He turns, winking at her. Then he heads off, unbuckling his cuffs and rolling up his sleeves. Lilly turns to Dante, who’s standing by my side.
“See if you weren’t so mean to me, there would be one for you, too.” Her smile takes the edge off her words, but still delivers her point.
“Hmph.” He nods, then turns to me. “I’m gonna grab drinks. Whisky?”
I nod and he looks at Michael who does the same. Then finally back to Lilly.
“Lilly, can I get you anything to drink?”
And whether it was from my words at dinner, or Lilly being so undeniably sweet, finally my best friend has come back.
“I would love one, Dante. Tequila and lime, please.” Her face is glowing, a smile from ear to ear.
“Mick,” I say to Michael. “I’m just gonna steal my fiancé away for a quick minute. Head upstairs to our booth with Dante. We’ll meet you there.”
I don’t waste time waiting for a response; instead, I slide my arm around her waist and lead her through the crowd into a spot at the back of the club tucked away near the stairs.
I turn, spinning her around to face me, and I can’t help but stare at her with awe. “This. Is. Amazing. How the hell did you pull this all together in one afternoon?”
And she explains it, in the only way Lilly can. Animated and full of life. My eyes don’t leave hers as she tells a lively story of events. From her friend Ria, who is the blonde, DJ’s event that was almost cancelled, to getting more business for Mick and making extra money hosting a fashion show event. I try to concentrate, I do, but it’s hard to focus when I see how alive she is right now.
“Oh.” She lifts her finger in the air. “I almost forgot. We’ve sold five out of seven VIP pods.”
I frown, confused and now back in the conversation. “I’m sorry. You sold five what?”
“VIP pods.” She crinkles her nose, as if it’s obvious. “You know, bottle service, private areas…?”
No one is that perfect, and she is new here. Winston must not have told her. I feel like a dick, because I don’t want to burst her fun.
“Baby, we don’t have VIP pods.”
“Oh Right.” She taps her head, then she pulls out the clipboard in front of me.
There is a sketch of what looks like pods circulating around the dance floor, with notes and writing scribbled around it. “For 100k a booth a year, you should.”
What the fuck?
I snatch the clipboard to look at the design, then check the floor. Then I look back at the clipboard, then the floor again.
“How much did you say?” I ask.
She giggles and nods and doesn’t need to say it again, I know. My eyes see dollar signs.
“If we knock out that wall, we could add another five.” Hey, if there is money to be made, I’m all for it.
She looks to where I’m pointing and shrugs. “Yeah, but if we add more, we’ll have to charge less. Rich people like to feel special.”
I turn back to her surprised but see her point. “How do you know all this?” Again, it hits me I have so much to learn.
“I grew up in clubs.” She shrugs, like that explains it. “As soon as I could, I was out and never came home till the sun came up. It was way better than being home. I’ve just been around my fair share of them.”
There’s partying and then there is what Lilly can do, and that just gives me the perfect idea.
“Well, I guess I will leave all that tricky stuff to my fiancé.”
“Ren…” Her tone is a warning, and her eyebrows raise as she catches onto me straight away.
I guess my face isn’t hiding shit.