Club Thrive: Agenda (The Club Thrive Series Book 3) Read online

  Table of Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Epilogue

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  Club Thrive:

  Agenda

  Alison Mello

  Club Thrive: Agenda

  Copyright © 2017 by Alison Mello.

  All rights reserved.

  First Print Edition: August 2017

  Limitless Publishing, LLC

  Kailua, HI 96734

  www.limitlesspublishing.com

  Formatting: Limitless Publishing

  ISBN-13: 978-1-64034-196-8

  ISBN-10: 1-64034-196-X

  No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to locales, events, business establishments, or actual persons—living or dead—is entirely coincidental.

  Table of Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Epilogue

  *BONUS* INSTANT ACCESS TO A SECRET CHAPTER!

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  Chapter 1

  Stone

  “Baby, I have to get going,” I call to Miranda as I’m about to head out the door. I have a meeting with Logan, my boss, at the club today. I just wish he would have told me what it was about.

  She saunters into the room wearing black leggings and a snug fitting top that comes down to the top of her plump ass. “Okay, I’ll see you in a little bit?” She stands at the door looking up at me. I can’t help but smile, my girl is almost a full head shorter than me, so she has to look up when standing this close to me. I love that, it gives me a chance to look down into the biggest and brightest brown eyes I’ve ever seen. They remind me of pure milk chocolate.

  “Yeah. I just hope I didn’t do something wrong. It’s driving me crazy that he won’t tell me what’s going on.” I’ve been stressing since he asked to meet with me on Saturday night.

  “I’m sure it’s fine. Don’t get yourself all in a panic until you’ve spoken to the guy.” I smile down at her before pressing my lips to hers.

  “You’re right,” I tell her when I break our kiss. “I’ll be back in a bit and then we’ll head out for dinner.”

  “Sounds good,” she grabs my shirt and pulling me in for one more kiss.

  Looking into her eyes, her lips hovering over mine, I say, “If you keep this up, I’m going to throw you over my shoulder, carry you off to my bed, and fuck you until you scream my name.”

  “Promise?” A dirty grin spreads across her luscious lips.

  I take a deep breath. “Don’t push me, woman.” She giggles, and the sound drives me wild. Miranda is an amazing woman who enjoys playing in bed as much as I do, and I fucking love it. “When I get back, be in jeans. We’re taking my bike to dinner.”

  “See you soon.” She wanders off to get ready. We’ve been dating for quite a while now, and when I told her I had a motorcycle, she was so excited to ride with me. She had never been on one before, but I’m so glad she’s not afraid of it like my last girlfriend was.

  I make my way out the door to find my Harley sitting in one of my reserved spots. I swing my leg over, slip on my helmet, and start her up. I learned to ride as soon as I got my driver’s license, but couldn’t afford one of my own until I got out of the Army. Now I ride it as often as I can. I love the roar of the engine and its power. I also own a huge truck. I like my truck, but my Harley is my escape. I’ve given myself some extra time, so I take the long way to the club, hoping to calm my nerves a little before I get there. I have a route I enjoy riding that involves some hills and winding roads. I can really open her up and enjoy her power. As I ride along feeling the breeze flow through my helmet, I realize that the ride is not as calming without Miranda on the back. I love the feeling of her arms wrapped firmly around me and there’s nothing like my woman’s body pressed against mine as we ride off together.

  I pull up to Club Thrive and park in the back where I normally do. I notice both Shane’s and Jonah’s trucks are here. Logan didn’t mention them being a part of our meeting. I don’t have keys to the club and it’s locked, so I bang on the back entrance to let Logan know I’m here. I let out a deep breath. What the fuck is going on? I wait for one of them to open the door.

  The door opens and I find Shane there. “’Sup, man.” He sticks out his hand. I shake it and he pulls me in for a hug.

  “Not much, man. What’s going on?”

  “Come on. Logan and Jonah are waiting in my office.”

  “Dude, did I fuck up or something? I didn’t know you guys were a part of the meeting too.” I’m suddenly nervous that I’m about to lose my job.

  “Relax, man, just hear us out.” He opens the door to his office.

  Both Jonah and Logan get up to shake my hand, then Logan says, “Have a seat.” His tone is serious.

  I sigh and take a seat. I can’t believe my palms are sweating. I feel like a fucking kid in the damn principal’s office and he’s about to tell my pops that I’ve been suspended again. Logan opens what I assume is my employee file. “We all think you’ve been doing a great job in the short time you’ve been working here.” His tone still serious and firm.

  “Thanks, I like working at the club.” I’m trying not to sound nervous, but I know I’m failing.

  “Well, the problem is I don’t want you here anymore.” He shakes his head, exaggerating his point.

  Oh fuck, here we go, I’m losing my job. What the hell could I have done that has them so upset that they no longer want me here? “What do you mean? What did I do?”

  “You did a good job.” He says it like it’s common knowledge.

  “If I did such a good job, then why don’t you want me here?” I question, totally confused and a bit agitated because he’s talking in circles.

  “Because, I want you as my head bouncer at Club Heat,” Logan annou
nces with a huge grin on his face.

  I sigh with relief. “Holy shit, man. I thought you were trying to fucking fire me.” I run my fingers through my long hair.

  They all burst out into laughter. “I know. I could tell how nervous you were over the phone, so we decided to have some fun with you. I’m sorry, man.” Logan laughs. “It was all Shane’s idea.”

  “What the hell? It was not.” Shane puts his hands up in a defensive manner. “It was Jonah’s idea,” Shane says, passing the buck.

  “Okay, I don’t care whose idea it was, you guys suck.” I shake my head. “Just remember, payback is a bitch.”

  “Does that mean you’ll take the job?” Logan asks with laughter in his voice.

  “Hell yeah, I’ll take the job. That’s awesome. Thanks, man.”

  “Cool, you’ll start in two weeks. I need to replace you here and give the new bouncer a chance to adjust.”

  “Sounds good, man.” I stand to shake Logan’s hand again and thank him for the promotion. The other two managers congratulate me.

  “I’ll have you follow me around a bit to show you how I space out the bouncers and stuff like that, but really, you’re still a bouncer. The only difference will be that you will have people coming to you with their problems and scheduling,” Jonah says to me.

  Logan pulls out my new job description, employee handbook, and a non-disclosure agreement to sign. It’s basic, saying that all club business stays within the club, and that I can be terminated for discussing club policies and such outside the club. I happily sign it, because really to me that’s common sense. I wouldn’t discuss the club with anyone, anyway.

  Once I hand the NDA back to him, he looks at me with a grin. “Now it’s important that you know as a part of the management team, you’re now a bigger part of the Club Thrive/Club Heat family, and as family, we get together for dinner on Monday nights at my place. I hope we can count on you and Miranda to be there.”

  “Of course we’ll be there. What time?”

  “I’ll text you the time and my address.” He sticks out his hand one more time.

  “Thanks, Logan. I won’t let you down.”

  My boys congratulate me and I head back out the door, excited to get home to my girl. I can’t wait to give her the good news. I don’t have a ton of time before our dinner reservation, so I better get a move on.

  ***

  I pull up to my spot, turn off my bike, place my helmet on the back, and run toward my apartment building. I live in a decent area not too far from the club. I have two reserved spots and there’s plenty of visitor parking. There’s a doorman, and the staff that run the place are really nice. They keep the place tidy and looking good.

  I run up to the door and Sam is there to greet me. “Good afternoon, Mr. Alexander. How are you today?” he asks in his Bahamian accent with a smile.

  “I’m well, thanks, but in a hurry,” I respond, running straight past him to the elevators. When the doors open, I step inside, pushing the button. I live on the eighth floor, so I never take the stairs. I spend a lot of time in the gym, so there’s no need for that. The elevator quickly whisks me up to the eighth floor and I hurry into my apartment. “Baby, I’m home,” I shout as I run through the door.

  “Well, you look a lot happier now than when you left,” she greets me with a huge smile.

  “That’s because I got a promotion.”

  “What do you mean? Is Jonah leaving?”

  “No, I’m going to be the head bouncer at Club Heat,” I boast, pumped up.

  Her brows furrow, her smile drops, and she turns away from me. “Oh, that’s cool,” she sounds more like I just told her that her puppy was hit by a car.

  “What’s wrong? I thought you’d be happy for me.” I’m so confused.

  “I am. Let me grab my things and we can go to dinner. We need to celebrate.” She tries to hide from me, but I’m not having it.

  I follow her into the bedroom and lean against the doorway with my arms folded across my chest. If she thinks for one minute that I’m buying her I’m fine gig, she’s crazy. We’ve been together long enough for me to know better. We’re not going out until she tells me what’s wrong. I’m watching her as she moves around the room, doing nothing other than avoiding me. “Talk to me,” I demand, causing her to jump.

  “About what?” she asks, shaking her head like everything is great.

  “Why does this bother you?”

  “Why?” Her brows shoot up like I should know. “Because my boyfriend is now going to spend five or six nights a week around women who take their clothes off for a living, and in case you haven’t realized it, you happen to be an attractive guy.” I can’t believe how enraged she is.

  I pull away from the wall, brows furrowed. I place my hands on each of her arms to hold her still. “You’re seriously jealous. What happened to all your confidence?” She turns away from me, but I spin her back around, scoop her up, and place her on my bed. She tries to turn her head from me, but I won’t allow it. I climb on top of her and grab her chin, forcing her to look at me, and then I kiss her, hard. She clearly needs to see that I want no one else, so I pour my all into this one kiss. She fights me at first, but I slip my fingers into her hair, pulling it slightly to hold her still. She finally caves and opens to me. When I break away, I look into her big brown eyes and say, “Who have I been spending every free minute with?”

  “Me,” she answers.

  “What would make you think I want anyone else?”

  “I’m sorry, I don’t know what came over me. I guess I’m just a bit insecure after my last relationship. I should be over that by now.” She fights back the tears threatening to spill down her cheeks. .

  “I know your ex was a dick and tried to control your life, and I’m willing to bet your suspicions of him cheating on you were probably accurate, but I’m not him. I know I get controlling in the bedroom, but I promise you this is the only place I need to be in charge. I don’t want anyone else. I need you to trust me on this.”

  “I’m sorry,” she apologizes one more time.

  I climb off her, pulling her up with me. Her body collides with mine and I wrap her in a hug, holding her for a minute. “Let’s get to dinner because I have plans for you tonight.”

  “Um, it’s a work night. I thought we agreed I sleep at home on work nights?” she questions.

  “Fine, I have plans for you at your place, and then I’ll head home.”

  She chuckles and says, “If I had work clothes here I would just spend the night, but I don’t. I’ve only left a few everyday items here and I really don’t want to get up earlier than necessary to go home and change.”

  “Maybe it’s time we change that,” I tell her, taking her hand and pulling her toward the door.

  She grabs her black calf high boots from the floor, slips them on, and we walk down to the lobby. I’m happy I’ve managed to save the night and I’m hoping my bouncing at the strip club doesn’t become an issue for us in the future. I’m beyond the point of just liking Miranda, and the last thing I want to do is add stress to our relationship.

  When we approach my Harley, I pull out my extra helmet and slip it onto her head before putting on mine. I climb on and stand it up so she can get on behind me. When I know she’s settled with her arms around my waist, I start the bike and zip off toward the restaurant.

  It’s a little bit of a drive and we are running very late for our reservations. We pull up to the place and hurry inside, but to my disappointment the hostess just gave our table away, and since the place is packed, they have to turn us away. I take Miranda’s hand and start back toward the bike. “Come on, we’ll find somewhere else to eat.”

  “Just take me home. I’ll cook us up something.” she sounds so sad. “I’ve ruined the night. I’m sorry.”

  “You need to stop with these apologies. Where’s the strong woman I started dating six months ago?”

  Her lips are all pouty. She’s killing me tonight. The downside to ri
ding my motorcycle is that I can’t pick any food up. We’re only about twenty minutes from her house, so I grab my phone from my pocket and place a quick order, giving the guy a specific delivery time. Jumping back on my Harley, I start it up so we can take off to her house. I want to make sure we’re there before the food arrives. I’m determined to turn this night around.

  She wraps her arms around me and once again we’re off. I hope once we have something to eat, I can make her feel better about this situation before I head home for the night. As we ride off toward her house, I can feel her body pressed to mine. She’s holding me tighter than she typically does and I have a feeling this entire strip club thing has really messed her up. Maybe it’s time I tell her how deeply I feel for her.

  We pull up to her house. Luckily, there’s a spot right in front. I wait for her to climb off before I shut the bike down. By the time I get off the bike she’s already at the door, holding it open for me. As soon as I take the door, she runs up the stairs ahead of me. I follow her all the way into her apartment, where I’m about to scoop her over my shoulder and take her to her room to straighten her ass out when the doorbell rings. I sigh in frustration as I quickly buzz the guy in and wait for him at her door while she’s busy in the kitchen getting us drinks.

  As soon as the guy is gone, I put the food on the table. She places a bottle of water in front of me, knowing darn well I won’t drink if I’m riding. She sips her glass of wine and takes a seat next to me and then we both begin to eat. There’s some serious tension in the air and I’ve had enough. I push my plate away, having eaten only about half of it. Her eyes shoot up to meet mine. I stand from my seat, nearly knocking it over. Pulling her chair from the table, I scoop her up over my shoulder and she screams, “What are you doing?”

  I swat her on the ass and say, “Lower your damn voice. Your walls are paper thin.” When I get to her room, I slip her down the length of my body and grab her chin, forcing her to look at me. “I don’t know what’s gotten into you today, but we’re going to rectify this.” The part of me that wants to throw her on the bed and fuck her silly slips away. “I love you, Miranda. I don’t want to be with anyone else. Please trust me, the club won’t be an issue.”