Page 21 of Bourbon Deceit
“You changed it, Diego. I just gave you an opportunity.” I finished off my drink and set the empty glass down on my desk. “I’m going to the Fairfield event this Friday. Anyone I need to make sure to shake hands with?”
“Let me check and I’ll text you later with the information.” Diego peeked over at my cameras and nodded toward them, “That the girl?”
I looked up and saw Goldie holding a wine glass and standing in the dining room while having a conversation with Miss Mary. Her posture was straight, she held her wine glass properly, and she seemed to exude a little more confidence than normal.
Not able to lie to Diego because he would be able to see right through me, I said, “That’s the girl.”
Nodding in appreciation, Diego replied, “She’s got one hell of a rack, man.”
Smiling, he got out of his chair and buttoned his suit coat. It was best he left, because his little comment had my rage starting to flare up.
“I’ll be in touch. Play nice, Jett.”
“I could say the same about you.”
Diego threw his head back and laughed. “I never play nice.”
And that was what I was fucking afraid of.
* * *
Jett:Send Babs up
I wanted nothing more than to bury myself deep inside Goldie, but knowing my head wasn’t in a good place, thanks to Diego’s ribbing and the newfound information on my dad and Lot 17, I decided to opt out of the Bourbon Room and call up Babs.
We had a lot to go over and now was the perfect time.
There was a light knock on my office door, alerting me that Babs had arrived.
“Come in,” I called out.
Babs walked in, wearing a business shirt over her Jett Girl kit, a pair of thigh-high black boots, and a purple, bob wig in place of her long, blond hair. Her mask wasn’t on, which I normally would have harped on her for, but the club was empty now and she’d taken the back stairs.
“Hey, boss man,” she said as she took the seat across from me. “You beckoned?”
“I wanted to go over your makeup line and make sure you were on track for your launch.”
Each Jett Girl had the opportunity to gain an education through the Lafayette Club and apply that to real life after they left the club. Babs chose to start her own makeup line. It was a real passion of hers but she needed help getting her business going and working on a marketing strategy, so we’ve been meeting every once in a while to go over her plan. Babs would be leaving soon, my first true Jett Girl to leave, and I wanted to make sure she was fully prepared and ready for her departure. I had to be honest, I was damn proud of the girl.
Babs’ face lit up from my interest in her new adventure. She leaned forward, placing her hands on my desk, and started talking animatedly. “I just received my test packaging in the mail today and I could not be more pleased. I went with a black-and-purple theme, I hope that’s okay?”
I smiled. “It’s perfectly fine with me.”
“I wanted to switch things up, you know? After thinking about it, I really wanted to play off of your choice of the color purple, for justice, because this makeup line is my justice. This is my second chance and I want to make sure I take full advantage of it.”
“I couldn’t be more proud,” I said honestly. “Have you opened a business bank account and filed as an LLC yet?”
Babs cringed. “Not yet, but that’s next. I hate paperwork and all that business stuff seems too confusing. I’m good at planning and making things but the business side of things is confusing.”
“Aren’t you taking that business class?” I asked while propping my right ankle over my left knee and sitting back in my chair.
“Uhh, well . . .”
I looked at her sternly and said, “You’re to put everything on hold until you take that class. There is to be nothing else planned, picked out, or produced until you pass it with flying colors. You need to know the basics of operating a business if you want to be successful at all. I expected more from you, Babs, you have to set an example.”
She cocked an eyebrow at me and sat back in her chair.
“Oh, I’m sorry. I was only busy helping out Lo so she felt like she fit in, so she was able to prove to everyone that she was meant to be a Jett Girl. Sorry that I took a break from my life to help her out.”
