Ruby by Heather Burnside (carter reed txt) 📗

in charge so I need to prove myself. He asked how things were going last time I saw him and when I said I still hadn’t found anywhere he looked well disappointed.’

‘OK, what about other cities then? Liverpool or Leeds maybe?’

Ruby replied despondently, her voice low and drawn. ‘We’d be starting from scratch. I mean, which of our clients would want to go all that way? Besides, I think Victor will want it based in Manchester. After all, that’s where he lives and it’s where most of his contacts are. And there’s no guarantee that we’d find a property any easier in another city.’

‘Erm,’ said Tiffany, but she failed to come up with any other suggestions.

‘Come on; let’s watch a bit of TV. Maybe we’ll think of something tomorrow,’ said Ruby, switching on the television and glancing at Emmerdale on the screen. She wanted an end to the conversation, which was only making her feel tenser as she realised how dire their situation was becoming.

Later, they were just clearing up the dirty pots when they heard a knock on the door and Tiffany went to answer it.

‘If it’s that bastard landlord or her from across the hall, I’m gonna make them wish they hadn’t bothered,’ Ruby grumbled as she listened to Tiffany padding down the hall then returned to the living room and topped up their glasses.

But she could tell by the way Tiffany greeted their visitor and the distant sound of a familiar man’s voice that this wasn’t a grudge call. Within seconds Tiffany was standing in front of her with Victor in the background.

‘Hi, Victor,’ said Ruby, with an inquisitive tone to her voice as she stood up to greet him.

Victor was all smiles as he returned the greeting and she guessed that he had made a surprise visit expecting her services. ‘I’m sorry, Victor but…’ She paused, indicating the glasses of wine in front of her, ‘we’re having a night off.’

‘No, it’s OK,’ said Victor.

As the words spilt out of him while his head bobbed excitedly up and down Ruby wondered, not for the first time, how he managed to cut it as a successful businessman. But appearances could be deceiving she supposed and, from what he had told her, he was certainly sharp when it came to business.

‘I’m actually here to share some exciting news with you,’ he continued, ‘well, that is, presuming you haven’t already found a new place.’

Ruby sat up, her attention now fully on Victor. ‘No, actually we were just talking about that. We’ve looked at loads of places but none of them were any good for what we want.’

‘That’s alright, because I think I’ve found somewhere that will be just the job. It’s above a nightclub in Manchester. North. Do you know it?’

Ruby was smiling now, remembering with fondness the nights she’d spent in North as a teenager when she’d first started on the game and was still discovering the world around her. She had enjoyed watching some of the characters that frequented the nightclub and had been fascinated by the behaviour of its many eccentric patrons.

Appropriately based in the bohemian Northern Quarter, North was edgier than the more popular Manchester clubs and had a diverse clientele ranging from wide boys and gangsters to legitimate businessmen and the occasional minor celebrity. The lure of North stemmed from its appeal to a wide range of people of different ages and its laidback vibe. The music was also varied, from chart toppers to dance club classics; in fact, anything that people would want to dance to. And, as somewhere at which to base an upstairs brothel, it was ideal.

‘Course I know it,’ said Ruby. ‘I’ve had some wicked nights out there.’

‘I bet you have,’ said Tiffany. Then she laughed. ‘Me too.’

The girls couldn’t hide their excitement. ‘It’s a decent sized club, Victor. What’s it like upstairs?’ asked Ruby.

‘Oh, the upstairs is a good size too.’ Then he seemed to leer across at her as he said, ‘It’ll be perfect, I think, but it’ll need some work. Don’t worry about that though; I’ll meet any costs as long as you send me itemised bills.’

Ignoring the creepy feeling that Victor sometimes aroused in her, Ruby focused instead on the prospect of having a building they could use. ‘It sounds like you’ve done well, Victor. How the bloody hell did you wangle it?’

Victor tapped the side of his nose with his finger. ‘A friend of mine owns the nightclub. He’s selling off the upstairs part of the building to raise funds for another business venture.’

‘Won’t he mind about it being a brothel?’ asked Ruby.

Victor grinned in his usual leering manner. ‘No, in fact, he’ll positively welcome it. He’ll probably even send a few customers in our direction.’

‘When can we go and see it?’ asked Tiffany.

‘I’ll find out when I can get hold of the keys then let you know when to arrange an appointment.’

‘Brilliant,’ said Ruby. ‘This sounds like a celebration.’ Then she picked up the bottle of wine. ‘Fancy a glass?’

‘No, no, not for me,’ said Victor, his words spilling hastily from him again. Then he made a show of looking at his watch, his head twitching as he did so. ‘There’s somewhere I need to be but I just thought I’d drop by first to give you the good news.’

‘Brilliant!’ Ruby looked across at Tiffany and smiled. ‘We really appreciate it. Thanks very much.’

Then Victor bid them goodbye, promising to get in touch soon, and was gone. Ruby could tell from his eagerness to get away that he was probably on the way to meet another of his girls. She left Tiffany to see him to the door. Then, as soon as Tiffany walked back into the lounge, Ruby jumped up off the sofa, ran over to her girlfriend and threw her arms around her.

‘Hurrah! Good old Victor,’ she yelled.

For precious moments the girls jumped around the room cheering and yelling at the top of their voices.

Then Tiffany stopped all of a sudden. ‘Shush. What