Page 5 of Such a Good Girl

“So fucking what? If that happens, I’ll just start over,” I laughed.

“I thought you said no double dipping? Isn’t that what got you into this mess?”

“Yeah, well we need to increase membership anyway. A supply of fresh meat couldn’t hurt.”

“Now that we have a few empty spots, that won’t be a problem,” Rian said.

Theo groaned. “Dude…the bodies aren’t even cold yet. Maybe wait a little while?”

“Why? Why should we have to wait to fill their places? It’s not like they died in the club or something,” Rian insisted.

“I don’t know, it just seems morbid and a little too soon.”

“I’ve been saying we should increase the cap anyway,” I added.

“Fuck that,” Theo said. “That’s how things go south. Too many cooks in the kitchen and our recipe leaks out. No, maintaining secrecy is paramount. More important than any desire for more money or fresh pussy.”

I rolled my eyes, then looked over at Rian for support. Theo was always pushing back, the most concerned of all of us about maintaining not only the secret of Profane, the elite inner realm of the Hush Hush Club, but also the exclusive offshoot of Profane that we went to extreme lengths to conceal.

“We got into this business to fucking grow it, or do you not remember that?” I asked, my voice laced with annoyance.

“Yes, but the very thing we’re selling is discretion and secrecy and safety. Don’t you see how what you’re proposing — not just increasing the capacity, but that goddamned movie you’re hell bent on producing — threatens the very foundation of what we’ve built?”

His eyes were dark and angry, and reflected the passion we’d all possessed when we started this endeavor. We’d each done it for our own unique reasons, but it was equally important to us.

The Hush Hush club was only the front for what we’d really created.

The Hush Hush club was merely a nightclub. There was nothing unique about that, not in this city.

No, our masterpiece was much more exclusive than that — sacred, carnal, and primal. The participants formed a tight circle that none of us wanted to break or expose.

“Profane, and everything else, is safe,” I insisted. “The NDAs protect us.”

“Not if you make a fucking movie about it!” Theo shot back.

“Fuck, Theo,” I growled, pushing my hair back and taking a deep breath. Rian watched quietly from the window, his eyes storming. I knew he agreed with Theo. They both thought I was crazy. “I wouldn’t do anything to risk this place. I can change the details. But I need this fucking win, man.”

I hated that my voice turned pleading. I heard the desperation myself.

Theo didn’t budge.

“I’m not signing off on it, West.”

I sighed, shaking my head. “We’ll talk about it later.”

“My opinion won’t change.”

“Fine!” I scoffed, opting to change the subject. “Anyway, what’s going on with that woman you met? At Gino’s?”

Theo had picked up some waitress a while back, a rare thing for him to do. He usually kept to himself, preferring to avoid drama at all costs. I’d encouraged him to go out with her last weekend, but he’d been closed-mouthed about her since.

“It was nothing.” He shrugged.

“Are you going to see her again? Have you already?”

“A few times.” He shrugged again, trying to look nonchalant, but I’d grown up with this guy. I knew what all his gestures meant.

“It’s only been five days and you’ve seen her ‘a few times?’ How many is a few?”

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