Page 26 of Open To Negotiation

I threw the coat in the back deciding not to carry it with me, shoving my phone in my back pocket. “Thank you, Arthur.”

“No problem, Miss Quinn.” I smiled and turned my attention to the building. I’d never heard of this place but apparently everyone else had.

It looked packed and it would take me a while to get through the line. This was half the reason I hated going out. I would wait until I was closer to the front to text Theo and see where he was. I was about to walk to the left to go wait in the line, but Arthur touched my shoulder.

“Go to the door on the right of the line,” he said, pointing at it.

There were four doors at the front of the building. The one on the furthest left was the one with the line, the one beside it looked like the exit. Then there was a velvet rope separating it from the next set of doors where another bouncer stood. There was no line at his door.

“I don’t know…” I turned to look at Arthur but he was already shaking his head.

“It’s the VIP entrance, just give them your name. They know you’re coming.” I frowned, but he pushed me a little in that direction, gave a little salute and then went around the car.

I squared my shoulders and followed his instructions, assuming he wasn’t lying to me. “Umm… Hi…” I said as I came to a stop in front of the wall of muscle that was the bouncer.

The music was loud behind him, the lights low, shadowing him. He was probably just under six feet but with his hair shaved close to his head, his brown eyes set in a glare and dressed in a black T-shirt that strained against his muscles, he looked intimidating. I guess that was the point of a bouncer.

“Line’s over there,” he said with a tilt of his chin, keeping his arms crossed over his chest.

“I was told to come to this door, my name’s Quinn West,” I said and then bit my lip, uncertain. I should have just gone to the line. Maybe Arthur was confused. But before I could spiral or run away, his eyes widened a fraction and then his hand went to his earpiece.

“Boss, it’s Chris. Quinn West is here,” he said as I looked at him surprised. “Just one moment, Miss West,” he said to me.

I’d never in my life been called Miss so often. I looked around, feeling the stares of people standing in the line on me, clearly evaluating me to see why I was getting special treatment. But I’m sure I looked just as confused.

“Sorry for the delay.” Another man stepped out from inside the club with a smile on his face that didn’t exactly make him look inviting, especially with the jagged scar running across his face that disappeared into his hair line near his temple. It looked like it missed his eye by inches.

He was in the same black outfit as Chris, but he seemed to be important since I noticed the bouncers on the other door stood taller as he stepped out. “I had been waiting for you but got pulled away for a moment.”

“No reason to apologize, there really wasn’t a delay,” I said awkwardly.

“I’m Dane. I’ll bring you to Mr. Knight, keep close.” With that he turned and we started inside.

I really should have googled Theo. Why the hell was I getting escorted into this club?

He maneuvered us through the throng of bodies easily. It was nice not to have to fight through them on my own and I was able to glance around. The inside was a mix of industrial metals and brick, and I could tell someone put effort into the design. The bar took up the full right side of the room, the red brick had shelves full of liquor on it. There was a dropped ceiling at the back with booths and tables, and a dance floor covering the middle.

We made our way to the metal staircase that was on the left as I kept looking around the room. I hated busy clubs like this, they usually made me anxious and therefore more likely to ramble. A bouncer was stationed at the stairs. He saw us coming and moved the rope, stepping aside so we could pass.

“Quinn.” I strained to hear Dane, but he turned his head to talk over his shoulder. “This is Wade. Wade, this is Quinn.”

“Ma’am,” he said and tilted his chin down.

“He’s almost always stationed at the base of the VP section on Friday’s so get him if you ever need anything.” I gave him a smile and a nod, not really knowing what to say back as we climbed the stairs to the loft.

Up here there were views of the dance floor below on two sides. There was a bar with one bartender on the left side of the room along with a hallway with three doors, all pulled closed. Dane stepped aside and held his hand out so I could go in front of him now. There were couches in the middle of the space and some low tables but otherwise the space was open and void of the crowd I was mentally preparing myself for.

“There she is!” Noah called as he sprung up from one of the couches.

“I’ll leave you in their capable hands.” Dane nodded before heading back down the stairs. Noah wrapped me up in a hug and then turned, leaving his arm over my shoulder.

“Guys, this is Quinn,” he said to the four men standing up waiting. “You already met Oli but this is Will, Jaxson, and Asher.” Each man lifted a hand in greeting when their name was called.

Will and Jaxson seemed friendly, but Asher’s face remained blank, maybe even a little hard.

“It’s nice to meet you all,” I said with a smile. I tried not to look around, tried not to make it obvious that there was one person that I wanted to see. “So… Why am I being treated like a famous person?”

“What do you mean?” Oli asked.