She was so different from other shifter women. He figured that was why they got along so well.
“I guess I can take your lady friend out for a dress shopping excursion. But that means that you’re gonna have to do something for me.”
Kyle knew he wouldn’t get off easy by asking Sophie for a favor. She was known for her negotiation skills. There was clearly something she wanted, and she probably had been waiting and biding her time until she could use it to her advantage just like she was now.
“What do you want?” He had a feeling that he might get the shorter end of the stick in the deal. Helping Kelly find a dress would be the easy part.
“I want you to ask Eric about making me a full partner in the club.”
Kyle raised an eyebrow. This was a discussion the two of them had had multiple times over the last year. It wasn’t that he didn’t think that she was capable of it. But there was a thing between the three men that they had agreed on many years ago. The Urban Dwellers had always been the three of them. It had nothing to do with Sophie’s competency or her ability to lead. In fact, there were many times when Kyle thought she would be a better club manager than he was.
“Sophie, we’ve already gone through this. You know what Eric will say.” Eric was the real roadblock. He thought that Tony probably wouldn’t mind. Tony had commented more than once about the outstanding sales that he saw coming from Sophie’s part of the bar. They had a monthly meeting where they went over all of the profit and loss statements for all of their businesses. That was the thing. The public only knew about the legal parts of their business. There were several others that were more profitable but not ones that they could talk about. If they were to allow Sophie to be a partner, these types of things would come to light. He didn’t want to involve Sophie any further than he needed to. He didn’t want to expose her to those activities and make her a knowing party to it.
He saw Sophie tapping her toe. She was irritated. “I’m gonna make this simple for you, Kyle. If you guys don’t let me in, I’ll go off and start my own club, and then we will be competitors. You’d much rather have me on your side than against you.”
It wasn’t the first time that Sophie had voiced this particular threat. But Kyle was starting to see that she was becoming more serious every time she said it. He was starting to put a few other things together as well. He had heard that Sophie contacted one of the Urban Dwellers real estate agents recently. He just figured she was looking for a new place to live. Now he wasn’t so sure. Then there was the fact that she was cozying up to their DJ. If she left, she probably would end up taking half the staff with her too. He realized he was in a precarious situation, despite their friendship. He had to do something to diffuse the situation. But it was going to require talking to Eric, which was not something that Kyle looked forward to doing anyways.
“Let me talk to Eric again. He’s being difficult, but I’ll try.” In all actuality, Kyle hadn’t even broached the topic with Eric yet. He had been trying to avoid the conversation altogether. He had a feeling that Sophie also knew that.
Sophie tossed the clipboard at him. “Here, you can take care of the rest of the wine order for today. Apparently, I have some shopping to do.” Kyle watched her as she walked away. He saw the looks of appreciation on the male staff members faces as they watched her walk away too. Sophie didn’t so much walk as she sashayed. It was curious to him, but for as long as he had known Sophie, he hadn’t felt the slightest bit of romantic interest toward her. Of course, he met her after he already knew Kelly. He had heard that once you met the person that you thought could be your mate, all of the rest of the people in the world failed to be attractive.
Mate. There was that word again. He had to stop thinking
“I guess I can take your lady friend out for a dress shopping excursion. But that means that you’re gonna have to do something for me.”
Kyle knew he wouldn’t get off easy by asking Sophie for a favor. She was known for her negotiation skills. There was clearly something she wanted, and she probably had been waiting and biding her time until she could use it to her advantage just like she was now.
“What do you want?” He had a feeling that he might get the shorter end of the stick in the deal. Helping Kelly find a dress would be the easy part.
“I want you to ask Eric about making me a full partner in the club.”
Kyle raised an eyebrow. This was a discussion the two of them had had multiple times over the last year. It wasn’t that he didn’t think that she was capable of it. But there was a thing between the three men that they had agreed on many years ago. The Urban Dwellers had always been the three of them. It had nothing to do with Sophie’s competency or her ability to lead. In fact, there were many times when Kyle thought she would be a better club manager than he was.
“Sophie, we’ve already gone through this. You know what Eric will say.” Eric was the real roadblock. He thought that Tony probably wouldn’t mind. Tony had commented more than once about the outstanding sales that he saw coming from Sophie’s part of the bar. They had a monthly meeting where they went over all of the profit and loss statements for all of their businesses. That was the thing. The public only knew about the legal parts of their business. There were several others that were more profitable but not ones that they could talk about. If they were to allow Sophie to be a partner, these types of things would come to light. He didn’t want to involve Sophie any further than he needed to. He didn’t want to expose her to those activities and make her a knowing party to it.
He saw Sophie tapping her toe. She was irritated. “I’m gonna make this simple for you, Kyle. If you guys don’t let me in, I’ll go off and start my own club, and then we will be competitors. You’d much rather have me on your side than against you.”
It wasn’t the first time that Sophie had voiced this particular threat. But Kyle was starting to see that she was becoming more serious every time she said it. He was starting to put a few other things together as well. He had heard that Sophie contacted one of the Urban Dwellers real estate agents recently. He just figured she was looking for a new place to live. Now he wasn’t so sure. Then there was the fact that she was cozying up to their DJ. If she left, she probably would end up taking half the staff with her too. He realized he was in a precarious situation, despite their friendship. He had to do something to diffuse the situation. But it was going to require talking to Eric, which was not something that Kyle looked forward to doing anyways.
“Let me talk to Eric again. He’s being difficult, but I’ll try.” In all actuality, Kyle hadn’t even broached the topic with Eric yet. He had been trying to avoid the conversation altogether. He had a feeling that Sophie also knew that.
Sophie tossed the clipboard at him. “Here, you can take care of the rest of the wine order for today. Apparently, I have some shopping to do.” Kyle watched her as she walked away. He saw the looks of appreciation on the male staff members faces as they watched her walk away too. Sophie didn’t so much walk as she sashayed. It was curious to him, but for as long as he had known Sophie, he hadn’t felt the slightest bit of romantic interest toward her. Of course, he met her after he already knew Kelly. He had heard that once you met the person that you thought could be your mate, all of the rest of the people in the world failed to be attractive.
Mate. There was that word again. He had to stop thinking
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