The Fixed Trilogy: Found in You(14)

I tried to return my focus to the books, but again my mind wandered to the future—weddings and the club and parties.

That was when the idea hit me. I abandoned my task and found my phone to call Jordan. I needed a ride.

***

“Bachelorette parties?” David Lindt leaned back in the desk chair and swiveled from side to side.

I hadn’t been sure David would be at The Sky Launch so early in the day, but I’d lucked out. He was the general manager of the nightclub, and since Hudson had relinquished the running of the business to him, he was the one I needed to approach with any ideas for improvement.

Which was why I’d come in more than six hours before my shift started to share my stroke of genius. “Yes. Bachelorette parties.”

“Seriously? That’s your big idea?”

“Come on, it’s perfect!” I threw my hands up for emphasis. This was a good idea, and talking about it calmly had not seemed to have done the trick of convincing David. “It’s wedding season and the bubble rooms are the perfect place for privacy while still being surrounded by the club scene. You know as well as I do the stuff that goes on in those rooms.”

The bubble rooms were, in my opinion, the highlight of The Sky Launch. The ten circular rooms ran the circumference of the second floor. Each room had its own entrance and was completely enclosed to ensure privacy. Or rather, a sense of privacy. It was an illusion since each of the rooms also had a window that overlooked the dance floor below and if you looked across, you could see everything that happened on the other side. Plenty of times, the things that went on in those rooms were rated R and, more often, rated X.

The bubbles, however, had been neglected in promotion for as long as I’d been an employee of the club. I’d gotten my promotion partly on the promise to find ways to better use the unique feature. Promoting them for bachelorette parties—that plan was gold.

David didn’t seem to have the vision I did. “We’ve had bachelorette parties in here before. Not many, but a few.”

“And they always go well, don’t they?”

“The customers are always pleased.” He twisted his lips as he considered.

With his constant fidgeting and weird faces, I wondered briefly how I’d ever thought I was attracted to the man.

The answer was that I hadn’t been. Not truly. David had been a nice option when I’d been too afraid to go after any men who really turned me on. I’d thought I could have a future with him. I’d figured that being with a man like David was the cure to my obsession—not actually caring for him kept me from the outrageous behavior of my past.

And he’d been cute enough. We’d never gone all the way, but we’d come pretty close, and becoming aroused had never been a problem.

All thoughts of David had disappeared when Hudson entered my life. I gave up the safe bet for the real thing, and, even with the ups and downs of loving Hudson, I didn’t regret it one bit.

David regretted it, however. He wanted something more between us and had told me so just the day before. But he knew where my feelings lay. He knew whom my heart belonged to.

Now he brought his pen up to his mouth and bit on the already chewed end. Pen between his teeth, he asked, “How do you expect to draw people to book the rooms for that?”

“Marketing.” Obviously. That had been my emphasis area of my newly acquired MBA, and I was anxious to use it. It was what I had to offer the nightclub—my expertise. “We’ve never advertised those rooms to any specific market. They’re underutilized and wasted space compared to what they could be used for. And if we bundled the rooms in packages designed specifically for soon-to-be-married brides, I think we could really attract some attention.”

“Yeah, I see some potential.” Finally. “What’s your strategy?”


“I need some time to put it all together into a formal plan, but I’m thinking I could book some meetings with wedding planners. If I can offer a good deal, they’d tell their clients. Maybe we can give them referral bonuses or offer them a certain percentage of our booking fee as a kickback. But first we need to design some packages. Include some party trays and a certain dollar amount from the bar and we’ve got something to sell.”

Behind me, my phone beeped with an incoming text. It had died on my way to the club right after I texted Hudson my plans for the afternoon. Luckily I had a spare charger I kept in the office by the file cabinets and I’d plugged it in as soon as I arrived. “So what do you think?” I asked as I crossed to my phone.

“I think you’re onto something. Let’s do it.”

I grinned triumphantly before glancing down at my message.

“I’ve arranged the cook. Will you still be home for dinner?”

“I wouldn’t miss it for the world,” I responded, his use of the word home making me as giddy as it had that morning.

“Pierce?”

David’s question broke through my euphoria. “Yeah, it’s Hudson.”

“Something good?”

I hadn’t realized I’d been smiling until then. “Everything good.”

Leaving the phone to continue charging, I returned to the chair I’d been sitting in. “I’m meeting him for dinner. Don’t worry, I’ll be back by the time my shift starts.”