Page 47 of Forever my Love

ChapterFifteen

Hailey was in a daze as they made their way out of the first club and were once more shuffled into the limo.

While Aaron and Reece chatted about the meetings they’d just had, she took a few photos of the inside of the limo and herself holding up a glass of champagne that Aaron had poured for them. She sent them, along with a few images of Reece and William, to Harper.

Earlier, she’d sent her sister pictures of their hotel room and the dress she’d bought for that night.

Harper responded with the image of her and Reece kissing in front of the poster.

“It’s all over social media. They are calling you two the ‘It’ couple of the boxing world,” Harper texted back. “Have fun. Be safe. I doubt that Fred is active on social media, but keep your eyes out.”

When the limo stopped, she was shocked to see a large group of people standing outside of the nightclub.

Before she could see what was going on, the door to the limo opened and Aaron stepped out. “Well?” he turned and said to them, “the show continues.” He wiggled his eyebrows.

Reece climbed out and then turned back and held out his hand. “Once again, I’m sorry for all this,” he said.

She laid her hand in his and smiled up at him as he helped her out of the limo. She was thankful for his help since she’d had four drinks and only a bowl of chips at the last place. She wasn’t hungry yet but thought about drinking a soda or water at this place just to level herself out.

She opened her mouth to respond, to tell him that it was okay, but bright lights exploded in front of her as people shouted. She had to blink a few times to see as people shouted their names while taking pictures of them. Reece’s arm wrapped around her waist as they made their way through the crowd.

They were guided past the long lines and straight to the doors of the club. Once they stepped inside, the bright camera flashes and the sound of people shouting their names were replaced by disco lights and loud music.

The place was so crowded that she felt a little claustrophobic. They followed Aaron through the mob of dancers to a wide hallway and up some dark stairs that led to a smaller room. A low table sat in the middle of a massive circular booth in bright red leather. There was an unhindered view of the stage below them, where the band was playing to a full room of people.

“Wow,” she said as she sat down on the leather seat.

“Yeah.” Reece chuckled beside her. “Drink?” he asked when a waitress stepped up in front of them.

“Juice,” she told him and he nodded. “Chips or bread if they have any.”

After they had ordered, a group of people came into the room. Hailey couldn’t hear over the loud music as they were all introduced. She assumed the older couple, dressed in very expensive club attire, had something to do with Reece’s boxing match. A younger couple, around their own age, who were also dressed in fancy club attire, came in a few moments later, and Hailey got the impression they were related to the older couple.

Instantly, Hailey was thankful she’d purchased the gold dress. If she’d worn the simple black dress that she’d packed instead, she would have looked and felt too simple.

The last person to arrive was a single man who looked bored and annoyed that he had to be there. She did, however, hear his name perfectly when he shouted it in her ear after she asked him.

“Bryce,” he said in a British accent. He instantly lit up a thin cigarette and ordered a scotch. Then he sat on the other side of Reece and proceeded to monopolize his attention for the hour or so they were there.

She tried to hold a conversation with the younger woman, whose name was either Milly or Nelly, over the loud music. From what Hailey could understand, the woman was excited about the fight.

After another round of drinks, everyone stood up and made their way out of the club. They were shuffled into a bigger limo all together.

Here, at least, she could hear the woman’s name, Nelly. Her husband, Carl, was the owner of the fighting venture that was sponsoring the fight. The older couple were Carl’s parents, Carl Sr. and Robyn, the original owners of BVE, Boxing Ventures and Events.

Bryce was providing some of the money behind the next night’s event and was apparently a Lord of some sort.

They stopped at another massive hotel and walked through the lobby to the elevators. They got off on the top floor and stepped into the restaurant, which had a full view of the city below. They were seated in a private room off the back with a wall of glass doors that went out to a balcony.

Reece took her hand under the table and squeezed it as he leaned closer and whispered, “I guess this is nice. Still, I can’t wait for our first date where we can eat dinner alone.”

“We’ve eaten dinner alone plenty of times,” she reminded him. “How often will we get to have dinner with strangers?” she pointed out, causing him to chuckle.

All through dinner, the topic stayed on the fight. Occasionally, she was asked a question, but for the most part, she chatted with Nelly about living in Vegas and their two children, ages eight and four.

Nelly was an ex-ballet dancer who had gotten a job as a Vegas showgirl after an injury ended her career in New York.

She’d met Carl Jr. after a show that she was in and the pair fell head over heels in love before she’d found out that he was the boss’s son.