The music was blaring over the loudspeakers, pumping the bass into my chest with an energetic rhythm. The drinks were strong, and the girls were decent.
I sat on a sofa at the furthest end from the dance floor with Wade on the opposite end and his twin brother, Gabe, between us. A girl in a hot pink two-piece outfit wedged herself between them, and they took advantage of her attention, whispering in her ear and pouring her a shot of vodka.
"What is it about twins that get women off, Roman?" Bernard asked me, shaking his head as he watched Wade and Gabe laughing and flirting with the woman in hot pink.
Bernard sat in an armchair across from us while Nick sat next to him in another armchair, entertaining a woman who sat on his lap.
Nick's hand was on her thigh beneath her denim mini skirt.
I tossed back a shot of vodka. "Don't let jealousy get you down," I said to Bernard with a smirk.
Wade and Gabe each took the woman in pink's hands, Wade her left hand and Gabe her right, and they kissed her wrists and arms playfully before helping her up from the sofa.
"Who's next to sit with the twins?" Wade shouted into the crowd of ladies on the dance floor. Two women rushed over. A set of twins.
"Of course," Bernard said, rolling his eyes.
"Twins!" Wade and Gabe shouted in unison, each pulling one of the women into their laps.
I laughed, twirling my empty shot glass in my fingers as a dark-haired woman approached me.
"Why is your lap empty, Mr. Thaddeus?" she asked, tossing her hair over one shoulder.
"Waiting for you," I said, pulling her down onto my lap. "And call me Roman. Mr. Thaddeus is my father." I pushed her hair aside so that I could rub her smooth, bare shoulder.
Knowing that I was recognizable in this club as the heir to a billion-dollar business, it was hard to portray anything but the powerful and intimidating qualities that made me attractive to certain types of people.
The attention was a nice distraction, but superficial relationships were getting old. If I wanted a one-night stand with the woman in my lap, the odds were favorable that I could get it. I gripped the woman on my lap by the waist and pulled her in closer to me.
The pulsing beat of the music and the woman in my lap was making me nice and horny.
"I'm bored," Bernard said suddenly. "This dump is getting old, Roman."
"Maybe you're getting old," I said to Bernard with a smirk. He raised his middle finger at me, flipping me off.
"I love this place," Gabe said as he slipped his hands under the tank top of the twin in his lap and took liberties with her breasts.
At that moment, the woman in my lap turned and licked a trail up the side of my neck, moaning, effectively getting my attention.
"So that's what a billionaire tastes like," she whispered in my ear. I could smell the alcohol on her breath and the floral scent of her perfume. I smiled at her, a smile that has been told drives women wild.
She began to unzip the front of her top, exposing more of her cleavage. Her expression was hungry with desire. I loved flirting and fcking, I really did, but even though I had a hard-on pressed against my slacks, I wasn't feeling it tonight.
I stopped her hand from unzipping her top even further. "Thanks for the offer," I said, "But not tonight." She pouted, but she didn't protest as she stood and went back to the dance floor.
I glanced across at Bernard who was bouncing his knee anxiously, staring out onto the dance floor, but his thoughts were clearly elsewhere.
"You need to get laid, Bernard," I said to him, wanting to take my own advice but needing more than a one-night stand.
He glanced up at me, his expression preoccupied. "Let's go somewhere else," Bernard said.
"Where, man?" Wade asked. "This is the hottest club in town." He waved a hand toward the dance floor. "The women here are sexy and available. Right, Roman?"
All the guys were looking at me. I was the authority on everything from clothes to music and women. Not that I chose the position, but when they asked me anything always gave my true opinion. They valued my input and they also liked being in my company whenever I was free to do so.
Work was becoming more of a demand for me, but I made time for them when I could.
"This place is usually my first choice," I admitted, "but let's hear him out. Where to, Bernard?"
"The Auction House," Bernard said without hesitation.
"Auction House?" I asked Bernard. "What kind of club is that?"
"I've never heard of it," Gabe chimed in.
"Is it that new rooftop club?" Nick asked Bernard.
Bernard shook his head and smiled. It was a mischievous grin that made me feel ill at ease. I wouldn't trust Bernard with many things in my life, and this was one of the reasons. He gave off bad vibes sometimes.
"It's extremely exclusive," Bernard said.
"But you got in?" Nick asked, surprised. Bernard nodded.
"And what's at this Auction House anyway?" Gabe asked Bernard.
"Women," Bernard said.
I tilted my head and stared hard at Bernard.
"Why is it called The Auction House?" I asked him.
"It's for men like you and me, Roman: men of means," Bernard said as he pulled his cell phone out of his pocket. "But I can get you all in. Trust me, you'll have more fun there. What do you say, Roman?"
All eyes were on me again as I studied Bernard's face. Excitement had replaced the distraction of earlier. What could it hurt to make him feel better and to check out a new spot? "Sure, f*ck it," I said. Bernard left to make a phone call.
"Bernard is always complaining about something," Gabe said before turning to me.
"It's been a while since you've been out with us, Roman, what's been going on with you?"
I poured myself another shot of vodka. "My old man is retiring in December," I said. "He wants to make sure I can run the business without him while he's out of the country. I've been taking care of things with the business on my own."
"Damn," Nick said. He took a deep drink from his beer bottle. He wasn't a hard liquor type of guy. "How much is your family worth now? Nine, ten billion?"
I smirked and drank the shot of vodka.
"Something like that," I said vaguely. "What about the Rothchild business?" I asked him.
"Your parents retiring?"
"Not yet," Nick said, nursing his beer. "And I'm in no rush to take over."
"You're never in a rush to do anything but get laid," Gabe said. We all laughed.
"What about you two?" I asked Gabe and Wade when our merriment died down.
"We're not working right now," Wade said, "but Pops is handing over the business to Gabe."
"Like hell he is," Gabe said, punching his brother in the shoulder with a laugh. "You're older by eight minutes, you get the business."
"Business partners got it," I said, laughing.
"Speaking of getting laid," Nick interrupted. Getting laid was one of his favorite topics.
Hell, it was one of my favorite topics. "When was the last time you got laid, Roman?"
I smirked at their rapt attention and took another shot of vodka before answering.
"Can't a man have his secrets?" I asked, smiling at them.
"Why don't you get yourself a hot little wife, Roman?" Gabe chimed in. "You can sure as hell afford it."
"I'm not ready for that," I said. "I need to find the right woman first."
"The right woman? She just needs to be hot," Wade said. "And you don't even have to let marriage hold you back from the ladies. Billionaires can have as many mistresses as they want, right?"
"I don't do mistresses," I said, twirling my empty glass in my fingers. It had been a while since I was with a woman; a few months, actually. But everyone knew that I was a billionaire. Women were after me for my money, and that wasn't what I wanted in a relationship. "I'll marry when I find the right woman," I said again.
"Jessica is available," Bernard said, slapping my shoulder as he walked past behind me, Gabe, and Wade on the sofa. "You know she's in love with you, Roman."
"Sorry, I'm not marrying your sister, Bernard," I said. "She may be infatuated with me, but she's not my type."
"Jessica Sullivan isn't good enough for a billionaire," Bernard said sarcastically. The idea that my family had billions of dollars and his family only had a few million was a point of resentment for him.
"It wouldn't end well between me and your sister, Bernard. You know it's nothing against Jessica," I said firmly. "I'd prefer a solid marriage to a quick divorce."
The group went silent. Bernard and I weren't really friends; we'd just met through mutual friends, and he was around at most of the clubs and parties. I tolerated him at best.
"Did you get us into The Auction Club or what?" Nick asked Bernard, breaking the silence.
"It's The Auction House, and I got Roman in," Bernard said, eyeing me.
Christ, I thought. I needed an excuse to get out of this one. There was no way that I'd have any fun hanging out with Bernard on my own.
"Just Roman?" Gabe asked. "What about us?"
"Apparently, the name Preston Roman Harcourt Thaddeus the Third can get you whatever you want," Bernard said, pouring a shot of vodka and drinking it.
"Well, sh*t, I guess we're not good enough for The Auction House," Nick said sarcastically, finishing off his beer.
"I thought you could get us on the list, Bernard" Wade mocked him. Bernard flipped him off and stood.
"Come on, Roman, our exclusive club awaits," Bernard said. Gabe, Wade, and Nick stared at me as if to ask whether I was seriously leaving them behind to go to a club with that d*uchebag Bernard.
"You go ahead, Bernard, I'll catch up," I said to him. Without a response, Bernard walked off.
"What the hell, Roman?" Wade asked.
"I don't plan on staying long," I told them.
"Just long enough to text and let you guys know what kind of sh*thole it is. I'm sure it will be."
Nick stood. "I'm going to get laid. You two have fun," Nick said to me before disappearing into the throng of women on the dance floor.
"Good luck, man," Wade said as I walked past them. A cute girl in a red halter top and black skirt took my place on the sofa. Wade and Gabe chatted her up as I left the club.
I stepped into the cool night air, breathing it in deeply. Bernard was waiting on the curb next to his car, smoking a cigarette. "You riding with me, Roman?" he asked as he dropped the cigarette and stamped it out with his foot. I really didn't plan on staying at The Auction House with him for long, let alone riding there with him in his car.
"I'll have my driver follow you," I said.
Bernard told my driver the address, in case we got separated, and I climbed into my waiting car. This was probably a bad idea. I didn't even like Bernard. I was just doing this to let Wade, Gabe, and Nick know what was so special about The Auction House that they were missing out on.