by SJ McCoy
TJ laughed. “Don’t you see? We’re all people who you know anyway. Your brother, your cousin, and some country superstar dude who you know because … go on remind me, how the hell did you and the granddaddy of country music get to be friends?”
“We did a big charity auction together a few years ago, and we got to talking. He is one smart man. He might come off all down-home, down-to-earth country boy, and I guess he is, but he’s no country bumpkin. He’s one of the very few minds I respect—in business and in life.”
“I get that, and he’s also not the kind of guy who would come into a club like this just for fun, is he?”
Oscar shrugged. He was getting irritated with this line of questioning. He knew exactly what his brother was getting at. The nightclub business wasn’t really him. It had been a new challenge and one that he’d risen to and conquered. Six was a big success, but it was hardly fulfilling his life’s ambition—not that he knew what that was. “So, what do you think I should be doing?”
“I have no idea. You’re the genius in the family. You figure it out. I’m just surprised that you’re planning to build another one. I don’t get it. You did what you set out to do. You opened a club; you made it the hottest spot in LA. You proved once again that there’s nothing you can’t turn your hand to and turn into a success. Why aren’t you moving on to something new?”
“Because I think a whole chain of nightclubs would be good.”
“Fair enough. If it’s what you want to do, then more power to you. I just thought you’d move on to something else.”
Oscar nodded and took another drink of his bourbon. He’d thought he’d want to move on to something else, too. Six had been a whole lot of fun to set up and to brand. It hadn’t taken long to grow a following and a name in the LA nightlife scene. He’d thought it’d be a stopgap, a breather after he stepped down from running the hedge fund—that had been way too stodgy for him. He’d made huge profits for a bunch of fat cats and they’d still wanted him to proceed with caution—and worse, they talked about him like he was their boy genius. He’d hated it.
He’d thought by the time Six was truly successful, he’d have found his next project, but he hadn’t, so he was simply going to repeat the process. Something would come to him soon. He’d wake up at three in the morning with some crazy hare-brained scheme that no one would believe he could pull off, and he’d spend the next year or so proving that he could. He just wished that moment of inspiration would come soon. “I’ll move on to something else when I know what it is. Until then, I’m in the nightclub business. What about you? Are you anywhere near ready for your next step, whatever that may be?”
TJ pressed his lips together and shook his head. “No.”
“Okay.” Oscar knew better than to push it. “I just wanted to make sure that you’re still happy enough playing chauffeur for me.”
“It suits me just fine.” TJ drained the last of his bourbon then met his gaze. “I appreciate it.”
Oscar smiled. He wished he could do more for his brother, but TJ could only move at his own pace. After all he’d been through, on his last deployment and since he came back, it was major progress that he was getting out of bed every morning and showing up for work—and staying sober so he could drive Oscar around. “Do you have any plans for the weekend?”
“No.”
“Do you want to make some?”
“Like what?”
“Well, Hope and Chance are going to be in town. They’re coming in here on Saturday night. Maybe we could all have lunch or something?”
TJ pursed his lips.
“I think you’ll like Chance, and you know Hope would love to see you.”
“Let me think about it?”
“Of course.” It was more than Oscar had expected.
“Tell me something?”
“Anything.” Was TJ finally going to open up?
“When you came out from seeing Dressel today, and I asked you how it went …”
Oscar chuckled. “And I told you I couldn’t find her. You want to know what the fuck I was talking about, right?”
TJ rewarded him with one of his rare smiles. “Damned straight I do. What she? And why would you have found her in there?”
“Okay, just because it’s so good to see you finally smiling, I’ll admit what a prick I am. When I went in there, there was this chick going in ahead of me. She was …” He smiled as he remembered her: her long, dark hair, the black top she’d been wearing and the purple tights. He shook his head.
“She was what?”
“Weird, gorgeous. Curvy.”
TJ gave him a puzzled look. “You saw a woman that interested you in there?”
Oscar nodded slowly. “Yup. And you’re right. She wasn’t my usual type. She was … I don’t know…there was this tension between us in the elevator. She was all raw energy and …” He shrugged. “When I got done with Dressel, I went to see if I could find her, but I couldn’t.”
TJ laughed. “You had a missed connection with an office girl?”
Oscar laughed with him. “I guess I did. What does that tell you?”
“It tells me that even your dick knows you need a change from the kind of women who hang out in clubs looking to get laid and get their claws into rich guys.”
“You never miss the chance to ram your point home, do you?”
“No, but I wasn’t even trying. It’s just so obvious. If you were happy with the life you’ve set up, you wouldn’t have noticed a girl like that, not when you’ve got LA’s most beautiful parading through here every night.”
Oscar sighed. “I guess, but come on. It’s not like life is terrible or I’m failing or anything. I’m just coasting for a while till I find my next challenge.”
“Yeah, just hurry up about it, can you?”
~ ~ ~
Grace set the last tray down on the counter and blew out a sigh. Spider had been right when he’d predicted a good turnout, and it had been one hell of a busy night. If she wanted to salvage the last shreds of her positive thinking, she could admit that he’d been right about the tips, too.
Spider smiled at her. “Take a load off and have a beer.”
She wasn’t about to argue. She climbed up on one of the stools and took a long drink of the cold beer he handed her. “Thanks.”
“Hey. You’ve earned it.”
She nodded. She had. What had started out a while back as Spider and his buddies jamming a couple nights a week had led to the coffee shop becoming a popular venue for local bands. The place had been packed out all night, and she’d been rushed off her feet.
The crowd had left now. She and Spider were cleaning up. Amber and Josie were, in theory, still helping, but they were focusing on the area around the little stage at the back where the band was still packing up. Spider shot them a dark look, but Grace waved a hand at him. “Don’t give them a hard time. We’re pretty much done, anyway.”
“I suppose.”
They both looked up as the front door opened. It was Grace’s roommate, Louise. She looked amazing. Grace sneaked a sideways glance at Spider and wanted to tell him to reel his tongue in. There was no point, though; he always looked like that whenever Louise showed up.
“Hey, girl.”
“Hey.” Louise came and pulled up a seat beside her. “Sorry I didn’t make it till now.”
“No worries. Do you want a beer?”
“Thanks, I’d love one.”
“Let me guess,” said Grace as Spider turned away. “You had a date, but he bored you?”
Louise laughed. “I did, and he did.”
“You should have just come in here. You wouldn’t have been bored,” said Spider.
Louise smiled as she took the beer. “You can’t say that. You wouldn’t have had a minute for me.”
It amused Grace to see her big, burly buddy look bashful, but at the same time, it irritated her a little that Louise toyed with him the way she d
id. Louise was one of those people you couldn’t stay mad at, though. She was pretty and sweet, she didn’t have a mean bone in her body. She was just a bit clueless about the effect she had on guys. Grace pursed her lips; either she was clueless, or she pulled off the dumb blonde act very convincingly. No there was no guile to her. Grace was just being cynical.
“And what’s up with you?” Louise asked. “You don’t look too happy.”
“She got some bad news today,” Spider answered for her.
“Oh, no. What?”
Grace shrugged. She’d been trying not to think about the center tonight, hoping that maybe her subconscious would mull it over and surprise her with a flash of brilliance. “Harry’s selling up and retiring. The center’s going to be torn down, and I’m going to be out of a job. So, you might want to start looking for a new roommate.”
“Oh, that’s awful. I’m so sorry. There must be something you can do to save the center? And don’t you worry. I can carry the rent for a while. I know you’ll find another job in no time.”
“Thanks, Lou.” Grace regretted her less-than-charitable thoughts of a few moments ago. Louise really was as sweet and kind as she seemed. It was Grace who was the cynic.
“But what happened? Who’s bought it? And why is it going to be torn down?”
“Apparently, it’s some guy who owns nightclubs. He’s going to build a new one there. I suppose it makes sense. The whole neighborhood is on the rise.”
Louise nodded sadly. “I hate to say it, but it is. A new nightclub would fit right in with everything that’s going on. Do you know the guy’s name?”
“Oscar Davenport.”
“Ooh!” Louise’s eyes lit up momentarily before she stopped herself. “Sorry. I know this is terrible for you, but have you seen him? He’s dreamy.”
Spider groaned and turned away to finish cleaning up.
“Sorry.” Louise looked suitably contrite. “If you saw him, you’d know what I mean. I bet there’s a photo of him in one of my magazines. I’ll show you when we get home. But what’s more important is that the guy is like a billionaire. And he does all kinds of work with charities. I’ll bet you could talk him into helping you relocate the center or something.”
Spider had rejoined them and was looking hopeful. “That’s a great idea, Louise. Rich people make all kinds of donations to charity—they can write it off. Maybe if we can show him how much people need the center, he’ll want to help.”
Grace’s mind was racing. “More like, we might be able to persuade him if he thinks he’d get a lot of bad press by tearing the center down.”
“But how?”
Louise might not understand, but Spider nodded his understanding.
“The media would be all over a story like that,” said Grace. “Thanks, Lou. You just came up with the best idea so far.”
Louise looked baffled. “But what …? How …?”
Grace smiled grimly. “Don’t you worry your pretty head.”
Spider raised an eyebrow. “What are you going to do?”
She shrugged. “Hopefully nothing, but I’ll bet we could whip up a media frenzy if we wanted. And if he thinks that, too, he might be more open to helping us out somehow.”
“So, are you going to see him?” asked Spider.
“I was thinking I could get a number and call him.”
“No. We should go and see him. Everyone knows he’s always at Six on Saturday night,” said Louise.
Grace cocked her head to one side, not understanding.
“Six is his club downtown.” Louise looked her over. “You’ll have to wear something of mine, but we’ll get in.”
Spider laughed at the look on Grace’s face. “Do it. It’s a bold move, but you’re nothing if not bold. Venture into the lair of the enemy—take the fight to him.”
“Okay.” Grace blew out a sigh, wondering what she was getting herself into. It was the only plan of action that had been put forth so far, though, and she wasn’t one to sit around and do nothing.
Chapter Four
Oscar leaned on the end of the bar and surveyed the club. It was a typical Saturday night. The drinks were flowing, and the dance floor was starting to fill up. People were having a great time. He sighed. He knew TJ was right. This wasn’t him. Well, it was him; he loved to party, and he loved to have fun. But he needed to have more going on in his life. He needed to be building a business, pushing boundaries, overcoming challenges. He wasn’t getting any of that here. He smirked when he spotted Kendra Parson weaving her way through the crowd toward him. He could get some of that, but she wouldn’t present any kind of challenge.
“Oscar,” she purred when she reached him. “Is it my lucky night? Have I managed to find you all alone?”
“Kendra.” He leaned in and allowed her to peck his cheek. Her hand rested briefly on his shoulder, telegraphing her intent through his body as a little shiver, which surprised him when it managed to elicit some interest from his cock. He straightened up with a smile. Maybe it was her lucky night. “I have some company.” His words had the effect he’d expected. She pouted a little and the site of her bottom lip sliding out confirmed that, yep, his cock was interested in some playtime. He shook his head at her. “Now, don’t look like that. I have family in town. I have to visit with them for a while. But maybe later …”
Her smile returned on full beam. “Oh. In that case.” She flipped her long blonde hair over her shoulder. “You can look for me later. I might still be here.”
Oscar nodded. He didn’t call her out on it, he was too much of a gentleman, but they both knew that, if he didn’t go to find her, she’d be here when the doormen threw out the last of the stragglers.
He glanced over her shoulder. He wasn’t lying, he really did have family visiting, and they’d just arrived. He raised a hand to wave at them before excusing himself.
Kendra reached up to kiss his cheek again. He was a little disappointed that the spark of interest seemed to have fizzled out, but maybe it’d return later.
“Hopey!” he exclaimed as he reached her and her husband, Chance. She wrapped him in a hug, and he held her close for a moment. His cousin was one of the few people whose mind he respected and whose company he enjoyed. When she let him go, he reached out to shake with her husband, Chance. As they shook, Oscar grinned and pulled him in for a man-hug. He hadn’t known what to make of Chance at first, but they’d clicked and were building a kind of unique friendship that Oscar truly valued.
“You know we can’t stay for long,” said Hope.
“I know you could stay as long as you want, but you don’t want.” He winked at Chance. “I know it’s not your scene, but I wanted us all to have dinner together.”
Chance smiled through pursed lips. “I can endure it, for you.” He turned and scanned the dance floor. “But we get to eat in the quiet room upstairs, right?”
“Chance!” Hope slapped his arm, but Oscar just laughed. “We do. Come on. The table’s ready.”
“Is TJ coming?” asked Hope.
“No. He said he’d come to lunch tomorrow if you want to meet up, but this isn’t his idea of fun.”
Chance smirked at him but spoke to Hope. “I think TJ’s going to be my favorite of your cousins.”
Oscar laughed, but then a thought occurred to him and he met Chance’s gaze. “You might be right about that. I think the two of you might get along. I think you’ll be able to connect with him on a level I can’t.”
Chance’s smirk disappeared, and his eyes narrowed. “Hope’s told me a little about what he’s been through. I don’t know that I can be of any use to him and there’s no point me sticking my nose in. I’ll talk to him if he wants to talk to me.”
“Yeah, that’s all I meant.”
Hope gave him a warning look, and he changed the subject as they made their way upstairs to the quieter restaurant area. “How’s the baby doing?” He led them into one of the private dining rooms while Ho
pe chatted away about the little one. Once they were all seated, he realized that Chance was watching him intently.
“What’s up?”
“Nothing. I’m just trying to figure out what you’re going to say.”
“About what?”
“We want you to be his godfather!” Hope beamed at him.
“You do?” Oscar wasn’t too sure what that entailed, but he didn’t think it was anything like the Pacino version.
“We do.”
“If you want to,” added Chance.
“I’d love to. It’d be an honor.” He nodded at the waiter. “I think this calls for champagne.”
~ ~ ~
Grace surveyed herself in the mirror. Louise had performed some kind of miracle. She peered at her face; it didn’t even look like her. She rarely wore makeup, and now she was covered in the stuff, but it didn’t feel bad—and it looked fabulous, she wasn’t going to lie about that.
Louise beamed at her. “What do you think?”
“I love it, Lou. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome, and what about the dress, are you comfortable? You look fantastic. You should keep it. It doesn’t look right on me, but it’s as if it was tailor-made for you.”
Grace couldn’t stop smiling. The dress was gorgeous. It was the stereotypical little black dress, but damn. It fit her in all the right ways in all the right places. Even if there wasn’t enough room in it for her to take deep breaths. She turned around to check out her rear view, and Louise laughed.
“Is it wrong of me to say I love your booty? I never knew you had such a great ass!”
Grace laughed with her. “Neither did I. I always thought it was this round thing that followed me around and needed to be hidden under long shirts, but damn, that thing is big and beautiful!”
“It is. You know people spend hours in the gym trying to make their ass look like that; some people even get implants and butt lifts and everything. And you? You just hide in your tunics and then when you need it, you unveil the best booty in all of LA.”
“Ha. I wouldn’t go that far.”