He was always doing his own thing. Whatever that meant. She tapped her foot against the ground and lifted her phone off the black desk. She swiped across the screen and scoured her contacts, searching for the one person that might have a clue. It was, after all, something only someone like Nick could answer.
She put the call on speakerphone and held her breath as the phone began to ring. It seemed to echo in her small studio apartment, as all noises did. She could swear there were times when she could hear her neighbor breathing on the other side of the wall.
“He-” there was a pause, and a scuffling on the other end, “hello?”
“Hey, Nick. It’s Yvette.”
“I know. My screen literally shows your name.”
Yvette sighed as she spun around in her chair, using her foot to propel her. “Ha-ha. Very funny,” she said, and spun around faster so that her apartment swept by to the point where all she could see were the fairy lights dangling from her ceiling. “I have a question to ask you.”
“And it was so important that you couldn’t text it? You know I just finished work, right? It’s nine-thirty on a Wednesday.”
“Can you just answer my question, please?”
She could hear him clearing his throat on the other end of the line. He was always like this when she called him. You’d think after more than twelve years of friendship, he’d be more willing to help her out. But no, it was always like pulling nails.
“Fine. What is it?”
“What’s the best strip club in New York? I have a list and I want to narrow it down.”
There was a pause, followed shortly by laughter. “What the hell, Yvette?”
“I’m serious! What’s the best strip club?”
“Why do you need to know that? You batting for the other team now?”
She placed the phone onto the desk and brought up her research. “I just have a hunch right now about something.”
“So, it’s for a job?”
“Yeah,” she said, scrolling through the information she’d been able to find out about Jace Johnson. “I’ve been given my first headline job, and I need to know the best strip club. This guy just got back from deployment, and I think that’s where he’d go on a Wednesday.”
“What if he has a family?”
“I think he hates his family.”
She heard the shuffling against Nick’s phone and a grunt, as though he was lifting something heavy. “Let me guess. Another hunch?”
“Actually, I’ll have you know, it was all researched. His family doesn’t know where he is in the world, like, ever. He’s always away from them, and even signed up for the Marines when he was nineteen without their knowledge.”
“Sounds like your hunch might be right.”
“So, you’d go to the strip club your first night back?”
“I guess I would. I don’t know. Depends on if he has a girlfriend or other Marines he might be meeting up with.”
“He doesn’t have a girlfriend.”
She heard Nick sigh and shook her head. Of course, he was acting up again. Everything was an inconvenience. She’d never met anyone so obsessed with getting exactly eight hours of sleep each night. Not like Nick.
“I won’t keep you for long. I’ve made a decision.”
“And that is what, exactly?”
“I’m going to every strip club in New York until I find him.”
Chapter Four
Yvette
Finding a Johnson heir in a city of millions felt impossible. She’d seen enough ass at that point to last her a lifetime. She didn’t mind the crowds of men eagerly awaiting the attention of the women, or the fact that the women stripped. But, after having visited multiple clubs in one night, she had to admit that it wasn’t her scene.
Not only that but she’d already gotten lost a half dozen times trying to find each strip club. Why name a street 42nd if it isn’t the actual 42nd street on Google Maps? A sense of defeat washed over her. It weighed down each one of her limbs like an anchor, as though the thought of walking into one more club would cause her imminent demise.
By the sixth strip club, she’d decided that her whole adventure had been a stupid idea. She sat at the bar and felt the music reverberating inside her chest as though it’d become her own heartbeat. Three beautiful young women were dancing on different stages to the same song. One had already gotten to the point where she was topless, and the other two seemed to be trying to catch up.
She took a long gulp of her beer and slammed it on the bar. What the hell was she thinking? Nick had been right to consider her an inconvenience. She was inconveniencing herself and the last thing she wanted to do was drink on a Wednesday, especially when she had a deadline the next morning. She shouldn’t have even considered doing this. Just because one time long ago, Jace went to one place one night didn’t mean that he would be going there over and over again during his return stay.
The whole night had been a waste. She pushed the beer away from where she was sitting and jumped off the stool. The music switched to a sexy, slow song that had the girls lowering themselves to the floors of their stages. The purple and blue lights flickered in every direction as Yvette walked through the club, trying not to slip on the beer spilt along the black, reflective floor.
She lifted her eyes to the biggest stage and scanned the area once more. Still, there was nothing.
“The bar’s that way. You’re going in the wrong direction.”
When she faced forward, she couldn’t believe it. That voice, those words. He was standing right in front of her - Jace Johnson. She blinked a few times, trying to determine if he was real.
“Did you hear me?”
She took in his dark hair and his azure colored eyes, which were bright even in the dark club. He was intimidatingly tall with tattoos all over his arms.
“Yeah. I did. Sorry,” she said, and cleared her throat. “It is pretty loud in here, though.”
“Well, you might want to head over that way. You know, since you need to get yourself another drink.”
She couldn’t believe that he was talking to her. It was serendipitous. After all, she was supposed to have gone up to him and built a rapport. Not the other way around. Yet, there he was doing it all on his own. Just as she was about to give up, too. “Are you offering to buy me a drink?”
He stepped closer to her. She wasn’t sure if she should let him get too close. There was something in his gaze that reminded her of a lion stalking its prey. Despite that, it didn’t cause her stomach to churn. It wasn’t like the way Fred looked at her. It was different and she felt the nudge of curiosity forming in the back of her mind.
“Does it seem as though I want to buy you a drink?”
“You’re the one that approached me,” she said, giving him a sly smile. “And you’re telling me to go to the bar, instead of leaving.”
“Oh? You were leaving? Well, in that case,” he said, and stepped aside, “don’t let me stop you.”
This guy had the audacity to change his mind. Really? She stared at him without being able to determine what his goal was. It was obviously just a game to him. He was rich, famous, and drop dead gorgeous. What cares did he have in the world? Everything must’ve been a game to him. Yvette didn’t want any part of it.