Laci, Laci, Laci… right, Emilio.
I don’t let myself stew on thoughts of Em while I walk over to Jo. I do a double take as I get closer and she turns, my eyes sweeping over bare skin. That’s new.
Before they went to Florida, Jo wore a lot of gauzy layers and see-through materials that hid the scars across her body but didn’t completely make them invisible. She’s just wearing a tank top and shorts, typical for the warm weather outside right now, but it’s the most bare skin I’ve ever seen on her. Even if she plays with her husband here at their club, they do it behind closed doors and she covers up after. There’s no showing off like right now.
Glancing around, I expect to see Vinny lingering in the shadows like he normally is, watching his wife without crowding her. I don’t see him at the moment, which is good, because Vinny is a step above terrifying when it comes to Jo.
“Rich,” she says warmly, giving me a hug. I accept it, because I do really like Jo even if I’m annoyed with her right now. “Is it delivery day?”
The corner of my mouth hooks up, and I match her grin. “No. I actually came to speak with you.”
Her brows lift, and Callie shoots me a curious look over her shoulder before disappearing down the bar to help out a customer. “About?”
I meet her gaze, crossing my arms. “About Kimber.”
Surprise lights her gaze, and she shifts on her feet to lean her elbow on the bartop. “Well, that’s new. Does Kimber no longer speak for herself?”
“That’s not-”
“Because if I talked to Kimber about something,” she says, dropping her voice, “that’s who I would expect to want to talk to me. The last time I talked to her was over the phone. Do you know anything about that?”
We glare at each other. Vinny’s scarier, but Jo can be frightening when she wants to be. She didn’t become the owner of a place like this by being a pushover and hiding behind her husband. Still…
“I think you’re being cruel,” I say, keeping my voice low.
Jo scoffs, rolling her blue eyes. “Am I? Come with me.”
She stalks back to the door to the office, swiping a card that allows access and provides much better security than the setup they used to have. I hate the little narrow hall that leads to the next floor where their office is tucked away, along with a room that’s largely just used for signing contracts with the club. I follow her silently, wondering if Kimber will bite my head off for interfering.
I’m pretty sure she will.
“Serenity, go mingle,” Jo says as we walk into the office. It’s a good size, or it used to be, but there’s now four desks smushed into the space and it looks overrun. I thought that Emeric planned on going back to Florida when the owners returned, but it looks like the temporary managers for the club are sticking around, and this room is at its limits.
Serenity looks up from her place behind one of the new desks. She’s ten years younger than Jo, and her youth is obvious in her face. The two are strikingly similar for cousins and I could believe they were sisters. Serenity’s features are softer than Jo’s, less hardened by life, and she gives both of us a weird look as I follow her cousin to the largest desk in the room.
“Uh, is it work stuff?” she asks, dropping her feet off of the desk. “Because I’m trying to learn more.”
“It’s personal,” Jo says, meeting her cousin’s gaze. The two stare at each other for a moment before Serenity sighs, standing, and crosses her arms.
“You know,” she says sadly, turning on her heel, “someday you have to trust me. I’m not my father. I’m not going to betray you.”
She lets the door slam on her way out, and Jo flinches at the noise. I look between the door and the owner, trying to decide what kind of weird fight that was. “Things okay?”
“Peachy,” she says, shoving more papers to the side. “Now, are you and Kimber going to become partners?”
I glare. “We haven’t talked about it. And I’m not interested in talking to anyone but her about it.”
“Then why are you showing up asking to talk about Kimber when you know I’m not going to disclose someone’s private files with you?” she asks sharply, crossing her arms. “What exactly do you expect us to discuss?”
Pursing my lips, I debate what to tell her. I didn’t need the lecture from Jo; I knew all of that before she started. “You won’t tell me about what happened for you to want to revoke her membership-”
“It’s a privacy thing,” she interrupts, shaking her head. “I don’t know why I need to explain this to you, Richard. We’ve known each other long enough. I cannot allow someone who could cause issues into the club.”
I grit my teeth, taking a breath before I start again. Now I almost wish Vinny were here; I’m used to arguing with him. “You’ve let in problematic people in the past.”
“And once we know someone is a danger to our members, we remove them,” she says, narrowing her eyes. “That’s why our guards are all privately hired. We want them to be able to handle anything that goes wrong. If she wants to discuss it, that’s Kimber’s decision. You are neither her partner nor her spokesperson, and I think she’d be offended that you’re stepping on her toes.”
“Your guards are meant to protect the people in the club,” I say carefully, well aware Jo isn’t going to budge on explaining anything. Dragging my tongue across my teeth, I hope she feels like listening instead of turning around to confront Kimber about what the hell I’m doing butting in. “Kimber lives for the experiences here. She wouldn’t do something to purposefully jeopardize that. If you take this safe haven from her, you will do more harm than good.”
