It's not a joke

“OK,” I said after taking a moment of just pursing my lips and narrowing my eyes slightly, looking across the end corner of the conference table at Ada. When this meeting had started, I’d been relatively impressed by the blonde assistant. She showed up early, she was nicely put together in a classy but un-showy way, but still had a flair of personality. And she was a beautiful, mature woman. She had to be late thirties, maybe even in her early forties, and somehow she carried the signs of her ageing at the corners of her eyes, and in her neck, with such poise and grace that they seemed like positive attractions rather than negatives. Now, after her request, I wasn’t sure what to think of her because she seemed to think it was entirely reasonable. “Let’s backtrack a beat to make sure I’m following you,” I continued. “Miss Angeloff wants to host a… themed private game. She wants to host the game here in the hotel, with hotel staff and services, including a poker dealer, a bar and bartender, and catering. The theme of the private game will be Strip Poker, and because of this, she would like all staff involved to be OK with nudity, both seeing it and participating?”

“Correct,” Ada said with a small smile and a nod. “The staff would be expected to match the general level of dress being maintained in the room for the sake of the mood.”

“Right,” I said slowly, imagining the HR complaints. “OK. I- Let’s just say I have some reservations about the Vaso being the right place to host this sort of event, so I’m not saying we can do this, but from a purely technical perspective… It’s a fairly easy event to organise outside of what we would call ‘irregular staffing requirements.’ This wouldn’t be the first highly private event or party we’ve hosted, so we can run a screening at the entrance of the event for phones and other recording devices and return them when folks are leaving. We can even go so far as to have staff sign NDAs to work the event. If Miss Angeloff has specific requests for decor, food or other specific elements, all of that can be arranged without much issue and managed in-house.”

“I assumed as much,” Ada said, nodding again. “Rashid speaks very highly of the Vasoseh as a family investment and assured Miss Angeloff that it would be able to cater to all of her needs.”

“Right,” I said, taking in the implications of what she was saying. She was implying that the son of one of the Owners was fully aware and approved of his fiancee’s apparent idea of a good time. Which was fucking insane to me.

The problem was that while Rashid had always been the more mature and calm of the two Al Maktoum brothers, we were still talking about an absurdly wealthy family. And with absurd wealth came… secrets. Weirdness. Occasional depravity.

I was one to talk, considering my new relationship lifestyle and the week of vacation I’d just been through, but still.

“So, circling back to the logistical problem, I’m not entirely sure of Miss Angeloff’s experience with American employment standards and expectations, but… Ada, I can’t just order some of our people to work this event and strip down with the guests. I can’t even ask if anyone is willing to do that - it would cause major issues,” I said.

“Robbie, please,” she said. “We’re not asking for an entire wedding's worth of staff. Not for this event, anyway. One dealer, one bartender, and maybe two other staff to manage the food? Three at most? I’m certain that you would be able to find four or five appropriately attractive staff interested in taking on - or taking off - some extra duties in exchange for a substantial bonus?”

I clenched my jaw, slowly drawing in a breath through my nose. The reality was that it would be Dayana who would have to find the bartender and catering staff, all I would need to do would be to find the right Dealer. The circle could be kept small - Dayana, three or four of her staff, me and one dealer. Security staff would be kept outside the private area and wouldn’t be going in, and other maintenance staff would be kept out until after the event.

“It’s not impossible, but I need to be clear, that bonus would not be able to be processed through the Vaso. It would raise flags in too many places, and people would be asking questions. They would need to be in cash, as tips from a client,” I said. “And I honestly can’t tell you what would be an attractive amount to entice staff to consider the job, so you and Miss Angeloff would need to decide on what you were offering, and I can work from there.”

“That’s understandable, yes,” Ada said, her British accent making her seem so much more reasonable than I knew this whole thing was. “We’ll come up with a number that you can float around any interested parties. Now, what about invitations? Miss Angeloff would want a variety of interesting and attractive people to attend - age isn’t necessarily a factor, but I’m sure you can appreciate that there is likely an upper limit cutoff. A variety of classes would also be welcome - I believe Las Vegas is known for its sex industry, yes? Not everyone at the party needs to participate in the game, but their willingness to play along and maintain the atmosphere would be welcome. Would you recommend professional dancers, or escorts, for that sort of role?”

I closed my eyes, trying to keep a straight face, and opened them again after a moment. “Ada,” I said. “I’m an event manager, not a promoter.”

“But you do know promoters?” she asked. “Preferably those with connections of the highest calibre.”

“I have connections to some,” I sighed. “One of the few amenities that the Vaso does not have on premises is a nightclub, but I can reach out to staff from other hotels to find you someone… trustworthy, with good connections. If we go ahead with this event.”

“Excellent, Robbie,” she smiled brightly. It was the kind of smile that said I was her favourite person in the world, and she was extremely happy that I was coming through for her. The kind of smile that I knew I couldn’t really trust. “Miss Angeloff will be thrilled to hear what you come up with later today?”

“Today?” I asked in surprise. “When exactly is she wanting to host this party?”

“This weekend, preferably,” Ada said. “She would like to start making connections in the city now that she’s arrived. The sooner the better.”

“...Right,” I said. “Well, let me do some legwork. And I’m still not saying the Vaso can officially host something like this.”

“Official, unofficial, it doesn’t matter so much to Miss Angeloff,” Ada smiled as she stood, ending the meeting as she offered me her hand to shake “Come up to her suite at, say, five o’clock? We can sit down and run her through what you’ve come up with.”

“Sure,” I said, my customer service smile fixed to my face. “Five o’clock sounds great.”

AMA
Breakthebar erotica is powered by Patreon, where AMA chapters are releasing 5+ chapters ahead. PM if interested in making a Commission.