired, you and you alone would be responsible for.’ Even though Tony was turning on the charm and being friendly, the fleeting thought that passed through Graham’s mind was how threatening that sounded. Any hiccups his assistant might make would put his head on the chopping block.

‘You’ll need four or five managers, Mr Lambrianu, and then they would answer to one main manager, who would answer to you. That’s how it works. You need managers for the roulette tables, blackjack tables and so on.’ Graham actually started feeling sorry for Tony; he realised now that Tony hadn’t realised how much work he had taken on. This wasn’t a nightclub.

Tony smiled at him, his cheeks beginning to colour. He had shown how naïve he was in the casino game. He looked at Jake for backup.

‘Well, Graham, it sounds like we need you more than you need us,’ said Jake, trying to make light of the situation. ‘If nothing else, why don’t you come on the payroll as an adviser. We need you, that’s pretty obvious.’ Jake’s free and easy way seemed to do the trick.

Graham nodded. ‘I’d be happy to help in any way I can. What plans do you have for the casino? Don’t get me wrong, it’s a nice place, but it’s dated. That’s why it lost money; it didn’t attract new custom.’