by K M Morgan
That made reaching nighttime all the more sweet. It was girls’ night out, which meant she could cut loose. The evening was crisp and clear with not a cloud in the sky. It was one of those nights when the sun had completely set by five thirty. As Chloe looked at the clock in her car, she could hardly believe it was only six o’clock. It was dark enough to be midnight. Luckily, the remaining snow pack had made itself scarce. No doubt there would be another round of flurries soon, but in the meantime, the roads were clear.
Chloe didn’t contemplate the sky for long. Her stomach knew it was dinnertime and began rumbling impatiently. The plan was for Chloe to meet up with her old friend, Hope Callahan, grab some dinner, then spend the night drinking cocktails, laughing, and having a ball.
Chloe had gone to grade school with Hope. Like most of her friends, they’d known each other almost all their lives. Those were the best kinds of friends. They had been through the ups and downs, not to mention the thick and thin, that life had to offer.
Unfortunately, Chloe ended up driving over to Hope’s rental townhome for nothing. She received a text just as she turned onto Hope’s street. Chloe pulled over to the side of the road to read it. It turned out Hope was running late at work.
Chloe sighed. “Again.”
Chloe wished it were an uncommon occurrence. That was far from the case. Some jobs were more trouble than they were worth. Hope had one of them. That was the other problem with living in a seasonal place like the Cape. Good year-round jobs were difficult to come by. With the employment pickings so slim, sometimes sacrifices had to be made to pay the rent. An employee often held on to their bad job because there was no alternative.
Hope’s boss took full advantage of that fact, squeezing the most work out of her that she could. What Hope’s boss didn’t realize was that payback always came eventually. An old saying came to Chloe’s mind: “what goes around comes around.” Things just hadn’t come around yet.
Hope’s text said for Chloe to meet her at the club she worked at. They could head straight out from there. After her unexpectedly extended workday, no doubt Hope would be ready for a girls’ night out more than ever.
Chloe turned her car around and headed over to the comedy-and-magic club. Unfortunately, what she found when she got there was nothing but trouble.
Chapter Two
What a rocky start to the evening. The owner of the comedy-and-magic club, Victoria Ryan, was a total pill. Victoria was desperately in need of some cutting loose of her own. She was high-strung, bossy, and aggressively unpleasant to be around. The kind of person who had authority and wasn’t afraid to abuse it.
Victoria was a short, pear-shaped woman in her early fifties with shoulder-length black hair, blue eyes, an affinity for glittery outfits, and the raspy voice of a lifelong chain-smoker.
Chloe would recognize Victoria’s voice anywhere. As it was, Chloe had just parked her car behind the club and could hear Victoria chewing out one of her employees at the backstage door. Victoria either had no awareness of how much her voice carried, or she just didn’t care.
Chloe was parked a good twenty feet away yet could hear every word Victoria said to Isaac Hunter. Her employee looked like he didn’t know what hit him.
Isaac was usually the strong silent type. He was a brawny man in his late twenties with a shaved head and looked like he spent all of his spare time at the gym. His intimidating physique made him a perfect fit to work as a doorman and bouncer, as was his deep, booming voice. All were on display right now as Isaac was uncharacteristically livid.
The next two words out of Victoria Ryan’s mouth made it all too clear to Chloe why Isaac was so worked up.
“You’re fired,” Victoria barked.
Isaac went completely nuclear. “You can’t do this to me.”
“It’s already done.”
“You’re going to regret this.”
“Oh really? Do you regret stealing from me?”
“It wasn’t stealing,” Isaac replied.
“You were skimming money off the top. Don’t deny it. I know you were taking a cut of every cover charge you took in at the door,” Victoria revealed.
Isaac tried to throw the blame back at her. “You gave me no choice. I only did it to pay for my medications. If you gave me health benefits like you promised when I was hired, this wouldn’t have happened. Do you have any idea how much prescriptions cost?”
“I don’t want to hear it. You’re a thief, plain and simple. There’s nothing else to say except get lost.”
Isaac was defiant. “This isn’t over.”
Victoria didn’t back down. She stood toe to toe with him. “I don’t ever want to see you around here again. Now, get out!”
Isaac stared her down, looking like he was angry enough to punch a hole in the nearby brick wall. Instead, he trudged away, with steam practically coming out of his ears.
If Victoria was even the least bit intimidated, she didn’t show it. She looked angry enough to take him on with her bare hands if she needed to.
As Isaac walked away, Victoria stared daggers into his back.
When Isaac got into his car, she finally turned back to the stage door. On her way inside the club, Victoria tripped on a snow shovel that had been left a little too close to the door.
It was like something out of a slapstick movie. Victoria was able to keep her balance enough not to fall on her face, but now she was more upset than ever.
“Stupid shovel,” Victoria snapped.
Normally, Chloe would have laughed at a scene like that. Given Victoria’s volcanic mood, Chloe didn’t want to draw attention to herself.
Victoria kicked the shovel away then went back inside the club, slamming the door shut behind her.
Yikes. Chloe felt bad for the employees that had to deal with Victoria going forward. Unfortunately, Chloe’s friend Hope was one of them.
***
Chloe entered the front of the club, praying there would be no more drama. Either way, she was on guard. Once inside, Chloe looked for Hope. She was surprised by what she saw.
There was Hope, with her long, curly red hair, blue eyes, and slender frame. The surprise was who she was talking with. Noah Bryant seemed to be putting some strong moves on her.
Noah was a stand-up comic. He was a rising star at the club, a household name in the making. Unlike most comics, he wasn’t socially awkward or self-deprecating. Noah had the look of a future leading man in Hollywood. His short sandy hair looked carefully tousled, his crystal-blue eyes sparkled, and he had the body of a heartthrob.
Hope was always complaining about how hard it was to find a good man. She’d managed to catch the attention of one of the most handsome under-thirty men the Cape had to offer. Maybe her luck had finally turned around.
Chloe watched Hope and Noah flirt.
“You have a great sense of humor. Have you ever considered doing stand-up?” Noah asked.
“Me? No. You’re the funny one. I’ll leave the jokes to you,” Hope said.
“You like my act then?”
“Are you kidding? I love it. You’re going to be a big star one day.”
“I hope so. You know, you could have big things in your future, too.”
“You really think so?” Hope replied.
Noah nodded. “At the least, you deserve more than spending the rest of your life working for a sour grape like Victoria Ryan.”
Hope chuckled. “Victoria doesn’t agree.”
“Forget her. She’s a fool. You know, she may not appreciate you, but I do.”
Hope blushed. “That’s really nice of you to say.”
“Anyway, I was wondering, how would you like to go out to dinner with me on Monday?”
Hope smiled. “That would be great.”
“Fantastic. It’s a date, then. Anyway, I should get back to working on the new material for my act. Call you later,” Noah said.
“I can’t wait,” Hope replied.
Hope smiled to herself as Noah walked
away.
It was a moment of great joy—for Hope, at least. The same could not be said for Victoria Ryan. Apparently, Chloe wasn’t the only one watching Hope and Noah’s conversation. Victoria stood on the other side of the club with a perturbed look on her face.
Chapter Three
Once Noah Bryant was across the room, Chloe stepped in and approached her friend. Chloe greeted Hope with a big smile.
“So much for your problems finding a guy,” Chloe said.
Hope’s eyes opened wide. “I still can’t believe that just happened. I didn’t even know he was interested in me.”
“Sometimes good things happen when you least expect them to.”
Hope remained in a state of disbelief. “And to me, no less.”
“It looks like we suddenly have plenty to talk about tonight. Are you ready to go?” Chloe wondered.
The smile on Hope’s face quickly evaporated and was replaced by a grimace. “I wish, but it looks like I’m going to have to be here a little longer than I expected.”
Chloe exhaled. “What did Victoria do now?”
“The same thing she always does—make my life hell.”
“You should tell her to lighten up.”
Hope was part of the back-office staff, the nine-to-fivers that never seemed to actually work nine-to-five schedules. Victoria had a nasty habit of making her staff come in early and stay late. Hope’s list of job duties was continually expanding, from scheduling acts to data entry, managing ticketing, taking customer service calls, and assorted other behind-the-scenes tasks that Victoria assigned at her latest whim. Too often Hope’s day shift extended deep into the night. It happened so frequently that Hope had to cancel their two previously planned nights out together. Chloe feared that could happen again this evening.
“You’re welcome to tell her to lighten up. I can’t say it unless I want to get fired,” Hope replied.
“We wouldn’t want that.”
“It wouldn’t do you any good to tell her. She’ll never lighten up. Being a royal pain is in her DNA.”
Chloe sighed. “I believe it.”
“I’m sorry to keep you waiting again, but hopefully I shouldn’t be here that much longer.”
Just then, Victoria found herself at the center of another heated exchange.
***
“What do you think you’re doing?” Noah Bryant snapped.
Chloe and Hope turned their attention across the room, where Victoria looked like she was trying to put the moves on Noah. He wasn’t having it.
Victoria couldn’t believe Noah rebuffed her.
She responded with outrage. “Don’t you know who I am? I’m Victoria Ryan. I get whatever I want around here.”
Noah shook his head. “Not tonight, you won’t.”
“You’d be wise to change your mind. Most people wouldn’t have the gall to reject me.”
“I’m not most people.”
“No, you’re a bigger fool than I thought. Do you know how many men would line up to be with me?”
“Don’t flatter yourself so much. Those guys are only interested in sleeping their way to the top,” Noah argued.
“Those men will become bigger stars than you. It seems like the only thing you’re interested in is committing career suicide,” Victoria said.
“Are you kidding? I’m going to be a star, and everyone knows it.”
“You were going to be a star. Not anymore.”
“Are you threatening me? Because I’m not afraid of you.”
“You should be. I could ruin you,” Victoria said.
Noah narrowed his eyes. “You have a lot of nerve.”
Victoria laid out an ultimatum. “What do you say—do you want to be a big star, or commit career suicide?”
“You’re out of your mind, and I’m out of here.”
Noah stormed to the front door.
Victoria tried to stop him. “You walk out that door, and you’re done in this town, you hear? Done!”
Noah gave her one last glare then walked out.
Then the impossible happened. Victoria Ryan was speechless. Her jaw had dropped. She was too mad to even speak. When she spotted Hope Callahan out of the corner of her eyes, suddenly, that changed.
***
Victoria turned to Hope, flush with misplaced anger. When Victoria approached from across the room, both Hope and Chloe knew the fireworks were far from over.
Victoria unloaded on Hope. “What are you looking at? You’re supposed to be working.”
Hope gulped. What a horrible time to be caught in the crossfire. She wanted nothing more than to be anywhere else at that moment.
Hope replied meekly, “Look, I’m sorry about Noah.”
“No, you’re not, but you will be. I need to see you in my office. I just thought of a number of other things I need you to do tonight.”
The situation went from bad to worse. Hope had to find a way out of this before things got too out of hand.
“I’m actually supposed to be off the clock right now,” Hope replied.
“Oh, you’re not going anywhere. You’ll be lucky to leave before midnight.”
Chloe couldn’t stand idly by and let this berating continue. She had to stand up for her friend.
“You can’t work someone that long. It’s against the law,” Chloe said.
Victoria then turned to Chloe and focused her ire on her. “Are you looking for trouble? Because you just found it.”
While Chloe’s attempts to distract Victoria were unsuccessful, as luck would have it, an all-new set of emotional fireworks were about to go off.
Chapter Four
Amazingly enough, things were about to get even more surreal. At that moment, the club received an unexpected visitor.
“Victoria, I have to talk to you,” Ben Harrington said.
Victoria turned to the front of the club, where she saw her ex-boyfriend standing with a bouquet of flowers.
This was just the distraction Hope and Chloe were looking for. Victoria’s focus completely shifted. While Ben looked overjoyed to see Victoria, she appeared horrified to see him. She immediately moved towards the door. It was clear she wanted Ben to beat it and let the door hit him on the way out.
Chloe and Hope slowly backed away, trying to put as much distance between them and Victoria as possible. At the same time, they watched the conversation between Ben and Victoria unfold from a comfortable distance away.
Victoria didn’t hide her exasperation. “Ben, what are you doing here?”
Ben looked like an older version of Noah. It was clear Victoria had a distinct type when it came to men. While Noah Bryant was in his twenties, Ben was in his early forties. There was a desperation to Ben, not just because he was an ex who clearly hadn’t gotten over Victoria, but also because his career hadn’t been the same since she dumped him. Ben used to headline three to four shows a week at the club. Ever since the breakup, his star had faded. He was on the verge of becoming a washed-up has-been. He clearly was trying to revive both his career and his love life in one swoop.
Ben smiled wide. “Surprise.”
Victoria groaned. “I don’t have time for this.”
Ben was visibly hurt. “Well, that wasn’t the response I was expecting.”
“What were you expecting? You’re my ex.”
“I want to give our relationship another try. We had something really special once, and I know we could have it again.”
Victoria bottom-lined things. “You mean, you want your slot in the show back.”
“It’s not just that. I want you back, too. Victoria, I’m still in love with you. That’ll never change.”
There was zero empathy from Victoria. She looked annoyed that she even had to take time out of her day to have this conversation. “Face it—it’s over.”
Ben refused to believe that. He took his jealousy out for a spin. “What does Noah Bryant have that I don’t?”
Victoria looked blindsided by that question.
> “That’s right. I know you’ve been looking to trade me in for a younger model, but he’s not half the man I am,” Ben continued.
Victoria was still seething over the rejection from Noah. She was not about to let her ex-boyfriend add insult to injury.
“Ben, you can’t keep coming here like this. It’s time to realize we’re never getting back together.”
“Oh, come on. Tell me you don’t still care about me, at least a little.”
Victoria stared at him with an icy-cold look in her eyes. “Not in the slightest.”
Victoria sure knew how to rub people the wrong way. Throughout the entire conversation, there was a simpering desperation to Ben. Suddenly, all his frustration came out at once in the form of complete disdain.
“I used to defend you when people called you The Ice Queen. When they muttered ‘witch’ under their breath after talking to you. When they wished awful things would happen to you. But the fact is, they were right. You’re a vile human being who just uses people and then spits them out when you’re done with them. Well, guess what? You can only push people around so much before they start pushing back, and when you finally get your comeuppance, it’s going to be ugly,” Ben warned.
As with her previous confrontations, Victoria didn’t back down in the slightest. “Let me tell you something. If you don’t get out of my sight right now, things are going to get uglier for you than you can imagine.”
Ben narrowed his eyes, glaring at her with complete contempt. Seeing that Victoria wasn’t giving in even an inch, Ben finally turned around and left the club.
Chapter Five
Chloe thought the drama had to be over now. What else could go wrong? Apparently, she spoke too soon.
When Victoria turned around, she was greeted by the concerned look of her son, Tony Ryan, who had caught his mother’s last conversation.
