Sam put both his legs on the table without bothering to take off his shoes, which he usually does when no one is around. It has been a long but rewarding day. Owning a top karaoke lounge is one thing. Managing it is a totally different ball game. Recruiting good and loyal people is another. Still, he can’t complain.

John has outdone himself again, he told himself. John returned last evening with another eight gorgeous women in tow from Chengdu. God knows how many hard liquor and packets of cigarettes he downed and inhaled when dealing with the brokers up there.

Phoenix Lounge is very lucky to have such a competent broker and recruitment fellow. Dealing with those individuals from China has never been his forte. Sam just celebrated an 8th anniversary of owning Phoenix Lounge. The first six years he had done all the recruitment himself. He trusted his own instinct and market knowledge of what his clientele required.

The complex process of dealing with them and excessive drinking exhausted him for lounge matters. That part of the business simply did not suit his personality.

Of the eight girls (or, rather, women), Lily caught his fancy. She was neither the best looking nor the most attractive. And certainly not statuesque. To top it all, she had a rather arrogant look; her face seemed to say, I don’t belong here. Was it this arrogance that he found so refreshing?

Most of the other new girls are usually servile in demeanour, especially in the early days.It occurred to Sam that perhaps her charm lies in her mysterious, captivating personality which was difficult to define. Despite her average appearance, there was some undeniable magnetism that drew Sam towards her. He was amid navigating through the complexities of his divorce. Hopefully, her presence will provide a much-needed respite from the mild turmoils of his personal life. He must speak to this girl soon. Talking about magnetism indeed.

The immediate task was that she does not start work tomorrow evening. She was not to be rostered for work. This was to prevent any of his big-spending clients from even seeing her walking around the Phoenix. He knows them well, their swagger into his Lounge after stepping out of their chauffeur-driven S-class limousines.

The “salary interview” with Lily was a breeze. There was a very natural confluence of financial and physical attraction. She seemed genuinely happy that she had found full-time employment in more ways than one.

Her pay was a small salary plus commissions on customer’s drinks. Any tips she kept 100% for herself, not to mention any payments for additional services. Based on what she had been told by some of her Chengdu friends who had worked in Singapore before, what Sam offered her was really exceptional.

She moved to a private apartment on East Coast Road the next morning, while the other girls stayed in Chinatown.

Tonight, standing alone on the balcony above the third floor of the semi-detached house was something special. It was something she had been doing since moving in the last month. Some singing wafted from the sound-padded room below. Sam’s adoption of Engelbert Humperdinck’s “Release Me” as his personal theme song in recent weeks has not been surprising. Here he was, belting it out but in Dean Martin style, his lack of musical timing sense notwithstanding. His gusto was understandable, though, if the neighbours got wind of his rendition.

Sam’s twenty-year-old marriage legally ended last week. It was not acrimonious; Sam was not the vindictive kind and had been more than generous in his settlement with her and their son.

Time to get back to the friends gathered below. One last puff, sending the exhaled smoke spiralling into the dark sky. This was her first cigarette in 6 months since she left Chengdu. A few days earlier before that she had signed some documents to confirm her decision to join Phoenix Lounge as a hostess.

Obviously, she has failed in her quest for her chosen career. As a lounge-hostess, she achieved the feat of becoming the girlfriend of the owner in the business despite having the least experience. And by next week, the co-owner of the Phoenix Lounge which agreed to work for originally.

The appointment with the Registrar of Marriages is next Tuesday, at 2-30pm.