Chapter Four
Cassian
By the end of her first day of work, Olivia had settled in to her new position perfectly. A quick thinker, she was everything I wanted in an assistant. That I’d watched Stefan swoop in on her not five minutes after she walked through the door had started my day off pretty fucking rotten, but after that, I’d enjoyed helping her get her bearings while she assisted me with the annual Lady Godivas’ party the local chapter of that not-so-secret sex society held each year at the club. I could have simply repeated what Kate had arranged the year before since the Lady Godivas had raved about the event then, but there was no better time than the present to initiate Olivia into my business.
As much as I hated to agree with Stefan, I did benefit from the mixture of business with pleasure. That didn’t mean I had any plans to mix them with Olivia, though. I couldn’t deny that seeing her in my brother’s crosshairs rankled me more than I wanted to admit, however. But I knew from watching him create workplace disasters that whatever thoughts that may have crossed my mind as she and I worked together were something I needed to fight.
Still, when she blushed at my mention that the Lady Godivas would likely end up half naked by the end of the night, I couldn’t help but be charmed. How long had it been since anyone had blushed around me? Certainly women like Cheri were long past the time when anything about sex made them nervous or uncomfortable. Watching Olivia’s cheeks pinken charmed me, despite my jaded attitude and insistence that I wasn’t going to allow myself to like her.
I left her to finish up the details of the party while I handled a far too curious reporter who obviously hadn’t gotten the memo from her boss that Club X wasn’t a potential story. Young, eager, and too cute for her job with long pale blond hair and big blue eyes, she waited in a red, skintight dress that screamed she knew nothing of professionalism. It did, however, clearly telegraph that she had heard what my club was all about.
I found Ciara Danson standing outside my office flirting with Stefan. For once, I didn’t mind him thinking with his cock. In fact, I wondered if I should let him handle her inquisitiveness, but knowing my younger brother, he’d have her flat on her back on his desk in mere minutes and then we’d have not only unwanted publicity but another lawsuit on our hands.
Stepping between them, I eased her away from him and closed the door behind us. “Please take a seat, Miss Danson.”
She sat down in a chair in front of my desk, letting her dress ride up on her legs until she was flashing me the tops of her thighs. Subtlety obviously wasn’t Ciara’s style.
Opening her blue eyes wide, she lowered her head and looked across the desk at me. “Please, Mr. March, call me Ciara.”
“And please call me Cassian. I hear you’re interested in our little club. I wish there was a story, but I’m sure Gary told you we’re just your basic nightclub here at Club X.”
Ciara leaned forward to show me far more of her breasts than I wanted to see at that moment. “Cassian, I may look naïve, but this isn’t my first reporting job. You know as well as I do that Club X isn’t just your basic nightclub, as you say, even if my boss agrees with you. I was hoping to get an in-depth look at behind the scenes, if you will, and I can’t imagine anyone better equipped to do that than you. My readers at All The Rage would love to know all about you and your club.”
Equipped. Hmmm… I couldn’t decide if Ciara was offering to fuck me right there on my desk or really wanted to know more about the club. She wasn’t my type—too eager for me—and I had no interest in giving her any in-depth information about the club, but she wasn’t going to be put off easily.
As I began to explain once again that there was no story here, Olivia knocked on the door and walked in. Her eyes opened wide at the sight of Ciara’s less than subtle body language, and she quickly turned to leave, but before she could Ciara began with the questions.
“Perhaps if I could speak to your assistant, Cassian, she could help me.”
Olivia immediately begged off and I shouldn’t have put her in the position to deal with a reporter so soon, but I wanted to know how she’d handle it. If she was going to be a part of Club X, she’d have to learn how to master dealing with the press sooner than later, and if she failed now, at least I’d know and could begin looking for her replacement.
I stood from my chair and motioned for Olivia to take my place behind my desk. “Olivia, this is Ciara. She’s from the website All The Rage and has a few questions about Club X. I’m going to let you talk to her.”
Olivia looked shell-shocked but sat down and put on her prettiest smile for the young woman in front of her. As I walked toward the door, she said in professional voice, “I’m more than happy to help you, Ciara.”
Closing the door, I listened as Olivia handled her like a pro. As I stood there, Stefan walked toward me with a confused look on his face. “What are you doing out here? I thought you were talking to that smokin’ hot reporter.”
“Quiet,” I whispered. “Olivia’s in there now with her. I’m listening to hear how she does.”
“Trial by fire, huh? You must think a lot of her to let her run interference so soon.”
“No time like the present. If she can’t deal with Ciara, then she’s no good to me.”
“How the hell do you see only the glorified secretary you want her to be? You won’t let me have her, but you won’t make a move on her. What the fuck is that about?”
Sighing in frustration, I tried to hear Olivia but all I heard was Stefan. “That’s being professional. You should try it sometime. Now go and let me hear how this turns out.”
“Fine, but I’m telling you, you’re missing out on this one. There’s fire beneath that cool thing she’s got going on. I’d bet money on it.”
Stefan was the last person I wanted dating advice from, so I waved him away and returned to listening to Olivia double-talking Ciara right out of a story. For every question she asked, Olivia had an answer that at first sounded like she’d given some tidbit of information, but quickly turned into nothing. She denied the truth of the club as well as any one of us would have, and I knew at that moment I hadn’t made a mistake in hiring her.
I stepped back when the door flew open and Ciara stormed out, obviously unhappy about being so expertly handled. As I entered my office, Olivia stood behind my desk, her arms folded across her chest.
“Thank you, Olivia. I think you took care of that very well.”
“Cash, I don’t mind acting the part of the company woman, but next time could you please give me a little warning? Or was that the point—to put me on the spot and see how I would do?”
She was smart. Good. I needed that in the person who was to be my right hand. “You might say it was a test, but if it makes you feel any better, you passed with flying colors.”
Stepping around the desk, she walked toward the door, stopping inches away from me. With a direct stare, she shook her head and smiled. “I’ve always been a good test taker. I think you’ll find that I’m just as good an assistant as you need me to be. However, if you feel the need to test me more, just know I’m up to it.”
She was all business, but damnit if at that moment I didn’t want to see if there was another side to her. Staring into her brown eyes, I impulsively said, “I think as a reward, you should join us for the Lady Godivas party. It would be good exposure to what the club is really all about.”
Olivia gave me a smile that seemed just a bit forced, as if my offer had caught her off guard, but she quickly recovered and agreed to join my brothers and me at the party. I just wondered how she’d handle how wild those women got when they had a few drinks in them.
* * *
In the days leading up to the party, we worked side-by-side and my professional admiration for her grew by leaps and bounds. I’d underestimated Olivia from the moment I’d read her resume, mainly because of who had referred her. Jake Richfield hadn’t shown himself to be someone whose opinion I’d normally rely on. Every time I’d seen him at the club, he’d had a different woman on his arm, each one cheaper than the last. Not that being a player was a problem for me. I didn’t care who he fucked or how many females fell for his lines. But there was something cheap about him that never sat right with me. Maybe it was that black department store watch he liked to flash around like it was a fucking Rolex. Stefan liked him, though, which didn’t help his case any in my mind. Nevertheless, I’d been desperate for an assistant after Kate left, and when Richfield mentioned that he had a friend who he was sure would be perfect for the job, I’d reluctantly agreed to check her out.
Pretty good on paper, Olivia’s real worth became clear when I saw her on the job. It didn’t take long for me to realize that she’d work out even better than Kate had. And unlike with my previous assistants, I began to want to know more about this woman who seemed all business but who’d caught the eye of not only one but two players in my club.
I didn’t want to let Stefan know how interested I was in Olivia, but his comments about her and Jake Richfield led me to believe she was just friends with him. As for my brother, I didn’t have to wonder what he thought about the woman I spent my days with. Every leer and nasty remark about how he wanted to get into her pants told me loud and clear. He bordered on sexual harassment on most days, but with her, I couldn’t decide whether she should sue us or crack him across the face.
Or if I should.
At nine-thirty I found her behind her desk taking care of last minute details for the party. Stefan had received the guest list and Kane had the list of who wanted what fantasies that night. She’d handled everything with aplomb, so barring any drunken madness by the Godiva women, the night would be a good opportunity for Olivia to see the inner workings of Club X.
Still in her work clothes, she stood from her seat and straightened her black suit coat and skirt. Compared to the rest of that night’s partygoers, she and I would look like the adult chaperones at a junior high school dance. We weren’t there for fun, though. Tonight was as much work as anything we did during the day.
“Remember what I told you about these women? Just keep that in mind and you’ll be fine.”
“Cash, I’m not a nun. I swear I must be giving off the wrong vibe. First my friends are sure I’m the most boring person they’ve ever met, and now you’re worried that some ladies getting freaky might make me faint. Trust me. I may not look it, but I’m actually capable of having fun.”
There weren’t more than a handful of people who could talk to me like that and get away with it, but Olivia had a way about her that made me overlook things I wouldn’t in other people. “I was just trying to prepare you. You’ve never been here at night. Club X looks entirely different in the dark.”
With a sly grin, she said, “Well, this sheltered girl who doesn’t get out enough, according to everyone who knows me, is looking forward to seeing this place when the lights go down.”
For a moment I studied her, seeing for the first time a sexiness I liked. “Okay. Let’s go then.”
I led her out onto the floor and checked with Stefan to see if all the Lady Godivas had arrived. “Are the ladies all here?”
“All good.” Looking at Olivia, he smiled his best frat boy grin. “Hey you! It’s about time you joined us out here. Ready to experience the hottest club in town?”
“I am,” she answered with a chuckle. “I can’t wait to see these women. We aren’t talking naked women in long blonde wigs on horseback, are we?”
“No animals tonight, as far as I know. Kane would have mentioned a Catherine the Great,” Stefan joked with a wink.
I hated how easily he drew out her fun side. With almost no effort, he had her giggling and joking around. I’d spent hours with her each day, and not once had I seen the smile she gave him or the sparkle in her eye she got when he spoke to her.
It went against every principle I believed in, but after only a few days, I wanted to see her like she was with Stefan when only I was around. I wanted to bring out her playful sexy side.
“You two planning on hanging out down here, or are you going to head up to the top floors and catch the action?”
“I think we’ll walk around down here for a while and then head upstairs. I want Olivia to get the full experience.”
“Oooh, the full experience? Brace yourself, Olivia. My brother rarely spends any time out here once the action starts, so if he wants to show off the full experience, he must have something in mind.”
Stefan was as subtle as a Sherman tank, and I looked over at Olivia to see her cheeks blush that cute pink color that was only more accentuated by her red hair. What I had in mind was showing off the club that took up my days and nights. If anything else occurred, though, I couldn’t say I’d be unhappy.
I slid my arm around her and gently pressed my hand against the small of her back to guide her away from Stefan before he announced his opinion on what he thought were my favorite sex positions or how nice we looked together. His act may work for him, but I preferred a smoother style when I wanted a woman’s attention.
“We’ll see you later, baby brother.”
Olivia turned toward me and with a smile said, “I thought there’d be music. Not that it’s quiet in here with people coming in, but I just thought it would be more like clubs I’ve been to.”
“It will be. The music starts later. Stefan likes to get our customers a little drunk before he lets them loose on the dance floor. Plus, people tend to have a better time if they can talk first. Then they get relaxed, get drunk, and tend to spend more money.”
I led her to a lounge across from the bar beside the dance floor, still nearly dark for now. She sat down next to me on a red couch and angled her body toward me, and in the dim light of the wall sconce above our heads I saw a look of anticipation in her eyes.
“Cash, I thought the rooms upstairs were booked months in advance.”
“They are.”
“Then how do people spend more money here? You don’t serve food, so the only items to buy are drinks and the fantasy rooms.”
“Ah, I see your confusion. People hear about the rooms and other members’ experiences and after a few drinks, they want to pay to have one of those experiences for themselves. The rooms may be booked solid, but at that moment when they’re drunk and having a good time, they’ll pay to reserve a room months later.”
“Clever. You March brothers are quite the businessmen.”
A few people passed by and sat down nearby on another sofa. Leaning in so they couldn’t hear our conversation, I revealed the truth of my family’s past. “Only Stefan and I are Marchs. Kane is our half-brother. We have the same fathers but different mothers.”
“You and Kane seem close in age. I’m guessing it wasn’t a case of a child by a second marriage since Stefan is younger than you two.”
She hadn’t said anything wrong, but I was surprised for a moment by her deduction. My hesitation in confirming her guess came across as being offended, and she quickly reached her hand out to touch my arm in a sympathetic gesture.
That look of anticipation that had been in her eyes just moments before was gone, replaced by worry that she’d overstepped the line of propriety with her boss just weeks into a new job. “I’m sorry. That was rude. I didn’t mean to pry. Really, I didn’t.”
The feel of her touch on my sleeve made a rush of heat race up my arm. Shaking my head, I said, “It’s okay. You weren’t being rude at all. You’re right. My father had an affair with Kane’s mother right around the time he and my mother found out they were pregnant with me. So Kane is just three months younger than I am. Stefan is two years younger than us, even though he acts like he’s more like ten.”
“He’s just more lighthearted than you, and especially Kane,” she said with a smile, obviously relieved she hadn’t committed a misstep. “Younger siblings get to do that.”
“I guess. I just wish he’d act something close to his age sometimes.”
“I think he relies on you for that.”
Her delicate way of saying that I was the serious brother only reinforced what I suspected she thought of me—Stefan was the fun-loving one, and I was the somber one. Ordinarily, I didn’t mind that. This was who I was in public. I wore my straight man role comfortably and left the frat boy antics to Stefan, who wore them like a second skin. Now, though, I wanted Olivia to like me as she did him, but I couldn’t change who I was.
If she wanted someone like Stefan, she wouldn’t want me.
I looked down at my watch and saw it was nearly eleven o’clock. The lights dimmed until the room was pitch black, and with the first beats of the bass from the DJ, the club exploded in light and sound. The glass bar and shelves behind it glowed in shades of neon blue and green lights, and the electronic light show lit up the dance floor, encouraging the Lady Godivas to begin their partying.
Olivia’s mouth hung open as she watched the dance floor fill with women well on their way to having the night of their lives and the half-naked men they’d brought with them. The Lady Godivas never left their good time to chance, so they always chose us to host their parties and always made sure they had more than enough men for whatever their members desired.
Leaning close to her, I said in her ear, “Let’s go to the second floor. The sound isn’t as loud up there.”
As the women and their guests gyrated across the dance floor, I took Olivia’s hand in mine and led her up the metal stairs to a secluded area above the action. The acoustics of the building created a pocket where we could watch the party and still be able to hear one another speak.
We sat down on a black leather couch as the party kicked into high gear, neither one of us speaking for a long time as Olivia stared down at the crowd below. It didn’t take long for the women to begin shedding their clothes and soon the only people fully clothed were Club X workers and Olivia and me.
“I didn’t realize this kind of thing happened down there in the club. I thought…” Her sentence trailed off and she returned to watching the action on the dance floor.
I tried to conceal my disappointment, but it was likely written all over my face. I’d hoped the reality of my business wouldn’t chase her away, both from being my assistant and anything else we might be in the future. “If this isn’t something you’re comfortable with, Olivia, it’s better we find out now before either one of us gets too used to working with one another. I understand.”
Her eyes grew wide, and she smiled as she shook her head. “Oh, no. I’m not uncomfortable. I want to see more of what happens here. Don’t worry about me. I’m far more fun than I look.”
I nodded, wanting to believe she could handle Club X—that she could handle the life I led.