Total pages in book: 94
Estimated words: 89934 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 450(@200wpm)___ 360(@250wpm)___ 300(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 89934 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 450(@200wpm)___ 360(@250wpm)___ 300(@300wpm)
“That’s correct. Once open, we’ll be set up to house twelve clients at a time. Each woman will have her own room… no roommates. We felt it was important to give everyone their personal space. There will also be two bedrooms for staff. Someone will always be there, even throughout the night. We haven’t determined yet if we’ll hire someone to live on-site or if my partners and I will rotate days.” She chuckled. “Not that any of that matters to you.”
Brenna waved away her concern and encouraged her to continue with a one-hand motion.
Brooke sipped her drink. “Let’s see,” she said, setting the tall cup down. “We’ll have a rec room, a fitness space, a group therapy area, and a few individual therapy rooms. There’s a kitchen, four administrative offices, a large outdoor space, and two other common areas we haven’t fully fleshed out. Maybe a craft room and… something else.”
Brenna’s jaw dropped. “That’s huge.” What a project. She practically salivated as she imagined the possibilities.
Chuckling, Brooke nodded. “It is. You’ll find that any project Liv is involved with is above and beyond. The good news is we have the budget to make it spectacular.” She leaned forward and lowered her voice. “I wouldn’t divulge this to just anyone, but you’re connected to the club now, so…” Brooke shrugged.
Connected to the club? Because of what happened only one day ago? That was wild. And why did it have a sense of warmth spreading across her chest?
Madness. She really needed some sleep. Or maybe more coffee. Lots more coffee.
Brenna grabbed her drink and took a long gulp.
“Liv was involved with a man who had ties to a human trafficking ring. She fled for her safety once she found out. Eventually, her ex came after her. Long story short, he is no longer alive, and Liv ended up inheriting a fortune she wanted nothing to do with. It was all blood money in her eyes.”
Brenna’s jaw dropped. “Um…” That explained some of the woman’s reactions the previous night.
“Yeah, how else do you respond to a story like that, right?” Brooke said with a sideways grin. “Liv is fine and ended up with Spec, so you don’t need to worry about her. Anyway, she wanted to refuse the money, but we made her wait before making such a rash decision. After a bit, she decided to accept it and put the money to good use, as I had no doubt she would.” Brooke beamed, obviously proud of her friend and their project. “Her entire inheritance has been allotted for the shelter and its future. Trust me when I say money will never be an issue. We want to go all out.”
“I don’t even know what to say.” Holy crap, a spectacular cause and an unlimited budget. It was a designer’s dream. “You certainly know how to dangle a carrot,” she said with a smile for her new favorite client. “What do you say? You give me a few days to come up with some vision boards for you to review, and you can decide if you’d like to retain my services from there.” She’d come up with ideas so spectacular, they’d blow anyone else’s out of the water.
Brooke shook her head at Brenna’s suggestion. “By all means, design some ideas for me to show my partners, but we won’t be meeting with anyone else. Now that I know you’re a club friend, we’re all in with you. Just tell me where to sign.”
Well, that certainly wasn’t an intelligent way to run a business. As much as it killed her, she’d be remiss in not mentioning her situation to Brooke a bit more.
“Um, I’m not really a club friend. I found myself in an unfortunate and potentially dangerous situation. I’m sorta bound to the club by the situation, not so much by choice,” she mumbled that last part.
Brooke tilted her head. “From what I heard, your ex turned out to be a son of a bitch who set you up, thinking the men in our club were the type to take a woman as a form of payment.”
The coffee soured in her stomach. Hearing it from another woman’s mouth made it feel even worse. “Yeah, that’s it in a nutshell.” It’s funny how she could simplify an extremely complicated situation down to a few words.
“Well,” Brooke slapped a palm on the table. “If I know anything, it’s that my man and his club brothers are protectors of the innocent. Your ex has no idea what he’s up against. And that makes you a friend of the club, and it makes me your new and best client!”
Brenna hadn’t thought her head could spin more, but Brooke proved her wrong. She was in so far over her head here, but she might as well try to stay above water. “Okay, well, thank you. This is an incredible opportunity for me.”