I’m not settin’ up shit if they’re forcing girls into it. That’s not cool.”
Z’s expression turns hard. “You think I’d ask you to that?”
No, I really don’t. “Then what’s the plan?”
“Same thing. Feel the situation out. If you get a bad vibe, make up an excuse for why it won’t work.”
“They’ll figure it out with or without me. Any asshole can throw some videos on PornHub.”
“You know by now there’s a lot more work involved. And money to be made for quality content.”
“And I gotta spend half my days sending notices to take down illegal shit people post everywhere.”
“So, hire a company to do that.” Z jerks his thumb over his shoulder. “Hell, Hope can do it.”
“Hope has enough to do,” Rock says, cutting that idea off.
“What mindless, legal drudgery are you trying to sign me up for, Z?” Hope asks, carrying Grace over to Rock.
“Takedown notices,” I answer. “People are constantly pirating Stella’s videos.”
“Can’t a lot of that be automated?”
“Rooster’s very hands on with our content,” Z explains with a dickish smirk.
I shrug. “The shit’s expensive to produce.”
Hope lets out a long, sarcastic sigh. “Well, as much as I’d enjoy surfing for pornography and drafting notices all day long—”
I hold up a hand. “I’m not asking you to, Hope. That was all Z.”
Z grins up at her.
The corners of Hope’s mouth twitch with amusement. “Are you worried that I’m bored, Z?”
“Nope. Just trying to keep work in the family.”
“I have a company in mind,” I say. “They’re fuckin’ expensive though.”
“Take it out of Stella’s end,” Z says.
“Yeah, that sounds more like a conversation you should have with her.”
“Let Sway handle it. They’re tight these days.” Rock smirks into his coffee cup.
“You got a timeframe for when you want me to run down to Virginia?” I ask Z.
“Soon. T-Bone’s been bitching about us not coming to visit for a while now.”
“I’ll work it out. Probably gonna take Jiggy with me.”
“I figured.” Z drums his fingers against the table for a second. “Here’s what I’m thinking. Get Virginia set up and profitable. Then we have something solid to convince Washington to move in the same direction. Two successful charters. Not a fluke.”
“All right. That makes sense.”
“While your early morning visit has been delightful…” Rock’s dry tone makes it clear our visit was anything but. “…why don’t we finish this at the table?”
My feet are already moving toward the front door.
Outside, I wait for Z. Once we’re closer to the clubhouse, I stop him with a hand to his chest. “Hold up.”
He raises an eyebrow and glances down at my hand.
“For the record, I never felt like you came in and ‘stole’ our charter from Sway. You know that, Z. Right?”
“Fuck yeah, I do.”
“If anything, I feel like we stole you away from your home.” I glance at the woods around us, painfully aware Z had been planning to build a house on this property for his family.
“It’s worked out,” he answers, sidestepping the conversation. He slaps my shoulder. “Come on. Lots to discuss this morning.”
“I’m gonna run up and check on Shelby first.” I glance back at Rock’s house. No sign of him yet.
“Yeah, go ahead.” He follows my line of sight and smirks. “He’ll be a while. No doubt.”
Chapter Seventeen
Shelby
After Rooster leaves, I finish my laundry. It’s early so no one’s awake yet.
I return to the room, locking the door behind me as Rooster asked.
One thing I didn’t get to do last night because I was too embarrassed—a reading.
First, I need to put myself in the right frame of mind. I make the bed, smoothing the comforter out and stacking all the pillows at the top. I can’t find any candles but I switch off the overhead light and pull the blinds up. Morning sunlight streams into the bedroom, a sliver of it landing over the bed.
That’ll do.
I grab a towel from the bathroom, spread it on the throw rug and kneel, touching my big toes together, widening my knees and sinking back into extended child’s pose for a few breaths. From there, I do a few spinal flexes and move into downward dog, then warrior one. When I’m feeling calm and centered, I end with my hands at my heart.
After tugging my backpack open, I pull my dark green velvet pouch from the bottom and climb into the center of the bed. One by one, I unpack the contents of the pouch—colorful square cloth, notebook, pen, amethyst crystal, and my favorite deck of tarot cards.