"Give it to me, baby,
I want it like this.
Grind on me, baby,
I'm your zaddy."

Malcolm's deep falsetto voice boomed the lyrics of the song, at least what he believed were the wordings, as he and his hourglass femme fatale swung their hips sensually to the hot, gyrating pop music blasting from the speakers in the dance floor of the underground club. Beyond the club door was the showroom for the stripping concert the club had to offer. Simply put, Iyke the manager, was putting his all in providing the best relaxation spot for all the eligible profligates in Lekki.

He was wasted, which was the main aim of coming to a bar, but Jed, who sat on bar stool gingerly sipping his vodka, was of a different opinion. After his boss's insistence on a cursory sweep of the area his brother frequented this period, he couldn't decipher how getting intoxicated helped their plan. Operation sabotage Gabriel needed a clear head and Malcolm -he glanced at the rambunctious man again and sighed- did not particularly have his wits about him. Annoyed that he was put on dog patrol, Jed swallowed the remaining liquid in one gulp, setting down the glass with a grimace. He eyed the assorted display of drinks behind the tattooed, heavily pierced barman and kissed his teeth. He might as well make himself useful, he thought.

"Hello, handsome."

Jed paused in the action of signalling for the barman to stare at the beauty bombshell in front of him. Round eyes, pointed nose, red, plump lips made up her oval face. Getting greedy, he allowed his undisciplined eyes to travel down.

When they found their way back to her face, he was shocked to found that she was watching him the whole time. And she looked pleased with his action, too.

"Like what you see?"

The usual pick-me-up line, he smirked, loving how this night was beginning to turn out. What would it take for him to get a good lay tonight? He wondered briefly.

"Very much, so. How much is it going to cost me to take," he paused to indicate her physique before continuing, "all of these beauty home?"

She giggled, biting her bottom lips seductively while avoiding his eyes. "Let me tell you a secret," she whispered conspirationally, "you can't take me home but you can convince me to go home with you. That is, if you're willing to pay handsomely."

He nodded vigorously, thinking the stars were probably twinkling in the skies tonight just to favour him. "How much?"

"One hundred thousand, just because I like you very much. I usually charge higher, you know."

He paused the nod that indicated he was ready to do just about anything to get a groove on. Her hand reached over to his hip region, and he sighed lustfully when her fingers started to massage his crotch through his dark blue jeans. When a surprised moan left his lips, she giggled and pulled her hand away, effectively ending his pleasurable experience.

"Why did you stop?" He thought she wanted to please him right here and now.

"Payment first before service." Her giggling, demure facade was gone, quickly replaced by a snarky, wanton goddess. She was poised for seduction and he was already entrapped in her scheme. With a groan, he dug his hand into his back pocket and pulled out his wallet. The flatness indicated he didn't have cash inside so he pulled out his Mastercard, hoping to play smart.

"There's money in my account. Lots of it, actually, but none on me for security reasons. I don't like carrying cash on me." He flashed her a benign grin, hoping to convince her he was genuine.

She did not buy his act. "We have a pos machine at the back. Come and withdraw there."

A chortle rumbled from Jed's throat betraying his misfortune. He was never the lucky match in the box; things rarely ever went his way so why did he think it would start now, and with a girl way beyond his league? Scratching his chin, he regarded the girl again.

"You don't have any money, abi? And you were there wasting my time. Ole buruku!" She hissed, then turned around and marched off towards the dance floor but not before giving Jed a whiplash from her long, blond Brazilian weaves.

He sighed, shaking his head in dismay. Turning to the bar man, he hailed for another vodka, bearing in mind to remind him all drinks were to be charged to Malcolms' card. He wasn't spending his dough on no business of his.

A sudden loud pat on his back had him choking, sputtering and coughing up his expensive drink all over the counter. Once he could take in a few gulps of air, he swung around to rattle off curses to the offender only to find a grinning Malcolm studying him. He quickly swallowed his retort.

"Let me guess, trouble getting laid?"

He shook his head but did not reply.

"I don't see the problem. She's hot, a total vixen in bed, by the looks of it, and you are...," he trailed off to study his assistant, trying to find his most appealing quality. He found zilch and decided to improvise. "Well, you are you."

"Thank you for pointing out that I'm not exactly a ladies man." It was the bitter truth but he'd be damned if he let people rub it in. Most especially not people like Malcolm or the other Asika brothers for that matter.

"I saw you with a chick, though. Where is she?"

Malcolm noticed the deftness in change of topic and agreed to be swept up by the flow. For now. "She doesn't know anything useful so I dismissed her. I'm not exactly here looking for a cheap lay, you know."

Jed could have contradicted this statement a few minutes earlier but he kept mum instead. It didn't matter to him what his boss did or didn't do.

"Any luck on your part?"

He shook his head. He could barely get the beauty bombshell to chat for more than two minutes. How could he be expected to get any worthwhile information?

Malcolm sighed, signalling for a drink. Jed chipped in an order too, plainly bent on cashing in on his boss's generosity. Scanning his eyes widely around the room, the dark man decided he needed to move offshore if he were ever to catch bigger fishes tonight. Without a word, he was purposefully striding towards the metal door demarcating insensible drunkenness from sinful pleasures, his scotch drink charted down his alimentary canal in one gulp.

Feeling like an intern on his first day of work, Jed slid from his stool and ran after him, while whisking an acrobatic display of trying to balance his wavering tall glass of margarita with hurried stepping.

Like an apparition, Malcolm went past the dark, heavily built men stationed unmovable at each side of the door, but Jed was too much of a deadweight and had to endure the harsh treatment of scrutiny and spilled drink.

He took in the strip club in one fell sweep, his eyes darting through many sights at once. The neon lights, the bright red lounges and loud, blooming music had him stilling in his stride. He grinned sheepishly at the beautiful nubile display beclouding his line of vision, fervently hoping he was emiting his trademark killer smile. Before he could investigate further in this paradise of desire and lust, long, perfectly manicured nails pressed into his navy blue cotton shirt managing to draw his attention away from the distractions standing in front of him to her height.

A curvy lady with blond highlights was smiling seductively at him through her long and thick eyelashes and lips coated with fury red lipstick. It was the vixen from earlier.

"Hello, handsome."

Her silky smooth voice had him bewitched immediately. He eyed her with desire, briefly wondering if this distraction was worth a whole week of desperate surveillance. With a strangled groan, he flashed her his impeccable swoon-worthy smile and she returned it with a shy smile, trying to tone down her ferocious sexy kitten character.

"You are sexy." The words left his lips before he could help himself. He wasn't to blame since complimenting the opposite sex was a rare talent of his. "Tell me if all these curves are for real. I really hate padded boobs and ass. They disgusts me." He shuddered for effect, a grimace ruining his facial features.

She giggled in a ridiculously pitched voice that had him nearly wincing at the decibels. "Of course, I'm all real, no artificial packaging here o, unlike some girls here," she paused to send a heated glare in the direction of the lounge area before contorting her cheeks to form a smile. "Do you want to touch it just to make sure? I don't mind."

He didn't mind too. Gladly, he squeezed her feminine assets, loving the feel of them in his palms. Damn, he was getting a good lay tonight, he thought.

+++++++++++

Thirty minutes later and Malcolm was getting a good feeling about his earlier assumptions.

"I hope you're rich cause I'm a costly lady." She informed him once they entered the private lounge he had requested for immediately she latched onto him. Getting into the mood, she pushed him and he fell like a sack of cassava on the red sofa, which was positioned strategically to capture a wide view of the room from any angle.

Leaving him to get comfortable, she sashayed to the pole and began to dance and twerk to an imaginary sensual beat for him.

He allowed himself to get a little bit distracted, pushing his agenda for coming here till when they were intimate. Nothing ruined the mood like random talks.

"Why did you ask if I had money on me? I do cashless policy, though." His brows were raised slightly for clarification.

"I don't sleep with cheap, broke men." Was her unequivocal reply. "Like this evening, I met a client who claimed he worked with credit cards but was too stingy to bring it out when I told him the price. If he wanted to get laid, there are plenty of cheaper girls to choose from, like that Gina, for example."

He nodded distractedly, sipping from his champagne flute. As courtesy, booking the private lounge meant receiving a free bottle of chilled white wine as souvenir.

"Gina?" He could infer that this girl was a parrot. A seductive parrot at that, judging by the jiggling boobs and wiggling bumbum on display.

A low purring grumbled past her lips when she made a split which tripled the wantomness shinning in his dark irises.

"Yeah. A tushed up village girl that thinks she's the bomb just because she has fat, juicy lips." She rolled her eyes in digust and strutted to come stand a few metres in front of him. Without preamble, she started to strip, hence increasing his lust exponentially.

"But men don't really care much for that. They want something they can hold and press while getting it down. I know men like you want these babies on my chest. I can see it in your eyes..." she trailed off to caress her breasts, making sure his gaze were locked completely on them.

"You know I do, baby. So, stop teasing me already and let's get busy."

A giggle sprinted past her mouth at his fierceness. Letting him take the reins, she allowed him to drag her with him to the bed draped in red, sinfully-looking satin sheets. They both fell on it with him lying half on her. Still in smiles, he cupped her face and planted his lips firmly on hers, thus igniting the tame passion cackling between them all night.

The duel of tongues had him emerging victorious, but the sly beauty underneath had a few aces up her sleeves. Wrapping her long legs round his waist, she expertly turned them over such that she emerged on top and was straddling him. The sudden change in position had him chuckling randomly.

"You're smart. I like that."

She giggled again, briefly wondering what it was about this goofy man that tickled her funny bone. "You're paying expensively for my services, so relax and enjoy premium services from an expert like me."

He watched her take her sweet time kissing and caressing every inch of his body before coming to the most important part. Which was why he popped up his conversation out of the blues before pleasure took away his wits and coherent thoughts.

"There's something that I'm dying to know. Did a handsome, angry-looking, overserious guy come to the club around this time last week?"

"Yeah."

If it was his brother, he needed as much intel as he could get.

"Who did he hang out with? Can you describe her for me?"

She paused to stare at him, briefly wondering his interest in those two. Clients rarely asked about other patrons, the strippers maybe, but no, never.

He relented at her shrewd look, deciding it didn't matter. "The guy is Gabriel Asika, my elder brother. I'm certain you've heard somewhere about the poor choices he makes when it comes to women. As his family, I'm making sure another tragedy is not about to occur. Hence my interest in who he was with when he came here."

"Well, I don't really know the girl but I heard that she's very sneaky and manipulative. Had the guy all to herself like a leech sucking him dry. She must have liquidated him by now."

Malcolm scoffed at the impossibility of her statement. Gabriel was prudent when it came to money matters. There was no duping him.

"Where did they go?"

"I don't know," she replied absently, trying to focus on giving his member pleasure with her hands. "She caused a ruckus last weekend. Apparently, she was planning to sleep with two clients at once but your brother found out and dragged away to go punish her. I'm sure he whooped her nicely cause I haven't seen her since that day."

He nodded, his face morphing into a frown at the dead-end of his sleuthing. For a weird reason she couldn't put a name on at that moment, she thought it nice to offer more than pleasure to her humorous client, clearly ignoring work ethics.

"If finding your brother's girl is that important, I may know a way you can reach her. You see, Gina's sister, Rissa, works here too. I can introduce you guys if you want."

++++++++++++

Gabriel looked up from his tablet as a figure came into his line of vision. He smirked when he saw Anthony stroll into the back porch where he was reclining on a deck chair working on some company matters.

He was having a leisure day, today being Sunday, with no impending work at the office to do, and no fire-breathing young lady to contend with. To share his blissful state, he had invited his younger brother to come hang out with him, luring the budding advocate out with his record winning chef skills.

"When you said you were visiting, I expected you here before today," Gabriel pointed out, pausing in between work to gaze at him.

He shrugged his lean shouders- his signature behavior- before plopping into a deck chair. "I changed my mind. I can still do that without offending the mighty Raphael Asika right?" His tone was sarcastic.

Gabriel shook his head amusedly. "Yes, you can, but it's probably best you don't provoke him at the next family meeting."

"I'm guessing that rule doesn't apply to both of you, though." The playful boy grinned at the memory.

"Squabbling like little kids in front of father is probably not the best way to show maturity. Seriously, Gabriel. Stop your bickering with Malcolm. It's getting tiring already." He chastised.

His brother scowled, leaning more in the deck chair. "Malcolm is being an idiot. Why do I have to fight for my birthright with a boy two years my junior? On top the fact that I bring in more investors than he does."

"Father rarely cares about that and you shouldn't. Malcolm plays dirty, and so should you. How can you let him take credit for that sugar free cereals and wheat flour mixture you came up with? That product is still our biggest sales so far."

"I really need to put him down. He's being a pain in my neck," Gabriel muttered, sitting up from his chair to stroll into the house, Anthony at his wake.

He walked to the kitchen and made a beeline for the refrigerator, opening it. Anthony climbed onto the counter and sat down comfortably.

"I thought you were having a sun basking therapy or something. I kinda liked it," he said, reaching into the fruit basket next to him on the white marbelled counter for an apple and biting into it.

He frowned as he scanned the fridge. "The house was too quiet so I went outside cause I needed to hear the children from the other house playing to help me lay off the stress."

"A-ha. That's why you're angry I didn't show up earlier. You're lonely." Anthony surmised, as though he had discovered a well-hidden secret.

Pulling out salad ingredients he would need, he turned to frown at his younger brother. "I'm not lonely. In fact, I'll have you know I've decided to take your advice and find female company."

"What?!" His eyes grew wide like saucers. "You don't say."

Gabriel unwrapped the raw meat and placed it into the grill before setting the microwave on. He turned to chop the vegetables, his back to his brother as he replied.

"I do say. I met one just last weekend and it was really refreshing." He tilted his head, trying to weigh if refreshing was the appropriate word.

Anthony whistled and hooted, clapping his hands in jubilation. "Damn. I'm jealous," he murmured, grinning cheekily. "Is she sexy?"

He gave him an insulted look. "Sexy doesn't define it."

"How wild is she?"

His memory blessed him with the scene at the garage, and that in his apartment. He smirked. "In four words, she is a lioness."

"Damn." Anthony was on a hooting roll. "Uh, Scale of one to ten, how good in bed?"

Gabriel smirked again, satisfied that his brother was hooked to his tale. "Nine, probably. It got crazy last night too. Now, she probably wants to scratch my eyeballs out once she sees me."

Anthony's jaw dropped, his mind conjuring up racy images with reckless abandon.

Earlier, he had been pulling his brother's leg, not really believing he had found a girl he wanted to be with. Gabriel didn't do relationships. The first and only time he tried it, he had found his fiancée in bed with his friend. He had sworn off commitment after that, deciding to dedicate his time to the company. Anthony had used it as an avenue to prod him every chance he got to get a girlfriend, a mistress, a lover, a sugar mama or even a sex slave just to live life a little. To hear him say he had found someone was unbelievable, and to claim it was a hot, crazy sex goddess was downright incredulous.

"You're being serious, Gabriel? I thought you were joking."

Gabriel turned fully to lean on the counter and study him. "What would I gain by playing around with this? You have doubts?"

"I need to meet her to believe. Forgive me," he stated, raising his arms in surrender.

The older man shrugged indifferently, turning back to his vegetables. "You'll meet her soon enough. Just be a little patient. What I have in mind for her needs to be planned carefully. I won't let anyone ruin this for me. Not even you," he tilted his head to glare at his younger brother, pointing the knife in his direction.

Anthony grinned mischievously. "The only promise I will make is that I won't have sex with her, at least to your knowledge."

He chuckled at his words, before Gabriel joined him, his mind going subconsciously to the girl who had brazenly challenged him yesternight despite knowing her sister's fate was in the palm of his hand. She had spirit, she thumped fire and it contested his dominance and control.

There was absolutely nothing Gabriel loved more than a little bit of challenge.

~~~~~~~~~~

Talk about busybody! This girl's tongue may have been too sharp and now Malcolm may have a tool to use against his brother.

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