Page 186 of Sinfully Savage Mafia

“Are you calling me old?” Cassia squeals, slamming her hands on the Formica tabletop.

“I’m just saying that the audience gets tired of the same old thing!”

“She said old again!” Velvet hisses. “You wanna get cut, bitch?”

Ashleigh lets out a frustrated sigh and flips her blonde hair over her shoulder. “You two don’t know anything about running a business! Let me tell you this, if we can’t give people new reasons to come and sample the talent, they will go somewhere else! Somewhere they can see something new and fresh and shiny!”

“So I’m fucking tarnished?” Cassia yells, jumping up from her chair and launching back a fist.

I leap up and grab her wrist before she lets that fist fly at Ash. “Hey!” I say in a warning voice, twisting my head left and right. “People are watching,” I hiss. “Hold your shit together, Cassia. I don’t think you want to spend all of that hard-earned money bailing your ass out of jail, am I right?”

She yanks her wrist out of my hand, her eyes narrowed to slits. “I don’t share the spotlight, Jae. Last night was great, but my pussy can command its own huge audience, you got that? Any other club would love to have me!” She grabs her bag, and with one final death glare at Ashleigh, she flounces out of the diner, Velvet on her heels.

I rub my temples, collapsing back into my chair. Guys wouldn’t have this kind of exchange. They’d just be like, “You wanna add another cock? Yeah, great. Can I get more beer in the dressing room?”

And the conversation would be over.

But this?

Jesus Christ.

My head is splitting and it’s barely eleven o’clock in the morning.

Ashleigh slouches in the chair. “I thought it would be good for business.”

“You know, business is really rocketing, right?” I say.

She throws up her hands. “So you just sit back and ride it out? No! You have to keep doing new things, different things, exciting things!”

“Listen, I know you want to have a voice at the club, but you have to know who you’re dealing with. These girls are territorial and vicious. I don’t want them to jump you in the parking lot because you’re trying to steal their cash.”

“But I’m not trying to steal it! I’m trying to get them more!”

I shake my head. “More competition to them means less money. They don’t think strategically with their heads. They think with their pussies. And pussy say, shine the spotlight on me!”

Ashleigh giggles, spitting orange juice on the table. “You need to get Nate onboard with a new plan for the club. We need new ideas!”

“And this is exactly why we hired you. Don’t worry about those old bitches,” I say, making Ash smile. “Let me talk to Nate and we’ll come up with a plan. For what it’s worth, I like your angle. I think it could work really well. Guest porn stars. Classy.” I wink at her as I stand up and grab my handbag. “I’m heading to the club right now, but I’ll talk to you later tonight. Maybe we can get some time with Nate and present your idea.”

Her mouth opens. “Really?” she asks.

“Definitely.” I give her shoulder a squeeze and toss a few bills onto the table before hurrying out of the diner.

Nate will be happy.

I socializedandstopped an assault as an added bonus.

He’ll be proud.

That’s more than I can say for his reaction to my version of girls’ night last week.

I fling my bag over my shoulder and trudge to my car. My whole body aches from falling asleep on the couch in my office last night. When I finally dragged myself out of the club, under Nate’s supervision of course, it was almost six.

And it felt like I had been in traction.

He followed me home, like always, and I collapsed onto my bed for another few hours. But just like my time on the couch, my sleep at home was splintered with memories…some good, some bad, some erotic as hell.

The erotic variety are the ones I remember the most clearly.

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