by Livia Grant
“What?” she whispered, almost afraid to ask for fear of getting bad news.
“Just eat. We only have a few minutes before we need to go.”
“But… where are we going? We aren’t done at the pool house.”
“That can wait. This is more important.”
For the first time, she noticed Jaxson’s perfect lips turning up at the ends, giving a hint of levity. She relaxed slightly.
“Maxine needs you to interview a candidate for the Runway West manager position,” she reminded him.
A proper scowl clouded Jaxson’s handsome face. “Shit, I completely forgot about that.”
Chase had been listening in, leaning in and talking with his mouth full. “Well she hasn’t forgotten. Where are we going anyway?” he asked in his normal jovial cheer.
Jaxson’s impatience showed as he groused, “You don’t need to know yet.” When Emma flinched from his abrupt response, he added on softly, “I want it to be a surprise.” Pausing, he seemed to think through his options before he spoke. “Fine. It’s gonna cost us a fortune to delay, but we’ll leave as soon as the interview is done. I’m gonna go tell Maxine to text Madison and have her get here early if she can.”
“Who’s Madison?” Chase asked with his mouth full again.
“The woman who has Maxine and Lola ready to deck each other. I can’t skip the interview if for no other reason than I need to be there to play referee.”
Chase laughed out loud. “Oh this is going to be entertaining. Please tell me I can watch!”
Emma had snuck in a few bites while the men were chatting. She had enough stress in her life without needing to watch a catfight.
“You want to stay too, baby?” Jax asked.
“Honestly, I’d rather go back out to the house and lay down for a little bit. Can you guys just come out and get me when you’re ready to go?”
Jaxson hugged her close again, placing a soft kiss on her forehead. “That’s a fine plan. I want to make sure you and the peanuts get plenty of rest. Just make sure you get enough to eat, okay?”
He stood, ready to head out as Emma replied, “Yes, sir.”
Only after Chase got up to head out with Jax did she realize she’d be going back out alone to where Ted was still working. When Avery offered second helpings on some of her favorites, Emma accepted, eating slowly in hopes of finding their house empty when she got back. She wasn’t ready to go head to head with Ted solo yet.
Chapter Thirteen ~ Chase
“Come on. You can tell me. I’ll keep it a secret from Emma,” Chase pressed Jaxson for the third time since they’d left Emma in the kitchen. He could tell the secret had to be something really big because Jaxson kept looking at his watch every two minutes, trying to make time go by faster.
Pop. The hard swat across his ass totally shocked Chase, coming out of nowhere. Everyone in the pre-opening office turned to look at him and Jaxson, curiosity on their faces.
“Ouch. What the hell was that for?” he asked, self-consciously reaching back to soothe the sudden discomfort.
“You know damn well what that was for. Ask me one more time to tell you the secret without Emma being here and we’ll need to find a more private location and my belt will be coming off. Got it?” Jaxson turned to pin him with his most dominant stare.
It felt like every drop of blood below his waist had just rushed to his cock in the space of three seconds. Christ did he get turned on when Jaxson went all Dom on him. He was tempted to ask for the secret one more time, just so he could feel the heat of the wide leather kiss his bare ass. It had been far too long since they’d shared the intimacy of real discipline in their trio. Until that moment, Chase hadn’t put together just how much he yearned for it.
Jaxson read him like a book, leaning in close to talk softly. “I know you need it, don’t you, baby? I’ve been neglecting that ass of yours, haven’t I? Well, I won’t tell you the secret, but I can promise you that you’ll go to bed with a warm bottom tonight if you’d like.”
Chase swayed on his feet, leaning into the desk they were standing near to help steady himself and to also hide his raging hard-on that had to be visible through his tight jeans. He choked out his reply. “You know I won’t ask for it, but if you feel that’s what I need, then I’ll submit.”
“Damn straight you will.”
Chase loved the possessive growl that told him that his Dom was as on edge as he was. It was in that exact moment that Maxine returned to the room with a petite blonde woman dressed in an outfit that looked straight off the runway. While most of the people working on opening the clubs were in jeans and T-shirts, or other informal work gear, the newcomer stood out conspicuously, and not just for her clothing choice.
The closer Chase looked her over the more he knew they’d been wasting their time waiting for the interview. Hell, the woman barely looked old enough to drive, let alone run their multi-million dollar business. The spiked heels were the only thing responsible for her topping five foot. Hell, she looked to be about twelve years old with her blonde hair pulled up into a messy, yet somehow elegant up-do. The severity of her black leather skirt was offset by the flirty softness of her powder-blue off-shoulder blouse. The huge Prada tote bag looked heavy enough to tip the wisp of a woman over.
Chase was leaning closer to Jax to ask if they could leave now when his lover moved forward, making his way around the desk to reach out and shake the young woman’s hand. Chase followed, hoping they could wrap this up quickly since she was clearly not a Maxine caliber candidate.
“Thanks for coming in today, Ms. Taylor.” Jaxson welcomed her just as Lola turned to notice their newest visitor.
Chase had just reached to shake the candidate’s hand when Lola arrived next to them.
“Nice of you to join us five minutes late. I hope your tardiness isn’t representative of your work performance,” Lola drawled her sour accusation.
Chase was surprised that the small hand in his gripped back firmly before releasing him to turn and smile sweetly at Lola, her bubbly voice matching her look. “Hello again, Ms. Garcia. I can assure you that, like, I am never ever late. It seems that some unknown person added my name to the ‘do not enter’ list at the gate and, well, it took a couple of minutes for the boys down there to sort things out with Maxine here.”
Chase had grown up in Southern California and he would bet his life that the spitfire of a woman in front of him had grown up in the valley. He knew it was a generalization, but if her accent didn’t give her away, the glob of bubble gum she currently chewed was a dead giveaway.
Lola didn’t back down. “Oh, I see that she’s Maxine already. Isn’t that a bit presumptuous of you to be on a first name basis?”
Madison Taylor smiled sweetly as she made Lola wait while she blew a tiny bubble with her gum. “I usually like to follow directions. Ms. Torres asked me to call her Maxine and so I will.” The petite woman didn’t back down one bit as she pressed, “Shall we get started? I’m anxious to hear more about the opening.”
Before they could even sit, Jaxson asked the question Chase was thinking. “Before we get started, I’d like to make sure we aren’t wasting each other’s time. I don’t know how to ask this gently so…”
Ms. Taylor cut him off, throwing up her hand like a stop sign. “I know. I look young, but I can assure you I’m considerably older. Like, this position is the perfect fit for me and I’m not ditching you today until I convince you gentlemen that’s the truth.”
Once again, Lola interrupted. “I’d be trying to impress me if I were you, young lady. I am the one who makes the employment decisions around here.”
Maxine scoffed. “Not so fast, Lola. Jaxson asked me to take charge of filling this position and you know it.”
All three women turned to pin Jaxson with expectant glares. Chase would have wilted, but his Dom held up admirably under the pressure.
“Ladies, I’ve put Maxine in charge of finding the right candidate for the demanding manager pos
ition. She assures me you are that person, Ms. Taylor, but I’ll be making my own decision on that subject this afternoon.”
Lola stomped her foot like a spoiled child whose mother had just taken her favorite toy away, crossing her arms over her chest in a huff. Chase had already had enough of her dramatics. It was time for them to fire her. He’d be talking to Jaxson about it later.
“I’m sure you have more important things to work on this afternoon, Lola. You’re excused,” Jaxson said with an authority that dared her to argue back.
Chase relaxed when she spun on her heel and stomped back towards her desk.
Maxine took charge. “Let’s head on into the dining room where we’ll have a bit more privacy, shall we?”
The men fell in behind the women, following them as they weaved through the mansion. Chase was in the perfect position to hear the women’s conversation.
“Did you bring your portfolio?” Maxine asked.
“You bet.” Madison had barely answered when she ground to a halt to exclaim, “O.M.G. Is that a genuine Granville Redmond?” She had stopped to admire an impressionist piece that the previous owners had left behind on the large expanse of wall in the dining room. The men had liked the piece, so they kept it.
Maxine looked at Jaxson for help.
“I’m not sure. We hadn’t got around to having an appraiser come in yet. I’m pretty sure there are several other pieces by the same artist throughout the club.”
Madison leaned in to take a closer look before answering, “I’d love to take a peek if you don’t mind.”
“That’s fine, but may I ask how you know so much about the artist?”
She reached into her Prada bag and came out with a sheet of paper. “It’s all on my resume. I graduated with honors from USC with a degree in art and design.”
“Not cinematic art?” Chase asked. That was the major many of his southern California friends had chosen as they chased roles in nearby Hollywood.”
“Oh hell no! I did a few commercials when I was a kid. That was enough to tell me there was no way I wanted to compete in that rat race my whole life.”
Chase chuckled at her candor, wondering what Khloe would think of the spitfire.
Jaxson brought them back to the topic at hand. “Well, let’s see how the interview goes. If we hire you, you’ll be able to explore the artwork to your heart’s content. Shall we?” He waved his arm towards the grand table that could seat up to twenty.
Only after the foursome were seated at one end of the table did Maxine continue the interview. “It’s no secret that I’ve already made up my mind. The reason I had you come back today is that we need to convince the owners that you are the right lady for the job. Why don’t we start by showing them your portfolio,” Maxine prompted.
Chase leaned back, crossing his left leg over his right, ankle on his thigh. He watched as Madison reached down into her Prada bag, expecting her to come out with an iPad or a sleek portfolio. Instead, she pulled out a three-inch thick, huge book that looked to be bursting at the seams with papers and edges of photos sticking out of what seemed like a scrapbook.
Madison heaved the weighty book up to the table, letting it land heavy against the wood. On the cover was a handwritten Madison’s Portfolio with colorful swirls of design hand drawn around the title to decorate the book. Chase grinned, remembering his sister’s high school scrapbook that had been decorated in a similar fashion.
He glanced at Jaxson who seemed to be having trouble keeping a straight face. His Dom opened his mouth as if he were about to put a stop to the interview when Maxine asked her first question. “Why don’t you start by telling Mr. Davidson and Mr. Cartwright about your last job?”
“Sure thing. For the last few years I’ve been running events and meetings for a varied portfolio of customers.” She paused and Chase was underwhelmed until she added. “I’ve loved my job, I really have, but I’ll be honest, the traveling has gotten to be a bit much. I’m stoked to be able to stay in one place again for a little bit.”
Having traveled the world themselves for their job, Chase and Jaxson could understand the need to grow roots, but just because she wanted to work in one place didn’t make her qualified for the job. Jax finally asked the million-dollar question. “That’s understandable, but I’m afraid we need someone who can run a multi-million dollar business. Someone who can book big name celebrities as entertainers and run intricate multi-day events for hundreds of people. We need someone who is both business and people savvy and who can also manage a staff of several dozen employees. I’m sorry, but you just…”
He didn’t get to finish his sentence. Ms. Taylor had opened her book and started flipping through the early pages of her scrapbook. “Like I said, I did a few commercials when I was a kid. That was because my dad is Burt Taylor. You might recognize his name. He’s kinda a bigwig over at Universal. Through my father, I have hundreds of powerful and influential contacts in the business. Actors, directors, musicians… exactly the clientele you are hoping will gravitate to Runway’s unique offerings.”
Okay. She had his attention.
She barged ahead, flipping through her book until she opened it again on a page labeled ‘Master’s Tournament.’
“This is one of the first big events I ran. I specialized in golfing events at first. As you described, several day affairs that included coordinating rooms, food and beverage, and heavy scheduling, not to mention entertainment, gifts, transportation, and staffing.”
She flipped through several pages of pictures showing famous golfers and celebrities to land on a page with handwritten numbers. “You’ll see my budget was three million on this particular project.”
Flipping a few pages deeper in her book, she stopped at a page labeled ‘Sundance.’
“This project was one of my more challenging. For two years I was the project manager in charge of transportation and the press relations for the ten-day film festival in January. This last year was especially a killer because they cut my budget by a quarter, but the attendance was up by thirty percent. It was a real bullshit move on their part and I told them so.”
Jaxson chuckled next to him at her candor. “I just bet you did. That certainly is an impressive event, but what do you know about running a dance club?”
“Management is management, right?”
“That depends. If I called one of your previous bosses, how would they describe your work habits, Ms. Taylor?”
“Call me Madison, and that depends on who you call, I guess. If you call Martin Porter, he’ll tell you I’m a spoiled brat because I refused to work in the hundred-degree Palm Beach desert sun without an air-conditioned RV. He was a cheap bastard who tried to save a buck and make the event team work in the heat for three days straight. I had two employees rushed to the hospital that weekend with heat stroke. I told him to shove it up his ass the next year when he called me to come back.”
Again, Chase sensed Jaxson fighting to hold a straight face as the young wisp of a woman surprised them all with her spunk and honesty.
“But if you call Mrs. Rutherford up in San Francisco, you’ll hear how she begged me to work for her full time at her exclusive bed and breakfast and spa in Carmel.”
“Why did you turn down her offer?”
“Well for starters, the space was much too small to hold any events larger than fifty guests. More importantly, I had just started dating a hot drummer from a band down in San Diego and I didn’t want to be that far away from him.”
“And how did that relationship turn out?” Chase asked.
“Not surprising, he was a cheating bastard like most guys I’ve met who are into music. That’s why I’ve made a new rule to only date guys outside of the arts.” She blew a huge bubble with her gum, letting it pop as she moved a bit deeper into her portfolio.
“Here, this is the one I wanted to show you the most. I know you two earned your creds on the runway. I’m not sure, but I think you were at this event a couple of years ago in Ne
w York City. It was the charity event held at the Met that Bruce Springsteen headlined.”
“Hey, I do remember that event,” Chase added. “Isn’t that the party where the Chinese gymnasts and trapeze artists were part of the entertainment?”
“Yep. That was my idea.” She flipped through several pages of pictures, finally stopping on a group shot of people looking up at the ceiling. “There! Isn’t this you?”
The men leaned in to take a closer look, almost bumping heads. Jaxson confirmed, “Yes, that was us. That burgundy dress right there is Emma. Christ she looked hot that night.”
Chase agreed, “I remember.” He left off how much fun they’d had in the limo on the way back to their town house that night. It had been a memorable ride to be sure.
Jaxson cleared his throat, trying to get refocused on the interview. “So I’m confused. It’s clear you have a lot of experience and connections. Tell me again why you want to settle down and work for us here at Runway? You have to have been making bank with all of these high-profile jobs.”
Madison smiled as she chewed her gum harder. “I don’t want to freak you out or anything, and I sure as hell don’t want to work for free, but I don’t need to work for money. I have enough.”
“Excuse me?” Jaxson asked incredulously. The men were rich, but never once did they want to take on any projects that wouldn’t increase their bottom line.
“Let me explain. I recently lost my grandpa. He left me his house and an extensive portfolio. My own mom has been battling breast cancer on and off for a few years now and I just don’t want to be away from home as much anymore. My house is only a few blocks from here. The club will only be open four days a week. I’ll get to use all of my talents, but still be able to spend time with friends and family.”
“Why not just retire? If you don’t need the…”
“Stop! I love working. I’m good at it. I’ll be damned if I’ll stay home and turn into the air headed blonde California girl that everyone assumes I am when they meet me.” She pinned them with an accusatory glare, but wisely stopped short of calling them out verbally.