“I just don’t know why you think this is going to be the earth-shattering purchase of my life. I’m already on top of my game with furniture—what makes you think that I need to get into real estate?” Chase looked out the window of the limo and James held up his hand.

“Just hear me out on this. You want to be on top of your world, and to do that, you’re going to have to keep building that cash flow in different avenues. I know it can be a pain in the ass to keep chasing down clients all day long, so why not set up something that’s going to give you passive income while it grows in value? This place is already worth a good chunk of change, and after you finish with the remodeling, it’s going to be worth even more.” James smiled winningly and Chase rolled his eyes.

He knew his friend was right in a way, but at the same time, he didn’t think it was entirely necessary for him to get into the real estate industry. He didn’t want to get into real estate, but he did want to make more money on the back end. It was true, his father’s company was making more money than he could ever hope to spend, but then, it was his father’s company. Not his.

One day, when his father was gone, he was going to have to deal with the division of the company if his father didn’t leave it all to him. He hoped that he would, but he knew Mr. Ellis had a strange way of doing things from time to time, and it wouldn’t surprise him if his father left the company to the rest of the family collectively and not his only son.

Though Chase knew that he would be able to manage the business himself, as he practically had been doing for the past few years, he knew that it was going to be difficult to do it with the help of his sister. She didn’t do much with the company as it was, and he knew when their parents were gone she was going to come around asking for money.

All she ever wanted was money, and she never wanted to put in the work to make any herself. Of course, he thought that his father would see this and make sure he received the bigger part of the inheritance when the time came, but at the same time, he knew that he couldn’t be too careful. With that in mind, having another source of income, one that he didn’t have to actively work for constantly, sounded very appealing.

And James seemed to think that the answer was in real estate.

“Where do you think I’m going to do these renovations?” he asked as they pulled up in front of the large two-story building. He could see that it was in good condition, but it certainly did need work. At the same time, he noticed that they were right across the street from the nightclub they had visited the day before.

“I like the location,” he said, and James stepped out of the car.

“First of all, you’re going to hire someone to do the renovations. You aren’t going to have to lift a finger if you play your cards right, and lucky for you I happen to know someone who can help.” He pulled a card out of his pocket and handed it to Chase, who merely glanced at it before slipping it into his own.

“And what’s in it for you?” he asked, looking at his friend. He knew James wasn’t doing this out of the kindness of his heart, but what he didn’t know was how much James was going to get as a payoff for what he was doing.

“I figured if you flip the place I can take a modest broker percentage. If you decide to turn it into some sort of business I’ll be looking to invest,” James said as he looked over the building. His tone was all business. “I’m going to have a look inside!”

“I knew you were going to bring up something like this!” Chase called after him. James was already heading inside, ignoring him completely. He didn’t want to argue with his friend about the cuts and percentages, but he knew a more serious discussion was coming. There was also no doubt in his mind that James had a plan for that, too, but he knew better than to bring it up at this point in time.

Chase was about to follow James into the building when he glanced across the street and noticed the waitress, Penny, from the night before walking down the sidewalk toward the club.

His heart skipped a beat when he recognized her, and without thinking, he dashed across the street, eager to catch up with her.

“Penny?” he called out. She turned slightly in surprise and stopped when she saw it was him.

“Mr. Ellis!” she said, surprised. “What are you doing here?” She looked around, as if to find a hint as to why he was in front of her at that very moment. He pointed over his shoulder at the building behind him.

“I’m thinking about doing some work on that place. So, how did you like your wine?” She looked over his shoulder where he pointed, and her eyes widened.

“It was good, but what are you going to do with that?” she asked.

He shrugged. “Who knows. I might open up a nightclub and give you guys a run for your money.”

He winked at her and was surprised to see her blush with a small laugh.

“I hate my job. I mean, I don’t hate it, but I’ll be glad when the day comes that I can get out of here,” she said, and hesitated before continuing, “I want to own my own business one day.” She looked down, smiling shyly. Chase looked at her in surprise.

“Ambition! I like that. You’ll get it, I know you will,” he said with a grin. He could see her fighting another blush that was coming up, but he quickly changed the subject.

“So, do you work weekends? I’m going to be bringing in a large client this weekend, and I was hoping that we might have the honor of being waited on by the world’s best waitress.” He winked and she flushed, rubbing her hand up and down the back of her neck as she looked away.

“I don’t normally work weekends, no, but I’m going to be working this one. As it turns out, my boss has requested that I wait on that table. Some prince or something, right?” she asked, uncertain, and he nodded.

“Good to see you already know, and lucky for me that I get to have you wait on me again. I promise I’m not going to let my friend get too trashed this time,” he added with an apologetic smile.

“I’m glad that you stepped in. I didn’t get the chance to say thanks,” she said. He waved his hand to the side.

“Don’t mention it,” he said. He was surprised at how comfortable he felt around her. No one really made him nervous, especially not any woman. In fact, the only interaction he had with them was to charm them before spending the night with them. It was that or he was often just bored when it came to talking to women. With her, he was completely at ease and found that he was always pleasantly surprised when talking to her. He somehow felt that he had known her forever, and he didn’t know how to explain it.

At the same time, she was laughing at his jokes and teasing him, and he could see she was just as comfortable with him as he was with her. There was an undeniable connection there, and he hoped she could feel it, too.

“Well, I’ve got to get to work,” she said as she wrapped up the conversation, and he nodded.

“I should be getting back, too, but I’m looking forward to seeing you this weekend,” he said with a smile. She said goodbye before turning away quickly and walking toward the nightclub with a new spring in her step. He smiled to himself as he turned away.

He really couldn’t wait for that weekend.