A Beautiful Distraction(5)

But tomorrow’s headliners were a group of crooked bastards who wore their political status in their pants. She hated them the most.

“Thanks for reminding me. I will call George and have him pull a few extra guys to work security and we’ll bring Ace in as another bouncer.”

Jade yawned and nodded. “All right. I’m going to bed. Good night. Oh, and by the way, Dex is coming tomorrow night,” she said quickly as she started to shut the door.

“What?” Fallon replied before Jade had a chance to escape.

Pushing the door open, Jade stepped one foot in. “He and a few of his friends are coming to Denver for the night and are gonna swing by the club.” Jade’s head lowered infinitesimally. She knew this little tidbit of information would not make Fallon happy. At. All.

“You know the rules,” she stated calmly, needing no other explanation. The tension radiating between them was explanation enough.

Lifting her head so she could see into Fallon’s eyes, Jade frowned. Ah, great. She was going to try to win over the friend side of Fallon that was lurking around somewhere. Somewhere that was usually unattainable when her club was involved. It’s not going to work, she thought when she saw Jade’s eyes soften around the edges.

“Come on,” Jade pleaded, and Fallon was pretty sure she saw her bottom lip pucker out a little bit.

“You know I don’t allow boyfriends in my club, Jade. Ever. No exceptions. If I let you, I would have to let all the other girls, and I’m not doing it. I’m sorry. Those have been the rules long before I enforced them.”

Jade leaned her back against the door frame and she sighed. “Take me off the lineup tomorrow,” she proposed. “I’ll work tables.”

“The headliners love you. I’m not taking you off the lineup so you can play footsie under the table with your boyfriend.” Fallon hated being the bitch, but rules were there for a reason.

“Please.”

“No.”

Fallon watched as the wheels started spinning in Jade’s eyes while she shifted through her schemes to get off the lineup. She would give her credit for trying.

“Take my place? You know the headliners would rather see you than me anyway.” She stepped all the way inside and shut the door behind her. “If you would actually let yourself have a man in your life, I would do it for you. No questions asked.”

“I would never allow my boyfriend to come to my club knowing the rules in the first place,” she retorted.

“Dammit, Fallon. Quit being such a hard-ass and let me off the damn lineup.”

Fallon inhaled a deep breath and closed her eyes, accepting defeat. “Fine,” she started, and Jade’s eyes widened and a smile broke out on her ivory face. “But—as far as the other girls are concerned, I did not give you permission. And I took you off the lineup as punishment and docked your pay for the evening.”

“Deal.” She beamed and opened the door.

“And, Jade,” Fallon said before she stepped out. “You know that if there are any problems—any—I will instruct George to haul their asses out of here by their shirttails, right?”

She smiled. “I wouldn’t expect anything other than that from you, babe. But there won’t be a problem. I promise.”

“I hope you’re right.”

Jade rolled her eyes and started pulling the door closed. “Night,” she sang.

Sighing, Fallon shook her head, hoping to god she hadn’t just made a huge mistake. “Night,” she replied, watching the door click closed.

Fallon slipped her Mary Jane peep-toe stilettos from her feet and curled her toes. She had just purchased the sexy deep purple Prada pumps a few days before and the arches of her soles ached. A few more times around the block and those puppies would be good and broken in. She stood up and made her way barefoot to the wrought-iron wardrobe next to her vanity and pulled a satin slip from the lingerie drawer.

She had on one of her favorite wrap dresses. It cut low on her chest and the tie cinched at her waist, leaving the skirt of the dress to flow easily above her knee.

She pulled on the tie and the dress fell open, allowing her to slide her arms out. It gathered at her feet and she slinked into the satin slip before stepping out of her dress and kicking it to the side.

Sitting down at her vanity, Fallon reached behind her neck and unclasped the thin gold chain that rested along her collarbone. She dropped the necklace in her palm, the small, delicate pendant heavy in her hand as she brushed her finger over it before placing it in its designated spot in her vanity.

Her lids began to feel heavy, weighted down. She had a bit more work to finish, especially now that she needed to make sure everything was in order for her headliners tomorrow, but instead of sitting herself down at her desk, she fell onto the sofa and curled her legs up on the soft velvet.