Chapter 25

Leon Pace walked hurriedly out of the penitentiary gates and got into the waiting car. Accepting the offered cold drink from the driver, he sat back in relief as the car drove towards his home.

A short prison sentence might seem light to the public, but try doing it yourself, he thought. The penitentiary was no joke, and even with his influence ,Leon had to stay alert the entire time. Finally, he was out and could restart his life.

There were many pieces to be assembled. While still a member of the LLC, he was no longer the controlling officer. Pace was grateful his shares had not been confiscated or forfeited in the court case. With his reputation, going back to the Star Candy club was out of the question.

Fortunately, his patron had another assignment available. Located on the other side of town, the Sparkles club had fallen on hard times. Business was down, and new management was needed to turn things around. While Pace’s reputation was tarnished, he still had a track record of bringing in profits for his investors, and that counted most. Besides, running a club was all Leon knew. He had no other job skills to fall back on. If things worked out, both Leon and Sparkles would make a giant comeback, and happy times would be here again.

Cousin Mark was still in prison, so Leon would have to find a new main assistant in the interim. Good help was hard to find, but Pace could size prospective employees up pretty quickly. When he got home, a list of candidates was waiting on his desk for review. While looking over the list, his mind turned on possible strategies.

He could run the club straight up and try to turn a profit. Booze and girls were always solid moneymakers. But business was competitive, and the investors were always hungry for more. As long as they didn’t get their hands dirty, no one cared how the money came in, he thought grimly.

So which game to try? The cat was out of the bag on the extortion racket, so that was out. There had to be some other way to gain an advantage. Yes, leverage was always the answer. You just had to locate it.