Earlier that day, Ed had called me into his office.
He’d leaned forward in his chair, hands clasped on his desk. “Saffi, what’s up with the Club Silk story?”
“Well, I visited for the first time the other night.”
Of course I glossed over the sexy details, explaining I’d not yet gathered much of substance.
“It’s going to be a good story,” I assured him. “Why do you ask?”
“I don’t know. I mean, is this something you should be doing?” He looked around the room as if there were others present, and then said in a conspiratorial whisper. “Should you”—he gestured at me—“be going to a sex club?”
“Not sure what you’re getting at, Ed.”
“Maybe next time you go, you should take me with you.”
What the fucking fuck.
I forced a small smile in the hope of wiping the tension off my face.
“I’ve got it under control.”
Did he really think she wanted to go to a sex club with him? Jesus.
“Well, all right,” he said. “But before all is said and done, someone else will have to go for fact-checking purposes.”
“I understand.”
Then he pushed back from his desk and stood like he always did when he was ready to end a meeting.
“Okay then. Keep me posted. Good work.”
Nelle was shaking my arm. “Hey. Saffi. You with me? You spaced out again.”
I realized I’d shredded my cocktail napkin. “Yeah, yeah. Sorry. I have to stop letting work get me down.”
Quick save.
“Yeah, you do. Now what about your office crush? What was his name again? Tim?”
“Tom. It was Tom. But he turned out to be a douche.”
“Oh, that’s too bad. Onward.” She raised her beer glass. “Your mom would be proud of your commitment.”
A thud landed in my stomach. Would she be proud of her daughter investigating a sex club?
“Yeah, I hope so.” I stared at the sweat ring my beer left on the bar.
Nelle nodded. “Of course she would be. She’d be proud of the life you and your dad have built. Speaking of which...how is your handsome father?” Her eyes widened.
“My dad is great. You know him. He doesn’t mind my crashing at the house. In fact, I think he likes it. And it’s nice to have some time with him after being away at school. Not that I could afford to move out, anyway...”
“Hey, don’t despair,” She said. “You’ll be making more money in no time. We’ll get a place together.”
“Easy for you to say, miss finance major. You’ve got a great job in banking. But the journalism route does not pay quite as well.”
There could be some pretty sweet perks, though. The kind only an exclusive club offered. And I was determined to enjoy them.