Chapter 3 Callum – Seeing Red
CALLUM – SEEING RED
The screens in my office cycle through every camera feed.
It’s our first big night and I want everything to run smoothly.
Knox insisted on a themed kick-off party, and at first I thought it was to mess with Jax because feathers, hearts, and wings are everything Knox loves and Jax hates.
But it’s working. There’s a line stretching all the way down the block to the corner.
A woman jumping up and down near our bouncer grabs my attention.
When I lean in closer, I recognize Tony’s girlfriend.
She seems to have a big personality, which is the opposite of what little I know about Tony.
He and his firm helped with the design of Vixen, so he was on the friends and family list for the opening.
He decided to rent out a few tables in our VIP section upstairs, but it wasn’t ready, so we sectioned off a place downstairs.
It looks like she’s yelling at someone.
Switching the camera, I find a woman standing on the curb wearing a beige trench coat, holding a pair of red wings with clear apprehension.
Red. She’s single.
My chest tightens for a second, but I ignore it. She’s pretty, but the guys and I agreed we’re going to take a break from bringing anyone home right now. The last girl we fucked wanted more than we could or would give.
No. Right now, we just need to focus on Vixen. We have this and Emmett’s restaurant, Bo La Vie, to keep us busy.
Work. Work is good for us.
Tony’s girlfriend yells something else, waving her hand and stomping her foot. The other girl seems confused, looking at the line, then back to her friend. Interesting. Most girls wouldn’t think twice about jumping the line, but yet she hesitates, guilt flicking across her face.
Cut it off, Callum. Get back to work.
When the girl moves towards the door, I switch the cameras back to their rotation and lean back in my chair, staring at the office wall.
We did it. We opened our nightclub.
My eyes glance back down at the screen and I see red-wing girl walking inside with her friend nearly pulling her jacket off her and handing it to the coat check.
She slips her wings on and even though she’s smiling, it doesn’t reach her eyes.
Why come to a club if she doesn’t want to be here?
Why isn’t she happy? And more importantly, why the hell do I care?
Her friend pats the top of her breasts, then grabs her hand. They’re walking towards the main dance floor and I have to fight the urge to pull up the next camera to watch her. This is not me.
The buzzer on the office door beeps, pulling my attention, so I quickly flick off the camera and push to standing.
“Whatcha doin’? Watching something you shouldn’t be?
” Knox asks, nearly bouncing into the room with a smile spread across his face.
If he were an animal, he’d be a kangaroo or maybe a golden retriever, not only because of his golden blonde hair but also because of his personality.
He’s always so happy, which I wouldn’t expect knowing the shit he’s gone through in his life.
“Nothing.” The word flies out too fast to be casual, and I immediately cringe. Fantastic. Now Knox is going to latch onto it like a dog with a bone.
He claps his hands and skips across the room. “Something.” He turns the screen around to look at the camera feeds. “Was it people having sex in the hall? On the dance floor?” He gasps, “In a corner? I hope not. I don’t feel like cleaning that shit up.”
“Nothing.” This time I say the word slower and with more confidence. “How’s it going out there?”
“Great, but I think we’re out of Clase Azul.”
“What? How can we be out? We haven’t been open for that long?”
“Some guy just bought a lot of shots… a lot of times.”
“Why? We have free drinks floating around the floor?” I should be happy that he decided to spend God knows how much money on alcohol when he didn’t have to, but seriously, we had three bottles.
“Fine, let’s look in the back and make sure.
Maybe we can talk to Emmett and see if he can sell us one from Bo La Vie. ”
Knox and I walk out of the office and across the empty second floor.
This was supposed to be open for our VIP, but the bar wasn’t ready and we didn’t want to manage running drinks up and down the stairs.
I walk over to the railing and look down at the dance floor.
So many people, but not the one I want to see.
She should have made it to the VIP section by now. It’s not a long hall.
“I’ll be back. Check on the tequila and let me know.”
“How brave of you to venture down below.” He throws his head back and laughs, before making an inappropriate gesture with his fingers and tongue.
“Really fucking mature,” Jax snaps, walking over to stand with Knox.
Knox rolls his eyes and pats Jax on the back. “You’re just mad that I was right, and this is a phenomenal success.” Knox turns in a circle with his arms spread wide, like a boxer does in the ring just after they’ve won a fight.
“Fuck off,” Jax shoves Knox, who laughs and bounces away.
The stairway to the main floor is narrow, and the bass of the music sounds muffled as I make the transition.
When I get downstairs, I do a quick sweep and find her knocking back one of Emmett’s shots.
He’s been working on it over the last month, trying to perfect the flavor.
It meant a lot of late nights on our rooftop bar at home sampling drink after drink until now even seeing one makes my throat threaten to close in mutiny.
They’re delicious, but after one hundred samples, I need a break.
Before I can stop myself, I’m walking in her direction. I’m not going to talk to her. I just want to see her. Hear her. Fuck, I sound like a stalker.
“Will he make me come in the bathroom?” She laughs, and not paying attention, bumps into me. “Sorry,” she calls over her shoulder, but I keep walking, clenching and unclenching my fist.
She’s talking about having some guy make her come in the bathroom.
Our bathroom? She came here to have sex with a man in our bathroom?
Why is this bothering me so much? I don’t even know her, so I have no right to be mad or jealous that she’s here to hook up with some guy. I mean, it’s a nightclub, so…
Is she really going to fuck him in the bathroom? I didn’t think Red would do that.
Red?
Damn it! I huff out in frustration as I walk outside to say something to the bouncer. Anything, so I can pretend that my reason for walking downstairs was to see him and not get closer to some woman I don’t even know.
A few minutes later, I’m back upstairs trying to keep myself busy. Anything, so I’m not standing at the railing looking for her again. Get it together, Callum. This is not who you are. You don’t search out women; they come to you. Preferably on their knees, wearing nothing but a pair of high heels.
“Looks like we’re going to run out of vodka tonight, the way people are knocking back E’s drink,” Jax says walking up beside me.
“Should have put a limit on it or something,” I snap back, letting my frustrations get the better of me. Add vodka to the list of things that aren’t perfect tonight.
“Yeah, Tony’s party seems to enjoy them,” he says, pointing, and before I can even think about what I’m doing, I’m looking over the railing and I see Red drinking another shot.
She needs to slow down before she gets sick.
I don’t need her puking all over our floor.
It’s not the image I want Vixen to be known for.
Shit! As if sensing me, she turns around and looks right at me. Her eyes dance over my face and body, then narrow as if she’s trying to solve a puzzle. She doesn’t look away like she expects me to, but I’m not. I don’t look away or back down.
When I see her jaw twitch slightly, I suppress a smile, finding it amusing. She seems to have a fire in her eyes, causing my cock to twitch. I love the ones with the fiery spirit. They’re a lot more fun to break when they’re riding my cock and crying out my name.
A hand grips my shoulder. “No go on the tequila in the back and Emmett said Bo’s should have one bottle we can grab.”
My lips harden into a flat line, and I unwillingly have to break my gaze from her.
Gripping my hands on the rail, I blow out a slow breath before I look at Knox.
“Let’s see if we can grab another bottle or two of vodka as well.
And call our distributor to see if they can increase our order for tomorrow’s delivery. ”