The Things We Do For Love (The Swingtown Series Book 2) Read online

  Copyright © 2015 by Jaime Whitley

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, distributed, stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form of by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, without express permission of the author, except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages for review purposes, if done so constitutes a copyright violation.

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, places, characters and events are fictitious in every regard. Any similarities to actual events and persons, living or dead, are purely coincidental. Any trademarks, service marks, product names, or named features are assumed to be the property of their respective owners and are used only for reference. There is no implied endorsement if any of these terms are used.

  Edited by: Jess with Proofreading By The Page.

  Formatted by: Jaime Whitley

  Book Cover Designed by: Jaime Whitley

  Acknowledgments

  These are going to be short and sweet.

  To my circle, Ferris, Skye, Tyf, Michelle, Heidi, Kathy, Jess, Gabbie, Stacey, and Tracy. I love you bitches and thank you for always supporting me!

  To my PA Tiffany, You’re the best PA ever, and I appreciate everything you do for me!

  To everyone in the lifestyle who took the time to talk to me and educate me on swinging, I appreciate all the time taken out of your daily schedules and all the knowledge you provided me with. To open up about something so personal and share your experiences with me is much appreciated. I have to say; you all have a heart of gold.

  Jamie, oh where should I start? Thank you for coming with me and remembering everything while I took notes. I hate the circumstance that brought us back together, but I’m glad we’re always able to pick right back up where we left off.

  Freddie, Jillian and Kimmie, Thank you for always looking for errors.

  To the owners of a special club, I appreciate you letting me come in and see what a swingers club looks like and everything that is involved with running it.

  To my family, I love you to the moon and back. Never stop dreaming.

  To the readers, bloggers, I appreciate your continued support and couldn’t do any of this without you.

  A quick note:

  As you all know Klaus is British. To better understand him, here is a breakdown of his language he uses in this short story.

  Barmy- you’re mad or gone crazy.

  Chuffed- Pleased.

  All to pot- referring to a situation going out of your control and failing miserably.

  All Right- Hello, how are you.

  Skiving- play hooky, evade.

  Lose the plot- slang for losing your shit, becoming angry.

  A fortnight- Two weeks

  Aggro- Short for aggravation

  Shite- Shit (just pronounced differently)

  Happy Reading <3

  Chapter 1

  They say you never know what life is going to throw at you or even place in your lap. That’s what happened last night, to say it shocked me is an understatement. When Hayley invited our new neighbors to the club, I thought they would be running for the hills and avoid us at any cost. That wasn’t the case at all though, and I think we may have given their marriage the little nudge that they needed. I don’t know much about it, but Hayley filled me in on what Katrina had told her.

  I’m heading to the club early today; I have a couple kegs being delivered, and I don’t want to risk missing the delivery. I grab the keys from my pocket and I’m surprised when I walk up to the door and it swings open.

  “Hey, there boss.” I’m greeted with a smiling red-haired beauty.

  “Well well, aren’t you a sight for sore eyes.” I give her a returning smile, grabbing the door from her as she stands back and lets me enter.

  “Oh, I’m a sight alright. A fucking beautiful one.” I laugh at Skye. I’m more than happy she’s here.

  “I take it you’re feeling better since you’re here?” We walk into the club together, and she heads straight to the bar. She starts to fill the shelves with the clean glasses from below the counter, preparing to get the place ready for later.

  “Much. I can’t believe I missed the opening last night. I’m so pissed about that. You only get one big night like that.”

  “Don’t worry about it. Hayley filled in for you.” I lean against the bar, and she raises an eyebrow at me. She knows that Hayley doesn’t like to be the center of attention. I can tell she’s going to use this opportunity to rag on her when she sees her later.

  “She did well. She simply welcomed everyone and then we had everyone else popping in and out. There was enough happening to keep everyone entertained.”

  “And what about you?” She smiles across the bar and I have a funny feeling she isn’t asking if I took a turn with the microphone.

  “What about me?” I walk around the back of the bar and help her grab some of the bottles from the higher shelves.

  “Did you have a good time last night?” She winks at me and I know exactly what she’s referring to.

  “You know our rules.” I give her a stern look, not really wanting to discuss this sort of thing with her.

  “Oh I know them alright, but from what I heard, you left with a couple last night. I thought you guys never swing with your club members?” I know precisely whom she is referring to and it never fails to amaze me how fast gossip gets spread around.

  “That’s different.” She laughs throwing her head back.

  “I knew it was only a matter of time before one of you broke the rules.” She swats me with the towel she always keeps on her waist while working. That’s one thing I love about Skye, not only does she not take shit from anyone, but she’s a bit of a clean freak and is always cleaning something.

  “First off we didn’t break the rules. They aren’t members: they’re our neighbors. And what the hell is that supposed to mean?” My tone is defensive, but I can't help it. We always try to keep our personal life out of the club, but apparently it isn’t working out that way.

  “You guys have been swinging for so long; I’ve seen couples that have swung for shorter periods of time break the rules.” She shrugs like it isn’t a big thing.

  “Your lack of faith in Hayley and myself is kind of heartbreaking.” I place my hand over my heart like her words hurt.

  “You’re so stupid,” Smacking me, she grabs two glasses and fills them with soda, handing me one. “And while you’re here I thought I would mention, whoever cleaned up last night did a shitty job.” She points around at a few things that really shouldn’t look the way they do.

  “Because they didn’t have you here, hovering over them and bossing them around. No one was here inspecting everything they did.” Looking around I notice the crew did a bodge job cleaning up. “Have I ever told you how cheeky you are? No one should talk to their boss the way you do.”

  “Quit being such an arse,” Skye always mocks me for the way I speak, doing it with a horrible fake accent. Of course, I’ll never tell her it’s horrible. She’d kick my arse and quit. “You've got a point. Everyone knows that I’m actually the boss around here so it would make sense that this place looks like a dump when I'm not here.” My mouth is left hanging open at her attitude. I'm pretty sure I shouldn’t put up with her. She reaches over and pushes up on my chin, closing my mouth. “You better shut that before it start’s cramping. And don’t look so shocked, you know you couldn’t run this place without me.” She’s right, so I don’t argue with her on that one. The only reason I put up with her cheekiness on a daily basis, because she's a kick arse w
orker.

  I lucked out when I found Skye. I still have another club in London that I own. That’s my baby, and I couldn’t bring myself to sell it. I have one of my best mates, Declan running the place for me and I visit it every few months to make sure it’s running smoothly. When I leave the country Hayley always comes with me. I couldn’t go all that time without her, so if I didn’t have Skye here to help, I’d have to close the club for the two weeks we’re gone. She may be barmy at times, but she’s a smart businesswoman and I’d be bloody stupid not to keep her around. Skye walks over to the DJ booth and plugs in her iPhone, and her music brings us some tunes to sing and dance to as we spiff up the place for tonight’s toga party.

  “I have something huge planned tonight mate, so why don’t you finish up in here while I get ready for my grand entrance. I’m going to show you how to open a club.” She winks and struts off towards the staff office. I’m not sure if I should be chuffed or scared. Skye is a bit of a wildcard and can go a little bonkers at times. Either way, I do as she says and finish getting ready for the night.

  Chapter 2

  As Skye was getting ready, Freya, our receptionist I guess you can call her, called out sick. As if I didn’t have a fuck load of shit to do today, more just keeps being added to my plate. I have this horrible feeling that tonight is going to be all to pot. I grab my cell and dial Hayley, I’m going to need her to get here a little early to help with checking in the members. Tapping the pen I’m holding against the desk, I wait for her to answer.

  “Hey there, sexy.” She coos into the phone.

  “Hi, sweetheart, we have a problem.” I sigh in annoyance. This isn’t the first time Freya has called out at the last minute. “Freya has called out sick again, I'm pretty sure she’s skiving, but I can’t just accuse her of it. So I’m going to need you to come in and help check in our members. I’m sorry love, I know you wanted to get your hair done, but Skye is off prepping for her own reopening,” Hayley laughs. “And I’m scrambling around trying to get everything set up.” There’s a knock on the front door interrupting my conversation. “Shit. Hang on, I think the kegs are here.” I get up and walk over to the door, opening it and nodding for the guys to come on in. “You can place them over by the bar.” I patiently wait for them to put the kegs where I need them as I sign their clipboard. Locking up the front door after they leave, I rush back to the office and grab the phone. “Sorry, you there?”

  “I’m here. Stop stressing, I’ll take a quick shower and head on over. And honey?” She really is the most amazing woman I’ve ever met. Even when she is forced to change her own plans she does it without complaint.

  “Yeah?”

  “It’s time to fire Freya. She’s too flakey and we need someone more reliable. I’ll take care of her, just go get ready and I’ll see you soon.” I feel my body relax as her words calm me. Confirming what I already know, she’s is always here for me whenever I need her the most.

  “What would I do without you?” She laughs and I know she doesn’t realize how much I really mean this question.

  “Probably find someone else willing to change their lifestyle for you.” She jokes, and I can almost see her biting her lip in that cute way she does.

  “Never. I intend to love you for the longest time.” There’s a beep and I pull the phone away, seeing Declan’s name on the screen. “Alright love, Declan’s calling and I gotta take it.”

  “See you soon, darling.” I wait for her to hang up before I hit accept on Declan’s call.

  “What’s up, Wanker?” I joke.

  “We have a problem.” Normally I’d laugh that he used the same words I did only minutes ago, but his tone is firm and I can tell he’s all business. He’s not his usual catty self.

  Closing my eyes, I pinch the bridge of my nose. “How bad?” I ask, wishing I hadn’t gotten out of bed today. Some days just need a redo button.

  “Bad enough that I need you to hop on the next flight out. Listen mate, you know if I could handle this one on my own I would, but it’s pretty bad.” His tone isn’t helping my stress levels. If it's something he can’t deal with on his own, it must be bad.

  “Okay, I have a party tonight. Can it wait till after and I’ll catch the next flight out?” I try to mentally work out what I need to organize before I leave the country.

  “Not really.” Shit, that’s not really what I wanted to hear.

  “What the hell is going on, Declan?” I have a hundred scenarios rushing through my head, and none of them are good.

  “There are photos. Tons of them, all over the net. Somehow, someone managed to slip a camera into the club.” I hear how defeated he sounds, but that doesn’t help the anger that’s starting to build. The number one rule, no fucking cameras.

  “What the fuck do you mean there's photos? How the hell did this happen?” I'm trying not to lose it with him but he's in charge, and something like this could ruin us.

  “I thought at first maybe they were just from someone’s cell phone, that maybe security missed it. But mate, I think they have them planted in the actual club.” I hear something bang over the phone like he's hit something.

  “Bloody hell, how the fuck did they get them in there?” This is a shit storm that’s about to come down onto us all. We need to get this sorted.

  “I haven’t got a clue. There’s no signs of forced entry on either of the locks. This is bad, Klaus. I need you here to help me figure this shite out.” I’m about to lose the plot when I feel a hand touch my shoulder scaring the shit out of me.

  “Bollocks, Skye. You damn near gave me a heart attack.” I hold my finger up to her turning my attention back to Declan. “I’ll look up flights now and be on the next one out.” I hang up and throw my phone across the desk, shouting, "FUCK" at the top of my voice.

  “Everything okay, boss?” I turn to look at Skye who is standing there with wide eyes.

  “Far from it. There’s some dodgy shit going on with the club in London. I need you to do me a favor and search TPOT.” I need to get all my ducks in a row before going into battle, and all the information I can get the better.

  “Why am I looking up That Place Over There?” I don’t have time to explain everything, she just needs to do it.

  “Just do it, please. I’ll explain later.” I ask as I sit at my desk looking up flight times. I’m searching flights, anything that will leave tonight or early tomorrow. I need to get there before everything turns to hell if it hasn’t already. I keep running across the same problem, only one seat available. I don’t like it, but I’m going to have to make this trip without Hayley. I can’t wait to discuss it with her, so I go ahead and book the flight that leaves at Four AM.

  “WHAT THE FUCK!” Skye’s screaming voice gains my attention. I look to her and see her mouth hanging open as she looks intently at the computer screen. “Klaus, you have to see these.” Sliding my chair over to her, I take a look at the screen and feel my stomach drop to my feet.

  “Motherfucker, this is bad. Really, really bad.” There are pictures from one of our parties, more than I can count. The main selling point of our clubs is how discreet we are, we take members privacy very seriously. You can be the damn mayor or President and we don’t care, we will assure discreetness. This, however, is the furthest from it. As I look at each picture I can see one lawsuit after another.

  “Klaus, how did this happen?” Her voice has lowered as what is happening obviously registers with her.

  “I don’t know. Fuck. I need to get over there Skye, and I don’t know how long I’ll be. I’m going to need you to help Hayley run the place while I’m gone.” This is my worst nightmare come true and I'm not sure what’s going to happen with it.

  “You got it. Wait? Why isn’t Hayley going with you?” I rub my temples, the stress really starting to build in my head.

  “I couldn’t get a flight in the next twenty-four hours with two seats.” She purses her lips at me and gives me the ‘you’re screwed’ look. “I know she’s n
ot going to be happy about it, but there’s nothing I can do. Hayley will understand when I tell her.”

  “Understand what?” Hayley says, from behind me as she leans down placing a kiss on my cheek. I'm so thankful that’s she's here now, but I'm worried how she’s going to take the news.

  “That call from Declan wasn’t a good one. There’s a major problem with TPOT.” I nod towards the computer that has the pictures of the club. Her hand flies to her mouth in shock.

  “Oh my God. How did this happen?” Her voice is quiet and I hate that she is going to worry so much about this.

  “I don’t know, but I have to go over there.”

  “Okay, so when do we leave?” And here is the bit that’s going to cause a lot of problems. She is going to hate not being there to support me. We very rarely spend time apart, it’s not something we like to do.

  Rubbing the back of my neck, I avoid eye contact. “About that, I couldn’t find a flight that had more than one seat available so I just booked for myself. I’m sorry beautiful, I really tried to find one for both of us, but there just wasn’t one. And this isn’t something that could wait for me to find one, I needed to be there yesterday.” I reach out and cup her face, holding her cheeks in my hand.