Club Thrive: Vendetta (The Club Thrive Series Book 2)

by Alison Mello

  “Not at all,” I reply with a huge grin.

  “Good, what’s your number? I’ll text you tomorrow to make plans.”

  I rattle off my number as he taps it into his phone and then tosses it on the seat between us.

  “I just sent you a text, so you’ll have my number. I’ll talk to you tomorrow around noon or so.”

  “Sounds great, thanks again for the lift.” I climb out of the truck and when I get to the top of my porch steps, I turn to see he’s watching to make sure I get inside, so I quickly pull out my keys and open the main door to my apartment building, waving before I pull it closed tightly behind me.

  I slip off my shoes and begin running up the stairs. I’m so giddy over the fact I have a date tomorrow, and I can’t wait to tell Miranda. I haven’t dated anyone since Collin, and I think it’s time that I start to. We were serious, but his alcohol abuse was pushing us apart, and things were getting a bit rough at the end. I often wonder if he would have gotten sober had I broken up with him, but I’ve been told by my counselor on a number of occasions that I can’t question myself, so I push the thought away as I close my apartment door and lock it for the night.

  I quickly escape to my room and change into pajamas. I can’t wait to read the text he sent me. I’m so curious to see what he wrote. Running to the bathroom, I wash my face and brush my teeth and climb into bed. I get settled and unlock my phone.

  Shane: Thank you for ending my night on a positive note. Can’t wait to talk to you tomorrow. Have a good night.

  I fall asleep smiling as I think of his beautiful blue eyes.

  Chapter 3

  Shane

  I wake feeling better than I have in a long time. I stretch quickly and slip some gym shorts on. I need to get a workout in before I call Katie to make plans for this evening. I can’t believe I actually have a date, and she’s hot as hell. The last time I went on a date, my boy tried hooking me up, and when I got there the chick was not my type at all. Don’t get me wrong; she was very pretty, but her tits were bursting out of her shirt and her skirt was so short that if she sneezed, you’d get quite the show.

  I want a woman with class; someone who is sexy but shows it to me and me only. Katie was looking fine last night, but she wasn’t revealing all her goodies.

  When I get down to the gym, the place is empty. I grin, stepping on the treadmill and setting it to a solid running pace. I love having a gym in my building. I can get exercise at the gym where I work any time for free, but this is so much more convenient. I’m jamming hard while I envision Katie shaking her ass on the dance floor. Yeah, I didn’t tell her this, but I was catching glimpses of her here and there. It was hard not to stare; she’s not only fine, but she really knows how to move. Meeting her was just what I needed after discovering that Troy is trying to set me up. I’m sure it’s because he’s pissed I didn’t stand up for him in the meeting, but he’s an ass and has been for a long time.

  Troy and I worked for the club before Logan owned it, as did Jonah. He kept the three of us after he bought it, but everyone else moved on. Jonah and I have always gotten along really well. Troy was the assistant manager of the old club, and Logan kept him as assistant manager after he took over, but he is kind of a dick. He tries too hard and comes off as an ass instead of a good leader. Jonah and I were both really disappointed when we found out that Logan was keeping Troy as the assistant manager. We even had a conversation and contemplated going to Logan, but we both thought it would just make us look spiteful and jealous so we let it be, hopeful he would see for himself.

  I wipe sweat off my face as I step off my treadmill and move onto the all-in-one lifting machine and begin my routine. Today is upper body. Shaking thoughts of Troy from my head, I start thinking about where Katie and I should go for dinner. I want to take her somewhere kind of nice, but not too over the top. I’m a pretty laid-back guy, and I don’t want to give her the wrong impression of me. I think I’ll take her to Home. It’s a great place with good food, and they serve breakfast all day so she can have whatever she wants. Plus, if the weather is nice, we can sit on the patio and enjoy the outside.

  Swiping my towel from the floor next to me, I wipe my face and go in search of my phone. When I find it, I see I have a text from her that was sent this morning.

  Katie: Glad I made your night a little better. Looking forward to tonight as well. ;-)

  Shane: Glad you’re looking forward to it. How do you feeling about going to Home for dinner?

  Katie: That’s fine. Never been there, but have heard good things about it.

  Shane: Great, shall I pick you up or do you want to meet me?

  Katie: I’ll meet you in the parking lot. What time?

  Shane: Five-thirty? I have to be at work by eight and don’t want to rush.

  Katie: Sounds good. See you there!

  ***

  I check the clock as I pull into the parking lot of Home and see that I have about five minutes before Katie is supposed to be here, which is perfect. I want to be waiting for her when she arrives, but when I park my truck I see her leaning against her car waiting for me. Damn, I thought for sure I would beat her here. I quickly jump out of my truck and jog over to her. “Hey, sorry, I thought for sure I would beat you here.”

  She gives me a small grin. “No worries, I just pulled up.”

  “Oh good, what do you say we go get a table?”

  “Sure,” she says, walking away from her car. I catch myself checking her out yet again, and now I need to jog to catch up to her. Suddenly I’m brave, locking my fingers with hers. Her hand feels nice in mine. She looks up at me and winks.

  As soon as we’re through the door, we’re greeted by the hostess. “Good evening. Two tonight?” she asks.

  “Yes, please.”

  “Inside or out?” she questions. I look down into Katie’s big hazel eyes.

  She smiles at me and says, “Inside, please.”

  I look up at the hostess. “Inside it is.”

  “Right this way,” the hostess says, and we follow behind her.

  When we arrive at our table, I instantly pull her chair out for her. I may not be rich, but my mama raised a gentleman. “Thank you,” she says, taking the offered seat. Since we’re sitting at a small table and not a booth, I decide to take the seat next to her instead of across from her. The hostess lays down our menus then leaves, letting us know our waitress will be over shortly. We both open our menus and start discussing what looks good.

  “I think I’m going to have breakfast,” Katie says, glancing over that section of the menu.

  “Okay, I was going to see if you wanted to share some nachos with me, but that really doesn’t go with breakfast.”

  “It does when you’re having a breakfast quesadilla,” she says, wiggling her eyebrows at me.

  I laugh. “Okay, so we’ll share nachos for an appetizer and then you can have your quesadilla. I think I’m going to have tequila lime chicken.”

  “That sounds yummy.” She pauses for a minute and says, “So, tell me why your night wasn’t going so well.” I give her a questioning look as I try to figure out what she’s talking about. “Last night, your text,” she says, reminding me of my message to her.

  “Oh.” I take a deep breath because Troy really pisses me off. “The assistant manager at the club is a real ass. Logan thinks he’s stealing from him, but hasn’t been able to prove it yet.”

  “Stealing cash?”

  “No, he’s stealing alcohol by the bottle from the back room. When Logan suspected it, he put a sheet in the back for us to sign liquor out. While Logan was out of the club the other night, he put down that I broke two bottles of liquor and then called Logan to complain about me.”

  “That’s messed up,” she says, and that’s when the waitress appears. We both place our orders and she tells us she’ll be back.

  “Yeah, anyway, I was really stressing out thinking Logan was going to fire me, but he called me and told me he knew it was Troy and to ha
ng in there because he has a plan. Needless to say, I was on eggshells all night last night waiting to see if Logan was going to catch him.”

  “Did he tell you his plan?”

  I shake my head. “Nah, what pisses me off is I bust my ass, Katie, and I’m not saying that to try and impress you. I cover shifts when needed, and I go in early to get the bars set up and make sure they’re stocked. My crew pretty much just has to show up and make drinks, and yet this asshole has it out for me.”

  We both thank our waitress as she places our drinks and nachos on the table. “That really sucks, Shane.”

  I shrug. “Enough about me. What do you do?” I ask, just as she’s putting a nacho in her mouth.

  “Mmmm, these are really good,” she says. “I’m a marketing coordinator. I started working for Millennium Marketing straight out of college as an assistant, and have worked my way up.”

  “So, you help people market their businesses?”

  “Pretty much. They tell me what their business is, and then I research and develop a plan to help them grow.”

  “Wow, that sounds pretty challenging.”

  “It is, because if I don’t get new contracts signed by clients I’m doing bids for, then my boss gets quite cranky.”

  “I’m sure,” I say with a smile.

  The waitress is back. She clears our empty nacho plate and drops off dinner. Katie thanks her and she walks off. We’re both silent as we’re eating, and I have to admit I’m thinking about how shocked I am at Katie’s line of work. I don’t know why, but I hadn’t pictured her as someone who gets into business attire and deals with clients, but good for her.

  “How long have you been working at the club?”

  “I started while it was under the previous owner. Logan took it over a while ago. He made some major improvements to both the inside and outside, then reopened about six months ago and it’s been doing great ever since. That is, until he realized Troy was taking his alcohol.”

  “Yeah, that has to suck,” she says, and continues eating. Now we’re both quiet and I’m not sure what to say. I hate when that happens on a date. There’s that awkward silence where you’re both trying to think of something to say.

  The waitress comes over to check on us, and we both tell her our food is perfect. She offers us each another drink and when we tell her we accept, she tells us she’ll be right back. That’s when I notice that Katie is picking at her food and not really eating.

  “Katie, is everything okay?”

  “Yeah. Listen, I did a lot of thinking last night after you dropped me off…” Here we go. She’s going to say she’s not ready to date yet. She licks her lips and continues, “I felt really bad last night for dumping such a heavy topic on you. It wasn’t really the ideal time to bring up my ex and what happened, but I had been drinking and it kind of just came out.”

  I’m so relieved. “Katie, it’s fine. I’m sorry you had to go through all of that, and I’m sorry for your loss.”

  “Thank you. I had a tough time for a while. I wouldn’t touch a drop of alcohol and refused to date.” She looks down at her plate and then back up to me. “With the help of some friends and family, I finally realized that the alcohol problem was his, not mine. I don’t drink often and when I do, it’s a few beers here and there and that’s it.”

  The waitress delivers our sodas and our bill. “Does it bother you that I’m a bartender? I would really like to see you again,” I say looking over the bill, before putting my credit card into the folder.

  She gives me a small smile. “Not at all. You look good behind the bar.”

  I’m so happy to hear that. “Good, so when can I see you again?”

  “Well, you work nights and I work days, so that may be hard for us to figure out.”

  “I only work nights on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. Monday through Wednesday I’m a personal trainer at Fitness For All up the street, and I’m off on Sundays.”

  “Nice. So, you can whip my butt into shape?”

  “Honey, I was watching your butt last night as you were shaking it on the dance floor, and I can tell you there’s nothing wrong with its shape.”

  Biting her lip, she looks down. She’s trying to hide the blush that’s creeping up. She seemed so confident last night. I feel like I’m seeing a different side of her now. “Thanks, I used to work out a lot, but now, with my work schedule, it can be difficult.”

  “If you want, I’ll help you. I won’t work out until you’re out of work, and we can do it together,” I tell her.

  “Really?” She looks so excited.

  “Sure, why not?” The waitress takes my card.

  “Listen, I have to get going, but I’ll call you and we can make plans to get together next week.”

  “I’d like that,” she says with a shy smile. She’s so damn cute.

  When the waitress drops the slip I quickly sign it, leaving her a tip. I take Katie’s hand to walk her out to her car. She turns to me, leaning against the car, and says, “Thanks for dinner. I had a nice time.”

  “You’re very welcome.” I brush my knuckles across her cheek while we’re looking into one another’s eyes. I lean in slowly, making my intentions clear, and just before my lips touch hers, I pause to see if there’s any concern before I proceed. She seems to sense my fear and makes the connection for me, pressing her lips to mine. I feel her tongue licking my lips, I open and our tongues collide in a very soft, sweet kiss.

  Being a gentleman I pull away, pressing my forehead to hers. “I’ll call you tomorrow?”

  She nods. “Have a good night, and don’t work too hard.”

  “I’ll need to so I can keep my mind off of you and focus on making drinks.”

  She giggles, and I open her door so she can get in. She waves, and I watch her drive off before I take off to work.

  ***

  I get to work, and it’s the start of a night like any other. I begin checking both bars to see if they need anything. I make a list and head back to Logan’s office to get the key. Last night was busy, and although we try to stock at the end of the night, it doesn’t always get done. I’m on my way to Logan’s office when I bump into Troy. “Hey, man. You’re in early.”

  “What’s it to you?” He growls at me, already pissed off.

  “My bad.” I move past him and knock on Logan’s door.

  “Come in,” Logan shouts so I enter, closing the door behind me. “Hey, Troy is in a pissy mood tonight.”

  “Whatever, hopefully we won’t have to deal with him too much longer. What’s up?”

  “First, please thank Sky for introducing me to Katie. We went to dinner tonight and I think we really hit it off.” Pulling the list of stuff I need from my pocket to show him, I say, “I need keys to the back so I can get this stuff for the bars.”

  He hands me back the list. “Here you go.” He pulls the keys from his drawer. “Bring them back when you’re done. You’re on bar one tonight and Troy is running, so you won’t need them.”

  “No problem.” I toss the keys up in the air and catch them, walking off toward the back room. I don’t care what Troy’s problem is. Tonight’s going to be a good night. Grabbing what I need and placing the liquor at each of the bars so they’re now fully stocked, I walk the keys back to Logan’s office and let him know that staff is starting to come in.

  He walks out with me and lets everyone know where they’re stationed tonight. He looks down at his watch noticing it’s about time to open. Jonah is doing earwig checks with all the staff as they run around getting into place. The DJ is up in his booth doing a quick sound check, and we’re ready to get this place pumping.

  Logan gives the word; the doors open, and before we know it the club is full of people. I’m working the bar with Kelly tonight, and I’m pretty happy about that. She kicks ass behind the bar and isn’t afraid to get her hands dirty.

  The place is pumping when I notice Jonah walking around, his eyes squinted and his phone in his hand. What the hell is
he up to? I don’t have time to think about it because we have a large party of girls in front of us asking for a ton of drinks, and Shawna is waiting at the end of the bar with a drink order for the VIP section. “Kelly, take care of the ladies and I’ll get Shawna.” She nods and gets busy making their drinks.

  “What do you need?” She gives me the order and I have them made and on her tray in a matter of minutes. She scoops up the tray and walks off to deliver them.

  We’ve finally finished last call. It’s been a long night and I’m beat. “Kelly, you kicked ass tonight, as usual.” I give her a high five.

  “Thanks, Shane. I never mind working the bar with you.”

  Logan comes running around the corner shouting, “Shane, lock up for me.” Catching the keys he throws at me, I shout back, “No problem.” He grabs Jonah and runs out the door.

  “What the hell was that all about?” Kelly asks.

  “I have no idea. Hey, wait a minute. Where’s Troy?” She shrugs at me. “Let’s get this place cleared out and cleaned up.”

  “You got it.”

  It’s three in the morning and I still haven’t heard from Logan. I’ve locked up the bar and made sure everyone got into their cars safely. Now it’s time to head home, but first I want to shoot Logan a text.

  Shane: The club is good to go. Hope everything is okay.

  Logan: Sky was attacked outside of her work. I’m at the hospital with her. She’ll be fine, and I’ll be in touch.

  Shane: So sorry, man. Let me know if there’s anything I can do.

  Logan: Thanks, talk to you soon.

  Chapter 4

  Katie

  I walk into work on Monday morning and plop myself into my seat at my desk. I have the Monday morning blues. I didn’t sleep well last night, disappointed that I never heard back from Shane. He told me he’d call, but never did. There were a few times I picked up the phone where I contemplated texting him, but couldn’t bring myself to do it.