Dancing With Redemption (Barre To Bar Book 5)

by Summer Cooper

  Keily didn’t pay much attention to the direction her feet took; she knew where she was headed. There was a little bar at the end of the street, where she could usually talk some lonely businessman, or even a good ole boy, into buying her a few drinks for the price of a smile and a little flirtation. It was almost three pm, but she didn’t care, it wasn’t like she had anything better to do.

  Violet would find a sitter, she always did, and Keily was a free woman, she could do whatever she wanted. She’d pretended for months now that she was looking for a job, but she hadn’t actually even opened a paper, much less written up a resume. She’d made Joe sell the house they’d bought together, but most of that money had gone to pay off the mortgage they owed on it.

  For a while, she’d had a little bit of money, but that dried up two months ago, and now, a year after her divorce, she had exactly $4.86 left in her checking account and $2.77 in her pocket. She walked into the bar and went right up to the bartender. She wiped away the sweat from the July heat outside with a couple of napkins she pulled off the bar.

  “My usual, Henry.” She told the older man behind the bar. His face was deeply wrinkled but his hair was still black. The wrinkles and his gray beard gave away his age. She wondered if he dyed his hair that color and narrowed her eyes as he stared back at her with derision.

  “You got money today or are you going to fleece my customers again?” The man asked, but he poured vodka into a glass of ice and orange juice as he spoke.

  “Now, when have I ever had to pay for a drink, Henry?” She gave him a flirty wink despite his sneer and took the drink from him. With the straw pressed between her lips, Keily sipped the drink and sighed through her nose. “I needed that.”

  “Tough day at work, huh?” Henry asked, no sarcasm detectable, but Keily’s eyes narrowed anyway.

  “Something like that.” She’d never told him anything about her work circumstances or her home life, how would he know if she had a job or not?

  The way he sneered at her reminded her of the argument she’d had with her younger sister. Violet had come along when Keily was three, a force to be reckoned with on the best of days. She always seemed to doubt Keily, even when they were children.

  Don’t be so sensitive, her mother used to tell her, and she heard that advice now. There weren’t enough men in the place right now, but there would be soon enough. She ignored the regulars, the ones she’d already blown off, and waited for a new one to come in. Henry’s place was right off the interstate and lots of lonely guys came in looking for a place to have a quick drink, maybe find a lady to spend the night with.

  Keily never went home with any of them, but she’d gladly spend an evening telling them about her past exploits. About how she’d been homecoming queen, prom queen, queen of all of the pageants, she’d even been Miss Teen South Carolina her senior year of high school. She’d been queen of it all in her younger years. She’d had the best boyfriend in the whole of King’s Hill, South Carolina too. All the girls hated her because Joe only had eyes for her.

  But, as Violet had so rudely pointed out, Joe had injured his knee right before he signed a contract with one of the biggest teams in the NFL. It was the second to last game of his senior year at the University of South Carolina and he was going to sign the contract the next day. That hadn’t happened. A tackle took him down but more importantly, it took down his NFL career before it even started.

  Keily hadn’t even applied to a university to get a degree because she’d planned to be Joe’s wife from day one. He’d make the money, she’d make babies, direct housekeepers, and sip coffee with her new BFFs around her pool. That had been the plan anyway.

  They’d married right before he went off to USC and lived in a house his dad had paid for. His dad also provided them with expense money, up until Joe finished his degree in communications. Then he cut them off.

  Keily had tried to be supportive, she’d done her best to learn to cook meals, instead of them indulging their nightly habit of dining out, she’d tried to learn to clean the house, and do without getting her nails done. Or her hair.

  Joe had never recovered from the emotional blow.

  He’d started to drink, and then he stopped eating. She’d put up with him for years, done the drunken brawls together, done the silent days of hangovers, until the final humiliation had driven her away. Keily pushed that memory away and looked across the bar, her glass almost empty.

  She spotted a 40-something looking guy dressed like a banker in the corner off by himself and sashayed over to him. “Care to buy a lady a drink?”

  Keily used her most husky, sensual voice as she trailed her fingers along the table and looked up at him from mascara-darkened eyelashes. She had to use the cheap crap Violet bought, but it did the trick.

  “Sure, have a seat.” The portly man pointed at the empty chair with a surprised smile and she sat down. “I don’t have long, but I could use some company. What’ll it be?”

  The man went to order her drink and came back. She learned he was married, not looking for anything else, but he didn’t mind talking to her while he waited for a meeting he had to get to up on Main Street. The man soon left, but he bought her another drink before he left so Keily was happy to see him go.

  She took out her phone and noticed her carrier had finally turned her phone off. “Henry, what’s the Wi-Fi password?”

  Henry pointed at a sign on the wall. “Use your own Wi-Fi, we aren’t giving it away”

  Her middle finger itched to stick up at him, but she turned away.

  “Here, read the paper instead.” Henry walked up to the table and plopped down the local paper.

  With a quick arch of an eyebrow, she noticed it was open to the classifieds. Help wanted. “Really, Henry?”

  “Really, Keily. Get a job.”

  Her lungs inflated as she sucked in air to spew out an angry retort, but she squashed it. This was the only bar within walking distance and she didn’t have a car. It was best not to piss Henry off.

  Instead, she huffed and pulled a pen out of her purse to pretend to examine the want ads. She doodled obscene pictures on the paper until something caught her eye. There was a new tech company in town and they wanted people with skills. One of the positions listed was personal assistant. The benefits listed caught her eye.

  Company car, great salary, company phone and laptop, vacation days, healthcare package, and other benefits. Hmm. She’d been Joe’s personal slave for years, surely she could wait on a sober CEO for all of that. She’d have to fiddle her resume a little, heck, she’d have to make one first, but then she was certain she could get the job. With a baleful glare at Henry, she tore out the section of the paper and put it in her bag.

  She’d go home and use Violet’s computer to find out how to make a resume and try to see if she could find enough change to take the bus into town. She’d raid Alice’s piggy bank for a couple of dollars if she had to. Violet wouldn’t notice.

  With one last glare at Henry, Keily got up and left the bar, a little less steady than when she’d walked in. Her walk back to Violet’s place was uneventful and she soon walked in the door to find Jenny, a teenager from across the street, watching a movie with Alice who was asleep on the couch.

  For a moment, regret tightened her chest. She should be watching Alice. Violet worked really hard and was devoted to the girl and, truthfully, Keily loved Alice as much as any aunt should. She just couldn’t afford to spoil her and right now, the world was still upside down as far as Keily was concerned. She still had no idea which direction to go in or who to follow and her words earlier were a result of that directionless feeling. She’d have to find a way to apologize to her sister, without actually admitting she was at fault.

  “Oh, hey Keily,” Jenny said and put a gentle hand on Alice’s back. As if to protect the baby from me, Keily thought with a troubled expression. Her hackles went right back up and irritation thrummed through, to erase that moment of regret.

  It was more tha
n obvious that Alice was related to her Aunt Keily. The family all had the same intriguing light gray eyes, the same heart-shaped faces, and the same ash-blonde hair. They were all beautiful, but something about Keily was different. There was a meanness in her face that she couldn’t hide, that Violet and Alice lacked. Keily stared at the baby that could be hers, if she hadn’t been on birth control the entire time she was with Joe, at his insistence. Guilt gnawed at Keily for calling the baby a brat, but she squashed that as she did most things that bothered her.

  “Hi, Jenny, she suckered you again, huh?” Keily drawled and slipped her sandals off.

  “It’s no problem, really. I can use the cash anyway.” Jenny said without a hint of spite.

  Keily heard the accusation though. Why am I here, Keily, shouldn’t you watch your sister’s kid for free since you haven’t even paid her rent for two months?

  Or was that her conscience eating at her, she wondered.

  The computer was in the kitchen so Keily walked in there without another word to the teenager on the pristine white couch. Keily had a feeling that white couch wouldn’t stay so pretty once Alice got a little older, and some spiteful part of her couldn’t wait for that day.

  The two-bedroom apartment was laid out like a giant square box. Two bedrooms in the back, a bathroom on the left side with the kitchen on the same side. Each room was its own little box, except for the living room which was open without any doors or walls. It made the apartment feel bigger, even though it was small.

  Keily walked into the kitchen to see her sister had thrown away her empty can and chip bag, but she’d left the full bag of trash in the can. Keily assumed that meant she should take it out, but she had things to do. She sat down at the small desk where Violet had set the computer up in a corner of the kitchen and set to work.

  She found the company online, saw that there was a section to apply for a job online, and started to fill in the questionnaire that was part of the process. She chose every word carefully and made certain that her answers were full of confidence and the kind of thing employers would want to hear. She was stumped when it came to the resume part though. She didn’t have one because she’d never had a job before.

  Her next search was ‘how to write a resume’. Then she looked up examples and started to type from a template she found online. Almost every word was a lie, she’d never been to USC as anything other than a supporter at the football games or to drop Joe off at classes. She didn’t have a degree in anything, much less English literature. All she had was a high school diploma, but how likely was it anyone would check for such a low-level position as a personal assistant? She listed a fake company and her experience with Joe as her credentials.

  Reason for leaving?

  Hmm, now that one stumped her for a bit until inspiration hit again. “Owner died and company closed.”

  That way she didn’t have to prove she’d ever worked for them. Or hadn’t.

  She added in a few fake employment awards and a fake GPA for everything. She printed the resume to have a copy of it on hand. She wouldn’t want to forget what she’d said in all that, now would she? She copied a cover letter and filled in the blanks, but she couldn’t figure out how to delete the underlining out of the text. She printed it anyway, hit send once she’d uploaded the files, and then went to take a shower. She’d find a few dollars for the bus fare and head downtown early tomorrow morning.

  Then she’d not only look punctual, but her beauty would swamp any competition. With a smile of pure confidence, Keily connected her phone to Violet’s Wi-Fi and found a movie on her sister’s Netflix account to watch. That kept her busy until she fell asleep, perfectly sure she’d get the job because she was Keily Matthews Miller. She was someone special, someone that mattered, someone that deserved a good life because she just did. It never occurred to her to wonder why she was so damn special. Her mother had always said she was, so she was. That was the end of it.

  Logan

  “Logan, how are you, boss?” The voice came over the sound system of his new black Cadillac CT6-V.

  Logan loved that feature, loved the car, and tightened his fingers on the steering wheel in appreciation of how smoothly the car responded to his slightest touch.

  “I’m good, Wally, how are you?” Logan watched the traffic around him as he headed to the new house he’d bought, along with the car. He was going to be in town for a while, for a long while, so he’d decided he’d take some of those piles of cash he’d earned since he’d graduated from Florida State University and buy himself a few luxuries. The car was one of those luxuries.

  He’d got off the private jet that brought him back to King’s Hill, South Carolina, and took possession of the keys to the car right away. All mine, he’d thought as he walked around the car, admiring the lines and curves of the beast he’d ordered and had delivered to the airport. When he got in and figured out how to sync his phone up with the sound system, he’d called Wally, his second in command at his company over in California.

  “I’m great, Logan, what can I do for you?” Wally asked.

  “I just wondered how everything is going out there?” Logan steered the car towards the turn his navigation system quietly indicated he should make while he was on the call and continued. “I know I’ve only been gone a couple of days, but I wanted to check-in.”

  “Everything is fine at Sinclair Personal Security Industries, Logan, I promise. The company is safe with me.” Wally’s confident voice eased Logan’s worries, and he smiled, his brown eyes gleaming brightly as the headlights of another car bounced across his face.

  “That’s good, Wally, because I’ll have your balls if you fuck my company up,” Logan responded, only half-joking. Wally knew it too.

  “Of course, and I wouldn’t blame you. All is well here though and I’m about to send the daily reports from each department to your email.” Wally’s smooth voice filled the confines of the car, and Logan nodded, his dark brown hair, a little too long on top, but still stylish, moved with his nod.

  “Glad to hear it. I’m about to pull into my driveway, once I get settled in, I’ll have a look at the reports.” Logan turned onto the white gravel road and then stopped in front of the isolated house he’d only seen in video or pictures so far. He’d bought it after a thorough inspection, and with the location in mind.

  The house wasn’t located in a suburb, but it was one of the richest areas of King’s Hill. This house had been in his sights since he was a teenager and it was first built. The exterior was an odd mixture of granite and wood, with a black roof. Shaped like an “L’ turned on its back, the left side of the house resembled a log cabin, while the right side was two stories of marble exterior mixed with more logs.

  The richest man in King’s Hill had the house built but he’d died, and the man’s kid didn’t want the house. Logan had snapped it up, fulfilling a dream he’d had since the house was first constructed. He was now the man with the most money in this town and he wanted everyone to know it. He could have wasted time and had a bigger, better house built, but he didn’t want to wait around, so he’d bought this place. The keys were in the glove box, and he took them out before he got out and took his bags from the backseat.

  The furniture and appliances had already been delivered and set up, while a newly hired maid had ensured the fridge was full of the items he’d asked for and made sure the place was ready for his arrival. He smiled as he opened the front door on the left side of the house and smelled the homey scent of baked apple pie. The maid had found his favorite candle and lit it.

  It was a quirk of his, the fact that he loved that scented candle so much, but he didn’t really think about it or question it. He liked the scent, so he kept buying the candles. Logan closed the door and walked further into the house. The door opened into a spacious living room with a tall ceiling. The black leather couch and recliner rested on a hardwood floor, with a glass and gold-colored metal coffee table between the two. A smart TV hung on the wall, large en
ough to fill a good proportion of it. A window to the right of the TV might make viewing difficult when the sun was out, but he would rarely be home before the sun went down, even on the weekend.

  He didn’t get to billionaire status by demanding weekends off or shirking his duties. He’d worked hard to build his company up from a small business that sold goods online to the manufacturer and seller of security essentials people could buy in stores and online. His company manufactured items like test kits for date-rape drugs in drinks, small tasers for personal defense, personal alarms that would emit a loud screeching noise, and many other items. Their newest product was a watch that would call the police at the press of a button and send the wearer’s location to the police department.

  The new factory would manufacture the bulk of those watches and any new products that Logan and his team designed. Tomorrow, experts would start installing the manufacturing equipment in the factory and he’d start hiring staff. He would personally hire the professional staff, the human resources director, supervisors, and office staff. He’d start with a PA, he decided.

  That person would be essential in helping him as he began the process of opening a new business in his hometown. The fact that this place had been a nightmare for him in the past was part of the reason he was back. The people here had forgotten about him once he left and most wouldn’t even know who he was. He’d grown into a man well over six feet tall, with broad shoulders and a muscular frame.

  The weak, acne-covered kid had become a man to be reckoned with, and he was back to show them all they’d been wrong about him. He’d made something of himself, and now he’d get back at everyone that had made his life hell. He’d been a geeky kid, wanting nothing more than to escape the town, so it was a little strange to be back, to own the house he’d dreamed about owning, to know that he’d finally get his own back against everyone that had made him miserable. If they were still alive.