Page 61 of Forever Filthy

“Stop!” She clamps her mouth closed and slouches into her seat further. “No one is getting fired.” Her face perks up.

“Really?”

I nod. “Yeah.”

“Then why am I here?” she asks, looking around the room as if she is only just realizing we aren’t at my house. “Did you move?”

“Temporarily,” I answer curtly.

“Okay…” She drags out that one word.

“You’re here because I wanted an update on the club.” She seems to switch from moody to excited at the mention of the club. She gives me a rundown on everything that’s happened and tells me that my masquerade night was a success. She has hired five more guys and three more girls to fill the demand.

“If you haven’t thought about expanding, you really should because we can’t keep up with the demand of both sides of Lividica,” she says in a dreamy tone.

“I do have plans to expand but not in Hollow Hills. I have other locations but they will take time. Until then we need to make this club work because everything is riding on the success of Lividica.”

“Well, you will need to find a manager for each of those places,” she says but I can see the cogs in her mind working overtime as she tries to think of the perfect person for the jobs, but I put an end to her pondering.

“Tatum, I asked you here because I will have to go away for a while soon and you are the only person who knows how to run both sides of the business.”

She frowns up at me. “I don’t understand, Vivian.”

Nova smiles and leans forward. “What my friend is trying to say is that she has already found a person to take over runningallthe clubs.” Tatum’s face falls, she drops her gaze to her lap.

“I hope they do a good job,” she mutters.

“Oh, I know they will because if they don’t, I won’t be as welcoming when they march into my house and flop all over my sofa.” Her brows pinch for a second until my words sink in.

“Wait!” she screams, then jumps to her feet. “Are you offering me the job?”

I smile and nod. “Yes I am.” Tate screams and starts jumping on the spot clapping her hands like a kid in a candy store.

“Oh my God! This is fucking amazing, holy shit I can’t wait to tell my brother.”

“You have a brother?” I ask.

She nods excitedly. “Yes! He was abandoned by my dad as well. He found me and has been staying at my place.” She waves her hand. “Never mind about him, he’s a hermit and never leaves the house.” I pinch my lips to the side. It worries me that since Tate has started working for me and gets paidreallywell, then suddenly she has a long lost father and brother reaching out to her. I fucking hope they don’t use her for her money.

“The new job comes with a pay raise.” Tate’s eyes widen.

“Vivian, you pay me a shit load of money now, I don’t need more?—”

I raise my hand, halting her spiel. “You will be flying between locations and holidays will be few and far between so take the money, it’s the least I can do.”

“How much money are we talking?” she asks shyly.

“An extra 100k a year.” Her jaw unhinges and her eyes widen to the point it looks like they might actually pop out of their sockets. Nova laughs at Tate’s reaction and I can’t help but smile as well. The reason she is getting paid so much is because she is a hard worker and I know how deeply she cares for all the girls and guys. She keeps them safe and keeps tabs on all of them. I've even heard from David that she paid Montana’s rent because she was short a couple of weeks back. She doesn’t do that stuff for recognition she does it because she is a good fucking person and I couldn’t think of a better person to run my empire while I’m away. I know she will be fine and if she needs help, David will be there to guide her.

Sadness thrums inside me. I know I’m doing the right thing but it doesn’t make it any easier knowing that life will go on without me. I just have to keep reminding myself who I am doing this for. At the start it was for my family’s freedom but now, I just want to make sure my guys will be okay. I want them to be safe, happy and able to live a life without worry of having to be called into the Saints when they turn twenty-five. The fact they chose to attend CHU and not some Ivy league school like they were told they would have makes me smile. They were already starting to take control of their own lives and live freely.

“I swear I won’t let you down,” Tate promises, pulling me from my thoughts.

“I know you won’t. I have faith in you, Tate. Just promise me you will take your time with getting to know your dad and brother.”

Her features pinch. “My dad has been blowing me off, he was so interested and everything to do with my life and wanted to know everything about me and my friends. Then when he didn’t show, he went silent until yesterday. He wanted to meet me today but I blew him off.” Pride swells inside me.

“Good. Make him earn your forgiveness,” I say proudly.

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