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“Dinner? Daddy, you know I can’t do that. The club opens at seven, and we’re there for eight hours.”
“Come now, Cece. Surely you can—”
“No, Daddy, I can’t. I told you, this is my business. I want to make sure it succeeds. I can’t do that if I take a night off the second weekend we’re open.”
A chuckle floats out of him through the phone. It’s one part proud and one part annoyance. I still get the feeling that he thinks this is all one big joke, and I’ll act like it’s something I don’t want to do anymore. Nothing could be further from the truth.
Reassuring me today, he backs down. “Very well. I’m proud of you, honey. Can you do lunch, then?”
Pinching my lips together, I let out a small sigh. “Yes, I can do lunch.”
“Great. I’ll talk to you soon.”
“Bye, Daddy.”
Ending the call, I drop face-first onto the table. As I let out a long sigh, I hear Stephanie giggle above. “It’s not funny, Steph.”
“Not to you. I love watching you squirm when you talk about your fiancé.”
My head jerks up, glaring at her. “He’s not my fiancé.”
I like to think of myself as pretty savvy. I can see someone trying to lay a line on me from a mile out. So, imagine my surprise when my father invited me to lunch last month. I thought it was a business luncheon, when in actuality, it was my father and Winston’s setting us up.
The reason it caught me off guard is that these last couple of years, I’ve been meeting with my father’s associates. Making sure I come across professional and competent while planning for Luxe. To prove to my father I can do this, and I’m not some spoiled little girl I regrettably have shown everyone in the past. I’m a young woman now, and I want to be taken seriously while trying to prove to him Luxe is a profitable and shrewd business decision. However, when the first lunch was over, our fathers left the table, and Winston asked for my number. That’s when I figured it out.
It’s odd to be set up on a blind date you had no idea you were on, even if Winston is cute. He’s on the thinner side, but dressed in a business suit, his appearance looks like he has more bulk to him. I gave him my number because I figured it couldn’t hurt, but there’s nothing between us. That doesn’t stop my father from mentioning their family, and my mother asking me about him.
“He might as well be,” she snickers. “Cece, what’s wrong with him? I wish I knew what he looked like, but he’s going to UCLA. He’s the heir to Thornhurst Properties. Rich and smarts? Girl, if you don’t want him, pass him over here.”
I finally sit up and take a sip of the orange soda, shaking my head. “You know that’s not the problem. It’s exactly what you just said … my parents are already planning my wedding. This thing might as well be an arranged marriage. I’ve been out with him two times. And guess what? Our fathers were there on both occasions. It’s weird! It’s like they’re organizing a dating service. He’s kinda cute, but I know nothing personal about him.”
“What are you talking about? You told me he’s majoring in business, works for his father, and he scored fifteen-fifty on his SATs.”
“Really, Steph? Are those the type of points you like to cover with guys you go out with?” She giggles, nodding in agreement. “I don’t know, he seems nice and everything, but just the fact that my dad wants us together makes it awkward.”
She nods, taking a sip of her iced tea.
“Here you go.” A server stops by our table, setting down two plates with our sandwiches on them.
“Thank you,” I tell her.
After taking a bite of her BLT, Steph starts laughing. “What are you going to do about your DJ?” she asks with a mouthful.
“What do you mean?”
“When you see him at Luxe. You guys are probably going to run into each other sooner or later.”
Her comment earns a laugh out of me, too. Biting into my own sandwich, I lift my shoulders. “Who knows? He probably won’t recognize me then either.”
Truth be told, I’m sure I’ll have to talk to him face-to-face eventually. Leslie is basically his handler when it comes to the club. And Tina handles all other employees, like the bartenders, servers, and doormen. Overseeing all of it, I don’t have to interact with most of the employees if I don’t want to, but I do.
Like I said, this is something I’ve wanted for a long time. So I’ve made it a point to introduce myself to everyone. I don’t want them thinking I am what they read in the headlines: a spoiled brat whose daddy gave her a nightclub to manage. I want them to know that not only am I the boss, but I want to be a good one. So far, everyone I’ve met has seemed nice. Aside from Maddox Barkley, hitting on me without realizing who I am. That’ll be fun the day he realizes it.
