She shook her head inwardly: no, she can’t do that. Nobody can.

“So, which club do you own?”, Carmen asked, fiddling with her pen.

Shane cleared her voice.

“It’s called DEW”, she replied quietly, and Carmen’s eyes widened.

“Oh!”, she exclaimed writing something on her pad.

Shane smirked.

“Have you ever heard about it?”.

Carmen didn’t look up, but chuckled.

“Of course. I don’t think there’s someone in town who has never heard about DEW…”, she muttered.

“Why do you say so?”, Shane said, sincerely surprised.

Carmen exhaled a long breath and flipped a strand of hair behind her ear. And Shane found herself thinking something that she immediately banished from her mind.

“…Because DEW is famous. It’s one of the most successful clubs in WeHo…”.

“But not as successful as The Planet…”, Shane chimed in, amused.

Carmen shrugged.

“Sadly, The Planet is not one of our clients. But I’d be glad to work with you”.

Shane nodded.

“A friend of a friend told me that your agency is a very professional and famous one…”.

“Your friend’s friend spoke the truth”, Carmen said solemnly, arching her eyebrows, and Shane laughed.

“Good for me, then”.

“In any event…”, Carmen added, “…I wonder what exactly you’re planning to do because, in my opinion, DEW doesn’t really need any promotion”.

Shane sighed. Carmen was right. DEW was successful and packed practically every night, and she didn’t care to be The One in town. But she needed an excuse to work with Carmen, she needed an excuse to see her as often as she could. After all, a Tester had to have place and time to work her Tested.

“You’re right, but as we already said, DEW is not the most successful club in town. We are always the second best. And we want to be the number one”, Shane lied.

Carmen pondered her words for a while. Eventually, she nodded.

“I see. What do you have in mind?”, she asked in a very professional tone, staring at Shane. Her fingers ran on the pen, then on the pad, pensively and unconsciously, and Shane threw them a rapid look, blinking slowly.

“Honestly? Nothing. Not yet. That’s why I am here”, she replied huskily.