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I’m in New York... thinking of you... can I see you when I return this weekend?
In seconds she replied.
I don’t know. Can you?
Oh, she was feisty tonight, toying with word choice. He responded with a:
May I?
As the cab rolled past the Port Authority and the neon lights and tourist traps on 42nd Street, her reply arrived.
What will you be wearing?
Okay, he was getting somewhere, if they were talking about clothes. Brent gri
What do you want me to wear?
As the cab started up again, he clutched the phone and peered out the window, forcing himself not to simply stare at the screen and wait for a reply. As he sca
Honestly, you’re pretty hot in nothing. But I don’t think you should parade around naked at di
Like there was a chance in hell he wouldn’t.
Consider it done.
The cab arrived at his hotel, and several phone calls later, he’d pulled it off. He knew enough people in Vegas, so he’d called in some favors and secured the reservation for the woman he wanted most in the world. He also had something else for her, thanks to a couple of extra minutes spent Googling and ordering, but he’d wait until di
Impressed. Also, no need to pick me up. I’ll meet you at the restaurant.
Damn. She hadn’t given up her address yet. But that was okay. He had a way to earn it when he saw her that weekend. He laughed to himself at the realization that he was thirty-one years old and excited as hell about a di
But then, the di
* * *
Ta
“I said I wanted sweetened iced tea. Take it back,” he barked, making a get this out of my face gesture with his fingers. “This is unsweetened.”
“Right away, sir,” she said, with a deferential nod.
Ta
Brent nodded at the owner of the building he’d already leased space from in Tribeca. They were at McCoy’s in midtown, rolling up their sleeves to discuss the latest two-steps-forward-three-steps-back routine that New York was pulling.
“With four clubs open in the first year, I think that shows how serious I am. We just opened Saint Bart’s, and that follows our first club in Vegas, as well as our clubs in Miami and San Francisco,” Brent said, carefully detailing the progress his business had made during the first twelve months.
Ta
“So what’s the real concern?” Brent said, opting for directness. “And what can I do to help ease them?”
Ta
“The location is zoned for a nightclub,” Brent said, pointing out the obvious, because that was the reality of the property. Rather than deal with intangibles, Brent wanted to try to focus on the facts. “You had one in the building before mine and it went out of business.”
“That’s what I’ve been saying to them,” he said.
“And how do they take it?”
Ta
Irritation knotted in his muscles. He didn’t even know who was friend or foe. He might not ever know though, so he shifted gears. “So I need to prove to them why it should be my club?”
“Yeah. Why you and not some other nightclub.”
Brent launched into his pitch about Edge. He wanted to make sure the landlord would go to bat for him. “Because we don’t attract the raunchy crowd that the previous club drew. You won’t find twenty-one-year-olds puking outside the loft apartments at three in the morning. We don’t cater to the whole deejay culture that attracts the crazy fans. My clubs are upscale and classy. They have a certain mystique, a lush sensuality, but it never crosses over into trashy. Edge is seductive, it’s sexy, but it’s never raunchy.”
The waitress returned with a fresh iced tea. “Here you go, sir. Sweetened, as you requested.”
Ta
“Easy enough. I’ll be glad to do that. Anything else?”
“Yeah, how about you peel off a little extra for me? The ex is trying to take me to court about alimony payments.” Brent didn’t answer because he didn’t like the sound of the request, but Ta
“Great. And I want Edge there too. So let me know if there’s anything else you need from me.”
“That’s all for now. But I’m sure there will be something else soon. That’s how it goes in New York. You gotta do whatever it takes.”
That seemed to be the new mantra in his life, whether with women or with business.
CHAPTER TEN
Sha
At age seventy-three, Victoria Paige showed no sign of slowing down. She was fit, trim, muscular, and determined to keep up with anyone and everyone.
“Even the dog is getting jealous of my yoga skills,” Victoria said with a wink as she and Sha