by CC Dragon
“This is how you learn. I’ve been waiting tables and working with people. I’ve been doing charity events forever. This is a new level for me.” She hugged Lucifer.
Greg’s jaw dropped momentarily but he recovered. “Is it a full-time gig?”
“Of course. I can’t wait. I’ll be here tomorrow bright and early.” She beamed with pride.
“No, not until ten at least. We stay up late.” Lucifer grinned.
“Mary Lou, are you sure you want to work here?” I asked.
“Deanna, you can’t support anything I do.” Mary Lou leaned over the bar to the bartender. “Shot of tequila, please.”
“That’s not true. I support your divorce. I’m letting you stay at my house. I support you. But this job is out of the blue,” I pointed out.
She downed the shot and sighed. “No, it’s not. You just think no one else will hire me. You want me to owe you for everything. I can get a job elsewhere and succeed. If you want me to move out, just say the word and we will.”
“We?” I pushed back.
“Don’t test me. I can take care of myself. I appreciate your help but I’m not helpless without you or your friends.” She glared at Paul. “This is my first step toward real independence. Be happy for me.”
I shrugged. “Congratulations.”
I didn’t mean a word of it. This was a bad idea. But I was starting to believe that Paul might be right. Lucifer was interested in someone—it just wasn’t me or my powers. Mary Lou was an emotional powder keg and maybe that’s what Lucifer wanted or needed for his dark side.
“Shots for everyone!” Mary Lou announced.
“Not for me, thanks,” I said.
“Right. It’s nearly midnight. You’re never out this late unless you’re working. Might as well take her home now, Paul.” Mary Lou slid onto a leather barstool.
She was right, in a twisted way. I wasn’t helping things, so I was better off going home.
“Thanks for the drinks and the table. It’s lovely but I’m not a bar person. Even if I do own one. I’m going to hit the ladies’ room first,” I said to Lucifer.
Paul and Luci exchanged polite chitchat.
Greg hadn’t oversold the restrooms. Everything was high end and luxurious. A lot of women milled around touching up makeup or talking about men. I washed my hands and let my instincts take over. I glanced beyond the row of stalls to a sitting area where a few women had gathered to chat quietly.
One younger girl with big blue eyes and blonde hair locked eyes with me and then looked down.
She was probably not quite twenty-one yet and worried I was undercover security or something. I didn’t want to scare off Lucifer’s business by being overly nosy or critical. I’d certainly had a drink or two before I turned twenty-one.
I checked my makeup and turned to leave but something was pulling on me. Not in an energy way, but in a need way.
“Excuse me, ladies, sorry. I have a friend who might’ve had too much. Are you in here, Amber?” I said loudly and looked around. I met the blonde girl’s gaze one last time. She could pretend to be Amber if she wanted to talk to me.
When no one answered, I shrugged. “I’ll find her.”
I left the washroom and found Greg waiting for me.
“Don’t worry, I’ll make sure she gets home safely. Hopefully this job thing will fizzle out.” He sighed.
“Good. Have fun,” I said.
Mary Lou wasn’t my sister or my kid. She could do what she wanted. I just wasn’t sure if she wanted this or she was rebelling after so many years in a controlling marriage.
“Ready?” Paul asked.
“Very,” I said.
I headed over and tapped Gunnar on the shoulder. He and Matt as well as Ivy and Brody followed me to the front door where we could hear each other.
“Everything okay?” Ivy asked.
I told them about Mary Lou’s job.
“She’s nuts,” Matt said.
“She’ll get less alimony but that’s her problem. I don’t care where she wants to work. I just am worried Lucifer is going to use her in other ways. I know Greg will stick around and make sure she gets home tonight. If you guys want to stay, that’s fine. I’ve had enough. I’m only upsetting Mary Lou which is making it hard on the group.” I wasn’t trying to gossip or cause trouble, but everyone deserved to know the deal.
“No worries. We’ll be fine,” Brody said.
“Consider it recon on the competition,” Ivy said.
“They aren’t a drag bar,” I pointed out.
“They are a successful bar,” Paul countered.
“Fine. Stay or don’t. I just wanted you to know what the deal was. I want to give Mary Lou the space to heal so if she starts overreacting or snipping at you guys—just give her room for now. Hopefully Lucifer won’t drag her into anything dangerous,” I said.
“I’m going to go get the car,” Paul said.
“Thanks,” I replied.
“You think she’s acting out more?” Matt asked.
I shrugged. “You’ve known her longer than me. I think this is a place where she thinks she got the job all on her own. They have security so if Lance tries to see her—there are bouncers and others to deal with him. It’s not the worst possible choice in the world but it’s not my first choice, either.”
“The music is good. Drinks and apps have a range of prices so it appeals to a variety of incomes. It’s not a bad setup,” Gunnar said.
“Yeah, I think the club will succeed. I just prefer my own place where I make the rules.” It was the truth. Even though I didn’t fit in at a drag bar, it was mine. I knew everyone and they knew me. I felt like a guest here and maybe that was making me overreact?
“Night,” I said.
I walked out and nodded to the valet as he opened the car door for me. Paul was already behind the wheel.
“I feel like Thai food and some old movies on TV. You interested?” he asked.
“Sounds perfect. I need to get out of these heels,” I said.
“You’ve already kicked them off and are going to walk barefoot into the house, aren’t you?” he asked.
I shrugged. “It’s winter. I might put the shoes back on until I’m in the house. Now you have to guess what I want from the Thai place.” He was getting to know me better and better. Maybe that was freaking me out?
“No, I’m driving. You order. You get to guess what I want,” he teased.
“I’ve got the advantage there.” I pulled out my phone.
Chapter Five
Everyone got a late start on Saturday except for Brody. I woke up to a text from Paul who hadn’t spent the night, saying that he and Brody were at the rehab center and wanted me to see the furniture.
I replied I’d be there in half an hour and managed to shower and dress without waking anyone but my furry friend who was pacified with treats.
After a drive thru run for coffee and pastries, I made it to the location where so much work and money had been poured in. I walked in and the waiting area looked like a living room with a desk area to one side. The hardwood floors had area rugs and there were plants. It was very homey.
“You like the couches?” Brody asked as he came out from the office.
“Yeah, the deep blue is soothing.” I nodded.
“Great. the offices are next and then the inpatient rooms.” Brody waved me back.
“Where’s Paul? I brought pastries,” I said.
“He’s putting a few things in his office. Computers arrive Monday and get hooked up with software installed. Staff is hired and we’ll do training over the next few weeks once we have everything stocked and equipped.” Brody opened the box and grabbed a doughnut.
“Great, thanks. You’re a wiz at all of this,” I said.
“I’m just glad to have something else to do. No drama here. Working at a family business was hell even if I loved the bridal gown side of things. Of course, when you bring in staff, I might not fit in,” Brody said.
> “I think you’ll fit. Just like the mansion. You and Ivy are adorable.” I took off my coat before I grabbed a roll and enjoyed my coffee.
“Yeah, I know I sort of added myself to the group. I hope you don’t mind.” Brody sat in the rolling chair behind the desk.
“No, Ivy added you. And I’m glad. You’re good for her. Sorry for the weirdness with Mary Lou and all that. My life has a big vein of chaos and the supernatural.” I shrugged.
“I can live with that. But you’re really sure it’s okay for me to move in?” he asked.
“I thought you had.” I shrugged.
“I have, more or less, but I haven’t told my landlord. It’s your house, not Ivy’s,” Brody said.
I nodded. “True. But it’s a really big house. I’m not kicking Ivy out anytime soon and unless you treat her badly, I’m fine with it. I totally understand if you and Ivy want your own place.”
He sighed and finished his breakfast. “I feel better at your place. The world...it is scary. Security is being yanked from people who run their own businesses and tax rates are going up unless you’re mega rich already. I just don’t want to feel like I’m using you or Ivy.”
“You’re not. The world is scarier than before and if you get the job I’m thinking for you here—you’ll work your butt off. But I think you’ll enjoy it. Either way, you’ll earn your keep,” I said.
“Okay. If you’re sure.” He headed for a closet. “I’ll set up the coffee machine. I have to wait for the security system guys to get here anyway. They did the pre-wire but now we can put in the motion sensors.”
“On a Saturday?” I asked.
He shrugged. “Need anything else?”
“No, I’m going to bug Paul. He can give me the rest of the furniture tour. Thanks.” I headed back to the offices and found him sitting in his chair texting.
“You look comfortable,” I said.
“Good furniture is necessary. Try out the chairs,” he said.
I did and found them excellent. Sturdy but soft. “Very nice. Brody is still debating moving in? Hopefully I assured him it’s a good idea.”
“Is it? Sometimes moving too fast messes thing up,” Paul replied.
I nodded. “But that’s up to him and Ivy. For my little part, I’m fine with it.”
“Little part. It’s your mansion.” Paul chuckled.
I rolled my eyes at him. “It’s their relationship. If I asked you to move in, that’d be too fast.”
“Agreed. Especially with that crazy group living there now.” He smiled. “Think any of them will move out?”
“Not that I can foresee. Too many people? Not enough space?” I teased.
Paul looked me in the eye. “I don’t mind that you have more money than I do. A lot more money.”
“Family inheritance, it’s not like I earned it.” I hated how fragile men’s egos could be at times.
“I know. But I don’t want you offering to pay off my student loans or pay me a ton to work here.”
“Did I offer either of those things? Never occurred to me,” I said.
“However, if I moved in with you—in a roundabout way it would change the dynamic,” he replied.
“Why? Because you don’t have to pay your own rent or utilities?” I shrugged. “Owning a house that big costs what it costs. I own it but the taxes and the rest of it, they don’t vary by the number of people that live there. Well, the water and electric do a bit. Everybody helps out with food.”
“I’m not saying your setup is unhealthy for you guys.” He held up his hands in defense.
“But you don’t want to be a part of it?” I asked.
“No, not now. Not ready for that. You aren’t either. What you do takes a lot of out of you. I don’t want to be another person pulling on you.”
I frowned. “Greg and Ivy have helped me figure out what the heck I’m doing here. They’ve been with me since the beginning. Mary Lou and Matt only moved in because of recent events. I hired Gunnar recently and I need him on my team. I know it’s unconventional, but it makes no sense to own a mansion like mine for one person to live in. I can’t sell it,” I said.
“Why?” Paul asked.
“It’s freaking haunted. Defiant ghosts in the attic. Possessed items under the stairs. I can’t give that to anyone. They’d turn it into a theme park. Or someone could be hurt. It’s my family legacy and I have to contain it.” I ran my fingers through my hair. “Look, if the day comes when you want to move in we can talk about paying rent or bills. Whatever. I don’t care. I know money is a big deal for a lot of people but my fight—my struggle in life has nothing to do with money. Gran left me set up well and diversified. I’m not going to stress about money.”
“You’re lucky,” he said.
“I know. Then again, I get to see things no one wants to. Meet with murderers and face down demons. Don’t worry, if you want to stay over I still have plenty of guest rooms.” I stood up and headed to the elevator.
He rushed to catch up with me. “I was only teasing.”
“No, you weren’t. It’s fine. I’m not normal or ever going to fit in to high society or anything. New Orleans has an acceptance of the strange and unusual. Doesn’t mean everyone can handle it.”
I pushed the button and the doors opened with a ding. We stepped on and I hit the button for the second floor.
“I love how weird and unusual you are. How your life is. I just never want anyone saying I’m a gold digger.”
“But for women it’s okay?” I teased.
“No, but it’s more socially acceptable.” He nodded.
I looked at him. “Why the sudden desire for social acceptance?”
“My parents asked about you. It’s hard to explain the circumstances.” He sighed. “And Ivy mentioned your brother had blown into town and then left?”
I shook my head. “He appeared suddenly but got a job right away. We were shocked. He’s doing marketing at a casino and he had to train and get up to speed. It’s outside the city so he got his own place. They put him up in the fancy hotel attached to the casino until he found somewhere he liked. I guess it was the right move for him—with everything falling into place. You thought I was ashamed of him or you?” I prodded.
“Neither. I just wondered.” He smiled at me as the doors opened.
“I’ll see if I can get him into the city for dinner now that he should be settled. Or we can go out there. My family is as crazy and embarrassing as anyone’s but I’m not trying to keep them from you.” I stepped out onto the second floor.
“Sounds good. I would like to meet some of your family. Then again, I think you have a family you cobbled together living with you.” He led the way down the hall.
“You’re right there. But I want to meet some of your family, too,” I insisted.
He began talking about the furniture and setup for the rooms. Men.
I STARED AT THE CONTENTS of my closet and there was nothing that would fit what I had to do today. I wrapped a short fuzzy robe around me and decided to raid other closets. I knocked on Mary Lou’s door.
She wasn’t in her room, of course. She was in Greg’s. I opened the door and checked out what she had in her closet. The woman had more clothes than a department store and she’d apparently brought them all when she moved in.
Odds were I wouldn’t find exactly what would fit but I needed to look frumpy and conservative. I managed to find a few maxi dresses because Mary Lou was always on trend. One was peach with tiny white flowers. I couldn’t do better than that. I dropped the robe and tugged on the gown. Not a perfect fit but it’d do.
As I left the room, I found Greg in the hallway.
“What’s going on?” he asked.
“I think I’ll attend Sunday service at that little church. See if they throw me out or something.” I needed some sort of scarf or something to cover the cleavage. Not that it was revealing but with the high collared dresses I’d seen in Greg’s pics, I knew I had to be as conservative as poss
ible.
“You can’t go alone,” Greg said.
“Please.” I walked back to my room to find something that worked.
He followed me. “Seriously. I didn’t see any single women there. Not that weren’t old with kids in tow.”
“Weirder and weirder,” I said.
“Take Gunnar or Paul,” Greg advised.
“Not Gunnar. I don’t want to freak Paul out,” I replied.
Greg smiled. “Trust me, this place is a shrink’s dream. Why are these people this way? You two could write papers.”
“Fine. I’ll ask him but I’ll look like frumpy crap.” I stared at myself in the mirror.
“Just think of it as a test drive for a Halloween costume,” Greg teased.
I texted Paul. He replied quickly and promised to arrive in twenty minutes. I really had no desire to sit in a small church where there were no rules. Where the pastor just did whatever he wanted. Religion wasn’t bad but some men took the power and ran with it.
Ivy came through with a white cashmere wrap which worked due to the weather. I wore white flats and no makeup. I swept my hair back in a clip but didn’t bother with any jewelry.
Paul walked in the front door and stared. “Interesting.”
“It’s as frumpy as I could find.” I shrugged.
Paul was in a conservative suit but that didn’t look much different than his normal clothes.
“You’re sure you want to do this?” Paul asked.
I nodded. “We can’t keep sending Gunnar or Greg over there. They’ll get paranoid. I don’t want to be late.”
We hopped into Paul’s SUV and were there just in time to sit down for the ten a.m. service, which was apparently the only Sunday service. We sat in the back and got a lot of looks.
The one room church was out in the middle of nowhere, areas that had been abandoned since Katrina. The shack wasn’t new but it was cleaned out. There were men at the doors; I didn’t see guns but I felt like they were armed.
The readings were nothing new, it was straight from the King James version. But the preaching was fire and brimstone. About how women weren’t supposed to be temptresses, despite what pop culture said. Don’t be Eve, be Mary was a creepy slogan.
