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Greg reached forward and took one of Vivica’s hands, stilling the anxious movement of her fingers. Beth was impressed how intuitive he was because the action immediately soothed her.
“You’re not going to get anyone into trouble who’s taken the time out of their own job to help you,” he reassured her.
“Oh, they never took time away from their jobs.” Vivica was still quick to defend. “Only their free time.”
“And they should be compensated for that, don’t you think?” Greg cajoled.
Vivica looked at him from beneath tear drenched lashes and bit her lip. “You promise they won’t be in trouble?” she asked, a quiver in her voice. “They’ve been so great.”
“I promise.”
She nodded. “Okay. It’s Mitch mostly. He helps everyone.”
The name sparked a memory in Beth’s brain, and she grabbed her purse. “Mitch Collins?” she asked, searching for the card he’d given her.
Vivica eyed her warily but nodded.
Beth found the card and produced it with a flourish. “And let me guess, one of the others who helped was Jed?” Damn, she didn’t know his surname.
Vivica’s eyes widened and even Greg looked surprised.
“How do you know that?” The girl asked.
“It’s an educated guess, since he told me he used to be an event planner himself.”
“But he works in the restaurant, doesn’t he?” Greg said, with a frown.
“He took the job that was available,” Beth remarked, waving the business card in front of him. “And Mitch has a company already set up which would solve all your problems. Why the heck aren’t you using them?”
Greg took the card and looked at it blankly. “I know about this. Mitch asked permission to share data, but that’s private so I told him he’d have to approach the members directly. I don’t have a problem with him doing so, as long as I didn’t get any complaints. But I still don’t understand the significance,” he admitted, turning his eyes her way.
“He runs a kink matching service,” Beth told him. “Obviously something Iniquity needs… along with some kink friendly event planners.” As hints went, it wasn’t subtle.
Greg sucked in an agitated breath. “I can’t believe I didn’t know any of this.” He looked genuinely troubled. “This is my club. I pride myself in having my finger on the pulse.”
“Well, that just proves what an excellent job Vivica and her friends have been doing under difficult circumstances,” Beth replied. “And now you do know, so you can work on it.”
“I will,” he agreed. “Thank you.”
It felt good to know she’d put in a good word for a couple of the people who’d been so considerate to her over the past few days, and likely improved the club’s shortcomings in the same instance. But that didn’t mean her Valentine’s Day wasn’t a bust.
As they wound things up, Beth wondered if her drink was still at the bar. She never even got the chance to taste it and, quite frankly, she could do with one right now. This was so not how she imagined her evening was going to play out.
Or perhaps she’d just go and drown her sorrows back in her room. She wasn’t much in the mood to see everyone getting it on at Iniquity while she nursed a drink at the bar.
“I’ll order you some complimentary champagne,” Greg offered as the three of them arrived back at the club’s bland lobby.
“Thanks, but I think the penthouse has everything I could possibly ask for… to drink, anyway,” she added, wryly.
Greg looked pained. “You’re in the Tartarean penthouse?” he queried with a wince.
Beth gave a brief nod. “For what it’s worth.” Obviously, he didn’t know she wasn’t the high-class guest the suite implied, but she was too drained to correct him. Besides, Ansley might still kick up a stink. She’d forked out a lot of money for this trip, for one single outcome. There was no way Beth was going to be able to pretend it had all gone to plan, because Ansley would pump her for every detail, and she wasn’t that good an actress.
Not that Beth wanted to drop anyone in it. Except maybe the Randolph woman. She sounded like a right judgmental prude and should be ashamed of the way she’d treated Vivica. Beth just hoped Greg, as the club manager, had the necessary clout to deal with the events and entertainment manager.
She raised her hand by way of a goodbye and hurried around the corner to the elevators which led up to the upper floors.
