The Design(50)
“Cammie!” Brooklyn sang as she pushed through the thick black curtain that concealed the VIP-VIP section from the rest of the club. She looked beautiful in a fitted sky blue dress and matching heels. Her long blonde hair swished back and forth as she walked closer and her lips were split into a giant smile aimed right at me. Every club-goer within a ten-foot radius completely freaked out when they caught a glimpse of her. Cell phones were whipped out and flashes started to blind me as they tried to snap a quick picture of her. Brooklyn was completely unfazed by the attention; I would have had a nervous meltdown.
“Boys,” Brooklyn began as she placed her hand on one of the bouncer’s shoulders. “This is my sister, Cammie. She shall pass, so quit giving her the Gandalf treatment.”
The bouncers looked back at me with wide, shocked expressions. As I walked past them, I settled for a self-righteous smile because I didn’t think “That’s right, motherf*ckers,” would have gone over well. I mean, altogether the bouncers weighed the amount of a small army tank; there was no reason to taunt them.
As soon as I crossed through the red rope, Brooklyn wrapped me up in a massive hug.
"She shall pass? Since when do you watch Lord of the Rings?" I asked.
“Jason and I may have been procrastinating on our album all week. Besides, Orlando Bloom is hot. Speaking of looking good, Sis,” she said, holding me at arm’s length. “Is that a new work outfit?”
I laughed and glanced down at my fitted cream blouse and navy blue skirt. “You bought it for me. You should know.”
“I have such good taste,” she winked. “Let’s go wet your whistle.”
She pulled me after her, deep into the center of the VIP section. The lights were low and the music was seductive and dark, with heavy bass reverberating around the room. It felt like I was stepping into an underground lair, especially when I caught sight of one of the bartenders sporting bright neon pink hair.
A massive black bar with a mirrored tile backsplash spread out against an entire wall of the room. We’d just made it to the far edge to order a drink when I caught a whiff of what I swore was Grayson’s aftershave. It had to be.
I turned to scan the bar, trying to find him. I hadn’t seen him since he’d left for his meeting earlier and I wasn’t convinced that he’d actually show up for drinks. Yet, there he was, standing next to Jason and another man I didn’t recognize. The three men were all leaning against the bar, chatting and sipping their drinks.
Jason was facing away from me, but I could still see his leather jacket and worn jeans. Grayson was still in his tailored suit from earlier. Jason’s hair was ruffled and wild, but Grayson’s coal black hair was slicked back away from his face—ever the perfect businessman. They were so similar, yet polar opposites in many ways.
“Cammie!” Brooklyn said, snapping her fingers in front of my face. I assumed she’d been calling my name for the last few seconds while I’d been admiring the guys.
“Sorry. What’s up?”
She eyed me curiously. “What do you want to drink?”
“Just whatever you’re having,” I said before glancing back over her shoulder. The boys had spotted us at the bar and three pair of eyes locked on me as I glanced over. Jason waved animatedly. The blonde stranger next to him smiled, and Grayson held up his glass in a silent salute, a private smirk already there, waiting for me.
I loved seeing him outside of work, in a dark room with people too busy to care if he and I wandered off together. My mind worked overtime to create scenarios where we could sneak away from the group. Maybe I could ask him to mentor me on the project we were working on and then he could mentor me in the bar’s restroom.
Yeah, that sounded pretty good.
“Here ya go,” Brooklyn said, holding out a small colorful drink for me. An orange slice was perched on the rim and when I took a sip to test it out, my tongue practically danced with excitement.
“This is amazing!” I said, clinking my glass with hers.
She laughed and started to head toward the guys. “It is, but it has a ton of alcohol in it, so be careful.”
We wove through the young Hollywood crowd with our drinks and I tried to stay as close to Brooklyn as possible. In the two minutes it took us to reach the guys, I saw three movie stars, two famous singers, and a notorious heiress who’d leaked her own sex tape not three weeks before. They all looked like they’d been partying for hours and it was hardly 6:00 pm. The life of the rich and famous.
“Cammie’s here!” Brooklyn called out as we joined the group.
“Finally!” Jason cheered, holding out his drink so that he and I could do a little cheers.
“Whattup, J-money,” I quipped.
“Not much C-money,” Jason joked back.
Brooklyn made a show of rolling her eyes, pretending to be annoyed. “Can’t you guys go back to hating each other? The rapper names need to go.”
I winked at Jason. “She’s just jellin'.”
Grayson laughed and stepped forward, reaching a hand out as if to formally shake mine.
“Good to see you, Cameron,” he said with a wicked grin.
I took his hand and narrowed my eyes, trying to keep up with our act. Our hands bobbed up and down for much longer than necessary, but his hand was strong and I didn’t feel like pulling away.