“No idea,” she says, shrugging. “He just said he wanted you up there.”
There are butterflies in the pit of my stomach. Am I right? “Which one.”
“Cole Andrews. Stop asking questions, they’re waiting.”
I hurry towards the elevator, trying to pull my jaw up off the floor. Holy shit.
3
The elevator is almost too quiet, and I think that going back and forth between the blasting music and absolute silence is going to take some getting used to.
I was expecting the third floor to be a balcony like the second floor, but it’s not. The elevator doors open onto a gorgeous hallway. Dark, sparkling marble is arranged in geometric patterns on the floor, and colored lights line the edges. The hallway curves out of view—it must circle the whole club. The lights that stream up from the floor are vibrant, painting color along the walls and ceiling. It doesn’t take me long to notice that those colors are corresponding to rooms. The first stretch of the hallway is green, and the door in that section is green. The next section is orange.
I pass through a purple and a yellow section before I finally reach a blue one. Pausing outside the door, I take a deep breath. Cole requested me. I have no idea why. Whether it’s because he thinks I’ll be good eye candy or because he felt the same thing I felt between us, I don’t know. What I do know is that it’s still my first day, and I need to do a good job no matter how he makes me feel. I pass my keycard over the little panel, and the door slides aside silently.
The room is entirely glass—floor, walls, and ceiling. Below, you can see the entirety of the club spread out downstairs, and I have vertigo just looking. The music from downstairs is being pumped in through speakers, though it’s low enough to easily hear over. There are comfortable couches and chairs, and they’re filled. I count seven men sitting in the room, one of whom is Cole. Everyone turns to me as I come in, and I swallow my nerves as I step inside.
Seeing me, Cole smiles. “Come in, please. Everyone, this is Andrea. She’s new to Club Deep, and I’ve invited her to be our waitress this evening.” He gestures me forward and points out a two of the men. They’re both handsome, though I don’t feel drawn to them the way I do to Cole. “Andrea this is Julian Rivers and Hudson Carle, my business partners. And these are our clients.”
I smile and nod, not sure exactly how much I’m supposed to say. Cole looks at me, and I think he senses my discomfort because he keeps talking to his clients. I notice that he hasn’t mentioned their names. Given Rosie’s warnings about most people paying in cash, and the nature of the club, I’m sure that it was intentional. “Can I interest you gentlemen in something to drink?”
“Of course,” Julian says, smiling at me and picking up Cole’s cue. “I’ll take a whiskey neat please.”
“And I’ll have a…I’ll take a Guinness.” Hudson tells me. His voice is a deep bass that practically rumbles.
The other men look skeptical—I’m not sure why, but they give drink orders as well. I’m glad I still have the notepad from stocking the shelves. I don’t know that I would have been able to keep seven different drink orders straight. Hopefully I’ll be able to do it without the pad eventually. I head for the door and Cole keeps step with me. “I hope this is all right,” he says. “I thought you might like to be away from the frenzy your first night.”
A wave of surprise rolls over me, and then pleasure. He thought about me. The fact that he wanted to make me happy, even for a second…I smile at him. “That’s nice of you. I thought you might have wanted me just for eye candy.”
The look on his face deepens into a more-than-friendly smile. “Oh, you are that. But that wasn’t the reason I brought you up here. Certainly not the only reason.”
“There are other reasons?” Butterflies take up residence in my stomach at his words.
Cole leans a little closer, lowering his voice so no one can hear but me. “I can think of a lot of reasons. None of them should be said out loud while we have company.”
I raise an eyebrow at him. “And you have a plan for us to be without company?”