Page 66 of Ravish

“Go, I can take care of it.” Lara stood. “You too, Sierra.”

“You’re a doll.” Sierra dropped a twenty on the table.

“Sierra, that’s way too much,” Lara said.

“It’s perfect.”

Lara unlocked the door, and the women walked out. After relocking the door, Lara picked up the money, the empty plates, and glasses. It only took her a few minutes to clean everything up and get today’s money in the bag for the bank.

Lowering the metal gates around the doors and windows, Lara set the alarm and went out the back door. She drove to the bank and deposited the money. Once at home, she scanned the receipt and looked at the totals for this week.

Oh my, she was making almost double the amount she made three months ago. That was amazing. Tomorrow was inventory day, but she had noticed today they were getting low on items that usually lasted longer.

She made a note on her calendar to call her accountant next week and discuss everything. Next, she went through her spreadsheet on the food and supplies she’d been using at the club.

It wasn’t super expensive, but she could see that doing it each week would mean making sure Megan and Eve both worked on Saturdays, and she’d recently hired a person who’d asked for time to finish up with their other job. She was in communication with him and setting up a training time. She wrote down several figures.

It wasn’t that she was a bad business person; she wasn’t. She just sometimes didn’t know how to value things like her time. Colby would know. She picked up the phone and called his shop.

“Durham’s Leather Shop, this is Colby, how may I help you?”

“Hey, sweet guy, how about dinner before you have to go to the club tomorrow night?” She kept her voice light and flirty.

“Well, sweet cheeks, that sounds grand. Will you come to the club with me after?”

“Aren’t you working?”

“I am, but having you there makes for a better night.”

Lara shifted in her seat. “I wish you could come over tonight.”

“I can be there after my shift.”

“What time do you get off?”

“Midnight.”

“I’ll be waiting.”

* * * *

“You said you wanted my advice on something,” Colby asked over dinner Saturday night. They really hadn’t had a chance to talk much on Friday, but she mentioned needing his advice.

“Yes.” While they’d spent Friday night together, Colby had rushed off to his shop and her to her café this morning. “Max and Sierra have asked me to cater every week at the club.”

He frowned. “That’s a lot of work.”

“A bit. I’ve hired another person at least part-time to help at the café.”

“What about at the club?”

“The night of your demo showed me I don’t have to man the table all night, but I would prefer to have someone there. Sierra had Hannah restock food after we left, and it all worked out well. But I will discuss using Hannah with Max and Sierra.”

“So why are you hesitating?”

“There’s a reason I have an accountant, and I’ve made an appointment to see her next week. But I wanted to give Max and Sierra an answer, and I’d like a second set of eyes on my cost estimates.”

“I thought you went to business school.”

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