Page 23 of Dragged Home for Christmas

Four dismayed faces stared back at him, and he hated the fact that he’d had to drop that bombshell.

“Not necessarily.” Ashley sat upright. “What if there was a way to keep the Velvet House?”

What the fuck?

Chapter 9

A bell rang, and Mike frowned. “Do we have a visitor?”

Jim chuckled. “It’s just the bell at the front desk. It does that sometimes. I’ll go check if you want, but I’m tellin’ ya, ain’t no one there. And right now I’m more interested in what Ashley has to say.”

“You sound like a woman with a plan,” Elliott remarked.

“That’s because I am.” She gave Mike a pointed stare. “What was my degree in? Hmm?”

“Marketing.” He huffed. “Why d’you ask? Do you think I’ve just developed amnesia or something?”

“I’m simply reminding you. So… put me to work.”

“Doing what?” He frowned.

Ashley rolled her eyes. “Marketing the Velvet House, of course. I can think of five ways off the top of my head that would put this place back on a paying basis.”

Anthony chuckled. “Well, go for it, honey. As long as one of them isn’t me selling my ass on Commercial Street.”

“Yeah, five dollars won’t go very far,” Jim quipped.

“Five? He’d need to give ’em change, don’t forget.” Elliott grinned.

“Bitch.”

Elliott blew Anthony a kiss. “But you love me.”

“Will you all shut up? I want to hear Ashley’s ideas,” Sam groused.

She gave him a warm smile. “Okay. The first one is easy. This is a hotel. So change the name, give it a lick of paint, and have a grand reopening. I can think of plenty of places in Boston where I could advertise it.”

“What would you call it?” Mike could think of a couple of flaws in her plan, but he was willing to hear her out.

Ashley smiled. “Nick’s Place.”

Anthony placed his hand over his heart. “Oh.Allthe feels.”

Mike liked it too, but he had to be the practical one in this conversation. “It’s a sweet idea, I agree, and I really hate to burst this bubble, but paint costs money. Not to mention whatever else we might need.”

“I’ve thought of that. I know how we can raise money to fund it.” She beamed. “We could do a drag brunch.Severalbrunches. We’d sell tickets, except we’d need to make sure the price covers not only the cost of the food but also gives us a decent profit margin.” She glanced at the others. “Well? What are your talents?” Anthony opened his mouth, and she added, “thataren’tsexual.”

He closed his mouth.

“I can play the violin,” Elliott offered.

“Excellent. Are you any good?”

He preened. “Used to be first chair in the gay man’s orchestra.”

“Because you were blowing the director,” Jim fired back.

“I don’t think it mattershowI got the job!” Elliott protested. “It’s still a skill, isn’t it?”

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