by Livia Grant
One of the biggest problems they had had to solve when converting the private mansion into a public club was installing the restrooms they would need. Their interior design guru, Ted, had come up with the bright idea of converting the master suite had previously been on the main floor into several key spaces. His changes were critical to their success, and they had been working on the modifications the last time he was here.
They had first carved out spacious men’s and women’s restrooms. With the area left over between them, they’d been able to create the necessary club spaces.
First was the check-in room with lockers, not unlike the room before entering Black Light. They would call this room Staging. All guests would start in Staging and not be able to proceed further without first showing their entrance ticket or paying, and then locking up their electronics. If they needed to make a call or check email during their visit, they would need to return to Staging to do it.
Like in D.C., the room had doors at both ends of the long expanse, making it a wide hallway of sorts. Security would route all arriving and departing guests through this space and security cameras that fed into the spacious and private security office next door would capture photos of each patron.
He poked his head into Staging and was pleased all seemed in order. He then went to the next door that had a new sign reading ‘Employees Only.’ As Jaxson tried to open the door it banged into the back of a tall guy he’d never seen before. It took a few seconds for the occupants of the room to move away enough to make room to let him to push into the room.
Apparently, the Security Office was presently the heart of the operation as there were close to a dozen people crammed into the room where the walls were covered in flat-screen monitors. He had paid George’s firm to install hundreds of security cameras on the property, some visible, but most hidden. Electronic keypads had been installed at almost every door in the building. The security system would be able to track the movements of all employees and restrict access as required. Keys and codes would be changed at frequent and random intervals to ensure safety.
Despite all of the security measures, one of Jaxson’s lingering concerns with his security team was making sure they had trustworthy people monitoring the feeds. As he was absolutely certain they would be capturing salacious footage of public figures, he needed to make sure nothing recorded at Runway, or Black Light on the floor below, ever made it into the hands of the paparazzi or it would be on TMZ within an hour. And he was no fool. The resulting lawsuit would happen less than twenty-four hours later.
The group in the security office parted, making a path for Jax to walk to the far end of the room where their new head of security, Miguel Martinez, sat at a counter with computers coaching a couple of new employees. Knowing how much he had riding on the performance of his head of security, he’d had Ryder and Axe work up a full background check on the guy to make sure he was the man Jaxson wanted in charge. He’d been pleased with the outcome.
He was also relieved to see the person of the hour he’d been looking for was next to Miguel, just as he had requested.
Jax smiled as he realized most of the men in the room seemed to be crowding the exit, keeping their distance from the only female occupant. She looked up and broke into a smile of her own when she saw him.
“I’ve been resisting calling you. I knew you’d be over as soon as you could get here.”
Jaxson felt better already, just knowing she was there. He hugged her just a little tighter than he ever had before as he greeted the temporary addition to the Runway West staff. “Maxine, I can’t thank you enough for coming. I’m sure your husband is less than happy with me right now, but I do appreciate you being here.”
“Yeah, Eric is pissed, but after I checked into the upscale suite you have me booked into, I have to say I’m feeling pretty good about the decision to spend a few weeks out in California. Maybe he’ll appreciate me a bit more after he gets an idea of how much I do around home.”
Jaxson made a mental note to send Eric Torres a gift to try to make amends for stealing one of Jax’s most important employees away from her family for at least a few weeks. There was no way he wanted to lose Maxine’s leadership in D.C. long-term. In fact, he was counting on her, not Spencer, to hold down the fort on the East Coast while the trio was in California part of each year. Still, getting her help as they tried to open the club on time was huge.
“She’s already proven how smart of an idea it was to bring her out to help.” Miguel piped up. “Maxine helped me look over the staffing sheets and made some suggestions I think will save us a chunk of change each month.”
“That’s wonderful, but that isn’t even why I had her fly in.”
“I know.” Miguel grinned. “Can I watch? In fact, I know a few people around here that would pay good money to be a fly on the wall.”
Jaxson chuckled. “Just stay focused.”
“You’re no fun.”
“Yeah, well I never pretended to be fun.” He turned to Maxine and asked, “You ready?”
“You bet. I can’t wait to get up to speed.”
Jaxson nodded towards the door. Maxine’s high-heels clicked against the tile flooring as the security guards parted like the Red Sea to make way for them.
Once they were in the foyer Jaxson scanned the area to ensure they were alone. For added measure, he ushered her into a small alcove where there would eventually be a photo booth. It gave him the privacy he needed to prep Maxine. “So, do you have any questions before I take you in and set off the fireworks?”
“No, not really. You did a good job of prepping me over the phone, and the files and pictures you emailed over yesterday were a big help.”
“Fine. Just remember, you are now in charge. Miguel will handle security, but everything else will run through you first. I’m not dumping this on you. I’ll meet with you as often as we need to, but I need to have someone I can trust in charge, especially when I’m not here.”
“Got it. I would like to meet with you to review the action item list one more time and make sure I have them in priority order.” Maxine pulled her trusty iPad out of her big bag. She didn’t go anywhere without it.
“I’d like that. Let’s get you introduced to the gang first, then we can go through it as a group. That way you can ask questions along the way.”
It only took a couple of minutes to wind through another den-like sitting room where patrons could eventually come to chat away from the loud music if they wanted. He heard Lola’s booming voice even before he could see the arched double-doors that marked the opening to the huge dance floor and main bar.
The previous owners had used the space for grand balls back in the day. The parquet flooring had been stripped and refinished to a shiny gloss. The two-story walls along the perimeter were made up of over a dozen expansive, arched, floor-to-ceiling windows. The sheer drapes had been installed since his last visit, bringing the room closer to opening night ready.
In the center of the room, there were a dozen banquet tables setup in a U-shape. Until the official Runway West business office was ready on the second floor, this had been acting as command central. Both Lola and Ted had set up shop on opposite sides of the U.
They were crossing into the room when Maxine placed her hand on Jax’s forearm and motioned for him to stop. They stood silently near the doorway, undetected, listening to Lola who had her back to them. She was talking to a young woman with long black hair. The petite woman looked familiar, but Jaxson couldn’t remember her name.
“I refuse to put up with incompetence. If you can’t handle the job now before we even open, you’re never going to cut it. I’d fire you right now if I could, but for some reason nepotism is ruling the day. It was unprofessional of you to bring your uncle into this discussion.”
The young woman Lola was yelling at contained her temper, but retorted, “I didn’t bring Uncle Kai into this. You did by screaming so loud this morning that he could hear you outside.”
&nbs
p; “So you say. I don’t like being blackmailed.”
“Oh for crying out loud,” The shorter woman snorted. “Now you’re just being ridiculous.”
“Hardly. I’ll be discussing this with Mr. Davidson the second he arrives. I’m sure he’ll agree with me that you and your uncle both need to go this afternoon.”
Jaxson highly doubted that. He’d heard enough.
“I’m here now, so fill me in.” He resumed his walk into the room just as Lola spun with a familiar glare of superiority falling on everything she saw.
“It’s about time. I was going to send out a search party for you. We have work to do.”
“Excuse me?”
“It’s after ten,” she spat with disgust.
“Thanks for the unnecessary update,” Jaxson deadpanned, sensing rather than seeing Maxine step up to his left as he turned his attention to the other woman standing in front of him. He held out his hand, adding, “Jaxson Davidson. And you are?”
The Polynesian woman had to step around Lola to take his hand. He appreciated her strong grip as they shook hands. “Nice to meet you, Mr. Davidson. Nalani Ione.”
The name was familiar, yet he was grateful when she added on, “I’m your Executive Housekeeper. I look forward to working with you, Mr. Cartwright, and Ms. Fischer.”
Her introduction unlocked the memory of a recent conversation with his groundskeeper. “Ah, it’s nice to put a face with a name. You come highly recommended by your uncle.”
“I’m not sure why we are taking recommendations from an employee who can barely get his own job done,” Lola scoffed.
Nalani released his hand to turn towards Lola. “Maybe if people would stop changing the plans at the last minute, we’d both be able to finish our work.”
Lola crossed her arms across her chest in a huff. “If you can’t handle a bit of change, this isn’t the right job for you.”
Then Maxine spoke for the first time. “What is it that you’ve been working on, if you don’t mind me asking?”
All eyes turned towards her as Nalani answered. “I have my team focusing on the first-floor public areas. The construction crews are finally done on this level in all areas except the men’s room. I was trying…”
“And I told you that could wait. I need the second-floor north suite deep cleaned before the new furniture arrives this afternoon.”
“But no one will be…”
“Not that I owe you an explanation, but the opening entertainer, Diva Frost, will be staying in that room starting tomorrow.”
Jaxson jumped in. “Since when?”
“Since it was part of the negotiations of her contract,” Lola added.
“I helped negotiate her contract.” Jaxson worked to hold his temper. “At no point did I agree to house her at the mansion.”
“I’ve had to handle the final arrangements all by myself.” Her dig was not missed. “I had to renegotiate a few things to keep us on track.”
“That’s bullshit. Ms. Frost is getting more than enough compensation for her appearance.” He bristled, regretting now she was receiving a year’s VIP club membership to Black Light.
Jaxson was about to call Diva when Lola admitted, “The suite is in exchange for her agreeing to stay and hang out in the club for two weeks, so we are guaranteed to have celebrities for guests to hob-knob with.”
Maxine scoffed. “Are you kidding me? She should be paying us for the publicity she’ll get when she’s here. She’s a second-rate entertainer at best. I’ve already called in favors from several Runway regulars to make sure they’re going to be making appearances in the first few weeks we are open.”
For the first time, Lola’s gaze turned to Maxine, her annoyance evident. “And just who the hell are you?”
Before Jaxson could make the introduction, Maxine stepped up, holding her hand out to Lola. Just before his PA took the hand, Maxine added, “I’m the manager of Runway.”
Lola’s hand pulled back, refusing to greet Maxine.
“What are you talking about? I didn’t interview any candidates for club manager yet!”
“Yes, I understand that. Maybe you can explain why that is? I would have thought that would have been one of the first positions you’d have filled,” Maxine added.
“Why the hell is that any of your business?”
Jaxson used her question as his re-entrance to the conversation. “Effective immediately, everything is Maxine’s business.” He paused until Lola’s gaze met his, then added, “I’ve brought Maxine in to take charge of the opening and renovation project. As you’ve pointed out, I no longer have the time to be here twenty-four seven so I’m bringing in someone I trust explicitly to take charge.”
“What the fuck? Like you can’t trust me? I should be able to hire my own employees.”
“Perhaps you misunderstood.” Jaxson smiled. “You now report to Maxine. Not the other way around.”
Maxine ignored the open-mouthed shock on Lola’s make-up caked face as she added, “If you could be so kind, I’d like to gather all of the employees together so I can meet them. I’ll be reviewing the hiring records to validate the hires myself. If you would also get me the job description you’ve posted for the club manager position, that will help me get started.”
“Why? If you are the club manager…”
“Humor me.”
“I don’t know shit about you. Why should I drop everything to be at your beck and call? You have no idea how many details I’m managing with the opening.”
Jaxson lifted a hand to make Lola shut up. “You know all you need to know. I told you Maxine is in charge. That is enough. And not that I owe you any explanations, but Maxine not only manages Runway East, but she was our project manager for the East Coast opening a year and a half ago. She’s been through this with me once already.”
“Ah,” Lola looked relieved. “So you’re just a temp.”
Jaxson clarified, “I’ll repeat. She is in charge.”
“I don’t like this,” Lola complained.
Jaxson grinned while parroting her own words against her. “Like you said… if you can’t handle a bit of change, maybe this isn’t the right job for you.”
Maxine ignored the drama, talking to Nalani. “You’re absolutely right to focus on the public areas we will need for the opening. If Diva needs a place to stay, she can rent a room at a hotel. Do you have all of the tools you need to do your job?”
“I’ve started a list of things we’ll need to order. Maybe we can go through that together?”
Lola growled. “I told you I ordered everything you’d need, Nalani. We don’t have an unlimited budget.”
Jaxson had had enough. It was time to let Lola go, but Maxine’s calming hand on his arm stopped his words.
“Jaxson, I’ve changed my mind. You were telling me last night that you wanted to check on the progress at the pool house. Why don’t you go check on that and let me handle things in here?”
His first reaction was to run from the room as fast as he could, but he glanced to Maxine first. “I thought you wanted to go through the action item list together.”
“Let me spend a few hours getting the lay of the land first.” She patted his arm reassuringly. “We can go through any questions I have later this afternoon.”
Anxious to make a few calls of his own, Jaxson jumped at the offer, shedding a tiny bit of the stress he’d been carrying around for months, feeling better already that Maxine was on the case.
“I do have some calls I need to make. I’ll be around. Text me if you need me.”
“Will do.” Maxine turned back towards the other occupants in the massive clubroom and started taking charge before he’d even gotten turned around.
He retreated quickly, walking quietly past the security office, hoping to avoid detection that might delay his escape. Once outside, he ambled down the stairs, heading to the left, finding the semi-hidden entrance to the walkway that was a shortcut to the back expanse of the property.
Tall evergreens lined the wide path, providing a secluded tunnel for the trip towards the backyard paradise. Small alcoves with benches surrounded by colorful flowerpots popped up every few dozen feet. In the distance, the sound of lawnmowers broke up the mid-morning peace.
I wonder how long I could hide in one of these spots without anyone finding me?
Once the final corner had been rounded, the walkway opened to a mammoth brick patio that stretched the entire length of the mansion. Several mature trees stretched to the sky, providing not only shade, but also helping to break the huge space into smaller entertainment areas. The huge grill with tables where they would host outdoor events. Lounge areas for relaxing, winding down the path to the mammoth bean shaped swimming pool surrounded by a brick pool deck where the rich and famous would sunbathe while sipping their mimosas.
In the distance, the one-story pool house caught his attention. He’d spent time in the building before they’d purchased the property, debating if they’d turn the space away from the mansion into Black Light. In the end, the huge windows and inability to protect the privacy of the patrons who would come and go to the kink club had forced him to build Black Light below Runway, just like they had in D.C.
Jax crossed the fifty feet of green lawn separating the pool deck and the pool house. He was surprised when the patio door to the two-story great room was unlocked.
A wave of heat hit him. They hadn’t turned on the air in the unused space. Most of the furniture and belongings of the previous owners had been removed, but random pieces of furniture remained hidden under sheets and plastic to keep out the dust. Jaxson removed a sheet from what turned out to be a cream-colored leather lounge chair with a matching ottoman. Plopping down into the chair, feeling exhausted, he took a long breath.
They’d been under so much stress the last months. He felt guilty hiding out in the pool house, hidden away from everyone and everything, but he needed the quiet solitude to get his head on straight. Like it often did in the three days since he’d discovered Emma was pregnant, the news of him becoming a father hit him like a ton of bricks, making his chest tighten with anxiety.