Page 54 of Keeper
“Sure.” I hurried over and opened the door for her.
“Thanks,” she said. “Nice to meet you, Ainsley.”
“You too,” I said.
She stepped through the door. I watched her carry her box down the hall, sensing an opportunity slip through my fingers in real time. Was I really going to let her get away?
I shouted after her. “Julie! Wait.”
She turned around. “Yeah?”
I joined her in the hall and lowered my voice to a whisper. “What happened between you two, anyway?”
“It doesn’t matter. And you’re her friend, not her employee, so you’d probably take her side, anyway.”
“Um, actually,” I stalled, staring at my shoes. “She mentioned something to me about being her full-time photographer. But I’m still in school so I’m not sure I want to do it.”
“Full-time photographer,” she repeated with a laugh. “Right. Riiiight. Yeah, that’s how she got me, too. Oh, and you’ll take lots of photos of her, sure. But don’t be fooled—what she’sreallylooking for is a personal assistant to serve her every whim, twenty-four seven. If you take this job, you need to start thinking of yourself as a live-in maid, not a photographer.”
I clutched at the sinking feeling in my stomach. “Ugh.”
“You seem like a sweetheart, Ainsley. I’m going to tell you what I wish someone had told me: don’t just walk away from this,run. It’s not worth it. Stay in school.”
“Wow,” I stammered. “Thanks for the heads up.”
“Warning you is the least I can do.” She turned away and left with a carefree smile on her face. “Good luck!”
19
Tanner
We rolled up at Club Plush and I had a cocky, smug grin plastered across my face. I was a man on a mission. Scratch that—after the game I had, I wastheman, and everyone knew it.
IwassureAinsley would be at Plush. Because if Coops was right and all I had to do was follow all the little signs life gave me, then whereelsecould she be but the place I first found her? Hell—she was probably already here waiting for me.
We cut to the front of the line and the bouncers waved us in. I stepped into the club and my heart pumped a giddy beat in my chest. I couldn’t wait to get her back to my place for round two—this time, hopefully, with a more climactic ending.
The place was even more crowded than it was last night, the energy aggressive and drunk. Luckily, I knew exactly where I was going. I carved a path through the club and made my way upstairs. I went to the booth I’d found her in and whipped the privacy curtain open.
Two girls, neither of them Ainsley, blinked at me.
“Hey!?”
“Um, rude. Excuse you!”
“Sorry, ladies. Wrong booth,” I said, pulling the curtain shut.
I went to the next booth and did the same. This time, a group of six girls whipped their heads around to face me.
“Ahh! Who the hell are you?”
“I don’t know, but I vote he can stay. He’s fucking hot.”
“Guys! I know who that is! That’s Tanner Vaughn!”
“And who’s that?”
“The goalie for the Dallas Devils! He’s like, kind of a big deal.”
