AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“No, he won’t.”
Ivy could pull all the strings she wanted, which she managed to do effortlessly. I was a sucker for that rosy pout and those begging “fuck me” eyes. But when it came to our son, I stood firm, despite him wrapping his chubby little finger around mine, figuratively speaking. One little grin from that cute boy’s lips, and I was ripping open the bag of candy myself.
Ivy returned a “we’ll see” look.
She would get her way—she always did.
Ivy had this perplexing ambition for our energetic son to become a performer. I had to admit he was an amazing little dancer. And after Ivy convinced me, we’d signed him up for ballet and tap classes at a studio three doors down from the hotel. We rarely left that precinct as we also lived there.
The penthouse suite right at the top, with views of the bay, was our home. An opulent space that might have housed F. Scott Fitzgerald himself with its green walls and arched doorways, stained-glass windows and carved ceilings. Ivy had fallen in love the moment we’d stepped in, and she’d begged me not to renovate.
Just like in all the other rooms, we’d removed the carpet, painted the walls in their original bright colors, and went on a wild art-buying spree.
Liam came bouncing in. He lifted Tyrone and spun him around. “How’s Nureyev?”
Tyrone looked up at him with curiosity before giggling.
“You’re in league with Ivy to turn our son into a ballet dancer.”
Liam shrugged. “He’s pretty good. And why not?”
“So is Shirley all set for tonight?” Ivy asked.
Liam was overseeing a room devoted to drag shows. The room was named after the famous Shirley Bassey.
I gazed at my watch. “I have to meet Hunter to go over the accounts.”
He was the mathematical genius in this setup. Without his pragmatism, we might not have been shoveling money into our bank accounts.
My favorite part of running Lush was mingling with the colorful guests.
Of course, Ben and Alex were there on a nightly basis. They’d both left their childhood homes in the Upper East Side and moved over to Brooklyn. Alex was dating one of the dancers from the burlesque bar, and Ben had fallen for one of the maids.
The hotel had three restaurants, one of which Mitch had set up—a vegan restaurant that had gained Michelin stars due to a creative chef from Barcelona.
Summer was still running Mad Love, but she spent more time over the bridge. Jupiter, who was now nearly four, would often accompany her, and like Tyrone, he was totally captivated by our beautiful, bordering on fantastical, venue, which would have been like stepping into a time-travel capsule for the impressionable children.
Sara hosted monthly poetry nights made popular at Booky Nooky, which were now performed in the hotel at a small bar named Kerouac’s set up especially for readings and bookish types.
We even had an open-mic space named “Auto Tune Off” in a cute nod to unplugged music.
I had an engine room of tech wizards and administrators adding to a staff of one hundred. They were all recent graduates, and at Ivy’s insistence, they were paid full wages. She hated the idea of underpaid and stressed interns, and it was paying off.
Benevolence always did. Somewhere in my privileged-upbringing brain, I understood that treating people equitably and respectfully returned a healthy conscience and a good night’s sleep.
My parents had set up home in Milan, which had made my Italian mother less cranky. If anything, she seemed happy for once.
Elliot’s bubbled along with Hunter and me on the board, but we’d left the day-to-day business in Ms. Sharp’s capable hands. Just like her name, she never missed a beat.
Ivy placed her headpiece down, lifted our gorgeous son, and kissed his chubby cheek. I gazed at her, and my heart swelled. Together, we had the penthouse suite in paradise booked for ever and ever. ? Thanks for reading!! SCROLL DOWN for my free book: FLOODED
