Darius (Starkis Family #5) (3 page)

“What do you mean?”

“You know I’m trying to save money so I can go to the Comedy Institute. Since the tuition’s almost nine grand for the one-year program and I’d be in classes full time, I not only have to save the tuition money, but I have to save enough to cover my living expenses for a year.” I knew I could still pick up some shifts on weekends, but I’d have to get up early on Mondays, so I couldn’t go to bed at two or three anymore.

“Maybe you could find a better paying job? I mean, with all those books you read, you speak so well that I bet you could get a job as a receptionist or something.”

Comedy was my passion. I didn’t want to do anything else. “It’s not like I have any real skills, Daph. What else could I do to make more money?” I tossed a cushion at her when she smirked. A running joke between us was that if things ever got really bad, we could take turns selling our bodies. We both knew we’d eat cat food before we stooped to that though.

“Maybe you just need a sugar daddy,” she teased. “Someone like Darius, maybe?”

“He’s a few years older than me,” I said, trying to keep a straight face. “Aren’t sugar daddies usually old geezers?”

“How do you know how old he is?”

“I read his Wiki page.” Before she could assume I’d been so interested in him that I’d started digging, I added, “He told me to. He wanted to prove that he could afford to buy the club so I’d tell him more about it.”

“I wish he’d buy it.” Daphne sighed. “Poor Billy’s been a wreck, worrying about his mama and trying to sell the club. Not to mention getting some fresh blood in here, with money to spend, could really turn things around.”

She was right, but the prospect of working with Darius made me nervous—for reasons I wasn’t willing to analyze. “I guess we’ll just have to wait to see what happens, won’t we?”

“Promise me one thing?” Daphne asked, clasping her hands under her chin. “Promise me you’ll keep an open mind about this guy. I know you’ve been burned, but it’s been so long since I’ve seen you happy and in love, and honey, no one deserves that more than you do.”

I leaned forward to give her a hug. “I love you for caring, but I don’t need a man to make me happy. I’ll be happy when I get my life together.” Which meant getting my dream job at one of the big comedy clubs in the city and making a decent living doing what I loved. That was all I needed to be happy.

***

I went into work the next night feeling pretty good. I was looking forward to trying out some new material on the crowd, and when I’d made another bank deposit that morning, I realized I had half of my tuition saved. I still had a long way to go, but at least I was getting there.

“You’ll never guess who’s in the back with Billy,” Daphne said, sinking her short purple nails into my forearm when I tried to pass her.

“Darius?” I whispered, knowing she wouldn’t be getting this excited about anyone else.

“You got it.” Her face lit up. “He looks even sexier tonight than he did last night. If anyone can breach those steel panties of yours, it’s him.”

“Stop it,” I warned, looking around to make sure no one had overheard us. “I already told you, I’m not interested.”

“Really? Then why’d you get that deer-in-the-headlights look when I told you he was here?”

“I did not.” I blinked a few times, hoping she was just teasing me. If I couldn’t convince her I wasn’t interested in Darius, how the hell was I supposed to convince him?

“Speak of the devil,” Daphne said, grinning. “Don’t look now. He’s coming this way.”

I told myself to breathe, but when I turned to face him, I was still feeling a little breathless.

Daphne was right. He did look even better tonight. His short black hair looked as though it had been freshly washed and styled, and he was wearing black dress pants and a light blue shirt that brought out the color of his eyes.

“Hi,” he said, smiling as he approached. “I was hoping to see you tonight.”

Since I’d told him which nights I worked, I knew he’d been expecting to see me. “How’d it go with Billy?”

Looking amused, he asked, “How’d you know I was meeting with your boss?”

“Um, I…” I pointed at Daphne. “She told me.” Damn. I shouldn’t have said that. Now he’d know we’d been talking about him. “So, uh, how’d it go?”

“It went well.” He nodded. “I’m definitely interested. I’m going to see if I can get a consultant in here tomorrow to tell me what it would take to turn this place around.”

“A consultant?” I wasn’t sure I liked the sound of that. In my experience, change was rarely good.

“Yeah, my father’s company employs consultants to do some market research in the markets that aren’t performing as well as we’d like. You know, check out the competition and tell us what we should change to make things more profitable.”

“Oh, I see.” I shouldn’t have been surprised he would know all that, given his family business, but it was intimidating to think of the club changing that much. I, for one, liked it as it was.

Billy had been the first person to give me a break. I was waiting tables here when he and Shaun suggested I try my luck on open mic night after I’d shared with them that I’d always dreamed of being a comedienne. That night changed my life and fueled my passion for being onstage.

“Don’t look so worried,” Darius said, nudging my shoulder with his own. “Change can be good. Out with the old, in with the new, right?”

“I guess.”

“You want to put this place on the map, don’t you? Make it a hot spot that can hold its own against some of the bigger, more popular clubs in the city?”

I’d always dreamed of working at one of those clubs, but if Darius could turn our little club into one that could compete with the best, maybe I wouldn’t have to leave the people I loved and the place where I’d always felt most at home. Maybe change could be a good thing after all.

“I can tell the wheels are turning. Tell me what you’re thinking, Chelsea.”

“What kind of changes are you proposing?” I wouldn’t want to draw the upscale, trendy crowd.
His people.
Billy’s Comedy Club was more of a blue-collar crowd. My kind of people.

“I’ll know better after I meet with the consultant and he has a chance to do his research. I’d definitely want to give this place an overhaul, expand the parking lot and—”

“Oh, but Billy doesn’t own this building. He just leases it.” Renovations would mean I was out of a job, at least temporarily, and I couldn’t afford to be out of a job. Maybe I could pick up a few more shifts at Exodus, but given the grabby guys I usually had to deal with there, I wasn’t thrilled with that prospect.

“Yeah, but the landlord approached Billy about buying it a few months back. Apparently he wants to retire, so he’d like to dump this building.”

Great, so Darius wouldn’t only be my boss but my landlord too since we rented the apartment upstairs. “I see.”

I wondered if things always fell into place so easily for Darius. He bought businesses and buildings the way most men bought shoes. I knew he wasn’t making the decision lightly. He was doing his due diligence, making sure it was a solid investment, but I couldn’t believe anyone had so much disposable income that they could decide on a whim to buy a business.

He glanced at the time on his phone. “Do you have time for a drink?” He grinned before I could object. “A soft drink, of course. I’d just like to talk to you about some of my ideas, see what you think.”

I was curious about what he had planned and how it would affect my friends and me. “Okay, sure, but I have to be on in half an hour.”

Darius winked, prompting a fluttery feeling in my stomach that I tried to attribute to the slightly expired yogurt I’d eaten earlier. Maybe I should have thought twice before scarfing it down.

“I’ll grab that table,” I said, pointing at an empty one in a dark corner of the club. I didn’t want my coworkers to see me cozying up to the man who may soon be signing their paychecks. They may start asking questions I couldn’t answer.

“Sounds good. I’ll grab those drinks. It’ll save us having to wait for a waitress.”

I took a seat and watched him cross the bar. There were a few tables full of young women undoubtedly out for a fun, carefree girls’ night. Their eyes followed Darius before they leaned in, whispering and giggling. I knew he was gorgeous. He knew he was gorgeous. The whole goddamn place knew he was gorgeous. And that made him dangerous.

He returned a few minutes later with the drinks while I pretended to check my phone to avoid staring at him as he walked toward me. Our connection was magnetic. Whenever our eyes locked, I felt something I hadn’t felt in a really long time. It scared the hell out of me.

“Thanks, Darius,” I said, when he set a drink down in front of me. I didn’t ask how he’d known what I wanted. He probably asked the bartender for my usual.

“I should have asked,” he said. “Did you want something to eat?”

I would have killed for one of the pulled pork sandwiches, but I was saving every dime I made, so I made do with yogurt, toast, and a bowl of cereal before my shift. I couldn’t cook much. Neither could Daphne. So we survived on simple staples. At least she went out on dates and the occasional guy treated her to a nice dinner. Not so for me.

“No, I’m good. Thanks.”

“You have to eat something,” he argued, grabbing a menu off the table next to us. “I’m starving, and I hate to eat alone.”

“I really don’t have time. Like I said, I have to be on soon.”

“You only have one set tonight, right? How ‘bout if I just grab something to tide me over and we can eat after your set? It doesn’t have to be here. We can go somewhere else, if you prefer?”

That sounded a lot like a date, but I didn’t want to make a fool of myself by warning him off again. Men like Darius had their pick of women. He wouldn’t lose sleep over one who’d clearly stated she wasn’t interested.

I thought about the prospect of going home early to an empty apartment. I could watch some TV or maybe read one of the library books that were due back next week. Ugh. I really was as boring as my roommate claimed. “Sure, why not?” At least I’d get that pulled pork sandwich I’d been jonesing for.

His face lit up as though I’d agreed to go home with him instead of simply share a meal. I didn’t know whether to be flattered or concerned by his reaction.

“So tell me more about your plans for this place,” I said before taking a sip of my drink. “Assuming you decide to move forward with the sale.”

“Well, building restaurants is kind of my specialty, so I’m not worried about the renovation. That part would be easy.”

“Would this be an extensive renovation?” I asked, pretending I wasn’t holding my breath while waiting for his response. “I mean, would you have to shut down for a while?”

Apparently I wasn’t fooling him. “We might have to, for a bit, but I’ve got a friend who I think could get this done pretty quickly.” He turned around, pointing at the bar. “I think we should knock out that wall since the storage area behind it is wasted space. Move the bar over here, so we can add more tables, build up the stage a little more, modernize the décor, redo the bathrooms and office, and add a dressing room or two for the talent.”

The talent? I guess that meant me and my fellow comedians. Wow. He was serious about this. The kind of renovations he described would put us in the same league as the other clubs, if only we could draw some big names. I knew they would displace me as the headliner, but I honestly wouldn’t mind if it meant I could learn from some of the best in the business.

“I have a proposition for you,” Darius said, drawing my attention from the proposed renovation. “I know it may be a bit premature since I haven’t even bought the club yet, but if I do, I’m wondering whether you’d consider managing it?”

“Me?” I was shocked and flattered, but I had to be honest with him about my future plans before I could consider accepting. “Why me? I don’t know anything about managing a business.”

“I asked Billy if he were to hire a manager, who it would be, and he said you.”

“Oh.” At least he wasn’t asking because he was attracted to me. I should be relieved, but I wasn’t. I wanted him to want me. To manage the place, just to manage the place. I didn’t want him to want me in the literal sense. Did I?

“So what do you think? Would you be willing to consider it?”

A manager’s job meant I could give up my bartending gig at Exodus, which would make me happy. I’d be making a lot more money, so I could execute my plan sooner. “Um, before I answer that, there’s something you should know.”

“Okay.”

“I want to go to the Comedy Institute. I have half the tuition saved, but I’ll need another year or more to get the rest of the money together. I’d love to manage the club, if you really think I could, but I thought it was only fair to tell you I might have to take some time off for classes, but that wouldn’t be for a while, like I said.” I blushed when I realized he was staring at me. Probably because I was rambling.

He smiled softly. “I think it’s very admirable that you want to perfect your craft.”

I didn’t know if he was making fun of me or not, since he was an Ivy League graduate, but he seemed sincere, so I muttered, “Thanks,” before lowering my head and taking a sip of my drink.

“And I appreciate your honesty. A lot of people would have just taken the job and worried about school when the time came.”

Daphne always told me I was honest to a fault. I supposed that stemmed from my resentment of all the people who’d lied to me throughout my life. “That wouldn’t be fair to you. If you want to hire me, you should know.”

“Thank you.”

He seemed genuinely touched, which I thought was weird, but I let it go. I didn’t know him well. Maybe he was just a weird guy.

“I’m sorry.” He chuckled, shaking his head. “I’m just not used to women being so straightforward with me. I guess I’ve been in the dating scene too long. I’m a little jaded.”

I could only imagine what dating must be like for a guy like him. He must have needed a bodyguard just to keep the gold diggers at arm’s length. “Does it suck sometimes? Being rich?”

He laughed. “If I had the choice between being rich and poor, I think I’d still chose rich.”