Chapter Four
Jack
The music vibrates through the room and the distinct smell of high-end liquor fills the air. Women in tight gold dresses, dolled up to the nines, meander through the VIP area holding trays of champagne and tumblers of whisky.
Aurora’s is a cosy club in Manhattan, full of New York”s elite. It”s not my usual vibe, but I can see why it”s popular.
We’ve done it. We signed on the dotted line and partnered with one of the biggest club owners in New York and Miami. When Christopher Stone approached us last year after hearing about our successful opening of The Champagne Lounge in Miami, he wanted in on the business, but after months of back and forth negotiating, we decided to start a new business venture with him.
The Boardroom is an exclusive cocktail lounge and club with a gentleman”s club attached for elite members here in New York, and tonight we are out celebrating. This is new territory for myself, Brad and Harry, my business partners, but we are confident it”s the right move. We have come a long way since our days in the Marine Corps.
“To the start of a beautiful friendship and the beginning of a successful new venture. Cheers.” Chris raises his glass of whiskey. The three of us follow suit and swallow down the drink in one.
Chris places a hand on my shoulder and gives it a tight squeeze. “I can”t wait for you to meet my Nancy. She’ll be down in a minute.”
“She”s here?” I question, searching the room, wondering why he would bring her to a business meeting.
“Yeah, she”s having her bachelorette in the suite upstairs. I told her to bring the girls down to the main room for a dance. Knowing Nancy’s maid of honor, she will have planned some crazy shit for them to do, and I want a front seat to it.”
“What do you mean?” My interest peaks. “You’ll see. Tara is wild,” he says, tapping me on the shoulder before walking away.
“How much longer do we have to stay here? I”ve heard there is a strip club round the corner and I wanna see what the fuss is all about. I heard the girls lick whipped cream off you,” Harry says, licking his lips.
Harry, one of my best friends, is ridiculously good looking, but God, does he know it. He”s got the whole tall, dark, handsome with a cheeky grin, thing going on; a different girl every day, he refuses to settle down and act his age.
“We can’t leave now. Chris wants us to meet ‘his Nancy’,” I say in a mocking tone.
“Fuck, I need another drink,” Brad says with a grunt, taking two large whiskeys from a passing waitress and downing them one after the other. “I’m sitting down. Let me know when we can leave.”
“Don”t worry, sunshine, we”ll let you know when you can go home and snuggle up with your Colleen Hoover novel,” Harry shouts over to him.
Brad sticks up a middle finger. “It was one book, one time, you fucker and my mom sent it to me,” he grumbles.
“Still read it, though,” Harry laughs.
Brad gets up, storming off. He’s a miserable fucker. I don’t blame him. We served two tours together and the things he”s been through would keep the strongest man awake at night. 6ft 2, dark hair, covered in tattoos and built like a house. The man looks like he would snap you in half. He”s a man of few words, but I couldn”t do life without him by my side.
“Dude, I know Brad is a miserable fuck, but when can we get out of here? It’s been an age since I got my dick wet.”
“It”s been two days, Haz,” I say bluntly.
He tilts his head as if he’s thinking something through. “Actually, four once you consider the time difference, so yeah, we”ve got a situation over here. It”s so bad I”ve even started eyeing you up.”
“I’m honored to be considered for your roster,” I deadpan.
“As you should.” He nods. “Only the elite make it on that list.”
I shake my head, laughing, running a hand through my hair.
“Good, let”s get outta here,”” Harry says, scanning the bar for Brad.
Someone taps me on my back and when I glance over my shoulder, I see Chris.
“There she is,” he shouts over the music, nodding to the staircase.
We all turn to look in the direction he’s facing to see a woman who resembles a life-size doll, followed by an entourage of women dressed in variations of little black dresses.
“Change of plan, we”re staying,” Harry yells, with a shit-eating grin.
Fuck’s sake, he’s going to ruin this business deal for us. If he fucks one of Nancy’s mates and never calls. Chris might regret going into business with us.
Chris strides over to Nancy, picking her up and swinging her round in his arms, making her friends clap and swoon for the bride and groom-to-be.
Harry and I follow, so we can introduce ourselves, and even Brad drags his ass up off the sofa he’d retreated to.
Chris introduces us, his eyes greedily fixed on Nancy, his feelings for her clear to see. “Oh, you have to meet my girls. You’ll love them,” Nancy says excitedly.
“Ri, Ali, Gabs, get your hot asses here and say hi.”
Ri. God, I haven”t heard that name in years. The only Ri I have ever known was Maria Jones in high school, and I would be lying if I said she didn”t enter my head more times than she should. She was the kind of girl that left a lasting impression and one who was always way out of my reach. I cared for her too much to risk pursuing her and I knew one moment with her could have ended my friendship with her brother. We joined the Marines, and she met someone and I had to accept we were just never going to be, and it”s been a few years since I last saw her.
I scan the sea of women waiting for these girls to appear.
“Jack?” a stunned voice says.
I turn my head sharply to the left and there she is, looking as stunning as I remember.
Maria Jones.