Beyond the Velvet Rope. Tiffany Ashley

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СКАЧАТЬ I want you to work the agents of local celebrities. There are tons of stars in Miami. I want all of them to be talking about Club Babylon. I will be gathering information on every major event that is being hosted in Miami for the next three months.”

      “When can we see the club?” Len asked.

      “I’ll take you there tonight, and introduce you to the staff.”

      “Including the owner?” Len asked hopefully.

      Thandie gave a long sigh. “Yes, including Elliot.”

      “Elliot Richards,” Len repeated dreamily. “Even his name sounds sexy.”

      “I looked him up on Google this morning,” Raja supplied. “There wasn’t much to find. He doesn’t court the press. I could only locate a handful of pictures. Most of them were taken from afar. But from what I could see, he seems delightful on the eyes. Have you met him yet?”

      Thandie didn’t want to talk about Elliot. In fact, she wished she had not mentioned him at all. Try as she might, what had occurred last night after dinner would not soon be forgotten. She remembered all too well the warmth of his breath on her neck and press of his lips against her skin. Even the thought of it made her shift in her seat uncomfortably. Suddenly realizing the girls were still waiting for her response, she answered in a guarded tone, “Yes, I’ve met him.”

      “So...?” Raja urged.

      “He is a sharp businessman,” Thandie said lamely.

      Len laughed. “That’s not what we want to know, and you know it.”

      Thandie gritted her teeth together. “Ladies, I really need you to concentrate on the project at hand. We’re going to have to work ten times as hard if we intend to finish on schedule.”

      “Fine, fine. Be mysterious if you must,” Len said with a wave of her hand. “Where are we staying?”

      “With Warren Radcliffe,” Thandie answered.

      “Cool!” they chorused.

      Thandie cast a nervous glance in the rearview mirror at them. “Please don’t tell me Warren has tried to come on to either of you.” Both Raja and Len were in their early twenties, Warren’s preferred age range.

      “No,” Len huffed, “although I can’t say I would stop him. Warren is a cool old guy.”

      Thandie pinched the bridge of her nose. “Len,” she said, “Warren is old enough to be your grandfather.”

      “Yeah, but he’s fun,” Len reasoned.

      Raja agreed. “He’s a barrel of laughs, Thandie. I hate that he left the city. He was my favorite VIP.”

      Thandie stopped at a red light and turned around to face the girls. Though she was, at best, only seven years older than they, she knew they looked up to her as a role model. “Raja. Len.” Fixing each girl with a serious look, she said, “I want you two to enjoy yourselves while you’re here, but you’re going to work. Our sole purpose for being in Miami is to promote Club Babylon. You will remain focused at all times. I won’t tolerate any of your usual shenanigans. Is that understood?”

      They nodded solemnly.

      “And another thing,” Thandie soldiered on, “the management staff is predominantly male.”

      Len and Raja turned to look at each other, mischievous expressions on their faces.

      Thandie snapped her fingers at them. “Don’t even think about it,” she warned. “There will be absolutely no funny business between yourselves and the staff. I expect you to be professional, but keep your distance. If I suspect there is a trace of inappropriate behavior from either of you, I will send you back to New York. Are we clear?”

      The girls grimaced before nodding their heads.

      Pacified by their response, Thandie refocused her attention on the road. She knew she was being hard on them, but hopefully she had spoken just sternly enough to make herself heed her own warnings.

      Warren was gone by the time they arrived at his home. The girls squealed and laughed when they walked into the grand entrance hall. Tossing their bags aside, they took a tour of Warren’s house. Thandie could hear their laughter throughout. She tolerated it for a short while, before insisting they get to work. Len came up with the idea that they should sit by the pool while they worked. Not wanting to be a wet blanket, Thandie agreed to join them. They put on swimsuits and carried their paperwork onto the stone terrace leading to the pool. Len and Raja quickly entered the water, sitting on the steps of the shallow end. Len got busy calling Miami affiliates of the New York Post while Raja made a list of agents representing celebrities who resided in Florida.

      While the girls worked on making contacts, Thandie made a list of possible event themes. It was slow going, since she was not familiar with Miami’s nightlife scene just yet. She placed a call to Rex Barrington, Elliot’s director of marketing. Rex was surprised to hear from her but was happy to answer her questions about previous club themes and press releases. They spoke at length and by the time she hung up, Thandie suffered from information overload.

      After that, she helped the girls with making calls. She started by dialing her California contacts, making a list of celebrities who had press junket tours scheduled in the near future. She got a few hours of furious work out of the girls before they found their way to lounge chairs and stretched out like lazy feline cats. Len was sunbathing and well on her way to a much needed tan while Raja retreated to the shade to prevent getting any darker.

      Thandie was still on the phone when Warren joined them. Raja and Len ran to him as if he was Santa Claus. Donned in their bikinis, Thandie could tell Warren loved their attention. He listened to them ramble on about their flight. He made the unfortunate mistake of offering to take the girls shopping on Sunday, an offer Thandie knew he would quickly regret. Raja and Len kissed him on his reddened cheeks and jumped up and down with excitement. Thandie could only roll her eyes heavenward. Deciding she’d witnessed enough, she stood and gathered her things.

      “Where are you going?” Len called out to her.

      “I’m going to lie down for an hour or so. You girls might want to do the same.”

      “No way,” Len laughed. “We’re in freakin’ Miami! We’re too excited to sleep.”

      Thandie shrugged. “All right, but don’t come crying to me when you can barely keep your eyes open tonight.”

      Raja’s brow perked. “What are our hours, Thandie?”

      “Ten to two.”

      “Same rules?” Len asked.

      “Of course,” Thandie nodded. “No drinking, always work the room and always keep your cool.”

      The girls laughed as she made her way inside. Thandie gave the same rules every night before working. It had become redundant to say the words anymore, but she said them out of habit.

      Thandie stretched out on her bed and prayed Warren wouldn’t try anything with the girls during her absence. The last thing she needed was Len and Raja competing for the cushy position of Wife Number Six. Thandie yawned deeply and reflected back on the past СКАЧАТЬ