Page 8 of The Almost One

The letter tray has several unopened items lying there, ready for my attention, so I get to work opening them and dealing with them one by one. Transferring all of the licenses for the club into my name is taking its sweet ass time, but Rome wasn’t built in a day and all that.

A small, bright red envelope with no postmark catches my attention. My immediate thought is that it’s from Marco. Fuck knows why, it’s not like he’s a regular at sending me love notes in red envelopes, but I wouldn’t put it past him. The envelope isn’t sealed so, with a smile, I pull out the white card. There’s a single red rose on a thorny stem in the center on one side and I flip it to see what’s written on the other.

Do you miss me?

Okay, so that’s kind of sweet. It doesn’t say it’s specifically from Marco, he hasn’t signed it, but who else could it be from?

The intercom buzzes and I lean over to press the button. “Everything okay, Sheryl?” She loves using this thing, it’s her new favorite toy since she installed it for me a few weeks ago. She said it’s much better than the old, crackly version Polly used to have.

“Yeah, you’ve got a visitor. And I haven’t decided if you’re the luckiest woman in the world or hiring a new stripper for ladies’ night.”

Who the fuck…?

“Who is it, Sheryl? I’m kind of busy today.”

“Says he’s your best friend and he’s got lunch.”

Kai? What the fuck is he doing here?

“Okay, send him in. Thanks Sheryl.”

The intercom buzzes off as the door to my office flies open, and in comes Kai in all his construction glory. I laugh, thinking back to how Sheryl described him, and it couldn’t be more true. His hair is long enough to be in a topknot now, and his beard has grown out to about an inch long. It could do with a little grooming, but it’s Kai. He could always do with a little grooming.

He’s wearing a high-vis vest over a black T-shirt and his work pants with a million pockets. The steel-toed boots are dusty and leaving marks on my carpet, but I’m having the floors redone soon so I let it slide.

“Thought I’d drop by and see the new place, Miss Big Boss Woman. And I bought some bagels.” He holds up the bag in his hand, a seemingly-carefree grin on his face like all our troubles never existed.

“While I love that you’ve brought bagels, and I’ll totally show you around, what the actual fuck are you doing here?” I’m not angry, I’m in shock. I can only hope the smile on my face shows how happy I am to see him. I thought my best friend was a thing of the past, that we could never be close without the physical contact, but maybe I was wrong.

“Got a job in SoHo, we’re completely converting one of the buildings into a restaurant. I thought I’d drop by to see your club, seeing as I’m only a ten-minute subway ride away.”

“Ev didn’t mention you were coming to do some work in The City when I spoke to him the other day. Bagel, please.” I make grabby hands at him and he places the bag on the desk before sitting opposite me.

“Nah, it was a last-minute job. They called me and my guys in yesterday. Offered a lot of fucking money too. I’m not too proud to turn it down.”

“Sold your soul to the big corporate man, did ya?”

With a bagel halfway to my mouth, I pause, realizing what he said about being in SoHo. It’s where Marco’s main New York hotel is. Gently shaking my head in disbelief at yet another coincidence in my fucked-up life, I let it go. Kai is working on a restaurant, not Marco’s hotel.

“Want a tour then?” I stand, now–half-eaten bagel in hand, and round my desk. Kai moves from the chair and grabs me by the shoulders, pulling me in for one of his bear hugs, which settles something familiar in my soul. Even though they’ve never been as good as Everest’s.

“Don’t think you can get away without a hug, Psyche.”

The scent of sandalwood fills my senses and I breathe in the comforting smell as I wrap my arms around him.

“Okay, that’s enough. You’re squishing my food. You know better than to mess with my food, Kai.” We separate and he grabs a fresh bagel from the bag before joining me at the door.

“Ready to see my amazing club?” I’m excited about showing off this place to someone who really knows me. I’m proud as a motherfucker, and sharing things I love with people I love has always been something that has brought me joy.

The fact that this is the biggest thing I’ve ever done isn’t something I’m taking lightly, and I suddenly feel giddy that I’m about to show Kai around this amazing achievement.

Sheryl and Lily practically drool over him as we head toward the entrance to the stairs that lead out to the main club, and it makes me smile how oblivious Kai is to it all. He has that Keanu Reeves vibe of just being naturally sexy without effort. A lot like Marco, actually, although he exudes a confidence unlike any other man I’ve ever known. Marco just needs to wink at me and it’s like my pussy stands at attention. Fucking asshole.

Kai follows me down the stairs, eyes wide as he takes the place in. I try to imagine it from his point of view: the long bar on one side of the room and the huge stage dominating the space between the two staircases leading up to the mezzanine area; the mini stages dotted around the room with poles up to the ceiling; the luxurious seating areas, the dance floor, all decorated in red and black. It’s a lot to take in and I can only imagine what a man like Kai is thinking about all this. He’s never been a ‘going out-out’ kind of guy. Clubs, dancing, and parties have never been a Kai thing.

“Impressive, Riv. And all this is yours?” He’s still looking around the room, gently nodding his head with a smile on his face.

“It is. Do you like it?”

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