Auctioned Mates Revenge
Chapter 37

After lunch, a bunch of people arrived dressed in paint-splattered jeans and t-shirts. I looked at the group in surprise as Matt looked up at them. He checked his watch.

"Good to see you all back. You can start in the bar area for now."

They nodded and went towards the area, carrying long rolls of plastic.

I looked at him strangely, "What's going on?"

He smirked, "Renovations."

The people stood around for a moment putting up long plastic sheets and putting up ladders beyond the curtain, but they didn't seem to have any materials with them. The ladders were placed in a strange way that seemed to have nothing to do with where it would be most useful for them to be.

It was as if they were staging the area to be seen not to be used.

"What are you going to do with the bar?"

Matt frowned, "Nothing."

"What?"

Matt shrugged, "They're just here so people outside think renovations are going on."

I looked at him strangely, "But... if they're here. Why not have them actually renovate the place?"

"Into what?" Matt asked.

I winced and looked around before shrugging, "A... school? A community center? Something useful... Even another brothel or a real club?"

Matt shrugged, "It will only matter if someone comes by. The dust curtains should be enough to fool them."

I laughed and Grace gave just a small smile, "That might be enough to fool you, but most people know what a construction site is supposed to look like... No dust? Tools? Materials?"

"That's what the curtains are for," Matt glanced over. "I'll have them pick up some random pieces of wood or something."

I shook my head and chuckled, "And this is why you need me. Grace?"

"She... has a point, Mr. Wallber," Grace said. "It is very likely that once the pack government knows that you're planning on renovating the place, they'll come flashing their badges to get a sneak peek. The contractors will be questioned or people will try to hire them to get information. What will they tell them?"

He flushed and said nothing as I grabbed a piece of paper. He might have a 4.8 GPA, but I supposed that not everything could be taught in school.

No one would come into Club Heaven and think renovations were being done if there weren't any being done.

Matt grumbled and gestured vaguely, "Fine. I'll leave this part to you two. The stage is already set if someone does come by soon."

I eyed him curiously. He grinned, "Well, I had a parlor redone for show. I did think this out, Renda."

I shook my head and went over to the workers who looked at me expectantly and a bit nervous.

"Hi," I said, "Let's talk, hm?"

I looked around before looking back at Grace, "Maybe the others might want to get in on the demolition?"

She grinned and nodded before hurrying off towards the dorms. I looked back at the group who looked incredibly awkward just standing around.

"I know that Mr. Wallber has probably already paid you to just show up for the day without much direction."

The leader gave me an amused smile, "We're used to this, ma'am."

"You've worked for him before?"

"Armand is a good friend of mine. We built Mr. Wallber's house."

I blinked and grinned, "Then, I can definitely say you're too talented to stand around! I'm thinking that Club Heaven could be the hottest new club in Midnight, and since you're here and Mr. Wallber doesn't seem to care, I thought you might want something to do." He laughed, "It would be nice."

Matt scoffed. While a school or a community center would be a better contribution to society, Midnight was a pack of pleasure and fun. Eventually, the people of Midnight wouldn't be put off by talk of renovations and we'd have to have something to show for it. Besides, clubs were often hubs of information, just like brothels without the extra sleaze. Now that I knew that Fluorite wasn't the only victim of underhanded takeover methods, I knew there were others out there looking for revenge.

And if they hadn't thought about it, it was time they started to, starting with the grime of Midnight.

I grabbed a hammer and turned to the bar, "We'll start with dismantling this tacky bar and pulling up the floors on the entire floor."

The leader smirked, "You have a vision?"

I nodded, "There should be a dancefloor at least. A real big one, and..."

I paused, looking around. I wasn't sure what went into a nightclub that would be a hit for Midnight. The dance hall in Fluorite was more of a community center and used for ballroom dancing. "Other things?" I said a bit awkwardly. "A new bar at least."

"Booths," Matt chimed in, leaning against a wall and watching me. "You've never been to a nightclub, have you?"

My face heated and he smiled, "VIP rooms. A DJ booth on the back wall. Dark and sleek. Use the same aesthetic as the parlor. One-way mirrored walls for the parlors that face the dance floor..."

The man nodded taking out a pen and a small pad of paper, "How crazy do you want it?"

He gave him a gleeful grin, "... make sure Felix would want to come."

He laughed, and I wondered who on Earth Felix was, but it seemed to give them something to think about as Grace returned with several women and Owen, dressed in casual clothes. "Eventually," Matt said, "Everyone who lives downstairs will be moved out."

Someone gasped and froze. The group of them turned to Matt.

"Proper housing for employees will be set up elsewhere," Matt said. "We'll renovate some of the parlors and rooms for an employee area, but I don't want anyone who will work here to also live here... It's dangerous." My heart trembled at the words, and Alyssa growled with pleasure.

Protective of the pack. He's quite the alpha.

I shook myself free of that thought. What pack? We didn't have any bonds and how ridiculous would a pack of ex-prostitutes be?

"Before we build anything, we've got to break a lot of stuff and pack up what we can keep from the bar."

Matt scoffed, "If it's not wolfsbane put it in the kitchen for cooking or something, or keep it I guess."

"... you mean you want us to clean?" One of the women asked, eyes wide.

"And break stuff," I said, "Call it... picking up a new vocation."

Some of them glanced back at Matt nervously then at me.

Owen's lips twitched, his cigarette dangling out of the corner of his mouth, "Sounds good to me."

He picked up a hammer as someone else grabbed a box.

"Tell me where to swing."

Moved the fridges out of the underbar and the other equipment and shoved it back into the kitchen before I directed Owen towards the face of the main bar. He wasn't very strong, but he had smoked through his cigarette and started laughing by the time he and I had managed to knock the bar top loose enough to carry away.

The actual workers started pulling up the cheap linoleum behind the bar and the ugly tile around the bar.

Within a few hours, there was enough dust and broken pieces around that no one would doubt that renovations were happening.

When we started breaking down the drywall, others seemed more willing to grab a hammer. People were laughing as they broke through the walls and I couldn't blame them.

There was something therapeutic about breaking down the walls of the cage that had been holding them for so long.

Grace remained out of the way as she was wearing heels and a black hostess' dress. It was the only uniform of Club Heaven beside the bartender's that covered most of the body. Matt waved her towards him as I helped direct the demolition.

Matt seemed to be asking her something, but seeing them together made me uncomfortable. They weren't standing close. She didn't lean into him or seem to be trying to charm him, but there was an ease in the way they were speaking that irked me for some reason. He seemed relaxed around her. I couldn't make out their words, but their tones seemed almost friendly.

I couldn't blame him. Grace was beautiful, unscarred, and knew a lot more Midnight and what would be the best way to move forward than either of us. The slowly developing plot against Mordecai would be lost without her.

Alyssa cackled at the back of my mind as I went back to work. We demolished the entire bar and part of the adjacent wall before we had to put up more dust curtains so that there was a walking path from the front of the building to Matt's finished parlor. "Mr. Wallber, you have a visitor," the security guard called approaching the area. "Alpha Mordecai is here."