"Manager!" The manager caught her signal and walked over with security flanking him. His voice was cool and professional. "Mr. Dickerson, will you be paying in cash, or would you like someone else to cover the bill?"
At least he was keeping things civil.
I scanned the room and spotted someone I recognized—a business contact I'd worked with before, back when I was handling deals on behalf of the Galloways.
I started walking toward him. The moment he saw me coming, he jumped up and backed away.
"Rick, stay away from me. I can't pay for—"
"Relax. I'm not asking you to pay. I just need to borrow your phone."
"Can I? I just need to call a friend to bring money."
"Ha! He's still putting on an act!" Jacob shouted. "Who in Capital City would show up to bail you out?"
"Go ahead, let him make his call. We'll give him thirty more minutes. If nobody shows up with the money, I'll let all these lovely single ladies here strip him down. A man the richest woman in the city has been with can't be all bad, right?"
Jacob turned to the cluster of wealthy older women nearby. They'd been eyeing me like wolves the entire time.
Jacob's people handed me the phone as instructed.
The moment I got it, I called my friend and told him to get the money here within thirty minutes.
Time slipped away, second by second. Ten minutes left.
Jacob couldn't wait any longer. He stood up.
"I must be an idiot to believe this guy. His so-called friend is going to show up with the cash? Please."
"Exactly! He's just stalling."
"Manager, have your boys break his hands and feet already. No one's stupid enough to cross the Galloway family for this loser. Stop wasting time."
As the manager and his security guards closed in with murder in their eyes, I raised my hand to stop them.
"Hold on. I've still got ten minutes."
"When those ten minutes are up, someone will be here with the money."
"Bullshit. When those ten minutes are up—hell, I'll give you an extra ten—if no one shows, I'll bite down on a piece of meat and crawl out of here on all fours like a dog."
My eyes lit up. "You said it. Remember that."
"Yeah, I said it. So what? Everyone here is my witness."
The room erupted again. "Ha! This is too good. I don't even want to go home anymore."
"Who knew dinner would come with a show like this?"
The ten minutes were almost up. One of the wealthy women couldn't wait—she reached over and ran her hand across my chest.
"Don't touch me!"