Page 14 of Cruelly Fated
To Valor, everything was a business project—something to plan, prep, and execute with flawless precision.
I rubbed my jaw, already feeling the beginnings of a headache. “Slow down. She’s returning next week. Let me talk to her first before you sic your assistants on her with swatch books and spreadsheets.”
Valor gave a curt nod, though his fingers were already tapping an invisible checklist on the table. “Don’t wait too long. We only get one shot at this.”
Seven
ALLIE
“Allie, a word.” Larry ducked his head into the back room, then vanished just as quickly.
I blinked.Huh?
Lance slid the crate of empties out of my hands and gently gripped my forearms, grounding me. “You good?” he asked, brow pinched beneath a shaggy mop of hair, half of it gelled into a topknot now fallingover his nose.
I cracked a small smile. Some things hadn’t changed. Lance was still the hippie friend I’d grown to trust. The club still throbbed with music and sweat and perfume. Girls danced like nothing in the world outside mattered. It wasn’t even eight p.m., and the crowd was already teetering on rowdy.
“I’m fine. It’s…a lot right now,” I said, wiping my palms down my thighs. And I dreaded another conversation with our pushy manager.
Lance scowled at the swinging door. “I swear to fae gods, he’s testing my patience. You’ll tell me if he does anything to upset you?”
My chest tightened and I smiled. That was Lance, offering soft places to land, even if it cost him a steep price like his job.
I sucked in a breath and stepped into the club.
Larry waved me over to the bar, dragging a stool closer like we were about to have a father-daughter heart-to-heart. I frowned. I’d expected the privacy of his office, not whatever this weird power move was. He wouldn’t fire me out here, would he? Not in public?
He slid a bowl of peanuts my way, his thick fingers glittering with gem-studded gold rings that caught every flicker of light in the dim room. I glanced at the snack but couldn’t stomach any right now.
“I’ve heard about your grandfather, and I want to reiterate what I told you after your mom passed—this club will always have a place for you.” He leveled me with a thoughtful gaze.
I licked my lip,unsure where this came from. Why now? Why say this in the middle of a shift, out in the open?
“Thank you,” I murmured, starting to rise.
“Wait.”
I froze, then plopped back down, brows drawing together.
“The new club’s opening in two weeks.” He leaned in, his whiskey and peanut breath wafting in the space between us. “It’s sleek, urban, catered to Avari’s elite. Socialites. I think you’d fit right in. You’re a unique dancer, flowing with the music like your mother…” He paused as if reminiscing, then dug into the peanut bowl with his meaty hand and popped a handful into his mouth. “One night’s pay there could cover your entire month of bills.”
He waggled his eyebrows, trying to make the hard sale. I had to admit; the prospect of better pay was enticing.
I parted my lips. Did I even have the bandwidth for a decision like this right now? I still had that art school interview. Still hadn’t told him—
I swallowed hard, mustering the courage to bring it up. Larry ran his business on a strict my-way-or-you’re-done-way model, and he didn’t handle disappointment well—but I was done letting him corner me into this new club.
“I need to be honest with you,” I said, forcing the words out. “It’s likely I’ll be leaving in two months. I’ve applied to college.” Here, I said it and could breathe freer now. I waited for his tirade.
Larry choked on a peanut, coughed it up, then wiped the bar clean with his chubby palm.
“What? Where?”
“AIA. The Avari Institute of Art,” I said.
His nod was slow, disbelieving. “After all I’ve done for your mother…for you…”
I shrank into myself, my gaze falling. “I am grateful. This job…this place—saved me. It’s not one hundred percent yet. I’ll know in a week.”
