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Chapter 7
Maxhoped likefuckhewasn’t making a colossalmistakein leaving Erin with Gigi.Hehad nochoice, though. Jeremy had calledhimoncealreadytotellhimawater pipehad burst,and a second timeto tell himthe basementwasflooding. And allof thisshitwashappening thenightbeforethe grand opening. Which fucking god had he pissedoff?
Stepping outontothestreet,he hauled assinthedirection oftheclub,hismind working tofigureoutwhomheneeded tocalland howmuch itwasgoingtocosthimtorepair and clean up afterwards. His mind didn’tstayfocused onmonetaryshitfor long,though,becauseitwandered backtoGigi.
Shewasabeautiful girl,butshehid behind baggyclothing. Atfirsthecouldn’ttell the shape ofher body,butwhen she’d looped her bag strap over herhead and positioned iton her hip, ithad revealedhercurves.He didn’teven knowwhy hewasnoticing. Hehad swornoffwomen afterwhatChelsea had put himthrough. He’d learnedhislessononce; hewasn’tinterested in a repeatperformance.
When hegottotheclub,hesawthepavementoutsidewaswet,waterstreaming awayfromthe building. “Goddamn sonofabitch,”hesaid under hisbreath. Heshovedopen thefrontdoorand found Jeremywitha phone pressedto his ear,pacing acrossthelength ofthedancefloor.
“Now!” hegrowled. “Weneed someonenow…If Iwaitanotherhour,thiswholefucking place will beunderwater!”
Maxwalked towardsthebar,leaning up againstittoshowJeremy hewasthere.Theguylooked athimbrieflybeforestaring angrilyathisfeetagain.
“We’ll paywhatever wehaveto. Just getsomeone down hereassoonaspossible.”He hung up.
“Whatthehell happened?”
Jeremydragged both handsdown hisface.“Iwasdown in thebasementtryingtolookatthe connection tothekegssincethetapsweren’tworkingasefficientlyastheyshould be. I musthave hit oneofthemainswater-pipeswhen Iwas workingdown there. ThenextthingI know,I’m standing in waterup tomyknees.”
Max’seyesdrifted down. Jeremy’sjeansweresoaked through. “Itakeitfromthephonecall that you finallygotsomeonetoagreetocome down here?” Theguy nodded.“Good. Oncethat’sfixed, wecanconcentrateon getting thewaterpumpedoutof the basement.”
“Anyideashowwe’regoing todothat?”Jeremyasked,slumping againsttheside ofthebar.
Maxdid haveanidea. Withoutsaying anotherword,helefttheclub and walkeda block south. Thelightswereon insidethefirestation,buttherollerdoorsweredown. Approaching thesidedoor,he pressedthebuzzer attached totheintercom.
“Yeah?”a guyaskedontheotherend.
“Hey.Justwondering ifwecould geta bitof help here,”Maxreplied.
“What’sthe problem?”
“We’vegota swimming pool in the basementofournightclub,and opening nightisin lessthan twenty-fourhours.”
Therewasnoresponsetothat. Heturned away,thinking ithad been worth atry. Heturned back when theroller doorsstarted trundling up. A group offourmenstoodthereinNYFDshirtsand sweats.
“Sowhereisthisclubof yours?”oneofthemasked,and Maxrecognized himasthe one he’d been speaking to.
“Westthirteenth and ninth.”
Theguyturned tolookatthe othersbeforeturning backtohim.“We’ll helpyou outifyou promiseusonething.”
“Nameit,”herepliedwithouthesitation.
“Our namesarealwaysontheguestlist,”hesaid. “And any ofmyguyswhoaren’t ontomorrow nightcan cometothe opening.”
“That’stwothings,”Max pointedout.
“Doyouwantour help,ornot?”theguyshot back.
“All right. No problem.”
“And theygetfree drinksall night,”theguyadded.
Maxsmiled and heldouthishand. “Deal. I’mMax,bytheway.”
“Sam,”theguyreplied. Samlooked only afewyearsolder thanMax,buthewasa lotmorebuilt through theshoulders.“We’ll meetyouoverthere.”
Maxnodded and started walking backtoTemptation.When hegotthere,therewasavan parked outthefront,thedecalonthesidetelling himitwasatwenty-four hour plumber. He followed the cursing tothebackstorageroomwheretherewasbasementaccessthrough atrapdoor.
