by Meghan Quinn
“I just want to get to know you better, that’s all. Maybe if we got to know each other, we could be friends.”
“You don’t want to be my friend.”
“You don’t know that.”
“I do. I’m not someone to hang out with, Goldie. I do fucked up shit.”
I walked closer as he leaned himself against the wall and ate me up with his eyes. Shit, I was about to combust.
“What kind of shit?” I stepped closer.
“Shit that almost wound me up in jail, where I currently would be rotting away, if Jett hadn’t covered my ass.”
I stopped moving forward as I took in what Kace just told me. Jail? What the hell could he have done that would have put him in jail?
“Just stay away,” he continued. “You have other things to worry about besides trying to be my friend.”
“You’re not just going to push me away like that…”
Before I knew it, I was pushed against the wall that was closest to me with my arms pressed to my sides and Kace’s face inches from mine. I couldn’t fucking breathe and not because he was pressing down on my lungs, but because he absorbed all the air around us.
When he was this close, I was able to look into his deep soulful blue eyes. They were damaged, just like mine. He was hiding some kind of demons and by the way he seethed with anger, he was not about to let them out.
“Listen to me and listen to me good, stay the fuck out of my business. I am here for one reason and that is to make sure you girls stay in line. I am not here to be your friend and I sure as hell don’t want you to be mine, so drop it.”
I gulped as he pushed me to the side, grabbed his towel and started to walk away.
Chapter Eighteen
“Speechless”
Goldie/Lo
The shock that ran through my body from Kace’s action slowly faded and anger took its place instead. As he retreated, I pulled my head out of my ass and ran after him.
“Hold on,” I said, while pulling on his sweaty shoulder that should have made me shake my hand about and squeal like a girl, but my deranged mind was turned on instead.
He turned slowly to face me as we stood in the narrow hallway of the first floor of the servant’s wing. Not looking happy, he crossed his arms across his chest, typical Kace stance, and waited for me to speak.
“I’m getting pretty sick of you acting like you can just boss me around and treat me like shit. Just because I come from a strip club doesn’t mean you can treat me like crusted human feces on the rim of a toilet seat. I am a human you know and I have feelings just like everyone else.”
My chest heaved as I put an end to my childish rant.
“Are you finished?”
I nodded as I waited for his reply.
“First of all, I am your boss, so get used to it. Jett may make the decisions, but you report to me and if you are not following my instructions and doing as you’re told, then you will find your ass out on the streets faster than you can unhook your bra.” I was about to speak when he held up his hand. “Secondly, you are a lucky little shit who made some kind of odd impression on Jett. You shouldn’t even be here right now, so I would watch yourself, you’re skating on thin ice, sweetheart.”
“What do you mean I shouldn’t be here?” I said with my hands on my hips.
Kace snorted, actually snorted. It was the first time I didn’t find him attractive. Then his eyes narrowed on me and my attraction came back in full force. Bastard.
“You’re pretty, I will give you that, but you’re short, you have zero class and you’re too weak to get involved in a sexual relationship with Jett. You are accustomed to a type of emotional intimacy that you are not going to find here, so not only will you be disappointed and get your heart ripped out of your chest when Jett doesn’t hand you his heart, but you are going to waste everyone’s time by leaving because of the fact that you can’t find the emotional intimacy you need.”
I stood there completely stunned. I didn’t know how many insults and backhanded insults had just been thrown at me, but they didn’t feel good at all.
“What are you, some kind of psychologist?” It was probably the lamest comeback I’d ever had, but I couldn’t come up with anything better.
Kace just smirked at me as he continued, “Face it…Lo,” he said in a mocking tone, “you’re not cut out for this. Hell you couldn’t even get a couple of drinks right. If you can’t remember some damn drinks, then how are you going to remember all the steps to the dances? You are the slowest and the weakest out of all the girls and you have absolutely zero motivation.”
“That’s not true,” I protested.
“Isn’t it? If you were motivated, you wouldn’t be dragging your ass in the gym and complaining the whole time. You wouldn’t be taking naps in the afternoon when you should be learning as much as you can from the girls and you wouldn’t be wandering around the house tonight looking for trouble when you know damn well there is a curfew for you girls so you get a good night’s rest.”
I didn’t have a retort because everything he said was right.
“I don’t know why you are wasting my time, your time, and Jett’s time when there are so many other girls who could easily take your place and do a much better job than you.”
I was completely deflated. Not only was I humiliated today during my first-ever presentation, but now I was being told I didn’t belong in the house. Usually, rage would be boiling through my bones, but when the words came from Kace, they hit me harder. I didn’t understand why his opinion mattered to me so much, but it did.
“Why do you hate me?” I said in a breathless whisper, trying to contain my rolling emotions. A tear slipped down my cheek that I quickly swiped away, hoping Kace didn’t catch it.
When I looked up, I knew he saw the emotion that was pouring out of me because he actually showed a little bit of sympathy. Kace walked up to me so he was a foot away. He reached out and captured a strand of my hair with his fingers and pushed it behind my ear. The gesture was so small, but at that moment, I knew Kace cared about me. I could see it in his eyes.
“I don’t hate you, Goldie,” he used my real name. “You just don’t belong here.”
“Whose decision is that?” Another tear escaped from my eye and before I could wipe it away, Kace pressed his palm against my cheek and wiped it away with his thumb.
“It’s ultimately your decision.”
“So why don’t you let me make it. Why are you trying to drive me away?”
Removing his hand from my face, he blew out a long breath as he ran both hands through his hair. I watched his muscles ripple as he held his hands behind his head and looked at me. It seemed like he was going to confess something, but right when I thought he was going to act like a normal human, he closed off and stepped away.
“I just don’t want to waste anyone’s time.”
“I’m calling bullshit. There is something you’re not telling me.” I stepped closer so we were only a few inches apart. The heat radiating off his body was warm compared to the frigid attitude he just took on.
“Goldie…”
“What?” I placed my hand on his chest and ran it along his muscular pec. He sucked in a sharp breath of air from my gentle caress. Fuck, I was ready to explode. I wanted him so bad and not just because he was a man and I needed someone to hydrate my parched lady cactus, but because I needed him, Kace. From the minute I met him, I wanted him to touch me, hold me, and fuck me.
“Stop.” He grabbed my wrist and held it out in front of him. “We can’t do this and I don’t want to. You’re…you’re not my type and I would rather keep my job than give it up for what could be a half decent lay.”
Half decent lay? He did not just say that!
“You’re not worth it. Now if you don’t mind, I would like to actually get some sleep. Why don’t you do us all a favor and leave tomorrow morning, so we can fill your spot with someone who actually has the potential to be a Jett Girl?”
“You’re an ass.”
“Spot on, genius,” he said mockingly. “Let me know if you need help packing your bags, I would be more than happy to assist you.”
With that, he took off, leaving me completely punctured and speechless. I have had some mean things said to me, and I have dealt with my fair share of negative comments, but I have never been told off like Kace did to me tonight.
His words rang through my head as I tried to go to sleep. He hadn’t even given me a chance, but then again, maybe he was right. I couldn’t even get two drinks right, how could I remember a whole choreographed dance?
As I soaked in the beautiful surroundings of my temporary home, I thought how I probably should just leave. If Jett’s non-existent invitation to join him in the Bourbon Room wasn’t an indication of me not belonging in the club, then Kace’s rather uncensored opinion of me was.
Chapter Nineteen
“Dark Horse”
Goldie/Lo
Rays of sun pierced through my closed lids as I tried to fight the morning light and sleep a little longer. I knew this was my last morning in the Lafayette Club and I wanted to soak in as much of it as possible.
I was still hurting from last night. Kace made it quite clear that he didn’t think I could make it as a Jett Girl and he didn’t think I belonged in the club, let alone his presence. What I didn’t get was, why? Why did he have such strong hateful feelings toward me?
My eyes finally opened and, as I scanned the room that gave me hope for once in the past nine years of my crap life, I felt a tear trickle down my face as I tried to figure out what I was going to do. I didn’t have a job. I didn’t have a place to live, although Lyla would most likely invite me back to the apartment, but I didn’t want to go back there.
I most likely didn’t have a job back at Kitten’s Castle. Who knew how Jett had ended my job there? I was worse off than when I came here and what was even worse was the fact that I had gotten used to the rich dwellings, the plentiful food in my stomach, and the feeling of someone watching over me and taking care of me.
Needing to get my day started, I threw the covers off my legs for the last time and dangled my feet off the high bed. I looked at the flowers I received from Jett and took in their scent. They were so beautiful…just like me he said. I was going to miss…
“What’s this?” I murmured to myself as I saw an envelope on my nightstand propped up with my name on it. It wasn’t there before, so someone must have put it in my room, either early this morning or last night.
I tore it open, showing absolutely zero grace, and read it.
Lo,
I send my deepest regrets and apology for what you had to go through last night. I want you to know the behavior of those two men was unacceptable and is not tolerated. Their memberships to the club have been revoked, effective immediately, and infinitely terminated.
Last night was an incident I never would have wished upon one of my girls and the way Kace reacted was out of line. He has been warned. You and the other girls are to be treated with the utmost respect because you deserve it. You hold the cards in this house, all of you do. We are all at your mercy, so next time another member, myself, or Kace treats you without respect, you are allowed to leave and remove yourself from that situation because you are better than that, you deserve better than that.
You deserve to be treated like a Queen.
I don’t want last night to deter you from moving forward. I have been watching you and the way you interacted with the girls and a couple of the members last night; you are the exact fit I was looking for. You bring light to this dark house. No wonder your parent’s named you Goldie, your golden rays fill this house with the kind of refreshing attitude we needed.
I look forward to seeing more of you and watching as you grow into a Jett Girl because I have never been more sure about anything in my life than you being here.
-Jett
The man had to know he was good at writing letters because in a matter of seconds, he stripped me down and bared my broken soul and sewed it back up with a couple of words.
A couple of seconds ago, I was ready to pack my pathetic pillow case and walk out the wrought iron gates of this beautiful house, but after reading Jett’s card, I felt invigorated and ready to work my ass off to prove Kace wrong and Jett right.
I went to my closet, put on my workout clothes, grabbed my phone and ear buds and went down to the little gym that we had access to. The girls wouldn’t be down there yet and, if I wanted to become a Jett Girl, I had a lot of catching up to do and that meant I had to put in the extra time.
Kace could go fuck his own dick for all I cared. I was going to show him what a giant ass he was and how far he shoved his foot in his mouth last night. He might be hot as hell and I might have wanted to straddle him and take what I wanted last night, but not now. Now all I wanted was to drive him crazy with proving him wrong, but also drive him crazy with the body he didn’t think was good enough.
I smiled to myself as I turned on my workout playlist and started the treadmill. Kace was going to get a rude awakening. Not only was he going to be told, but he was going to be in physical pain from dealing with my scantily-clad body.
Babs walked in the room and stopped instantly when she saw me already working up a sweat.
“Good morning,” she said, as she got on the treadmill next to me.
Pausing the treadmill, I turned toward her and straddled the conveyor belt.
“Can I ask you a favor?”
“Sure,” she said, as she took a drink from her water bottle.
“Can you teach me everything there is to know about being a Jett Girl?”
A small smile crossed Babs’ face. “It’s about time, girl. You sticking it to Kace?”
“I want to do a lot more then stick it to him, but yes, I want to show him that I was born to do this. I want to prove him so wrong.”
“Thank God. I have been waiting for you to finally crack. Kace has been a total dick to you. Don’t worry. I’ll rally the girls and we’ll get you in prime Jett Girl shape. We’ll have you on stage doing a solo in no time. You’ve already got the looks and the body; you just need to learn the attitude.”
Excitement coursed through my body at the thought of being totally made over…not physically, but mentally and emotionally. This was it for me. I was going to be a Jett Girl if it was the last thing I did and I was going to be the best Jett Girl in the club because I had the four best girls with all different traits to teach me.
I put my ear buds back in my ears, turned up my new favorite Katy Perry song and ran to the beat of her latest hit, Dark Horse. I was coming after Kace and there was no going back.
Chapter Twenty
“Hysteria”
Jett
There was a definite change in Goldie and I noticed it after the morning I left her a note on her night stand. It was risky, dropping off the letter myself, but I wanted to be near her. I wanted her to be able to feel my heat and know that I was there for her, even though I had yet to truly meet her. It just wasn’t time yet. I wanted her to build herself first, become her own person. I wanted her to want to be a Jett Girl and not because she could be invited up to the Bourbon Room. I wanted her to want to change and it seemed like she did.
She was spunkier, sassier and sexier. Watching her practice with the girls was sweet torture. At first, she looked like she had two left feet as she tried to learn the steps to some of Pepper’s most complicated presentations, but she started to get it and when she did, fuck, I was sweating just watching her.
She wasn’t tall like the other girls, but she was curvy and in all the right places and she knew exactly how to show off all her assets. She was going to be trouble with the members and I was prepared to throw out every member of the club who even tried to touch her. She was only there for them to look at and, if I were honest, I didn’t even want that.
“I thought this meeting was at one,” Kace said as he shifted uncomfortably in his seat
next to me. He was wearing a suit and tie and was basically with me for intimidation factor. Two strong, tall and powerful men against one always carried the advantage, and that was what I needed, an advantage.
“Patience, Kace.”
“Fuck patience. I have shit to do today.”
“Like what?”
“I have practices to watch. I don’t spend my days watching over people on security cameras. I actually have to interact with them.”
I leaned back in my chair and swished the bourbon around in my glass as I studied my friend for too many years. He was always a moody little bitch, but even more now than before and I knew the reason why.
“Interesting little spat you had with Goldie in the hallway.”
“Lo,” Kace corrected me.
I leaned forward and looked him directly in the eyes. “I can call her whatever the fuck I want, so correct me one more time and you won’t like what happens.” I took a sip of my drink and continued, “It seemed like you and Goldie were getting intimate.”
I never brought up the other night to Kace because I thought he handled it well, besides what he said to her. That was why I wrote that note to Goldie; I didn’t want her taking off because of Kace taking his anger out on her.
“She’s horny as hell and persistent. You’re going to have to do something about that.”
“She’s fine. What I’m worried about is you and the way you look at her.”
“Nothing is going on.”
“I know nothing is going on, but that doesn’t mean nothing is going on in your head.”
Kace was about to answer when we were interrupted by the clearing of a man’s throat. I looked up and made eye contact with the same color eyes as mine.
I stood up and held out my hand, “Dad. Please have a seat.”
