Chapter 34
I would have collapsed onto the rug and passed out right there, and happily, but Ava and Julia helped me dress and called me a cab. Brooke walked me to the elevator and gave me a long hug and a warm kiss before we parted.
“I’ll see you in one month,” she said, “and you’re going to get a tough challenge this month. I didn’t think you’d be ready for another six or seven months, but I think you got this.”
“What is it?” I asked.
“You’re going to be meeting with Everett Vanderlite,” she said, her expression careful, “I’ll arrange it.”
“Ok,” I said, blowing out a deep breath.
“Don’t worry,” she said with a flash of smile, “You’re ready for it.”
I gave her a nod and stepped into the elevator. The afterglow of my incredible evening was fading as I contemplated having to meet with the scion of the Vanderlite family empire. The man had been my father’s chief business rival for decades, and I knew our meeting would be high stakes, even if I weren’t yet in control of Whitaker Industries.
Stepping into the cab and letting it zoom me back to the apartment building, I didn’t allow my nervousness and stress about the upcoming meeting, destroy my memories of Ava, Julia, and Brooke. I fell into bed with a stupid grin on my face and let sleep drag me into its dark embrace.
I woke late that next morning. Feeling sore and amazing, as I stood beneath the hot water and washed off. As I worked the soap between my hands, building up a lather, I thought long and hard about what Brooke had said. Her words echoed what Gia had mentioned about the future.
My plans began to formulate as I thought about the apartment building and the women who lived there. There was so much potential here, the women were all brilliant and could help one another in so many ways. My mind began to expand as I contemplated the possibilities. Then a flash of inspiration hit me. It was like a lightning strike in my brain. The idea blossomed and branched out, and I saw the possibilities opening up.
I hopped out of the shower and ran to my desk, dripping water, to dash off a few notes. Then I dried off and dressed, making my way down to the basement and gathering tools and paint. The whole time though, I was distracted, so I didn’t notice Milly until I practically walked into her on the stairwell. The odd woman had frozen in place, arms clutching her empty cloth grocery bag to her chest.
“Sorry,” I said, “I wasn’t really paying attention.”
“Move aside,” she said, then after a long pause, added, “please.”
“Oh,” I stepped to the side, and she continued down the stairs.
Her every step was precise, and I realized that she must go down the stairs in the same place each time. With me standing in front of her, she had been unable to proceed. I shook my head at her oddness and then started up the stairs again.
“Connor,” Milly said, and when I turned, she was on the landing, looking up with a more relaxed expression, “I require your services this week. What is a good day for you?”
“Tuesday?” I said, smiling when I noticed the faint blush on the older woman’s cheeks.
“I will see you at 6:30 pm on Tuesday,” she said with a single nod, “knock twice and wait for me to answer the door. Remember to come cleansed.”
“Right,” I said.
With that, the woman turned and continued down the stairs. I shook my head again at her oddness, then continued. It was a long afternoon of work on the roof, but I felt great once the day ended. My muscles were sore, and I’d worked up a good sweat under the sun. I got back to my place after a quick bowl of Pho and got to work on the research paper.
The next day was a crazy one with school, homework, and my own research. I was so distracted with thoughts of my classes that I almost didn’t hold the door open for Gia as she came up the step behind me. At the last moment, I managed to prop the door open, allowing her to pass through with her hands full of grocery bags.
“Thank you, Connor,” the beautiful brunette said with a flash of bright smile, “Are you ok? You seem stressed out.”
“It’s just this language arts class I’m taking,” I said with a shake of my head, “I’m having a hard time wrapping my head around these Ideals of Argument.”
“Ahh,” she said with a knowing smile, “Professor Dunsten's work is a bit dense, but the logic is sound. I used to teach a course in the theory or argument and discourse at NYU every summer. I could take a look at your notes and give you a hand if you’d like.”
“That would be perfect,” I said with a grateful grin, “are you free tonight?”
“No,” she said, her face crestfallen, “a few girlfriends are coming over for dinner and drinks. I’d invite you over, but most of them are quite prudish,” she flashed me a naughty smile that caused my cock to stir in my pants, “How about Tuesday? This is kind of a busy week for me with mid-terms coming up.”
“I have plans with Milly,” I said, a touch awkwardly, “maybe another night?”
“That’s perfect!” Gia said, flashing a quick smile, “Millicent is the finest debater I ever taught. She is a master at the Ideals of Argument, and she’ll be a perfect sparring partner for you.”
“Milly, was your student?” I asked, shocked.
“Oh, yes,” she shouldered open her door, the plastic bags of meat and produce swinging around wildly, “The best student I ever had too. But she always liked her numbers and the talent she showed there was nothing short of miraculous, so she went that route. I’m sorry I’m in a rush, but don’t worry about anything, I’ll send Millicent an email. See you Tuesday!”
She flashed another bright smile, and then the door shut before I could argue with her. I stood there, feeling a small seed of nervousness in my stomach. Unsure how Milly would take the news. The anxiety festered all night, and I had a restless sleep, tossing and turning. Finally, I dragged myself out of bed, feeling like there were grains of sand under my eyelids.
I got to Sola’s studio and met Clara and Monique outside. The two of them were excited to tell me all about the audition they had that afternoon.
“It’s at a historic club,” Monique said, “I was surprised when they said we could audition, they don’t take many new groups.”
“We still need to come up with a name!” Clara said, her frustration evident.
“We’ve got a name,” Monique said as we walked into the studio and rolled out our mats.
“You finally have a name?” Sola asked as she turned on the nature sounds she liked to have on in the background.
“I think we should be called Danger Balls,” Monique said, flashing her white teeth in a smile, “That’s a badass name, come on, admit it!”
“It is a cool name,” Clara said, her sweet nature making it hard for her to argue straight out, “But do you think it captures our essence?”
“Essence?” Monique said with a snort of laughter, “It sounds cool. That will be enough to grab people’s attention.”
“Clara is right,” Sola said, nodding slowly, “the name doesn’t resonate with the sound you make, with the vibe you put out.”
“I don’t care what our name is,” Monique said, her irritation plain on her face. Amazingly when she looked bitchy, the dark-skinned woman only looked even more gorgeous and cool, “We just need something before the gig today.”
“Sugar & Spice,” I blurted out, “That’s who you are.”
The moment I said it all three turned to stare at me, then Clara and Monique turned to look at each other, wide identical grins on their face.
“Sugar?” Monique said to Clara, her eyes questioning.
“Spice!” Clara said with a happy laugh as she leaped forward and threw her arms around the taller woman's shoulders.
The two of them laughed and hugged then dragged me in to join in with them.
“Now that that’s settled,” Sola said once they had calmed down and wiped tears from their eyes, “Let's get to work. We only have a week or two.”
“A week or two for what?” I asked, curious, but Sola didn’t answer.
Instead, she flowed into the first pose and arched an eyebrow at me when I stood there dumbly waiting for her to respond. My head was still a little fuzzy from lack of sleep, but five minutes later, I was sweating and feeling the burn as my hips were stretched to their fullest, and I balanced on the balls of my feet.
The whole day proved to be brutally long, but I was sent into it floating on a magical cloud of happiness. After our workout, Sola kicked us out so she could prep for her early class. Clara and Monique trapped me in the hallway and thanked me again for coming up with such a perfect name for them.
“If we book this gig, you have to come and watch,” Monique said, “We’ll get you bottle service, you’ll love it.”
“Promise you’ll come?” Clara asked, her big blue eyes wide with hope.
“Of course,” I said, biting my tongue from saying a club was the last place in the world I wanted to be, “I wouldn’t miss it.”
“Maybe…” Clara began and then blushed furiously and twisted her fingers together awkwardly.
“Go on,” Monique said, flashing her friend an encouraging smile.
“What is it?” I asked, glancing between them.
When Clara shook her head in embarrassment and buried her face in her hands, Monique gave an exasperated sigh.
“She wants to ask you out,” the dark-skinned beauty said, crossing her arms and raising an eyebrow at Clara, “We talked about this, didn’t we? If you’re not honest about what you want, you’ll never get it.”
“You’re right,” the gorgeous blond said, then she took a deep breath and let it out slowly and turned to look at me, “Connor, would you go on a date with us?”
“I would love to,” I began, then her words registered, and I cocked my head to the right, “Wait, us?”
“Don’t go getting cold feet on us now,” Monique said as she flashed me a sexy grin and turned to head upstairs, “Friday night in the foyer, and don’t be late. Come on, Sugar, leave the dude alone before he changes his mind.”
Clara flashed me a devilish grin of her own, then turned and hurried off after the dark-skinned goddess, turning to give me a little wave before they started up the steps. They began discussing their music and the audition almost immediately. Monique sharp and opinionated, Clara softer and gentler, but somehow just as persuasive.