Page 51 of House of Scarlett
Legend
I shouldn’t be sofascinated with watching Scarlett work, but I can’t help it. Her fingers move so gracefully over the keyboard rather than the hunt-and-peck style of typing I’ve adopted. Hell, I’m just proud of myself for being computer literate at all.
It’s not like I went to a school that had resources. None of my foster homes had computers either, so I didn’t have much of a chance. It wasn’t until I got it in my head that I was going to open a club that I realized I’d have to learn or I’d never reach my goals.
So I had Q hire me a tutor—his youngest sister. That’s how Zoe ended up working for me. The youngest female Quinterro is a math geek and a computer nerd, which is in total contrast to his other sisters, who both snagged their husbands the old-fashioned way—beauty, food, and sex.
Zoe has always been completely uninterested in men, as far as I can tell. But, then again, she doesn’t seem interested in women either. Hell if I know where her preferences lie, and I don’t really care.
The only woman whose sexuality actually matters to me is the blonde I’m with.
When Scarlett turns the laptop around, I see the damn spreadsheet that’s been locked down like Fort Knox is open.
“How the hell did you do that?”
“You needed a license for Microsoft Word if you didn’t want to use Apple’s programs, so I set you up with a thirty-day free trial. You’ll have to pay for it when it expires if you still want to use Excel. It’s kind of a racket, but there’s really no other option, if that’s what you’re familiar using,” she states so matter-of-factly. As if it’s totally common knowledge.
“Thank you. I appreciate it,” I tell her as my attention gets sucked in by the numbers.
They’re better than they were, but they’re not where they need to be, according to any of the projections Q and I have put together. We made this month’s payments to all the investors,barely, but operating costs are going to eat up the rest of the cushion we thought we were going to have.
We submit monthly financial statements to the investors, and I know they’re not going to be happy when they see the latest one. But more customers means more staff than the skeleton crew we were running on after the shooting and before Scarlett.
“Is everything okay at the club? Do you need me to come back and help bring more people in?” Scarlett asks.
I have two choices—lie to her or tell her the truth. Well, I guess there are really three choices. I could also sugarcoat the truth and make it sound like we’re in safer territory than we really are. None of those choices are perfect, but I know sayingdon’t worry about itis the absolute wrong way to go.
Pushing off the table, I rise and head for the fridge to grab her a bottle of water and one for myself. I hand hers off and crack the top on mine.
“We’re heading in the right direction, but not fast enough. The lull after the shooting meant that all the cash we’d set aside for a rainy day is gone. We don’t have a cushion right now, and it makes Q nervous as fuck.”
Holding her palm against her stomach, she slowly eases herself against the chair back. “What are we going to do about it?”
I huff at the wordwe.Scarlett is a fixer.Like me.She would have to be to do what she did for me and the club. I still don’t know why she didn’t call the cops after Bump grabbed her, but it must have been her fixer nature that had her charging to the rescue like the cavalry back in the olden days.
“I’m not sure yet. I have a few options, but none of them are great.”
Concern etches lines into her brow that I don’t want to see there. “Like what?”
I’m even more tempted to shut the subject down, but I don’t. If there’s a chance in hell that I get to have Scarlett Priest in my life, I can’t keep her locked outside. She has to know what she’s getting into with me.
Well, to a point. She doesn’t need to knoweverything. Especially not about the mess I left in Mississippi. Not yet.
“Go back to fighting. I can make quick cash, and that’s what we need. Just enough to tide us over. A few fights. One big one, maybe.”
Scarlett’s lips press together, and I wait for her reaction. It’s not a test, but it sure as fuck will tell me a hell of a lot about whether I’m crazy for thinking we can make this work.
“You’re going to fight Bodhi, aren’t you?”
I’d almost forgotten she knew about the bad blood between me and Black. And that the motherfucker is still her self-defense instructor.
“I don’t know, but if the number’s right, it might be the best chance I have to dig out of this hole.” As soon as I say the words, something else hits me.
The woman sitting next to me at the table probably has enough money that she could bail out my club without thinking twice or even feeling a financial pinch.And I would never, ever let her fucking do it. It might fucking kill my pride even to hear her suggest it.
She opens her mouth, and I hold up a hand.
“I’m not trying to be rude, but if you’re going to offer anything other than your beautiful face showing up in my club to help bring customers in, please don’t. I won’t ever take your money, Scarlett. Not fucking ever. That’s not the kind of man I am. It’s not why I’m sitting in your house right now, and that is one thing that will never fucking change.” I meet her gray gaze and make sure she understands. “I’m here for you. Nothing else. Get me?”
