Until Series: Box set (3 page)

“I know, Dad, but I just wanted to get here.”

“I’m glad you made it here safely. Let’s go inside so you can get settled and rest.” He puts his arm around my shoulder, taking me with him.

In the house, I’m surprised that everything looks like it’s straight out of a magazine. By the front door is a long, black table with a bowl filled with keys and coins. The wood floors are so dark; they almost look black.

Walking down the hallway, we enter a room with the tallest ceiling I’ve ever seen. The beams going across the room are the same color as the wood floors. There is a wall of windows from one side of the room to the other. The kitchen is open to the living room with an island in the center that is as big as a dining table with five stools in front of it. The appliances in the kitchen all look new and unused. The countertops are a light granite with brown and red streaming through them. In the living room, there’s a leather couch that looks more like a bed with a low back.

The entertainment center is built into the wall and two leather recliners sit on either side of the low couch. The throw pillows and blankets on the back of the couch match the granite in the kitchen. All the colors in the room blend perfectly together. Everywhere I turn, I see caramel, dark brown, and red.

“Wow, Dad, this is beautiful.”

“Thanks, baby. Your grandmother decorated it.”

“Grandmother?” I ask.

“Yeah. She can’t wait to meet you. I know we haven’t talked about my family much, but they all know about you and are excited to get to know you.”

“Awesome,” I whisper, still in shock that my mom took me when I was a baby. She never talked about my dad at all. I never even knew who he was until I turned eighteen and he tracked me down. Every time he has come to New York to visit, he never talked about his family and I never asked. I figured his story was the same as my mom’s. Her parents died before I could meet them and she didn’t have any brothers or sisters.

My mom has always been a loner unless you have something she wants. Then, she will attach herself to you like a life-sucking parasite.

“Everyone will be here for breakfast. They wanted to come tonight but I thought you might get overwhelmed on your first night home. Also, we need to talk about you doing the books for the club. Your degree will help me get the office straightened out. I don’t have a lot of time to manage that part of the business. Lynn moved away with her husband and I haven’t had a chance to replace her.”

“When do I start?” I say, smiling.

“Well, tonight I want you to rest.” He squeezes my shoulder. “And for the rest of the week, I want you to recover. After you’re feeling up to it, I’ll take you down to the club and show you the office. Hopefully, you can set something up so you can work from home.”

“Sounds good to me.” Walking through the kitchen, there’s a set of stairs going down to the basement. “Wow, Dad, I thought you loved me and now you’re taking me to the dungeon.”

Laughing, he shakes his head. “No. There’s a basement apartment. Your grandma and everyone else came over and worked on it all day yesterday. They rushed over as soon as they found out you’d be staying with me. It also has its own entrance so you can have some privacy.” He flips on the light.

“It’s perfect.” There’s a small living room and kitchen when you first walk in. He leads me down a short hall and opens a door. The bedroom is huge and there’s also an en-suite. I’m so overwhelmed that I start crying.

“It’s okay,” Dad says while dragging me into his body for a hug. “We just want you to be happy here.”

“This is so nice. I can’t even tell you how happy I am,” I say into his shirt, giving him a squeeze. It’s the truth. I have never seen a more perfect space. It’s amazing that this is someplace to call my own.

“Well, I’m gonna go unpack your car while you get some sleep,” he says, kissing my forehead. He turns to leave, then stops and looks at me over his shoulder. “I’m really happy you’re here, November. I can’t even tell you how happy this makes me.” With that, he’s gone. Leaving me to think about how different my life could have been.

Waking up in the morning to the smell of coffee and the sound of voices above me, I climb out of bed. After I shower, I put on a pair of my favorite jeans. They are so dark; they’re almost black and look good with an off-the-shoulder lavender sweater and dark brown riding boots. I blow out my hair and tie it into a ponytail that hits the middle of my back. I put on some makeup to try to conceal the bruises that are now starting to turn green. With a little mascara, some bronzer, and blush, I make my way upstairs. Beast is sitting at the island next to a woman with the same hair as my dad. When she sees me, she jumps off the stool and runs to me, pulling me into a tight hug.

“Oh, sweet girl, you’re finally here,” she says, holding me away from her body and putting her hands to my face. “You look so much like your great grandma Ellie. She was a beauty and you have your daddy’s eyes and hair.” Pulling me back into her chest, I want to cry for the little girl who missed out on this.

“Thank you,” I say, trying to control the tears I feel coming.

“Oh, honey, you don’t have to thank me. That is a gift given by God and good genes. Lord, I’m just so happy that you’re here and I can see for myself how beautiful you are. Your daddy showed us all pictures from his cell phone but that’s not the same. He is very proud of you.” That does it. I cry like a baby. I don’t think I’ve ever cried so much in my life. The whole situation is surreal. I feel both lucky and scared, wondering if I am going to disappoint them.

“Okay, okay,” Dad says, cutting in. “Enough of the sad stuff. Let’s introduce you to everyone, kiddo.”

Meeting all of my family is a little terrifying. My dad’s brother, Uncle Joe, is a little bit taller than my dad, but has the same body type. You can tell he takes care of himself like my dad does. They both have bulky muscles. My uncle’s dark hair is starting to gray and he looks like he could model for a cool biker magazine with his goatee and tattoos. He brought my cousins too. His twin sons are the complete opposite of each other.

Chris and Nick are twenty-five years old. Chris looks like a surfer with dirty blond hair and a golden tan. Nick looks like a rock star with dark brown hair and light skin covered with tattoos. My dad’s cousin, Maddy, her husband, Mark, and their two-year-old daughter, Alyssa, are also here. They even have a few other family friends over to meet me.

Breakfast is delicious and I am really enjoying getting to know everyone. They all seem genuinely nice. We talk about what I plan on doing after getting settled. I explain about having a degree in business management and that I’m planning on helping my dad at the club. That’s when the vibe changes and all hell breaks loose.

“You’re what?” Uncle Joe asks, yelling so loud his face turns red.

“Um, I’m going to help my dad?” I say, my answer sounding like a question. I look around, wondering what I missed and why he’s so upset.

“Watch it, Joe,” my dad growls.

“No niece of mine is going to work at the strip club…that we own together, I might add.”

“Strip club?” I ask in complete shock.

“She is not going to be working
in
the club. She’s going to be doing the books and managing the office. She won’t be there during club hours and will never be in the front of the house.”

“I don’t care if she’s working in the front or in the fucking alley, she’s not working there.”

“Last time I checked, she is my daughter and I own half that club. You have no say in what she does or doesn’t do. I want her to work for me, and like I said before, she will never see the front of the fucking club.”

“Do you want to work there?” my uncle asks me. I’m put on the spot and I really don’t want to answer him.

“Um…I…ugh.” I take a deep breath before trying to respond. “I didn’t know that it was that kind of club,” I say in a whisper. Not that I had anything against strip clubs. I mean, to each their own, right?

“Okay, Joe,” Grandma cuts in. “If November wants to work there, that’s her choice. And, Mike, if she doesn’t want to work there after finding out what kind of club it is, that’s also her choice. You know I don’t love that club but I do love you both and I supported you in your decision to open it. But, as for November, it will be her choice and her choice alone if she wants to help you out on the business side of the club. I’m not happy about the look on her face right now and I’m telling you both that you will let her make her own decision.”

After Grandma says her peace, everything goes back to normal but I can still feel the tension between my dad and uncle. I want to work with my dad but I also don’t want to cause a problem between him and his brother.

I can’t wrap my mind around the fact that my dad owns a strip club. When I imagine a strip club owner, I picture an evil, fat, old guy with beady eyes, tacky suits and a bad comb over. Not someone like my dad. He’s a kind, handsome, put-together, forty-five-year-old man.

After pondering this for a few minutes, I realize that I am proud. Knowing my dad and the kind of man he is, I can’t help but think of the women who work for him and how lucky they are. In the stripper industry, I’m sure respect is hard to come by. But one thing I know for sure, he respects the women who work for him. So with these thoughts floating in my head, I turn and smile at my dad. He smiles back even bigger.

*

After two weeks
of getting settled in and healing, it is time to start living in the real world again. The world where you need things like a job and money to survive. My dad and I are going to the club to meet some of his employees. To say I’m nervous is an understatement. It takes me longer than normal to get ready. I mean really! What do you wear to the strip club that your dad owns?

After settling on my gray, empire-waist sweater dress with black legging and black boots, I curl my hair in large waves down my back and put on light makeup. Looking at myself in the mirror, I’m happy to see all the bruising is gone and I look like myself again. I go upstairs to give Beast some love, before Dad and I take off. I know Beast is happy here. He has a large backyard and room to run, and I take him on a walk every night.

“Okay, Dad. I’m ready!” I yell into the living room while scratching Beast behind his ears.

“Wow, you look beautiful,” he says, kissing my cheek. “Let’s get this shit over with.”

I smile at him, knowing that he’s nervous. I think at this point, he’s more nervous than me.

“Dad, it’s going to be okay.” Going with my dad to his club is completely nerve racking for me. I mean, my dad owns a strip club where naked girls work. I’m freaking out on the inside but trying to act cool. I don’t want him to feel any more uncomfortable than I know he already does.

“Just so you know, baby girl, the women who work for me are not your friends. There is nothing wrong with what they do, but you are not going to be hanging with them.”

I raise my eyebrows at him and he shakes his head. “I know you won’t be there during club hours, but I want to make it perfectly clear—there is no reason for you to ever be in the front of the house when you’re in the building. You can come in, sort shit out in the office, but there will be no drinking at the bar and no socializing with the employees. The only reason I’m bringing you here tonight is because I want the people I trust to meet you. That way, you will always have someone to go to in case I’m not around.”

“Dad, don’t worry so much. You’re giving yourself grey hair and soon you’re going to look like Uncle Joe.”

“Very funny!” he says, smiling.

The club is pretty much how I pictured it. Not that I’ve been in a strip club, but what do you really think of when you imagine a strip club. There’s a long bar on the back wall with stools in front of it. Off to the side, there’s a stage with two poles and a girl dancing. Along the stage, there are four tables with guys of every age watching the show. In the back of the room, the lighting is so dim that you can barely make out the couches. Behind them is a wall of mirrors. Looking around, I’m surprised that everything is new and modern.

“Okay, baby girl.” My dad snaps me out of my perusal. “This is Rex.” He points to the guy behind the bar. “Rex, this is my daughter, November. She’s going to be doing the books and helping me out from behind the scenes. You won’t see her much, but I wanted you to meet her so if I’m not around, she knows who to talk to.”

“Hey, girl,” Rex says, wiping his hands on a towel. “Nice to finally meet you.”

“You too,” I say as my dad pulls me into his side.

“Wow, Mike, with your ugly mug, I didn’t think you could make such a pretty girl,” Rex says and I feel myself turn red.

My dad looks down at me with so much pride. “Yeah, I did good,” he says, smiling.

“Oh, geez, Daddy, stop,” I say while squeezing his middle and rolling my eyes. That’s when I feel someone’s watching me. I look around, but don’t see anyone.

“I’m gonna take her to the office and show her my mess,” Dad says.

“Okay, man, but when you’re done, we need to talk about the shit Skittles pulled the other night.”