Winning Texas Read Online Free PDF Page B

this point, he wasn ’ t sure how much was enough, but he knew he didn ’ t have it yet.
    He looked around, assessing the crowd. Crowd wasn ’ t really the right word, since at 4 p.m., the Westside club had just a handful of customers. Everyone in the large room, including the staff behind the two bars and the woman dancing on the catwalk, knew that he was the club owner. He didn ’ t mind that. He believed that owners should maintain a vigilant, noticeable presence and he liked the way he looked today. He could see himself in the stage mirrors and his brushed-back brown hair with its distinctive widow ’ s peak looked professional. He was wearing a new custom-made, dark-gray suit, with a blue striped shirt and royal blue tie. He always dressed up for these outings, believing that it showed he took his ownership seriously.
    Krause tapped into the late-afternoon stock closings on his laptop, checking on the NASDAQ results for Rick ’ s Cabaret International Inc. He ’ d followed a pattern of buying failing clubs and turning them around, always using management techniques he ’ d copied from Rick ’ s, Houston ’ s hometown chain. One of just a few adult businesses traded on U.S. stock exchanges, it routinely drew praise from analysts as one of America ’ s best small companies. Rick ’ s operated about two dozen clubs and restaurants (breastaurants, some analysts leeringly called them) in large cities and had diversified into adult websites.
    Damn, the stock had climbed again. Krause believed that his Texas Girls chain eventually could surpass the size of Rick ’ s empire, but growing his adult business empire was just one of several goals right now. He had several secret businesses and a political agenda as well. Luckily, he had a willing partner in both his professional and personal life, his fianc é e, Juliana Souza. He expected her to show up soon.
    He wondered how much it would cost to update the big room ’ s beige, brown and peach color scheme and change those gold chandeliers to more modern-looking bronze or pewter fixtures. Since this club was located in the business district off Richmond Road, it had to be a little classier than his others. He ’ d inherited, rather than chosen, the d é cor, and he noticed that it was outdated. He could visualize how much more sophisticated the room would look in shades of silver and black, with a touch of purple. He made a notation to ask Juliana to work on it, to get some estimates. He regarded himself as the idea person and his fianc é e as the implementer.
    Besides the main room with the stage and bars, there were a few, more secluded rooms where patrons could pay for a private lap dance. Lap dances were lucrative, though potentially troublesome. Bouncers had to make sure customers didn ’ t get too carried away. Offstage, dancers also mingled with patrons in other ways, sometimes sitting down at tables, making conversation and accepting exorbitantly priced, watered-down drinks. This club also included a boutique out front, where patrons could buy scanty underwear and other flashy clothing for their wives or lovers.
    Krause closed his laptop and sat for a moment massaging his forehead, but his solitude was short-lived. Club manager Tessa Rhodes came scurrying to his table. In her mid-forties, Rhodes had honey-colored hair and a pleasant face, but her thickening body had long passed prime time for the strip stage. He ’ d brought her into management ten years earlier and paid her well to keep trouble at bay when he wasn ’ t around. She was more than grateful for the difficult but well-paid position, and constantly anxious that he ’ d change his mind. She was so overeager to please when he was around that it irritated him.
    “ I ’ ve got your Riesling cooling on ice, Mr. Krause, ” she said. “ Can I bring it over and pour you a glass? ”
    “ Bring it over, but I ’ ll wait to drink it when Juliana comes, ” he said. “ Who ’ s the new girl on