Darius (Starkis Family #5) (2 page)

“I’m not,” she said, shaking her head. “I’m not.”

I sensed there was a story there, but instead of prying, I said, “I’m just a regular guy. I have a famous family who has done some pretty impressive things, but I don’t want their success to define me. I want to make it or not on my own. The jury is still out on that.”

She smiled as she sipped her soda through a straw. “You’re saying all the right things to make me like you, but you’re still not going to change my mind about dating you.”

“Who said anything about dating? I asked you to have a drink with me.” I gestured at her glass. “And you are. Mission accomplished.”

“Are you saying you don’t want to go out with me?”

She had no idea how much I wanted to go out with her. “I don’t mind staying in.” I winked. “We could have a house party.”

Her smile told me she got the country music reference, which meant she was a fan. Damn. I liked this girl more and more.

“I thought we were going to talk about the club,” she said.

“Right, the club.” It was easy to forget when she flashed those sweet dimples. “How long have you worked here?”

“About four years.” She looked around. “I don’t know what I’ll do if Billy has to close the doors. These people are the only family I’ve got.”

I knew she’d said more than she intended, but I couldn’t let her shut down now. “Parents? Siblings?”

She moved her index finger from side to side. “Nuh-uh. I have a policy, remember?”

“Right, no small talk. But I don’t think that qualifies as small talk.”

“Maybe you’re right. Okay, new rule. I don’t talk about myself. Period. You want to know about the club? I’ll tell you all I can. But ask any personal questions, and I’m outta here. Understood?”

Her secrecy only made me more curious. I had the resources to find out anything I wanted to know with one phone call, but I drew the line at invading a woman’s privacy. “Fine.” I sat back in my chair, wondering how I could learn more about this little enigma without breaking her rule. “So you’re the headliner?”

“Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. It’s Mel D. from Monday to Wednesday.”

“He any good?”

“He’s hilarious.” She reached into the back pocket of her jeans and pulled out her phone. She tapped the screen a few times before handing it to me. “But don’t take my word for it. You tell me what you think.”

We were tucked away in a back corner since all of the other tables were taken, which gave me the opportunity to hold up her phone and really listen to the video. After the three-minute clip, I nodded. “You’re right. He’s good.”

“You didn’t laugh.”

“I was laughing on the inside.”

She snatched her phone back, scowling. “I hate when people say that. If you don’t think he’s funny, just say so. I won’t be offended.”

I had a feeling she would be. This guy was clearly a friend, maybe more. “He’s funny. Just not as funny as you. How’s that?”

She seemed to consider my response before she said, “I guess I can live with that. So do I get to ask you any questions?”

I spread my arms. “I’m an open book. Ask away.”

“Why would a guy like you want to buy a struggling comedy club?”

You’re the reason.
But I didn’t think I could say that without her walking off. “Maybe coming here reminded me I need to laugh more.” That was true. I’d been taking things way too seriously lately. Having a girl like Chelsea in my life, whose mission was to make people laugh, may have been exactly what I needed.

“You could come in a couple times a week with your buddies, have a few beers, and catch a couple of acts. You don’t have to buy the place.”

She had a point. “Maybe I need to diversify. Don’t get me wrong, I love the construction business, but my cousin Damon is always telling me to branch out. Maybe he’s right.”

“You know anything about running a business?” she asked skeptically. She gestured toward my phone, which sat on the table. “It said there you worked for your father’s restaurant chain before starting another business with family. Have you ever done it alone?”

“Can’t say that I have. But there’s a first time for everything, right?”

Our architectural design firm had a waiting list of clients who wanted us to build their homes in the Hamptons, and since I’d agreed with Dustin and Kara at the onset that we didn’t want to take on more projects than we could handle, we were all slightly awed by the fact that people were willing to wait several years for us to build their dream homes.

“I’m not going to lie—our construction business is my first priority. It’s what I’m most passionate about. If I bought this place, I’d have to hire a good manager to oversee day-to-day operations.”

She looked more interested as she leaned forward. “You’d be hiring a manager? Billy always said there wasn’t enough money to do that.”

I shrugged. “This place obviously hasn’t been that profitable under Billy’s leadership.” I didn’t want to insult her friend, but she’d already said he was lacking as a proprietor. “I’d only buy this place with some assurance from someone who knows a hell of a lot more about this stuff than I do that I could turn things around by making the right changes.”

She looked thoughtful for a moment. “Why is a guy like you, with your connections, wealth, and education, not sitting behind a desk, barking orders?”

I pretended to shudder at the suggestion. “Sitting behind a desk all day is my worst nightmare. I’d go crazy.”

Chelsea smiled. “I know what you mean. The thought of that doesn’t appeal to me much either.”

I was getting ahead of myself, but I had to ask. “So if you had the opportunity to manage this place, you wouldn’t be interested?”

“I didn’t say that.”

“What are you saying?”

“I don’t know. I guess I’d have to know what kind of changes you planned to implement first. I love this club. The patrons, the employees, they’re good people. I know the new owner will have to make a lot of changes to make it profitable, but I couldn’t get on board with someone who wanted to come in and clean house.”

That seemed reasonable, but I needed more information before I could make any promises. “I’m going to meet with Billy before I leave tonight. Before I do, what else can you tell me about the people who work here?” I looked around, noting a waitress with black hair streaked with purple, chatting up her customers. A hostess with a platinum blond pageboy cut seated another table.

“Like I said, they’re great.” She pointed at the girl with the purple streaks. “That’s Daphne. She’s my roommate. She’s more like my sister, really. We’re both kind of on our own, so we look out for each other.”

I didn’t know why, but I was relieved she wasn’t all alone. I might have to make some tough decisions moving forward, and if I had to fire any of Chelsea’s friends, I got the sense a date definitely wouldn’t be in the cards for us. “Is she a good waitress?”

“She’s great.” Chelsea glanced at her friend. “She left home when she was really young as well…” She blushed when she realized she’d given away too much. “So she’s been working as a waitress for a long time to support herself. I think she’d like to go back to school someday, but right now, she’s just concentrating on survival, like the rest of us.”

Billy approached the table. “Hey, Chelsea. Just wanted to let you know you’re back on in twenty.”

She jumped up. “Thanks. I have to freshen up and make a quick call before I go back on.” She gestured toward me. “Billy, this is Darius Starkis. It seems he may be interested in your club.”

Billy pumped my hand enthusiastically. “Really? That’s great!”

I gestured to the now-empty chair across from me. “If you’re free, maybe we could talk about it now?”

“Of course.”

I stood, offering Chelsea my hand. “It was nice meeting you, Chelsea. If this pans out, I’m sure I’ll be seeing a lot more of you.”

She offered a tight smile as she quickly withdrew her hand from mine. “It was nice to meet you too, Darius.”

I watched her walk away before Billy muttered, “She’s something, isn’t she?”

I couldn’t disagree, but I wasn’t sure I wanted another man to remind me how great Chelsea was. This would have been the perfect time to pump Billy for information about her, but I wouldn’t do that. If I learned more about her, it would be because she trusted me enough to confide in me.

“Why do you want to sell the club, Billy?” I asked, sitting farther back as I laced my hands.

“Honestly? My father passed away a few years ago, and my mother’s just been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. I have to move back to Idaho to take care of her.”

“I’m sorry to hear that.” Now I had a better understanding of why he was so motivated. While I was sympathetic, I wouldn’t buy into someone else’s headache, no matter how attractive the perks were. “How much are you hoping to get out of it?”

“I know this place may not seem like much compared to some of the bigger clubs in the city, but I think it could be a gold mine. Obviously, it’s off the beaten path a bit, and I haven’t had a lot of money in the budget for marketing, but it has a lot of potential.”

“How much?” I repeated. Whether I was buying a car or a new pair of shoes, I hated the hard sell. If I wanted something, I bought it. I didn’t need some shifty salesperson to convince me I needed it.

“Two hundred K.”

“Hmmm.” I had no idea whether that was a good deal or not since I hadn’t done any research. “My cousin Damon said you were anxious to make a deal. How soon are you hoping to close?”

“As soon as possible. Damon is your cousin?” He whistled low. “I should have realized there was some connection when I heard your last name. That’s some pretty powerful family you have there.”

I regarded the man carefully, trying to size him up. With his dark pants and shirt, slicked back dark hair, trendy glasses, and flashy jewelry, I would have made assumptions about the kind of man he was, but Chelsea’s opinion made me think differently, and I didn’t know why. I barely knew her, yet her opinion already carried substantial weight with me.

“My family does their thing; I do mine.” I didn’t want him to think my family’s stature would affect how much I was willing to pay for the club. In my experience, the Starkis name often drove the price up exponentially.

“Would you like to set up a meeting for tomorrow? I’d be happy to bust open the books so you can see for yourself this place has a lot of potential.”

I ran through Chelsea’s schedule in my head. “I’m on-site at a construction project in the Hamptons tomorrow, so I couldn’t make it here until nine o’clock. Would that work for you?”

“Of course,” he said, grinning. “Whatever works for you works for me, Darius.”

We both knew I was the one with all the power, but little did he know he had something I desperately wanted—insight into what made Ms. King so guarded.

Chelsea

“I still can’t believe Darius-freakin’-Starkis could be our new boss!” Daphne squealed, bouncing up and down on our worn couch.

It was late, and I was tired, but I knew I wouldn’t get any sleep until I’d relayed every single word the man had said. Twice. Daphne liked to go ‘round and ‘round in circles until she was satisfied she’d beaten a topic to death.

“He’s not only single, gorgeous, and rich, but you can just tell by the way he moves he’d be good in bed.”

I rolled my eyes at Daphne’s assessment. She was convinced she could tell by a man’s swagger whether he was an attentive lover. I didn’t have enough experience to know whether she was right or wrong, and since I’d sworn off men, I didn’t care.

“Maybe you’ll get a chance to find out, if he buys the club.” I didn’t know why, but the thought of Darius hooking up with my roommate left a bitter taste in my mouth. I told myself it was only because he’d asked me out first, but I knew it was more than that. He was the first man who’d tempted me since Shaun died.

“Wouldn’t that be incredible?” she asked, her black-rimmed blue eyes wide with excitement. “I’ve never banged a billionaire before.”

That was an understatement. “You’ve never banged a thousandaire. Hell, you’re lucky if you can find a guy with a job.”

Like me, Daphne had had it hard growing up, and her self-esteem took a hit as a result. She had difficulty believing a guy who had his shit together would want her, though it was obvious to me what a great catch she was.

“True.” She looked so lost in thought I wondered if I could escape to bed without her noticing, but she said, “You think he has a girlfriend?”

Uh oh. Now I had to tell her that he’d asked me out. That would inevitably lead to another lecture about how I had to get back in the game. Shaun had been gone for almost two years, and I couldn’t continue to nurse my wounds forever, according to Daphne. But she didn’t understand what I’d been through. No one could unless they’d lived through something similar.

“Well? Do you think he’s single or what?”

“Yeah, he is.” I considered letting it go at that, but if Darius ended up buying the club, I got the impression there would be other dinner invitations in my future, meaning Daphne would find out about his interest in me eventually. I may as well get it over with now. “He asked me out.”

Her mouth dropped open. “Shut. Up!”

“It’s no big deal.”

“A sexy billionaire asks you out, and it’s no big deal?”

“His family are billionaires. I’m not sure that makes him one.” It was a weak argument. That money would all be his one day, in addition to the personal fortune he seemed to be amassing.

“Oh please. So what did you say?”

“You know I don’t date.” I reached for the throw I’d crocheted while Daphne was out living life.

Her eyes softened. “Honey, I know what happened with Shaun broke your heart, but you have to get over it sometime. Maybe Darius is just the guy to help you do that.”

I shook my head. “It’s not a question of getting over it.” On good days, I felt over it, but that didn’t mean I wouldn’t forever question how I’d missed the signs that the man I’d married was on a slippery slope to self-destruction. “I just don’t want to get involved with anyone right now. I need to be in a better place first.”