Release Me

Part 27

After our clandestine feast of pastries, accompanied by bouts of hearty, uninhibited laughter, the rest of the day seemed to disintegrate into a dizzying whirl of chaotic activity.

As equipment and components snaked their way in an unbroken line, I scrambled to keep pace, meticulously making notes for future logistics once the club was open to the public. It would be impossible to close the foyer down as it was right now if paying members were in the club, or should we shut the club for an event of this magnitude and for how long?

My mind raced with a barrage of questions as I checked in the arriving Sovereign Society Security team and discussed their high-level plan with Kade, who was noticeably irked by my role as an intermediary.

In the bar, the manager took the temporary supplied staff through the basics of our untested operations. The same was happening in the cigar lounge, and I was glad I'd been able to close the restaurant area since food would be served out of these two areas.

I leafed through the substantial event notebook clutched in my hand, thankful now for the detailed attention I had given during my butler certification. It was the one thing I thought I'd never use, but it had come in handy more than once over the past few weeks as I struggled to keep up with the ever-increasing demands of moving the club from the construction phase to operational.

Samantha was an invaluable assistant throughout the day, but precisely as the clock neared three, Parker commandeered her presence, and they vanished into an upstairs room earmarked as the backstage for the show. Part of me breathed a sigh of relief, hoping that somehow it'd all worked out after all and the show found a replacement. I smiled to myself as I moved off to my office, glad most of the tasks were completed and only the final details, along with guest arrivals, remained.

"This is shaping up to be quite the spectacle," Tanner murmured from behind me, causing me to spin around abruptly, my heart fluttering with surprise at his sudden appearance.

"Yes. I think almost everything is in place. The guest are scheduled to arrive in about three hours with the curtain going up at eight."

"Then it's time," Tanner said as he took a step closer.

"I can't... I've got to..." My words trailed off, lost in the swirl of my thoughts. "Follow orders," he supplied the ending to the sentence that refused to form.

A young man sidestepped Tanner. Impeccably dressed, his easy smile was one crafted from habitual practice, suggesting a well-honed familiarity with such environments.

"I'm Carl. Our contract owner sent me to relieve you of your duties so you might have time to prepare for this evening's frivolities."

"Nice to meet you," I offered, along with a curt nod of acknowledgement. Despite my terse response, his practiced smile didn't falter.

"Relax, Alexandra. I'll take good care of everything, I promise," he said putting out his hand to accept the large binder that held all the details for the event. "Trust me."

"She doesn't do that well," Tanner commented, a smirk playing on the edge of his lips.

"You don't want to disappoint your contract owner, do you?" Carl asked. I dropped my head, took a deep breath and handed him the binder. "Good job. Now, enjoy your evening."

"This is for you, now that you've been relieved of your duties here at the club," Tanner said as he handed me a linen envelope.

"This day keeps getting better and better," I muttered under my breath. Picking up the letter opener with trembling fingers, I sliced open the envelope with my finger, revealing the small notecard I knew lay inside.