"Ah yes, the ACES MC club." Mrs Green looked over her spectacles at Lyric.
Lyric took an immediate defensive stance. "Why do you say it like that?"
"Well I've heard a lot about this club." She looked around the room before returning her attention back to Lyric.
"I bet you have but have you spent any time with us to get to know what we're really about?" Lyric fidgeted and I slowly moved my hand under the table to place it on top of Lyric's thigh and gently squeezed. He turned towards me and I smiled, trying to get him to focus on the questions.
"Obviously not but I'm hoping to see that."
"Good because I think that you'll be pleasantly surprised." His tone was much calmer.
"So what are your plans for Poppy. I know that you work at the gym and for the club so how can you provide for Poppy?" Our responses to questions were being documented in Mrs Green's leather binder.
"That's where I come into this." I held up my folder and passed it over to Mrs Green. "It contains my qualification, references and work history. Feel free to take this away as I've made copies for your files.
"Thank you, I appreciate this." She placed it onto the table and looked up at me. "And your role here is what exactly?"
"I have moved into these premises and I've been employed to look after Poppy. We've discussed schools and we've also got her a new bedroom." I felt nervous but I knew that she just wanted the best for Poppy.
"And that bedroom is here?"
I nodded, "Yes it is."
Mrs Green wrote some notes and returned her attention to Lyric. "Will you be living here Elijah?"
He shook his head. "I can't just give up my flat at the moment but I plan to divide my time between the two places. When I can't be here, then Poppy will be in the care of Victoria but in saying that, we are all one big family so she will have many people looking out for her."
"We are of the understanding that your sister will be away for some time, will this pose an issue?" Mrs Green looked directly at Lyric.
"Look it's not going to be easy, you've just placed a four year old child in my care but fortunately I have a lot of people around me for support." For the first time Lyric spoke with passion.
She continued to write some notes, then looked up at Poppy. "Shall we go and see your new room?"
Poppy threw down her crayons and wriggled off my lap. "It's down here." She shouted excitedly while pointing to the doorway that led to the corridor.
The four of us shuffled from the booth and made our way towards the corridor. Poppy led the way and Mrs Green and Miss Hodes followed her. I hung back in order to speak to Lyric.
"Are you okay?" I asked concerned.
He nodded, "Yeah, it's a big responsibility."
"Yes and like you said you're not on your own." He constantly needed reassuring.
"Do you think they'll allow her to stay here with us?"
I nodded, "They don't want to place a child in care if they can help it. She will be cared for and loved here, it's a no brainer."
"Did you do Poppy's hair Victoria?" Mrs Green asked without turning around.
"Erm yes, it needed tidying up."
We continued to follow them down the corridor towards Poppy's new bedroom but she was making me feel uneasy with all of her questions. I just hoped that we had done enough for them to agree to let Poppy stay with us.
"Ta-dah!"
"Oh Poppy, this looks fantastic." Miss Hodes followed Poppy into her room.
Poppy excitedly showed off her room. "Yellow is my favourite colour and Spike painted it that colour."
"Who's Spike?" she asked.
"My Uncle."
Mrs Green smiled, "Well it seems like you have a lot of family around you Poppy."
"Uh hu."
"Do you want to stay here, I mean until mummy comes home." I held my breath waiting for Poppy's response.
"Would you let me? I love my new bedroom, it's better than the one I have at home."
"And you're happy with your family around you?" The questions were intrusive but I understood that she needed to ask.
"I didn't know I had them until yesterday." She giggled.
"What about going to a new school where you don't know anyone?"
Poppy rolled her eyes. "It's okay. My cousins go there so I'll know Devon and Tommy. Devon said that I can play with her at lunch and break times."
"Sounds like you've got it all sorted."
"Yep. Did you see all of my new toys too?" Poppy climbed onto her bed and kneeled in front of her shelves.
"I did. Miss Hodes is going to stay here with you while I talk to your Uncle."
Poppy smiled and held up her new music box. Miss Hodes simply joined her on the bed and Poppy happily showed her.
"We need to have a little chat, follow me." Mrs Green walked past us and back up the corridor. She obviously had something on her mind.
Lyric and I followed her towards the bar. The guys had been asked to stay away while the social worker was here because we didn't want to give the social worker any reason to say no.
Mrs Green sat at the bar on one of the high stools. "Any chance of a cold drink?"
Lyric smiled and walked around the bar as I sat beside her.
Mrs Green pulled out her folder and placed it onto the bar. "I'm happy with everything so far and I'll be writing a report stating that I'm happy for Poppy to stay in your care."
"That's great, thank you so much." Lyric replied placing a glass of orange squash onto the bar.
"Her room is great, I like that she's got family around her and you've also thought about schools." She turned towards me, "You appreciate her needs and I love that you know what to do with her hair. You're an asset and Elijah, you need to hold on to this one to make the whole process easier."
Lyric smiled, "Okay, I've taken that on board."
"I'll come and see you once a week but you can call me anytime." Mrs Green placed two business cards onto the bar.
"Elijah, I just need you to sign here and here." She pointed to the two places and placed her pen on top of the folder.
Mrs Green picked up her glass and took a sip. "Thank you for showing me around today. We'll be in touch but if I don't see you before, I'll schedule you in for another meeting this time next week."
Mrs Green took back the folder that Lyric had just signed and placed it into her satchel. She removed her mobile from her blazer pocket and sent a quick message before returning it.
"Well I won't take up any more of your time." She took another quick sip of her drink and then slithered from the chair.
Miss Hodes joined her in the bar area followed closely by Poppy.
"We'll see ourselves out. See you next week." She gave a little wave as both of them walked towards the exit.
"Come here you," I opened my arms and Poppy ran towards me.
"So what did she say?" Poppy asked concerned.
"She said that you could stay here with us." I twirled her around in my arms.
"Really?"
"So I think that we need to celebrate." Lyric walked around the bar and grabbed Poppy from my arms. "Do you wanna go and grab something to eat?"
Poppy nodded excitedly. "Are you coming?" she asked me.
"Sorry Poppy, she's coming out with me." I turned to see Amy stroll towards us.
"Oh am I?" I asked bemused.
"Yes you are. You've been coped up in here for a couple of days, you need to come to the salon with me to have some girl time and then we're going to the club later for a few drinks."
I glanced at Lyric, "Is that okay. I mean I won't drink lots so I can still look after Poppy this evening."
"That's fine, we're going out to get burgers and I'm sure we can do something this evening. You go out and have fun, it's important for you to meet the women in the group."
"See it's all settled. Now grab your bag and let's go and get our hair done." She smiled sweetly.
"You saw all of the girls briefly yesterday but I wanted us all to m
eet properly. Things can get a little hectic around the club and it's good to know that you have people you can call on should you need too." Amy pushed on the salon door and I followed her in to the lovely space that Taylor had created.
Three women turned to face us as we entered and I recognised them from the barbecue yesterday.
"I'm Ash Duke's Old Lady, this is Ink Diesel's better half and this is Angel Spikes lovely lady."
"Pleased to meet you all properly at last." I joined the ladies in the reception area.
"So how are you getting on?" Angel asked with a smile.
"So far so good. There's going to be teething problems until I find my feet but I'm liking it so that's gotta be a good sign." A young lady placed a jug of juice onto the small table in front of us and a tray of pastries. I read her name tag, "Thanks Chanel." She smiled and left us to continue chatting.
"What about living at the clubhouse?" The ladies glanced at each other before returning their attention back to me.
"I never went to university but I can only imagine it's like living in the dorms. The bathroom needs constant cleaning and the guys need someone running along behind them picking up their mess but it is what it is. Poppy needs me to be there so that's what I'll do."
"Excellent, well Duke said you've slotted in well." I appreciated Ash's comment. The guys were sometimes hard to read.
"Can I just ask whether Recon has a partner?"
Amy sniggered, "I think Blake is incapable of having a long term partner. He never takes anything seriously and is just infuriating."
The ladies laughed at Amy's comment. They obviously had previous for her to act that way.
"So why the question?" Ink leaned forward, "Are you interested in him?"
I shook my head, "God no, I find him very peculiar."
Amy laughed. "He has his moments but he would fight to the death if someone hurt a person he loved or cared for."
"They all would." Angel was a lot quieter than the other ladies but I didn't like her any less.
"So how's your relationship with Lyric? It must be strange, it's like you're bringing up a child together." Ink was asking all the questions regarding my relationships with the guys at the club.
I sniggered, "His heart is in the right place but he is like a lost puppy. He will need a lot of love and support but I'm sure he'll get it from you guys."
A customer came in and a well groomed young lady assisted her. "You have a lovely business here Ash."
I had conducted some research last night and now knew each of the businesses that the ACES owned or were associated with.
She smiled, "Thank you. I'm officially on maternity leave though. It was getting to the point where I couldn't stand up all day." Ash rubbed her protruding tummy.
"You all look like you're about to burst if I'm honest." I glanced between the ladies.
"Yep, me first then Ash and then Angel unless they come early like Tommy and Devon did." Ink shuffled forward to pour some of the juice into her glass.
"I'm going to double the size of my family overnight when these twins arrive. That's one of the reasons I wanted to meet you today. I may need some help, we all might and we were thinking that maybe you could assist us all."
I smiled, Recon had mentioned that it was the women that I needed to impress more so than the men. "I'd love to help you all out. Look, the club will pay my wages and I suppose it's up to you guy's to decide what you want me to do. If it's looking after the children more than doing housework and shopping, I'm happy with that or vice versa. We could possibly develop a rota or I could be on call for anyone that needs me."
The woman looked at each other and smiled. I think they were warming to me which meant I would be accepted.
"Just so you know, that is Chloe who is with Woods and that's Chanel who is engaged to Buster." Amy was doing everything to make me feel comfortable and welcome.
"Ah, yes I met Buster yesterday as he helped paint Poppy's bedroom."
"That's right. I don't want to bombard you, that wasn't our intention today. We just wanted you to get to know us all so you then felt part of the family."
I smiled again. This is what I wanted, this is what I needed currently in my life. Dad was family but he couldn't give me all of this.
"We have our annual family barbecue next weekend. We open the club to the local community for them to see what we are about and it's a fun day with live music, food, drink and activities for the children." Ash reeled off a long list and it seemed like it could be a fun packed day.
"Well if you need a hand organising anything then you only need to ask." I wanted to be helpful.
"I like her already." Ash replied making me feel accepted.
"Sorry ladies, I don't want to be a party popper but I've got a million and one things to do today." Angel stood from the sofa and collected her bag and cardigan.
"Yeah me too. We're going to leave you in Amy's capable hands for the day while us fatty boom booms waddle around and complete chores." Ash also stood holding her tummy.
"That's fine, Lyric said I could have the day off to have fun so that's what I plan to do." I stood to hug the women goodbye. It had been great meeting up with them and I was pleased that I could be part of their lives and help them bring up their children.
Once the ladies had left the building, Amy returned her attention to me. "We are now going to have a wash and blow dry before heading out for some lunch and then we will top off our day at Resolute."
"Resolute?" I asked not understanding what it was.
She sniggered, "Sorry, I just assume you know everything. It's the club that we own."
"Sounds like a very good day to me."
"It will be, I haven't let my hair down in ages."
The evening had been a blast. Amy had introduced me to club members, associates and staff, and they had all made me feel welcome. I was constantly looking for faults because this was too good to be true but from what I had seen so far, there was nothing wrong.
Amy and I were now sitting in a cab on our way home. "I think I've drunk too much." I sniggered at Amy's comment. She had been putting them away all evening and I would agree with her statement, she had drunk too much.
"Are you coming in to sleep it off or are you going home?" I asked concerned that she would be alone with the taxi driver.
Amy saw my concern, "It's fine, Abdul will get me home okay."
"Ah you know him?" I asked feeling reassured.
Amy nodded, "Yeah, he looks after us, don't you Abdul."
I saw the taxi driver nod his head briefly.
"Thank you for taking me out today to meet the girls and see the club, which is fantastic by the way." We'd had a laugh this evening meeting the punters and the staff.
"You're more than welcome chick. I could chat to you all night, I feel like I've known you for years."
We pulled in front of the yard. The metal gates guarding the premises at night were closed.
"Do you need me to help you in?" Amy asked but I shook my head.
"No it's fine, I've found my keys." I held up the key ring with the key for the front door and my room attached. Amy was in a worse state than me anyway, she wouldn't have been able to help in any way, shape or form.
Amy waved, "Okay, I'll call you tomorrow."
"Thanks for this evening."
"No worries."
I closed the door and slowly walked towards the gates that concealed the clubhouse. It was nearing 10.30pm so it wasn't late but I didn't want to make lots of noise and wake the guys up if they were in their rooms.
I unlocked the side gate and removed the padlock. This allowed me slide the latch across and open the door. This was too much to handle after a few drinks and I needed to concentrate. I closed the door behind me, slid the latch and placed the padlock through the hole. Once aligned, I closed it and tugged on the metal to make sure it was shut correctly.
Once I was in, the taxi driver pulled away and I waved letting them know that I was okay.
I walked slowly towards the clubhouse. It was a short walk but I took it easy because I was in heels. One false move on the gravel and I would be down on my arse. Thank fuck no one was around. I was walking as if I had shit myself with my arms out wide trying to keep my balance on the uneven surface.
As I reached the clubhouse, I tried the handle and thankfully, it opened. I hung on the doorframe and lifted my leg to remove my first shoe and then the second. I wiggled my toes as I placed them onto the cold tiles and let out a small groan of satisfaction. Taking off your heels was on par with relieving yourself of your bra each evening.
"You okay?" I turned towards the voice to see TUGS sitting quietly at the bar.
I smiled, "A little merry but pleased that I met the girls properly this evening."
TUGS folded his newspaper and continued to stare in my direction.
"So what have you been up to this evening?" I asked walking slowly towards him.
He shrugged, "Nothing much just a quiet one."
"Where's everyone else?" I glanced around the room to find it eerily quiet.
"Lyric and Poppy are staying at Amy's tonight and the rest of the guys are either out or in their rooms. I was about to lock up for the night." TUGS stood and removed his keys from his jean pocket.
"Aww were you waiting up for me?" I asked with humour in my voice.
He raised his brows passing me as he made his way towards the front door.
I stood silent. Oh my god, he had stayed up making sure I got in okay.
"So you had a nice time this evening?" TUGS' sultry voice startled me.
I turned quickly and almost banged into his hard chest. My heels clicked together as I held them tightly in my hand and I realised that it was not appropriate for me to be alone with TUGS. I was intoxicated and he looked delicious this evening. I laughed to myself, earning me an intrigued glance from TUGS.
"It's bedtime and I have an early start in the morning." I jabbered as I stepped back giving myself the space needed to evaluate the situation. It must've been the alcohol. My lady bits were tingling and my mouth became dry just looking at him.
TUGS nodded, "Likewise. Let's get you to bed."
He held out his arms and moved closer encouraging me to walk in the direction of the corridor, like a sheppard would a sheep.
LYRIC (Aces MC Series Book 6.5) Page 7