by Ali Parker
No one spoke a word.
“Very well,” Jackson said. He ran his thumb between the fold in the piece of paper. A gold sticker split open, and he unfolded the sheet and stared down at the name on the page. He chuckled. “Your winner received ten of your twelve votes. I think that’s the highest any woman has received before.”
Just say the name. I groaned internally. I didn’t give a damn how many votes she got. I just wanted to know if the other men in the room had seen what I saw in Piper. She’d be good for all of us. She was a brilliant young woman who deserved this.
And based on what I’d learned about her in a very short amount of time, she needed this too.
Chapter 25
Piper
I stifled a yawn as I adjusted myself on the church pew. My legs and ass hurt from all the dancing I’d done last night, and the smooth wood was not at all comfortable. I was dead tired from being up until almost three in the morning, and I hadn’t slept a wink, what with all the nerves. I’d thought foolishly that I would know at the end of the evening whether or not I was going to be the Queen Bee of all the other women I was up against.
But that was not the case.
I’d been shimmied out of the club and into a separate limo that took us back to the hotel. I was put up in a room overnight, and I got up super early to get down to the lobby so I could get my bike without anyone seeing me and hurry back home to get ready for church this morning.
If I’d missed it that would have been the final straw, and my parents would have killed me.
Another yawn tried to take me, and my mother shot me a dark look. “How late were you up last night?” she asked in an irritated whisper.
“I just didn’t sleep well,” I said.
She shook her head at me.
I didn’t try to defend myself any further. I knew if I did, she’d just be on my case more about where I’d been spending the bulk of my time and why I was “flaking” on the restaurant. She hadn’t said a word about me bailing on the last half of my shift yesterday and neither had my father, who was sitting on her other side. He looked more exhausted than I felt.
I grew concerned when he started coughing. It was a wet sound. I hoped he wasn’t getting sicker. They couldn’t afford more medication. There was just no way.
As the service ended, we made our way outside to the parking lot. We crossed the asphalt with me and Phillip walking behind my mom and dad like we used to when we were kids.
“I have to be back at the club at noon,” I said to Phillip out of the corner of my mouth. I had to talk quietly so my folks wouldn’t overhear.
He sighed. “Seriously?”
“Yes. Why? What’s wrong?”
“I think I underestimated what it would be like at the restaurant with Mom and Dad if you weren’t there. They were a royal pain in my ass last night, and Mom is in a foul fucking mood. I’m not looking forward to having to do it again.”
Guilt crawled around inside me. “I’m sorry, Phillip.”
“Whatever.”
“I’m going to have to sneak out of the restaurant at eleven.”
He sighed. “Fine.”
“Please don’t be mad at me. I don’t think I can handle you being upset with me, too. Mom and Dad are enough.”
“Then maybe you shouldn’t do this,” he said. “Maybe you should stay where you belong, and we should just give the restaurant one more shot.”
“Phillip…”
He sighed and threw his hands in the air. “I don’t know what the solution is here, Piper. If you think this is still the right choice, then go for it. I just… fuck. I hope it’s worth it. Dad was coughing all night long last night.”
“He was?”
Phillip nodded. “Yeah. So I hope you know what you’re doing.”
I didn’t know. I had no fucking clue what I was doing. All I knew for certain was what we’d been doing wasn’t working. The family business was going under. No one was going to walk by one day and decide we deserved a second shot at success. They weren’t going to sprinkle the restaurant with pixie dust and magically bring us wealth and customers.
It just wasn’t going to happen.
The restaurant was going to die a slow death, and there was no telling what that might do to my mom and dad, who had poured their heart and soul into it.
There was simply no other option. I was going to sneak out and head to the club. I’d already risked a lot to make this happen, and I was willing to take one more chance and see where I ended up. If it meant that my mom and dad were mad at me for a few weeks or months, then so be it. That was a small price to pay for freedom.
“I won’t fuck this up,” I said to my brother. “I’ve got this.”
“I hope so, Piper. I really hope so.”
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I felt bad about ducking out of the restaurant early, and especially bad about doing it in secret. Poor Phillip was going to have to lie for me and pick up the slack from me being gone. And to top it all off, he’d have to suffer the wrath of our mom and dad, who were already nearing their wits’ end with me.
I’d have to find a way to thank him somehow.
I arrived at the Casanova Club right at noon. The same receptionist I’d spoken to yesterday took me down the hall to a waiting room. It was two doors down from the conference room I’d had to sit in during my interview.
All the other women were there already.
They were dressed to the nines in their fancy outfits and sparkly earrings. Their eyes rolled over me as I took a seat and crossed my legs. I was wearing the only dress I owned that didn’t have flowers on it. The hem hovered a couple inches above my knees. It was navy blue with a sweetheart neck and wide shoulder straps. It hugged my torso and fanned out from my waist. I liked the silhouette and found it comfortable.
I’d paired it with a pair of sheer black nylons and the same pumps I wore last night. I hoped the men didn’t notice, and if they did, I didn’t care. I was also wearing the only jacket I owned without holes in it, my black leather one with silver zippers all over the place. The look worked. I just wasn’t sure it was appropriate for today’s event.
A couple girls started whispering. There was no doubt in my mind that they were talking about me. My palms started sweating, so I clasped my hands in my lap and stared dead ahead at the wall across from me. It was almost the same shade of blue as my dress.
“It’s Piper, right?” the girl closest to me asked. She had red hair and a pretty smile.
“Yes. And you’re Jenna?”
She nodded. “Mhm. Sorry. Some of the girls are still trying to figure out how you got here.”
“Got here?” I asked, tipping my head to the side unconsciously.
Jenna nodded. “Yes. You weren’t at the meet and greet cocktail hour on Friday night. But you managed to squeeze in for the interviews yesterday. Some of us were just curious how that happened. This is a closed event after all, and we all went through a very extensive vetting process.”
“Oh.” I should have expected this. Of course, the women were going to talk and try to figure out how the hell I’d managed to earn myself a seat in this room. “It’s sort of a long story.”
“We have time,” Heather said pleasantly. Her smile and her friendly tone were too perfect to be real. She had ulterior motives.
I shrugged a shoulder. “Turns out, they wanted a girl who stood apart from the crowd.”
Jenna arched an eyebrow. “Excuse me?”
I stared dead ahead at the navy-blue wall again. I was not here to make friends. Even if I was, a girl like Jenna was not who I would want to form a relationship with. She was petty. All of them were. They’d clearly all planned to have this conversation with me because they were all leaning forward, their desperate curiosity written plain as day across their beautiful faces.
“I mean, no offense,” I said. “All I’m saying is they wanted someone different from the others they already had.”
“Do you think you’re better than
us?” one of the other girls asked. She had long black hair and bright blue eyes.
I shook my head. “Not at all.”
It was quite the opposite, actually. I had never felt so out of place in my entire life. It was very intimidating to be sitting in a room full of women who looked like they belonged on the front of a beauty magazine. They were all exquisite creatures. I felt clumsy and thick and homely sitting amongst them. It wasn’t a good feeling at all.
“Do you really think you need to be here for this?” one of the other girls asked.
“What do you mean?”
She scoffed at me. “I mean, do you think you have a shot? Do you really think they’re going to choose you when they have all of us? Honestly, you should just go now and save yourself the embarrassment.”
I narrowed my eyes at her. “This isn’t high school, Georgina.”
“What?” She blinked, sitting up straighter.
“You heard me. You’re a mean girl. A lot of you are. And if they do choose one of you, I feel sorry for them because girls like you lie and manipulate and disguise who they really are until they get what they want. Then they show their true colors, and by then, it’s too late. I’m not a mean girl. I’m here for the right reasons.”
Heather laughed. “Oh please. You’re here for the money.”
I tried to hide my surprise.
Heather rolled her eyes. “Oh, sweetheart, you’re adorable. Really. You think we can’t tell that you’re here for the money? You’re wearing the same shoes you wore last night. Claire saw you riding a bicycle home this morning when she went for her morning run. Your nylons have a tear in the back of them, and those nails? Well, let’s just say you’re not fooling anyone. You need the money. They’re going to send you home.”
The door opened.
Jackson Lee stood in the doorframe and looked around the room. He looked right at me, and my whole body tightened with nerves.
Don’t pick me. Don’t pick me. Don’t pick me.
“Piper,” he said, motioning for me to follow him with the flick of his fingers. “Come with me, please. The men would like to see you now.”
“Bye bye, Piper.” Heather smiled, wiggling her fingers in a dainty wave as I got to my feet.
I straightened my dress and followed Jackson out of the room. As soon as the door closed behind me, I heard the women burst into a fit of giggles. I swallowed.
Jackson stopped at the closed door to the conference room. “You ready?”
I nodded. “I think so.”
“Ignore the girls,” he said.
“Sorry?”
He nodded down the hall to the room he’d just saved me from. “The girls. Ignore them.”
“Oh. Um. Okay.” Had he heard what they’d been saying? Was he standing outside the door the whole time?
He put his hand on the door handle. “Just go in and have a seat like you did yesterday. I’ll be right behind you.”
I nodded.
Jackson opened the door. I strode in confidently and took a seat in the same red chair I’d sat in yesterday afternoon.
The men were all there. As soon as I walked in, they all stood up. I felt out of place sitting down so I stood up too. Jackson stood beside me and addressed the whole room.
Before he even started speaking, I could feel the energy in the room. The men were all smiling at me. The nerves that had been threatening to make me sick all morning were gone. My head was clear, and I was overcome with a sense of rightness.
I was right where I was supposed to be.
Jackson spoke clearly so we could all hear him. “Gentlemen of the Casanova Club, I would like to introduce you to your 2019 Lucky Lady. Piper James, you’re in. Congratulations.”
I knew my mouth was hanging open like a gaping fish. A couple of the men chuckled as they approached and formed a line to shake my hand and kiss my knuckles. The first few went by so quickly that I didn’t process what was happening.
Once all of them had kissed my hand, which was weird and normal all at once, they stood back, and Jackson turned to me. “I know it’s a lot to take in, Piper. You still have time to process and prepare for all of this. I suggest you enjoy the holidays with your family because you’ll be flying out to Montreal on the first of January to begin your journey.”
Montreal. The Canadian city I’d dreamed of seeing the most. Was this really happening?
It was.
Holy shit. Holy fucking shit.
I’d done it. I pulled it off. I was in.
I could smell the million dollars waiting for me at the end of next year.
“We’ll have to do some medical and physical tests just to make sure everything is in order before you fly, but aside from that, you’re good to go. Do you have any questions for us, Piper?”
My brain struggled to make the words go to my mouth, and I found myself standing there, nodding for a little too long before I finally managed to ask, “Do I need to sign anything?”
The men all laughed.
Jackson grinned. “Not yet.”
“Maybe a prenup in twelve months,” one of the men joked.
“Or a liability waiver.”
“Or a nondisclosure agreement,” another said with a laugh.
I looked around at them all and welcomed the feeling of ease that trickled through me like warm water on a cool day. I had arrived. Everything was going to be okay. My mom and dad weren’t going to go down with the restaurant. Aldo’s daughter was going to get the help she needed. My brother wouldn’t have to work at Piper’s Paradise for the rest of his life.
And I would finally be able to afford my full tuition so I could break into pediatrics.
All I had to do was survive the next twelve months and not fall in love with one of the men of the Casanova Club.
It will be a piece of cake, I thought as I started to laugh with joy and relief. After all, how much could possibly happen in one year?
To be continued…
Author Note: Our sexy artist, Joshua is up first. Can he win over Piper? Does he really want to?
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About the Author
Ali Parker is a full-time contemporary and new adult romance writer with more than a hundred and twenty books behind her. She loves coffee, watching a great movie and hanging out with her hubs. By hanging out, she means making out. Hanging out is for those little creepy elves at Christmas. No tight green stockings for her.
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She’s an entrepreneur at heart and loves coming up with more ideas than any one person should be allowed to access. She lives in Texas with her hubs and three kiddos and looks forward to traveling the world in a few years. Writing under eleven pen names keeps her busy and allows her to explore all genres and types of writing.
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The Parker’s Wicked Playground
Piper: The Casanova Club #1
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Copyright © 2018 by Ali Parker
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All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
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The novel is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and plot are all either products of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons – living or dead – is purely coincidental.
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First Edit
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Editor: Eric Martinez
Cover Designer: Hang Le from Designs by Hang Le https://www.facebook.com/designsbyhangle/