VIP ACCESS ONLY
Don’t waste our time asking if you’re on the VIP list! Any clubgoers who attempt to gain admission through the VIP access who are not on the list will be banned from the club. No exceptions! Ask if you’re on the list at your own peril!
“That’s a serious warning,” Lennox said.
“It must work because there’s no one in line,” I said, steering her toward the VIP entrance.
“Are you sure about this?” she asked.
“No. We’ll see if Nolan followed through.”
The bouncer—a thick wall of a man, massive enough to play on the Vikings offensive line—gave me a bored once-over. “Help you with something?” he asked gruffly.
“My name is on the list. Lund.”
He raised his hand—the size of a baseball mitt—to forestall any additional conversation and spoke into his mouthpiece. Then he said, “Club manager will be out to verify.”
Verify . . . what?
Lennox snagged my hand and tugged. “Move over here,” she hissed in my ear. “Don’t piss off the bouncer.”
“How would I do that? I’m just standing here.”
“Exactly. You’re in his line of sight. Trust me, I’ve worked at enough clubs to know this stuff.”
Just as I was about to ask where else she’d worked, a man in a sharp-looking black suit headed toward us. He thrust out his hand. “I’m Benjamin Larken, VIP coordinator for Flurry. And you are . . . ?”
I took his hand. “Brady Lund. My cousin Nolan called to let you know I’d be here tonight.”
“Ah. Nolan. He’s not one to give recommendations for the VIP section. I can see why he’d make an exception.” He flashed a smile at Lennox, then looked at me. “Is your cousin still seeing Sela?”
“No idea. It’s too hard to keep up with Nolan’s stream of women.”
The man looked at me suspiciously.
I reached into my back pocket and pulled out my wallet. “I imagine you need ID that proves who I am?” I pushed my driver’s license out of the plastic sleeve and handed it over.
He scrutinized it. “You don’t look anything like Nolan. Or his brother Ryan.”
“Nolan doesn’t have a brother named Ryan.” I laughed and the VIP coordinator glanced up at me. “I understand you’re just doing your job, attempting to trip me up with personal questions about my cousin, to see if I’m trying to sneak into the club with a bogus ID.”
“Stranger things have happened.” He handed back my ID. “So Ash is your . . . ?”
“Other cousin. I’m sure you’ve heard of my brother—Jensen Lund.”
His eyes widened. “The Rocket is your brother?” He grinned. “Then why didn’t you say so? We’re happy to have you here, Mr. Lund. It’s open seating in the VIP section. And if you decide to become a VIP member, come see me and I’ll go over the details. Including guest passes. We’d love to see The Rocket here.”
I just bet you would. I smiled. “Thank you.” I put my hand on the small of Lennox’s back and directed her inside what looked to be a short tunnel. Hip-hop blasted out.
Lennox stopped and spun to face me, her eyes searching. “Does that happen a lot?”
“Getting grilled when I attempt to enter a club? No. But not because I normally have automatic access due to my last name. I’m not the club type. Why?”
“Not that. People asking about your brother.”
“Yes. People would use me to get connected to him—if I let that happen.”
“Protective of him?”
“Someone has to be.”
“And as the oldest the role falls to you?”
“Yes.” I helped her off with her jacket and passed her coat to the coat check girl.
After we found a place to sit overlooking the lowest dance floor, the cocktail waitress stopped by to take our order.
Lennox looked over at the bar before she placed her order. “I’ll have a lemon drop martini. And a glass of water.”
“For you, sir?” the waitress cooed, moving in closer.
“What Leinenkugel do you have on tap?”
“Sunset Wheat and Red.”
“Red is fine.”
“Got it. Would you like to start a tab, Mr. . . . ?”
“No. I’ll pay cash.”
After she strolled away, Lennox leaned in. “Cash? Is that a finance-guy thing?”
I shrugged. “I’m not in the practice of handing my credit card over to someone I don’t know in a place I’ve never been. So maybe that does qualify as a finance-guy thing.”
“Smart move. Our waitress was a little put out that you didn’t give her your name.”