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“I get that,” I sighed, and he snapped his gaze to mine, “but you’d lose your damn mind if I didn’t show up today.”
“You don’t know that.” He rolled his eyes, inhaling the cigarette again. “I know we’re all parents, but shit, we have to figure something out for when kids do need to be here.”
“It’s daytime,” I countered.
“Yeah?” He held out his hands, the cigarette dangling from his lips before he pulled it out, lowering it to his side. “And what happens tonight? I need Ty here tonight and obviously, I can’t live without you unless it’s an emergency,” he snapped at me.
I wiggled my brows. “Well, that makes me feel good.”
“Fuck off, Jade.” He ashed the vice in the ashtray on his desk, then strode over to the window, looking down.
Tyler and I glanced at one another, shifting our concerned gazes to Ian. I opened my mouth, but he shook his head, sliding his hands in his pockets before turning his attention back to him. “What if we made a few changes up here?”
Ian pivoted around, mid-inhale, the smoke swirling between his fingers. “Hmm?”
“We have all those empty rooms up here.” Tyler pointed back over his shoulder. “What if we made some adjustments? Our kids come up here all the time. We never let them downstairs in the main room at night. But what if we,” he pointed between the three of us, “could bring our kids here? I mean, I know I’m the odd one out here because I work at the Celestial Building, but I’m always up here at night. None of us ever want to be away from our kids. This place demands all our time and now that I’m your attorney, I’m here nonstop. When we expand, I’ll be here even more.” He waved a hand lazily, “Not that I mind. But it’d be nice to be able to bring my kids with me. Mila’s up here enough, too. We can hire som?—”
“Stop.” Ian marched to his desk, rubbing the cigarette butt into the ashtray angrily, then came to a stop in front of us. “This. Is. Not. A. Place. For. Kids.”
“Then. Why. Are. Yours. Here?” Tyler mocked him.
Eyes wide, I braced myself, ready to flinch when Ian punched him. Instead, he gnawed the inside of his cheek for a second, scowling at him. Lifting his chin slowly, he bellowed, “JENNA!”
My entire body jerked involuntarily while Tyler remained still, not at all threatened by Ian. I knew The Dick, Boss tone. I’d witnessed him lose his temper many times. Within seconds, the door flew open, and Jenna appeared, exasperated, knowing nothing good came from that level of noise. Glancing back over her shoulder, she shut the door.
“Ice Man’s watching the kids, and I just put Kira down in my office.” She inched closer, anxious. “What’s going on?” She came to a stop next to him and Tyler, staring back and forth between them. “You guys, please don’t fight, I can’t deal wi?—”
“Find two nannies, Jenna,” Ian ordered with a glower still on his brother-in-law.
“What?!” she replied.
Ian turned his attention to her. “I’m not going to give Ty the satisfaction of being right.”
Jenna narrowed her gaze. “We discussed this and?—”
Tyler sneered. “He’s upset about all the kids here, but he doesn’t want them to be away from here either.”
“It was fine when it was just Maddie on occasion or my kids,” Ian’s posture and face relaxed a bit. He ran his fingers through his hair. “Fine, you know what? Ty’s right. Who knows when Chance and Amber will have kids or Luke and Jade will add to their family and?—”
“Hey!” I scoffed.
He twisted to me. “Come on, we all know you and Luke will end up having a bunch.” My lips pressed into a thin line as he continued, “I stand firm on not wanting the kids downstairs at night. It’s no place for them. The minute they turn eighteen, I don’t give a fuck, but especially where this place is going, I don’t want to expose them to shit they don’t need to see.” He huffed, pivoting around, and roaming the room. “It’s not exactly the safest place here either, as the recent past would confirm.”
“We have extra security now,” Tyler interjected, and Ian came to a stop, crossing his arms, staring at him, “and I can have the suite locked down so the elevators can’t even come up. We can use fingerprints if you want it reprogrammed. We can lock down the stairwell, too.”
“I don’t like the idea at all, and I think it’s fucking reckless,” he spat, meandering to his desk, perching on the edge. “But right now, it may be necessary.” Yeah, he’s definitely hiding something.
“Baby,” Jenna took a few steps closer to him, “they’re not any safer at home either. As we saw in the past, being watched, the stuff that went down with Bernardo and Alejandro. The enemy will always find a way in.” She came to a stop next to him, taking his hand in hers. “They’re safer with us and it keeps them close.” She bit her bottom lip, smiling for a moment, before she shrugged sheepishly. “Anddd it would be nice not to stick Mila up here with the kids while I dance.”
Tyler lifted a hand. “Mila likes it, though. That’s why she offers all the time. She wants to be here, but not downstairs, anyway.” He shrugged. “Still not her scene, but she’s warming up.”
Tyler and Mila were polar opposites, and while there was nothing wrong with that, I wondered if it would come back to bite Tyler in the ass one day. We loved Mila. She was the sweetest woman alive but came from a more modest family. Tyler might have been a lawyer, but he loved the club life and since he and Ian had become close, he’d been spending more time at Euphoria.
Jenna loved it as well. She finally had her brother back. Several times, he still apologized to her, even though he was only trying to protect her and keep her out of harm’s way.
When Mila was at the club, she’d pop down every once in a while, to be social when the kids were at someone’s house or upstairs with someone they trusted. She often joked that one day she’d surprise us all and get up on stage and dance, but we all knew that was a lie and joked about it all the time.
The truth was, I loved the thought of Maddie being at work with me, but Ian was right. A strip club was no place for a child, and it came with a lot of risks. My daughter being upstairs while I killed someone in the Knight family’s honor? I’d had no problem looking her in the eyes the morning after. Poor Dorothy was getting older and who knew how much longer she’d even be alive. The thought was sad, but it was a harsh reality. I’d have to find another sitter.
