“Well, thank you for covering for me. I don’t need him finding out where I am. He will only ruin my situation and I don’t need that, especially when I was finally able to make a change in my life.”

“I get it, girl. Your secret is safe with me. I haven’t told anyone.”

“What about Carlos?” I asked, as I thought about how much I missed him.

“He gets it. He knows something is up, but we never talk about it. We should invite him next time we decide to do lunch.”

“I agree completely.”

We finished up our lunches as we talked about how much of a pervert Marv was and all the new lingerie I got to wear. I missed Lyla; she was my one true friend. I liked the other Jett Girls, but I didn’t bond with them as much, like I did with Lyla. They weren’t really into talking about their feelings, and then there was always the big elephant in the room we couldn’t talk about: sex with Jett.

“Can we get the check?” I asked the waitress as she passed. “It’s on me.” I winked at Lyla.

“Such a show off, rolling in the dough,” Lyla joked as she winked at me.

“You’re all set, girls,” the waitress tapped the top of our table.

“What?” I asked before the waitress was able to walk away.

“Your bill, it was already taken care of. You’re good to go.”

The waitress walked away and I turned back to Lyla with my mouth open.

Lyla just laughed at me. “Looks like your privacy days are all over sweetheart. Have fun with that,” she said, while tipping her water glass to me and then taking a sip.

Jett.

He couldn’t just give me a couple of hours? Did he have to follow me around the fucking Garden District? I knew Kace said my privacy was completely gone, but I didn’t think the man would follow me to a lunch with my friend. Annoyed wasn’t a good enough word to describe how I was feeling and the man on my shit list was going to hear about it.

Chapter Twenty Five

“Shot Me Down”

Jett

I stared across my desk as my assistant, Jeremy, flipped through his phone to pull up a contact I requested from him.

“I just sent you the number through text. If you call that number, you will get through to Bruce who will be able to help you with Lot 17. I’m not making any promises, but he’s a good start. Warning though, I would tread carefully; word on the street is your dad is out for blood on this property.”

Jeremy whispered as if we were in some kind of espionage movie. At times, the man could be too much for me. I was pretty sure drama was his middle name.

I ran my hand through my hair as I listened to Jeremy’s concerns. “I get that, but I just don’t know why.”

Jeremy pulled out his iPad and started touching the screen all over. “I talked to one of my contacts downtown,” he said with a wink and I rolled my eyes, “and he informed me that your dad’s last two business deals have gone to hell, so he is desperate to make this one work. The park property is prime location for some new high-rise housing that he wants to put in and he is not going to stop until he gets it. He’s desperate, with a capital D,” Jeremy said, as he snapped his fingers in the air.

Jesus.

“That property belongs to the kids,” I practically shouted, as I thought about what a dick my dad was being.

“I know that and you know that, but what it comes down to is money and your dad is willing to do whatever it takes to take over the property himself, even if that means he has to betray his own son for it. What a horrid thing,” Jeremy shuddered.

“Wouldn’t be the first time,” I muttered.

An idea popped in my head as I thought about the upcoming social I was hosting at the Lafayette Club.

“Jeremy, pull all the names that are involved in acquiring Lot 17…city managers, lawyers, every last person and invite them to the social we’re hosting in a couple of days. I have some networking to do.”

A sly smile crossed Jeremy’s face as he took notes on my demands. “Not a problem. I’ll get invites sent out by courier tonight.”

“Thank you, is everything set for the event?”

“Yes, just stopped by the caterer today to make sure everything was on track, which it is. The linens, tables, chairs and lighting have been rented.” We decided to get the even catered because it would be too big for our chef to handle, which he was happy about.

“We’re just doing high-top tables, right?” I asked, trying to recall what kind of set-up we agreed upon.

“Yes, high-top tables, upholstered benches for those who need to sit, black linens and deep purple lighting with chrome candelabras throughout the house. It’s going to be sexy chic with your name written all over it.”

“Perfect. I am hoping to gather a couple new members, not that we need any, we’re pretty much booked solid for a couple of months, right?”

Jeremy scrolled through his iPad again, as he looked to confirm the schedule. “Yes, Kace sent me the latest updates this morning and we don’t have any openings for at least two months. I would say the club is doing quite well. I also think it helps that you brought in that feisty new girl.”

If Jeremy wasn’t gay, then I would have put Jeremy in his place for talking about Goldie. I knew Jeremy was harmless, though. Then the thought of why the club was doing so well came to mind. I didn’t like the fact that Goldie was drawing so much attention; it didn’t help that she was petite but had curves to kill and Tootse dressed her in the skimpiest outfits. An annoying sense of unease crept through my body as I thought about all the creeps that walked through my club and the potential harm they could do to Goldie. I didn’t trust anyone, especially the men who walked through my doors; that was why I pulled lap dances and maybe because I didn’t want her getting even close to another man.

Jeremy interrupted my thoughts by clearing his throat and saying, “The only thing we don’t have finalized are the outfits for the girls. I know we’ve been back and forth about what they would wear, whether it would be just lingerie or an actual dress…”

“Dress,” I cut in, before Jeremy could elaborate more. The thought of Goldie traipsing around a bunch of horny bastards in nothing but lingerie sent my brain into overload. I would be way too busy worrying about men touching her, rather than the task at hand. “Definitely a dress.”

“Good, I’ll let Tootse know. Babs wants to do something different than masks this go-around; she wants to do some airbrushing with make up to form a mask. She wanted to make sure that was okay.”

I waved my hand, “Fine, I don’t care, as long as you can’t tell who they are.”

“Great, I’ll let her know. Also, they didn’t want to wear…”

I held up my hand as reality hit me. “Hold up, what the hell are you doing talking to me about the girls? Kace is in charge of them; he should be debriefing me about all the decisions.”

Jeremy looked a little shaken at my harsh tone. I didn’t look too much into it because the man was a bit sensitive anyway. “I understand that sir, but Kace asked me to take over the details for this event, since he’s been busy with training and building new equipment for the girls.”

“New equipment?” I asked, feeling like a complete ass at not knowing what was going on in my own club.

“Uh…yeah. The girls had some ideas about ramping up their stage presence, so Kace has been working on it.”

“And whose fucking idea was this?”

“Pepper’s,” Jeremy gulped.

“You’re excused,” I said, as I turned my chair to look out the window.

I heard Jeremy shuffling around behind me as he gathered his items and left. When did it become okay for me to lose complete control of my club? When was it okay for people to start making decisions without me? I don’t ever remember saying that was okay.

Turning on my television to see what was happening in the Toulouse Room, I quickly pulled out my phone to text Kace.