Then I saw Axl.
So Dorian’s title had to change, slightly.
And because he was so handsome, I was shy and awkward around him.
This, even if he was incredibly nice and he could be funny when he wasn’t being serious (which was a lot, but he ran a strip club with his uncle, it wasn’t just staff who could get out of hand, it was patrons, so serious was a good quality to have).
But he sensed I was shy, so he put in the work to make himself approachable to me, make me understand he wasn’t just my boss, he was a friend and he cared about me, and now I liked him a whole lot.
It was on this thought I realized everyone around me put in a lot of work.
And me?
Well …
Hell.
“Hey, Ian,” I greeted.
“You got a stalker?” Ian did not greet back.
“Dude,” Sylvester said, and Ian and I looked to him. “Cisco showed me the pics this asshole sent. Now, I could do me a sweet piece in some handcuffs or creative use of silk scarves, but this shit was extreme.”
Ian stared hard at Sylvester.
Then he dropped his head and looked at his shoes.
In order to give Ian some time, I turned to Sylvester and mouthed, “Sly?”
He shrugged.
I turned back to Ian who was still contemplating his shoes.
He then put his hand on the back of his neck, rubbed it up over his hair and then dropped it to his side, saying, “My mother told me, do not get involved in the club. Those girls will be the death of you.” He lifted his head and speared me with his eyes. “She was right.”
“I’m not stalking me,” I pointed out.
“I know you’re not,” he clipped. “But you show with a bodyguard and don’t come direct to me when you got a problem?”
Hmm.
He had a point.
“You’ve kinda had your fair share of problems,” I said.
It was lame, but it wasn’t untrue.
“That’s life, Hatz. You have problems. You deal. You move on. You don’t know you got a problem, you can’t deal, and that problem becomes a bigger problem.”
Before I could agree to his wisdom, and apologize for messing up, Dorian looked to Sylvester.
“You on her all day?” he asked.
“Until Cisco pulls me, and he did not communicate he intended to pull me, so maybe,” Sylvester answered.
“You do not go into the dancers’ dressing room. Outside only. I’ll brief security. If you’re still here tonight, when Hattie is onstage, I want all eyes on the crowd. I’ll give you, or whoever relieves you, a headset so you can communicate with the team. But before, I’ll introduce the team to you so they know you’re point on Hattie. You down?”
“I’m down,” Sylvester replied.
Ian looked to me. “Right now it’s a call and pictures?”
I nodded.
“To your cell phone and sent to your house?” he went on.
I nodded again.
Dorian’s visible unhappiness got visibly unhappier.
“And Cisco knows this?” he pressed.
More nodding.
“What about Pantera?”
“Uh, he knows it too.”
“I’ll call them,” he muttered, beginning to move away.
“Wait!” I cried.
He turned back to me.
“Axl and Hawk and all of them aren’t officially on this, hence Sylvester,” I shared, throwing a hand Sylvester’s way.
Ian’s eyes moved to Sylvester then back to me as behind me I heard Ryn say, “Sorry?” Lottie say, “Say what?” and Pepper say, “Oh man.”
I turned to face them. “Axl found out I called Brett before him and he was kinda mad.”
This time it was Pepper looking at her feet.
Ryn was smiling.
Lottie hitched a hip, put her hand to it and glared at me.
“I know!” I said to Lottie. “I blew it! I’m going to fix it. Promise.”
Though I shouldn’t promise.
Axl still had not texted me so I had no idea how to go about fixing it.
Though I knew I had to try.
“Hattie, attention to me,” Ian demanded.
I whirled back to him.
“How bad did you blow it? Meaning, is this going to delay Delgado and his boys wading in by half an hour or half a day?” he asked.
There was low laughter behind me when I said, “Probably half an hour, seeing as Brett is going to rope them in. But I suspect, even if Axl probably hadn’t calmed down, he was on the phone to the office while he drove away from my house.”
Ian nodded curtly, said, “God forbid there’s a next time … ” and when I nodded that I got his message, he strolled away.
I took in a big breath, turned again, and looked right at Lottie.
“I hate it I missed the kickoff to the wedding festivities. I hate it. And I’m so sorry I hurt your feelings when I didn’t show.”
She hesitated not one second before she came to me and pulled me in her arms.
She kissed the side of my head and then said in my ear, “You don’t have to let us in, but you do have to let us know. You need space, we can give that to you. You need to talk, we’re there for you. You need someone to listen, you got ears who will be happy to hear. Just don’t pull away. Because we love you and we want to be there for you, however you need that to be.”