Page 44 of Tease
A good-looking man is sitting behind a desk—a very clean desk with one picture frame. He has solid black hair and light tan skin. He stands up and walks over to Beau, bringing him in for a heartfelt hug.
“Beau, it’s so good to see you. How the hell have you been? I heard good things about last night. You fought well.” He pulls back, lightly patting Beau’s cheek.
“I’ve been great, fighting and trying to focus on the bigger picture of life.” Beau turns to me. “Jared, this is Carter.” He pauses for a moment before continuing, “Carter saved my life.”
Carter shakes his head. “No, that guy did the hard part on his own. I just offered guidance and a place to stay sometimes.”
“I’m Jared, a teammate of Beau’s, and I’m new in town.” I offer my hand out for a shake, and he looks down and takes it in his.
His handshake is firm and solid, and he doesn’t drop it as he says, “Any friend of Beau’s is a friend of mine.”
Carter notices me staring at the picture frame on his desk. A beautiful young woman is smiling while hugging Carter. “That’s my daughter, Ajani.” His face lights up as he mentions her name.
“How’s she doing these days?” Beau asks from beside me.
“Oh you know, wanting me to stay out of her business. Saying she can make it without her dad helping her out.”
Beau points to the picture and turns to me. “She’s a ballet dancer. An amazing one at that.” He turns back to Carter. “Please tell her I said hi when you see her again.”
Carter stares at Beau for a beat, like he knows a secret, before responding casually, “Will do. Is there anything else I can help you guys with?”
“Yes, we need to get Jared set up with the Rooms.”
“Are you putting your name down for him?” Carter stares at my new teammate, unblinking and intense.
He gives Carter a nod. “Yeah, I’ll vouch for him.”
“Beau, you barely know me.” I’m caught off guard by his immediate response to vouch for me. He looks between Carter and me.
His eyes are still on Carter as he speaks. “Yeah, but I know people, and you, my new friend, are one of the good ones.”
“Ha, he’s kidding,” Carter says flatly while typing something on his computer. “I now know everything about you, Jared. I don’t hand out memberships to random people. My club is unique. Beau put in the good word for you, and I did an extensive background check.” His stare moves from the computer screen to me.Shit, does he know why I’m really here? He can't know, right?No way that a standard background check would showthat.
“Good to know, sir.” I nod at him, not breaking eye contact. He must be happy with my response because we continue.
After signing the NDAs and the rest of the paperwork, Carter gives me my own card to use, not only for access but as a way of paying for things. He holds onto it when I try to grab it. “It’s in your best interest to remember: there isn’t anything that I don’tknow.” With that, he lets go of the card. I’m not sure how to process that…
I now realize that Carter is the owner of this whole building. We shake hands before someone knocks on the door, and he ushers Beau and me out of the office.
Beau slaps my back eagerly. “Now, let’s go drink and watch some sexy dancers.” He turns around and leads me to a big open-concept room. The room is mostly dark, with multiple lit-up stages randomly placed throughout and a bar in the middle.
Not only are there dancers on poles, but waitresses walking around topless, their breasts on full display.
Beau catches me staring and starts laughing. “Do they not have clubs like these where you’re from? I mean, come on, you’ve been to a strip club before, right?”
I shove at his shoulder, pushing him away from me. “Of course I have, fucker. This is all just different… in its own way.”
“Well, I’ll take you to the kink floor another time. Tonight, I want to drink and get to know you. Where are you staying?”
“My manager put me up in a hotel for now until I can find something more permanent for the term of my contract.”
Beau points at himself. “Problem solved, buddy. I have an empty spare bedroom that you can use and pay what you can.”
Annoyance pricks along my skin, offended that he thinks I can’t afford it. “I can afford rent.”
His hands immediately go up in surrender. “Perfect. I’ll show you the place after we leave here, and we can come up with something fair.”
We find ourselves a quiet booth in the corner. It gives us a view of the whole room, and a topless waitress stops at our table. Recognizing Beau, she leans down and places a kiss against his cheek.
