Do I haunt your dreams like you haunt mine?
“Yes, I’ve been listening to you,” I tell him, my words coming out in a tone I rarely use, soft and sincere.
He nods once, still smiling before he releases my hand, fingers trailing along my own for as long as they can before it falls back to my side. The tightness returns to my chest, the strength he lent has seeped away, and the warmth I felt ices over once again.
“You can stop pretending,” he says quietly, turning back to his machine and pressing the green start button once again. My mouth opens, but no words come out. After a beat, he looks over again and points to the headphone case sitting on the console.
“You can stop pretending,” he repeats, smile becoming coy and infuriatingly knowing.
But I can’t stop pretending.
It’s all I know.
9
HARPER
“Ireally think this is the only space that I would even consider for the event.”
Cassandra Harlin, America’s sweetheart, raises her martini glass to her perfectly painted lips, making her Van Cleef bracelet slide a little down her wrist with the movement. Everything about her is proper, from her off-white cardigan, matching cream-colored nails, and pink painted lips that can barely be considered a color.
I see patrons peeking over at us, and I can only imagine how we look sitting side by side. If you placed anyone between us right now, it would look as though we worked together, perching on shoulders, encouraging purity on one side and debauchery on the other.
The only thing between us now are cocktails and contracts.
“I have to admit I’m surprised to hear you say that. Even for a bachelorette party, it doesn’t exactly seem like your scene,” I question. I’m toeing the line between questioning and rude, especially for someone whose business I want.
She giggles over the rim of her glass, the sound equivalentof nails on a chalkboard, before placing it down on the table.Giggles. Hard to imagine why I didn’t thinkCirquewas a match.
“I’ve been a member here since you opened, why wouldn’t I want to take advantage of that membership and host it here,” she asks, folding a napkin to gently dab at the corners of her mouth.
Lord forbid she smudge the color-free lipstick that no one would notice.
“Frankly, Ms. Harlin, I think you’ve only stepped into the club on a handful of occasions in that time frame,” I reply, rapping my nails against the glass I hold. “Most of which were during charity events in which membership isn’t even a requirement for entry. So hopefully you can understand my curiosity why now you’ve decided to grace us not just with your attendance, but a private event.”
“Well, for this type of evening, I wanted to have something a little more intimate. So I needed somewhere known for discretion,” she smiles at me, like we are long-time friends sharing a joke. “And obviously a well-established security system and team in place.”
I don’t need the reminder that she’s hounded by the paparazzi, especially after the hassle it took just getting her here for this meeting. We have advanced security systems in place, of course, but we had to hire even more contractors to physically create a human barrier so she could walk comfortably from her car to the door tonight. I offered her the back entrance for employees that’s attached to a garage, but she said theexposurewould be good.
Next week will be even worse for this event. All her friends attending will bring the same level of chaos that she does. Luckily, she kept the guest list short with only fifteen people in attendance, herself included.
“Of course. The proper security measures have alreadybeen initiated so that the event runs smoothly. You won’t have to worry about anything other than having a great night.”
“Oh, that’s absolutely lovely to hear,” she sighs, leaning back into her chair. “My assistant told me she’s already provided your team with the finalized guest list and any special requests.”
By special requests she means her specialty cocktail for the event along with the approved list of foods that my chef isallowedto work with for the event.
I decided to let Colton have that conversation with Amela, my head chef, hoping that she would react better if the news was delivered with a pretty face. If it weren’t for the fact that he told her she could make the menu phallic, I think she would have thrown a pan at him, pretty face or not. Luckily for him, she’s a sucker for themed food, and this request is a fun one to challenge herself with.
“Yes, my head of security has already reviewed the list of attendees and is running security checks. Many of them are not current members, so additional checks needed to be done. You understand, of course.” I give her a wide smile, showing all my teeth, watching her smile falter for a moment. I’m not known for being subtle, and why beat around the bush?
“You are going to be held accountable for their actions of the night. They are not members for a reason and not due to a lack of effort on their part,” I tell her, driving home the implications of what bringingguestsmeans.
“Of course,” she replies, fake smile back in place. “And once your employees all sign the non-disclosure agreements, they can just be sent back to my assistant. She will bring them to my legal team. For safekeeping.”
“Yes, we received them, but they won’t be getting signed.” I turn to look her dead in the eyes, all pretense of politeness gone. “My employees are the epitome of discretion and have all signed NDAs withme,” I assure her.
“Are you saying your staff refused to sign?” her tone drips with indignation, a hand coming up to her chest like she’s searching for pearls to clutch. That my employees are so beneath her, she can’t fathom a world in which they would say no. A word I don’t think she hears all that often, but could benefit from a few life lessons with the word at its core.
