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DAMN, IT’S BEEN A LONG weekend. Friday night, I worked myself into a frenzy. At first I was pissed as hell that she felt the way she did. She judged my personality, my job, and my lifestyle without really getting to know me.
But then when Saturday night rolled around, I remembered what Thiago said. Most people’s lives are shit and they are just getting through them the best they can. This was her defense mechanisms kicking in.
She’s a woman with established morals and high standards. They have to come from somewhere, and they’re usually learned from life’s hard lessons. I don’t know her story, but that doesn’t mean I can’t prepare a well-executed offense to her defense.
I spent all day Sunday thinking and planning. I even called in some advisor's, opening myself to teasing from my brothers. They never get the chance to do it, so here it is. And they thoroughly enjoyed it. All kidding aside, I think we have a really good plan of attack.
It’s Monday morning and I’m watching the clock waiting for 10:30 am to arrive. I spoke to the manager at CVI.CHE 105 yesterday and she’s preparing a list of ingredients of the food we ate the other day. We need to find out what it was that could have caused Ava’s anaphylaxis. That’s the least I can do, because that was pretty fucking scary. I don’t know if she knows what restaurant the food came from, but surely she needs to know this for her allergy testing. So, Brooke helped me put together a small gift basket of tissues, hand sanitizer, and some antihistamine medicines to keep in her office as an emergency kit. It just needs the final piece, and that’s the listing of food ingredients.
I head out to the main floor of the club and it’s weirdly empty. There’s not another soul in sight. I scoot into a booth, carrying my coffee and newspaper with me. I turn to the Business section and see another article written about the local club scene. And there we are, The Glass Stripper, listed as number one in the rankings for hottest dance scene with our DJ Smooth. I must admit, Mat did a great job selecting him. It’s nice to see hard work paying off. Hopefully that ranking holds for the year to come. We just need to use it to our benefit and promote it.
Speaking of which, I pull up the number to WHOT and ask to speak with the head of sales and marketing, giving the receptionist my name and business title. Within moments, I’m being transferred to his assistant.
“Good morning, this is Charlotte, the assistant to Robert Bethany, the Director of Sales and Marketing at WHOT. How may I help you?” she asks.
“Hi, Charlotte. This is Dante Solis, from The Glass Stripper, across the street. How are you today?” I ask, taking a sip of coffee. I’m going to need the energy to make it through this phone call.
“I’m wonderful for a Monday morning, Mr. Solis. Thank you for asking.”
“Good. I’m glad to hear that you aren’t letting Monday scare you. They can be fierce sometimes,” I chuckle lightly. “Does Mr. Bethany have any room in his schedule today to squeeze in a meeting with me and my brothers?”
“Let me check his schedule. Hold one moment please?” she asks politely.
“Of course. Take your time,” I respond, sipping the rest of my coffee and listening to the radio station live as their hold music. She comes back on shortly.
“Mr. Solis, Robert would be happy to meet with you today. Does 3:00 pm work for you?” she asks.
“Yes. Yes it does. Thank you,” I advise. “My schedule is wide open. We’ll see him then.” I’m looking forward to this meeting. She’s probably already met with him and tried to shake us as her account, but I’ve got plans and she’s not getting rid of me that fast.
I met with Mat and Thiago yesterday and together we set a new promotions budget. We are going to hit the radio, social media, and billboards hard coming into the fall and winter months now that the beach and tourism traffic is slowing down. We have agreed to eventually hire a promotions person. And that’s why this meeting with Robert Bethany is important. It’s time to set this plan in motion. She’s about to be bombarded and conquered.
I finish reading the paper and hear the day bartenders and a few waitresses arriving for their shifts. I clean up my mess at the table and turn to see Mat coming towards me.
“Morning. Were you able to make that appointment for today?” he asks. “I’ve got to take Cassee car shopping today and wanted to know how much time I had.”
“The meeting is set for 3:00 pm. And that will be perfect. If we get there a little early, she’ll see us waiting because she gets off at that time,” I explain. “I’ve got our proposal all typed up. We just need him to agree.
“And the attorneys have reviewed this proposal?” he asks. “I don’t want to present it if they haven’t approved the wording.”
“Bart called this morning. It’s being finalized right now. He said it would be ready when I needed it.” I reiterate his words verbatim. “We’ll see.”
“Are you sure you’re ready to give up your private suite for her office?” I inquire again. This is probably the fifteenth time I’ve asked, but it’s a sacrifice he’s making for me, and I’m completely humbled by it. “I mean, c’mon. We could probably keep it and use it as a nursery next year at the speed you and Cassee are going with your relationship.” He sucker punches me in the arm hard, but then laughs it off.
“Don’t give me any ideas,” he chuckles, wiggling his eyebrows at me.
“I can’t get the woman I want because of this job. How the hell did you and Thiago get your women with this job?” I ask.
“Little brother, it’s like this: we both have a woman that chose the man and not the job,” he says, giving me a hard pat in the center of my back. “You need to show her the man you are capable of being. Not the kid with the attitude and glamorous, sex-filled job. She sees the women, the lights, the nudity, and sin of it all and she judges you for it. You are not your job. Show her that.”
“I thought I had, but I guess not,” I admit.
“You’re a good man, Dante; an intelligent man that just likes to see everybody in a happy state of mind. There’s nothing wrong with that. Don’t feel guilty for it,” he commands. “If she can’t see the real you through all this neon light, then she isn’t the one for you. Just make sure you haven’t chosen her because she’s the first one to make you work for it. She needs to be the right one for all the right reasons. Now I’ve got to run. See you at 2:30 pm.”
I grab my phone from my desk along with two VIP passes and head over to the restaurant. Terry seems to be having an employee shortage emergency when I arrive, but is kind enough to stop and go over the short list with me. She’s been extremely thorough with it, for me. She is allergic to red dye #40 herself and walks me through the allergen process and testing. It sounds involved and not pleasant, so my heart instantly goes out to anyone with allergies. I’m sure I am allergic to something; I just pray it doesn’t manifest itself like Ava’s did— that shit was scary. I kiss her on the cheek as a thank you and present her with the VIP passes that are good for one year, and head back to my office.
Brook knocks on my office door after her lunch date with Thiago. “Hey, little bro,” she giggles. “I love that you gave me permission to call you that. You got the basket of goodies all ready?”
“Yeah, it’s all right here,” I say, sliding it towards her on my desk. “It’s important that she sees the papers with the ingredients okay? She’s going to need that when she sees the allergist.”
“Ha ha ha, look at you being all mama bear-ish and protective,” she teases. “I love it. Just don’t be one of those helicopter moms. The kids and other parents don’t like that.” She stifles a laugh with her scold.
“Damn, woman, you’re funny,” I say, teasing her back. “I’m going to ask again because I still don’t get it. What do you see in my big brother? I knew when you hit me in the knees with your car door that we were going to be great friends. Thank you for offering to drop this off to her. I really appreciate it.”
“Nah, no thanks is necessary. That’s what sister-in-laws are for,” she falters in her words the minute they come out realizing she made a mistake.
“Sister-in-law?” I ask, confused. My eyes go straight to her hand that’s wrapped around the basket. Sure as shit, there’s a huge diamond ring on her finger. “When the hell did that happen?” I hug her and kiss both cheeks. I’m really happy for her and Thiago. They’ve been through hell in their lives and relationship. They both deserve each other and their happiness together.
“Saturday night. In his private suite after we came back from dinner,” she confesses and winks knowingly at me. “He and Perry set up this whole elaborate and very romantic affair. It was stunning and truly beautiful. I honestly didn’t know two men would have that in them to plan, but they did. And, of course, I said yes.”
“Well, now, let’s be real. You would have said yes if he would have pushed a fruit loop on your finger and dropped down on one knee in the middle of the mall,” I surmise.
“Hell yeah, I would. I love that man more than life itself,” she laughs. “Well, I’d better get out of here and run my errand. And Dante, please act like you don’t know? Thiago wants to talk to you and Mat alone.”
I shake my head confirming I understand, “I promise.” Crossing my lips and heart with x’s made out of thin air. “Good luck,” I say, praying this works. And there she goes to deliver the first round of mission ‘Winning Ava Over’.
How in the hell am I going to get through these next few hours? I’m antsy enough as it is, shuffling up and down and back and forth to the bars several times already. Checking and double checking cash drawers, product inventory, and anything else that keeps me from sitting still in my chair. Patience is not a virtue I’m familiar with. This could all go horribly wrong, or she could accept the challenge. She could choose either way, and my stomach is twisted in knots with the uncertainty of not knowing her heart.
Mat arrives promptly back at the club at 2:30 pm. I’ve received everything I need from our attorney’s office. My bag is packed with the proposal, along with my expectations for marketing with sales projections and reach. We’ll either rise or fall, but we’ll do it together as a united front.
I love my brothers. We’re all suited up in our Sunday finest, and march across the street preparing to take our business to the next level as a force to be reckoned with.
We are escorted upstairs to the fifth floor and asked to wait in the lounge, which is strategically placed between the stairs and the elevator. For us, this is perfect. Right on time at 3:00 pm, an older lady and Ava come walking down the hall together, chatting softly. Ava smiles and my breathe hitches. I feel Thiago place his hand on the back of my neck and give it a light squeeze.
Both ladies look up when they arrive at the lounge. The older lady introduces herself as Charlotte and offers to escort us to Mr. Bethany’s office. Ava says nothing. She calmly stands in a shocked silence. Her eyebrows knit together in confusion, but stay trained on me. My brothers and I step around her, politely asking to be excused and follow Charlotte, leaving Ava caught up in her own thoughts and a little bit of worry, I hope.