“Will do,” I say, handing him the check from my wallet. “You and the guys should come to the opening. Bring your wife for a night out.”
“You know we might do that. She would love it. I love my kids, but sometimes I just want her to myself.” He grins.
I walk him to the door and say goodbye to the rest of his team. Turning, I look around me and take in my vision. When I inherited the money, I wanted something that would continue to make me money. Once the club idea got in my head, it just wouldn’t leave. After weeks of thinking of not much else, I started putting my plans to paper, looking for a location. Now here I am, just under two months from opening night. It’s surreal to see it all come together.
Grabbing my iPad, I begin walking through and making notes in regards to furniture we’re going to need. Beckett Construction built a custom bar, but we need bar stools, as well as tables, chairs, and booths for the upstairs VIP. There are also three offices and a conference room that looks down over the entire club. It has a mirrored effect; people can’t see in, but I’ll be able to see out. So will Zane and our new administrator. All three offices are now spoken for. I quickly get lost in taking it all in and planning.
“Hello,” I hear a female voice call. I’m in the back storage room measuring for shelves.
Looking at the time, I see that it’s four o’clock, which tells me that this must be our new administrator. “Sorry, I lost track of time. Zane should be. . . .” My voice trails off when I come face-to-face with Berklee. “Hey,” I say hesitantly.
“Uh, hi. I’m, um, looking for Zane.”
No fucking way is he dating her. “He’s supposed to be here any minute. Can I help you with something?” Like telling Zane to fuck off?
“I don’t know exactly. I’m supposed to start working here today.” She gives a shy smile. “This is the job I was telling you about. I’m the new administrator for Club Titan.”
Holy. Fucking. Shit.
My words are stuck as I process what she just said.
Berklee, the girl I stroked my cock to not even twenty-four hours ago, is my new administrator.
“HEY, YOU MADE it,” Zane says, rushing into the club. “Sorry, I was hoping to beat you here.” He stops in front of me and pulls me into a hug.
“What the fuck?” Mr. Super Sexy Beard says. I’m still trying to figure out what he’s doing here. Surely, he’s not. . . .
“Crew, I see you’ve met, Berklee. Berklee, this is Crew Ledger, owner of Club Titan.”
Shit. Shit. Shit. Mr. Super Sexy Beard is my new boss. I mentally replay all of our interactions, making sure I didn’t make a fool of myself. The flirting, that first day when I checked him out. . . . Oh no. This isn’t good. I’m going to be fired before I even get to start.
His name fits him. It’s sexy like him.
Oh no. I fight the blush that I know is rising to my cheeks. I used my boss to fuel my fantasy. This is not good. So not good at all.
“Yes,” Crew says, bringing my attention back to them. “Would you care to tell me why you’re hugging our new employee? That has sexual harassment written all over it.” He’s looking at Zane like he wants to rip his head off.
This guy is always calm, cool and collected when he comes into Coffee House. I guess first impressions can be wrong.
“Relax, Crew. She’s Barry’s roommate.”
“Barry and Maggie,” I speak up. “Maggie and I have been best friends for. . . .”
“Your entire life,” Zane finishes for me.
I shrug. “Anyway, Barry’s a confirmed bachelor and when Maggie and I graduated college, he offered for us to move in with him and split the bills. It works for us,” I say.
“When you’re here it needs to remain professional. Is that going to be a problem?” he asks.
“No, sir,” I say quickly.
Crew, who is staring Zane down, breaks his gaze to look at me. I think I see his face soften just a fraction when he says, “I was talking to Zane.” Still not the friendly guy I’ve come to know, but this is his business after all. His livelihood.
“Calm down, Ledger. Berklee and I go way back. There is nothing sexual between us. Well . . . not yet.” Zane winks at me.
“Enough!” Crew thunders, causing me to jump. “It’s my name and reputation on the line. This can’t and won’t happen, do you understand me?”
“I got it. Now, Crab Ass, can we get started?”
I hold my breath, waiting for Crew to tell me that Zane made a mistake and that I no longer have the job. I’m sure Coffee House will let me stay. I’ve been there for years now.
“Show her around. Keep your damn hands to yourself,” Crew grumbles before marching back upstairs.
“That was pleasant.” Zane chuckles.
I slap his shoulder. “Zane! What if he fires me before I even get started?”
“Relax, Berklee. He’s not going to fire you. He’s just under a lot of stress with getting this place up and running. Neither one of us really know what it takes to run a business. Crew has been researching and doing a lot of reading, but we need you. He knows that. He also knows that since I know you, you can be trusted. He doesn’t trust new people easily. They find out he has money and that’s what drives them.”
“People suck,” I say.
“That they do. All right, let’s take the tour.”
I nod and follow him as he points out the bar, stage, storage closets and security room. He explains that state-of-the-art cameras will be installed, so there will be eyes in the sky, and the team will be in the room next to the door. That way they can get to any potential issues faster than if their office was housed upstairs with the rest.
“Level two.” He motions for me to go first.
As I reach the landing, Crew is standing there, his arms folded over his chest and a stern look on his face.
“No touching, and none of that eye shit you got going on either,” he says with authority.
“Eye shit?” Zane chuckles.
“Berklee, we need a minute. You can go into the first door on the right. That’s going to be the administrator’s office.”
I don’t miss how he doesn’t say “your office,” but I do as I’m asked anyway.
“Stop fucking her with your eyes,” I hear Crew demand.
Zane laughs.
My knees begin to shake as adrenaline rushes through me. I’m afraid to get busted eavesdropping and losing my job all at the same time. Emotional roller coaster.
“Damn it, Davis!”
“Okay, geez. Listen, Berklee has been at practically all of my family functions growing up. She’s like a little cousin. Relax. I’m not going to do anything to screw this up for you. I’m invested too, you know. I quit my job to be here.”
I hear a heavy sigh, then Crew says, “Okay, I got it, but can you tone that shit down? Please?”
The way he says “please” sounds as though it was painful for him to get the word out.
“Done. Now, can we please show her the rest of the club before we scare her off and we’re screwed? We need her and you know it.”