One
“It’s a good job,” Carter said from across the island, his gray eyes watching Madelyn’s movements as she chopped a bell pepper for the risotto she was preparing.
She gave a small laugh, her shoulders quivering along with the melodic sound. “Good for you, you mean.”
“No, I mean it’s a good job for me or anyone else.”
“Don’t know about that, Carter.”
“115k a year; plus some perks you won’t find anywhere else.”
Her hand stilled on the knife. “Seriously?”
“Dead serious.”
“You made that much money?”
The expression on her cousin’s face turned smug. “I made more, but since you’ll be a rookie in the position...”
He let those words hang between them, along with the promise of financial haven.
Madelyn couldn’t deny that he had her undivided attention now. “115k after tax?”
Carter chuckled, grabbing the bottle of wine and filling his now empty glass. “Sure, after tax.”
She frowned at hearing the amusement coloring his voice. “What makes you think I can do it?”
Not that she was seriously considering it.
Was she?
She’d never stepped foot into Baccarat, but she’d heard about it.
Generically speaking, it was a gentlemen’s club.
According to her cousin who’d managed it for the past four years, it was a high-end private club that offered different forms of entertainment to rich and famous men; including but not limited to stripping, private dinners and even a smoke room.
“You don’t need management experience if that’s what you’re thinking. Your tasks will mostly entail sweet-talking the members and making sure they are satisfied.” He thought about if for a second. “Then again, you might have to manage conflicts between staff, especially the girls. They get competitive over the smallest shit.”
Madelyn set down the knife and grabbed her own glass of white wine. “I work in event planning, Carter. You know I don’t interact with people that way.”
“You work with people, Mads. You already know what makes them tick. It won’t be that different from what you do now. Besides, you don’t even have to quit event planning for good. You can go back to it any time.”
Somehow, she doubted the position had anything in common with her current job.
“What did you say you’re doing now for your boss?” She regarded him with thinly veiled suspicion, taking the glass to her lips.
He smirked. “I didn’t. Mind your own business, would you?”
“Carter,” she started, but didn’t get to finish what she wanted to say. With one hand held up, he stopped her.
“Don’t. I don’t need your coddling.”
Her cousin had always been the rebel in the family. After his parents died in a tragic accident when he was only eighteen, he’d taken it upon himself to cut his own path in life. By the time he was twenty, he was already living by himself and making more than a decent wage as a bouncer in a nightclub. From there on, it was a smooth climb up the success ladder.
At least, that’s the way he always put it.
Madelyn had her doubts.
She knew he was a smart man with more than enough ambition to make it in life. But he was also reckless and a risk-taker. His biggest pleasures in life were money and beautiful women. And that green greed came with a steep price: he never knew when to stop. If he got something inside that smart, money-loving brain of his, he was going to make it happen. And right now, he wanted his cousin to step into his shoes as manager at Baccarat.
His intentions were good; Madelyn knew as much. But she was wary of what the job entailed.
“Is the position even fit for a woman?”
“Why wouldn’t it be? I wouldn’t have suggested it if it weren’t. Honestly, you need to relax.” He leaned across the island to tug on her ponytail.
She rolled her eyes and swatted his hand away. “I am relaxed.”
“So you’ll take it? The job, I mean.”
“No.”
“Come on, Mads. I know you want the money. Who the hell wouldn’t?”
“Why are you so pushy on this?”
“I want you to have a good life.” He gave her a more serious look. “I promise it’s completely safe, and Les is harmless. You don’t have to worry about any of it.”
“I’ll think about it,” she said, but only to shut him up as she returned to her task of chopping the pepper.
“Hey.” He snapped his fingers to get her attention again. “I’m fucking serious. It’s good money and you deserve more than this.”
At the mention of this, Madelyn’s gaze swept across the open-space living area. It was a decent apartment that she worked hard to keep. She was happy with what she had. Sure, there were days she wished she could afford certain luxuries, like a vacation somewhere exotic or dinner in an expensive restaurant, but other than that, she was content with her life.
“I said I’ll think about it.”
And for a brief moment, she thought she just might.
