A Beautiful Acceptance (the NYC series Book 2)

by Alora Kate

  “Ki,” I snapped and she looked at me. I picked up the envelope and wiggled it. “Someone is suing us.”

  “I don’t care!”

  “Yes, you do.”

  I opened it up, read it over, and tossed it back on my desk. “Remember that woman, the one with the large nose, Mrs. Hicks? She’s the one suing us.”

  “For what?”

  “Said we didn’t do our job.”

  “She paid for three hours, we followed him for three hours and he did nothing! She refused to pay for more hours!”

  “Calm down, hot pants, I know this. We have our records, we’ll be fine.”

  “She must have caught the asshole cheating and instead of being pissed off at him, she’s pissed off at us because we didn’t catch him last year.”

  “Probably.”

  “It’s not our fault.”

  “Maybe you should call Prescot. You know, because he’s our lawyer but to also help calm you down before you hyperventilate.”

  She took a deep breath, grabbed her phone, and walked into the studio portion of the office. The studio she rarely used. Sometimes she gets side gigs like senior pictures or a family session but it’s rare because she doesn’t like it that much. She prefers her landscape and nature pictures, among the cheaters and people we serve.

  I wasn’t sure about the group Aaron mentioned, or if this new rule about no pictures was real but I had to find out. Picking up the phone, I punched in Josh’s number and watched Ki pace around through the door to the studio.

  “Hey, Lex.”

  “How did you know?”

  “Caller ID and the fact that Aaron was here a little bit ago.”

  “Why didn’t you just call us?”

  “Against the rules, plus you can’t serve yourself. Someone else had to do it.”

  “So, what’s up with not having to take pictures?”

  “Some still require it but for the most part, as long as you verify their name, it’s legit.” I was silent for a minute thinking about Ki and how hard this was going to be for her when Josh spoke again, “Look, I know it’s Ki’s thing and sometimes they’ll want pictures. I can give you the names of lawyers who will still require the picture to be taken.”

  “I appreciate it.” The door opened and Molly and Prescot walked in. Prescot went straight to the other room and Molly waved at me sitting in front of my desk. “Hey, Josh, you still single?”

  “Why?”

  “Want to go on a blind date?”

  “Ummm . . . ”

  “Give me your cell, I’ll text you the details.”

  He hesitated but eventually gave it to me. He’s gotta get over his crush on Ki already, it’s been too many years of him drooling over her.

  “Hey, Molly,” I said, hanging up the phone, checking out her cute black pinstripe suit outfit. “You’re single, right?”

  She popped her head up from her tablet. “Yes. Why?”

  “Want to go on a blind date?”

  She blushed, super cute. Totally Josh’s type.

  “I don’t know. Prescot’s been pretty busy lately and I’ve been working a lot.”

  “Wait, how did you get here so fast?”

  “We were heading to a meeting when Ki called.”

  “So, he ditched the meeting and came here?”

  “Yes, they’ll wait for him.”

  “Damn, he’s got some power.”

  She smiled. “He does.”

  “Molly.” Prescot’s voice echoed throughout the room and we both turned to him, who was standing in the doorway. “You can leave early tomorrow.”

  “No, I wasn’t complaining—”

  “And the next day.”

  “No, I just—”

  “And another.”

  “Molly,” I said, gaining her attention. “Stop now.”

  She nodded, and Ki slipped out of the room, passed Prescot, and went back to her desk. Her eyes were slightly red and she started clicking her mouse.

  Prescot cleared his throat and Molly stood, looking at me.

  “I’ll go on the date, just let me know what works for him.”

  I winked at her and waited until she and Prescot left. Standing, I went straight to Ki, turned her in her chair, and made her stand so I could hug the shit out of her.

  “What date?”

  “I’m setting Molly and Josh up.”

  That made her laugh, but she was crying at the same time.

  “It’ll work out, Ki, don’t worry about it.”

  She nodded into my shoulder and we decided not to serve any envelopes today. Instead, we called a new client and secured a deposit, and went to find a cheating wife.

  Chapter 19 – Alexa

  “That’s a strip club.” I pointed out even though Ki knew that. “Her husband said she worked for a non-profit.”

  “I highly doubt it’s the strip club.”

  “We gotta go in.”

  Ki looked uncomfortable. “These places gross me out.”

  “I know. It smells of sex and cigarettes, and the furniture probably never gets cleaned but we have to go inside because that’s where she is and it’s our best bet.”

  “What if the floor is sticky, Lex? I swear, if the floor is sticky I’m leaving and never coming back.”

  I shoved her toward the door, giggling at her.

  “I love my job. I love my job,” Ki chanted repeatedly, shoving her camera into my purse. We went in, showed ID to the bouncer, and then glanced around for the wife with black hair.

  All I saw was tits and ass through the hazy, smoke-filled room. The bar was on the left side, ran the entire wall and the stage was attached to it. The woman on stage was finishing her routine, grabbing the money off the stage, and then exited on the left, behind the bar.

  “This is much nicer than I thought,” Ki said at my side.

  A topless waitress with perky, small tits came up to us and asked for our drink order and I asked for a margarita on the rocks, and surprisingly, so did Ki.

  I quirked my eyebrow at her. “Day-drinking are we, Ki?”

  “I need a drink since we’re staying,” she said, pointing to a table on the right side with two empty chairs. “Let’s sit there.”

  After our drinks came, I asked Ki about our situation and what Prescot thought about it.

  “He told me not to worry, that it’s a stupid lawsuit and it’ll get tossed out but of course, I’m going to worry.”

  “I’m worried also.”

  “You don’t look like you’re worried.”

  “Well, I’m good at hiding my feelings, remember?”

  That got a chuckle out of her. “Okay, well, what about the pictures? What am I going to do?”

  “I told you what Josh said, so we’ll have to put some calls in to those lawyers and see if they’ll use us instead of whoever they use now. Prescot could probably help us out with that? Like, put in a good word?”

  “He already offered.”

  “See, we’ll be just fine.”

  “I hope so, Lex. This business is my life. I don’t want to have to find something else to do because I’m not useful anymore.” She cast her eyes down and swirled her straw around.

  “Ki,” I bent my neck to get her attention, “you are more than just taking pictures. You’re a wizard in keeping our books organized, responding to clients, and marketing. Plus, you could always serve envelopes, too. I mean, I know you don’t like to, but worst comes to worst, we could double our serving income if the two of us split up and served the envelopes.”

  Ki was silent for a few minutes. Finally, she gave a curt nod and looked at me. “I’d only serve in the Boroughs; show that asshole Aaron what competition really is.”

  I laughed and took a long sip of my drink. We’d be just fine. I knew we would.

  We glanced at the blond woman on the stage dancing to a slow seductive song and drank our margaritas. “She’s not bad.”

  “No, she’s very . . . flexible.”

  “Look at t
he money those guys are tossing up there.”

  “And putting in her lacy black panties.” Ki wiggled a dollar at me, trying to shove it into my bra strap. I shimmied at her and she laughed out loud.

  The music ended and filler music played without a dancer on the stage. “Must be intermission or something?”

  “I guess,” Ki replied, sucking down the last of her drink. I did the same and the same waitress brought us two more.

  “These are from an admirer.”

  “Can’t take you anywhere, Lex.”

  “Actually, . . . it was for you,” she told Ki, who sat back in her seat. “And I told them that it’s house policy to buy the whole table a drink.”

  “Is that true?” I asked while Ki sat stunned at the waitress’s information.

  “What they don’t know won’t hurt them. They have money to burn, it’s no problem.”

  She walked away and I stirred my drink. “I wonder which table it was.”

  “No one has ever bought me a drink, besides you.”

  “Not true, Lucas did. Besides, you’re gorgeous, Ki and men should be buying you drinks all the time.”

  She pulled her phone out and snapped a picture of it. “Sending it to Prescot.”

  “Oh shit.”

  “He’ll laugh about it, just like you.”

  “But in a good way.”

  The music changed and we watched a tall woman walk onto the stage wearing a tan overcoat. I elbowed Ki and shook my eyebrows. “We all know what’s under that.”

  Ki sat her drink down. “Is that the wife?”

  “Hair color isn’t right.”

  “She’s clearly wearing a wig.”

  “Maybe.”

  “Get closer.” Ki wiggled her hand toward the stage.

  “You’re the photographer, you get closer.”

  “My shoulder.”

  “Don’t use that as an excuse.”

  The music started slow, and she moved around a chair until the music picked up. The few groups of men were already hooting and whistling for her. Clearly, she was a crowd favorite, and the sly smile on her face told us that she absolutely loved the power she felt on stage.

  She strutted to the edge of the stage, locked eyes with a man in the front, and slid her overcoat off, revealing a barely-there white bikini to match her wig and heels. As the music picked up, she sashayed to the pole in the center of the stage and gripped it. She moved like the pole was an extension of her body, and she was absolutely mesmerizing. The whole time, she kept her eyes locked on her customers, making them feel important and special, like they were the only men in the room and that this dance was just for them. She owned the stage, moving from the pole to the front and sides of the stage, discarding her clothes as she moved. She flirted and eye-fucked each man, though her gaze never ventured to our table.

  She danced and twirled for a good ten minutes, collecting money as she scooted around the stage. As the song ended, she became bold, her body moving in ways that made even me blush. More bills rained down on the stage, with whistles and groans from the customers. She blew a kiss over her shoulder as she bent over to pick up her last bill, over emphasizing her reach. Clearly, she knew how to work the crowd for her benefit.

  “That’s a lot of money.”

  “More than the last girl. Maybe we should do a duo routine,” I joked and got dagger eyes from Ki. “Okay, maybe not.”

  “You’d be good at it.”

  “I do like to dance.”

  “All jokes aside, I think that’s our girl. We should see if there’s a way to the back that doesn’t require going behind the bar.”

  We checked out the hallway where the bathrooms were but only found a utility closet.

  “It’s the bar, Ki.”

  “There has to be a back entrance.”

  “Well, one of us could check the back out and the other could wait at the front,” I suggested. It was our only option, so we split up. Ki took the front, along with her camera, and I walked around the corner to the alley and found a back door. I automatically grabbed the handle, and of course, it was locked.

  I pulled my phone out to text Ki when the backdoor opened. A large black man peeked his head out and scanned my body. “Auditions are at ten tonight.”

  “Oh no,” I shook my head, “I’m not here for that.”

  “You should be.”

  “I’m waiting for a friend.”

  “You shouldn’t be in the alley.”

  “It’s okay, I took a kickboxing class.” I glanced around to make sure no one else was in the alley.

  He did the same and then shut the door.

  “Lex!” a man’s voice startled me, and I jumped putting my hand over my heart.

  “Lucas? What the hell?”

  “You shouldn’t be hanging out in an alley.”

  “I’m working.”

  “It’s not safe.”

  “It’s not even dark outside.”

  “What are you doing here?” He placed his hands on his hips, staring me down.

  “I said I was working.”

  “Cheating wife?”

  “We think she’s a stripper.”

  “Well, I’m waiting with you until you leave the alley.”

  “What about Ki?”

  “Ki’s on the sidewalk, in public.”

  “I’m texting her now,” I said, my thumbs hitting the buttons. “Why are you still following us?”

  “I’m working,” he said sarcastically with a smile.

  “Ki’s father isn’t going to stop.”

  “No, I’m afraid it might be awhile.”

  “Isn’t it weird, you know, because you’re in love with Ki and all.”

  “Straight shooter.”

  “I don’t like to beat around the bush.”

  He chuckled. “I’m moving on.”

  “Good. So, is this a you-follow-Ki-you-follow-me type of arrangement?”

  “Well, for now, it’s only when the two of you are together. Unless I feel like you need to be followed. For example,” he put his hands up, “now.”

  “And my mom?”

  “I’m looking into a few things, but nothing to report yet.”

  That didn’t surprise me.

  “Well, I appreciate this and your willingness to help me with my mom situation, for free.” I had to toss that in because we hadn’t discussed that. My phone buzzed, a message from Ki telling me she went out the front door.

  “She’s out front.”

  Lucas put his finger to his ear and nodded. “I’ll walk you around the corner and yes, I’m not charging for the extra work because Ki’s father took care of it.”

  “That was nice of him.”

  “He really wants to do good by Ki, and you’re her family so his services extend to you.”

  “Wow, I’ve never had anyone in my life that cared.”

  “Well, you do now.”

  “Should I make him something? Like a thank you cake or a gift?”

  “Don’t cook, buy something.”

  “You know everything, don’t you?”

  He smiled, giving me my answer. Lucas really did know everything.

  Chapter 20 – Alexa

  “So, she’s stripping to get some medical bills paid?”

  “For their sick child.”

  “It’s true what they say,” we waited at a red light, “parents would do anything for their kids.”

  “She’s a sweet woman.”

  Ki spent a few minutes with her and the woman said she was going to talk to her husband and was completely embarrassed that she was caught. She had been walking away by the time I got to Ki, and we officially had our first case of a non-cheating spouse. At least one that we could prove. A lot of people gave up after the three-hour minimum we charged for so we never knew if they were really cheating or not.

  Ki liked to think they weren’t while I always thought they were.

  Karma’s a bitch.

  Eventually, someone will make a mista
ke and get caught.

  The light changed, and a mad rush of people started to rush across the street, including us. Just like the traffic, you must go with the flow. “So, Tapper wants me to come with him to see his doctor.”

  “Really?”

  “Yeah, about sex.”

  “Interesting.”

  “I’m sure he’s worried about it, but there are tons of ways to have sex without using a penis, right?”

  “Lex,” she hissed, glancing around as we started walking down the street. “People can hear you.”

  “Everyone but us is on their phone or has headphones on.”

  “Yeah, it does look that way,” she said, glancing around us.

  “So anyway, I think Tap’s stressing about it. But I think it’ll be okay.”

  “So, you’ll use, like. . .” Ki glanced around and moved closer to me, then whispered, “. . . toys and stuff?”

  “Yep, or I could just sit on his face.”

  Ki stopped and her cheeks were already red. “Oh my God!”

  “What? I sat on his face a few times last year.”

  “Can we talk about this in private?”

  I bumped Ki’s good shoulder with mine and smiled at her. “You always act like this when we talk about sex. It’s just sex.”

  “Just like pooping. Everyone does it, but they never talk about it.”

  “Yep!”

  “Well, I don’t want to talk about either.”

  “My shy sweet Ki. Never change.”

  She smiled and hooked her good arm with mine. “I won’t.”

  There was no need to tell her about Lucas, so I didn’t. We walked back in silence and I unlocked the door so Ki could answer her phone. I flung my purse on my desk and kicked off my sandals while Ki finished her phone call. “No, it’s okay.” Ki sat down with slight disappointment in her voice. “Love you too,” she said softly then hung up the phone.

  “Awwww, you’re so cute, Ki!”

  “Shut it.”

  “We talk all the time but sometimes I feel like we don’t talk at all.”

  She busted out laughing and decided not to sit down. “We’re on our own tonight, and I don’t feel like checking the emails. That margarita was pretty amazing and I feel like drinking.”

  “Yes!” I grabbed my purse and shoes and we headed upstairs to drink.