Page 57 of Blaze

She gives me a timid smile and admits, “No, not normally. Designing is only my side gig, I guess. I work in a bookstore, it’s my main focus. I have responsibilities, and I can’t just up and leave when I want.”

“So, all your clients travel to you?” I confirm, and she nods.

“Or video link me in when I’m needed,” she adds and I sigh as I look around the room and without thinking I turn the camera and show her the room and she murmurs, “It’s a nice big space, the lighting it rightish for a strip club I guess, though I’d add more spot lights on top of the stages,” she hums, “The poles in the back, I would change that, mainly for your employee’s safety and maybe put booths there instead, have long curtains draping behind them maybe with your club logo on, and place stages in the middle of the room.”

“And the designer is coming out to play,” Crash chuckles, and I grin before showing her the bar, and she groans, “No, just no, why would you have the bar in that color? That is hideous!”

Crash laughs while I raise a brow and eye the dark purple and pink bar that I have to admit, I always disliked, and I ask, “What would you do?”

We’re changing it, but I’m intrigued by her ideas…

“I’d change the pink to black and put little lighting along the top of the bar, but that would depend on whether you are keeping your color scheme purple,” she says, and I turn the camera back to my face, and I mention, “We wanted more silver,” and she nods.

“Yeah, that could work, so I’d change the purple to silver and the pink to black. Then the stages where they are purple now, I’d change the base itself to black, then put a light strip along the bottom that will show the girls off more along with the spotlights and for the booths, all black,” she says, and Crash grins along with me.

“You’ve got passion,” I state, and she rolls her eyes.

“That would be years studying design, I guess,” she mutters, and I remind her, “Yet you work in a bookstore?”

She shrugs, “Books are, they are life within the pages, they are stories you can get lost in while ignoring everything going on in the world. They give you a sense of adventure and falling in love with the character helps you believe in love in real life, it helps you want to dream.”

“And there’s more passion,” I chuckle before I ask, “Can we hire you?”

She looks at Crash, who raises a brow at her and I’m not sure what she sees but she sighs, “Okay,” and I grin as she explains, “I’ve got two weeks until I’ve finished another client's office, and I’m down for a week vacation, so I could travel to you and scope out the place and help you.”

I wince admit, “The company we were using said they’d have it done within two weeks, we were closing our doors in four days…”

She slowly closes her eyes before Crash clears his throat, and she groans when she hears, “You can have a few weeks off starting the day after tomorrow. My office can wait until you return, Winter,” and I bite my bottom lip to stop my laughter at whoever is meddling, most likely her boss, while Crash looks everywhere but at her clearly knowing she’s going to hit him otherwise.

I have questions, fuck I have shit loads of them. I keep my mouth shut because it looks like he’s got a friend within Winter. I’ll admit makes me think, is she the reason why even after nearly three months, he won’t come home?

And if that is so, what about his actual girlfriend, Belle?

And does Winter know about Belle?

Fuck, what has Crash gotten himself into…

“Looks like I’ll be down in a few days,” Winter sighs, and I grin and say, “Thank you, darling,” and she shakes her head while I swear I hear Crash swallow a growl.

Oh shit…

“Crash, I can presume you’ll be coming back with her?” I ask cautiously, and he hums and agrees, “I will be, she won’t know where she’s going, so I guess I’ll see you soon, and brother, we can discuss you marrying Blair without inviting me, even though I’m the reason you two are together!”

I chuckle as he hangs up while shaking my head before I look at the time and sigh. Cage and Trick should be here soon with my wife right behind them and I’m going to have to tell them about the new fucking plan.

Fuck, Cage is going to be pissed, and Belle is going to get an earful. Well, an even bigger one than she got from Trick earlier when he called and explained what she tried to do to my fucking wife.

The woman demanded that Crash convince me to use that fucking company for our strip club, only for them to fuck us over.

Does Belle get a cut of the profits?

Shaking my head, I look at my phone and swallow hard.

Doesn’t matter how much of a bitch she’s been lately, she doesn’t deserve Crash to cheat on her. If what I think he is doing with Winter is what he’s actually doing, being a man I never thought he would fucking be.

Fuck, Clark is going to be pissed...

I bring up the number to our current design company, ready to cancel them because they’re robbing bastards. I pause as the door bangs open, confusing me, before some preppy jackass, who I recognize as my wife's brother-in-law, storms in holding a knife up, and I raise a brow.