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I stopped right after I’d walked through the portal and swore under my breath.
“What’s wrong?” Mason asked.
“I don’t think those fucking bloodsuckers paid me as Sloan. I think we forgot that because I’ve got too much on my damn plate.”
Rage filled his eyes. “So not only did they not keep to the terms of what you agreed to, but they gave away Sloan’s number and demanded she appear for their whimsandthey never fucking paid you?”
“I’m pretty sure.”
“I’m burning their estate to the fucking ground,” he growled.
“Good thing we both can use fire so we don’t even have to stop and get accelerant.”
I was only half kidding. Fucking vampires.
19
“I feel like I’m being called to the principal’s office,” Kiera worried after she came through the portal a few hours later.
I snorted. “I thought we could take a walk on the beach. That’s not the setup for me to yell at you. Goof.”
She agreed, and Mason said he’d have lunch ready for us when we got back. We walked for a bit before she finally let out a long breath.
“You felt that I don’t want to manage Berlin anymore, right? I’m so sorry, Jasmine. It’s fine and—”
“Yeah, I did, but you have nothing to be sorry for, so shut it,” I said firmly, smirking when she couldn’t hide her shock. “I don’t handle personal stuff well, but I’m good at being the boss.”
“Brat,” she grumbled.
“You not wanting to run Berlin anymore makes me fucking thrilled because I was worried I was going to cross a line in our friendship with what I wanted to do.”
“Huh?”
I chuckled and turned to face her. “I want to promote you to a director position under me,” I told her bluntly, smiling when her eyes went bug wide. “We’re restructuring. Ally and Arthur need to be solely the government and we’ve made mistakes.” I let out a huff. “It was always a mistake to have Ally in charge of the dancers. Natalia ended up handling most of that—neither of them are dancers.”
“Yeah, and Rita was a bit too hands off with the managers,” Kiera added, giving me a look like she wasn’t sure if her input was welcome.
“I fully agree, and Joshua needs to get on his chefs because there are problems there as well. We’vealldropped too much being stretched too thin and being too stupid or prideful to see it.”
“You guys pulled off what no one else could have.”
That was true, and I acknowledged it as we went back to walking.
“I need you, Kiera,” I admitted. “I need you to keep the dancers in line and check in on the managers like we should have been already. This club in Jackson is a fucking disaster—one ofmy clubs. The first we put in the US. I can’t let it be like that. Demons were asking for transfers because they couldn’t feel comfortable there. There were so many red flags that—”
“Jasmine, I’m in,” she promised. “That’s like my dream job. The customer service and now bending to every pompous asshole who wants to test us—I just can’t. I would for you, but I don’t think I’m the right person anymore.”
“We’re going to switch someone else but also with an ancient demon who will handle that bullshit. You’re too young and female for this world—supes especially. Everyone agrees you’re a rockstar and it wasn’t a reflection on you—”
“No, I totally agree. My feelings and professional pride are fine. I promise.” She grabbed my hand, comforting me by holding it as we walked. “Tell me about this club and what you need from me.”
Just like that. Damn, she really was an amazing friend and person.
I snorted. “And you didn’t think you deserved one of my fucking houses. The way you undervalue yourself is the only way you’re not perfect. Seriously.”
“Pot. Kettle,” she drawled.
I wasn’t as bad as she was, but she’d been through a lot and very different from what I had.
