Free The au pairs skinny-dipping by Melissa de La Cruz Page A

artists and deftly retrieved the requested bottle. It was an entertaining diversion and a cool gimmick. Already, customers were angling for the most-out-of-reach liquor choices, just to look up the sexy bartenders' skirts. Eliza still couldn't believe the transformation from construction site to hot club that had happened practically overnight. She had to hand it to those guys--they knew what they were doing.
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    But she hadn't figured that working at a nightclub would be quite so demanding. She'd barely had time to hang out with Mara or even ask her what she was doing with Garrett Reynolds, since it had been total chaos at the velvet rope when they'd arrived. Eliza had put them at the best table in the house; Mara was her best friend, and Garrett was a big deal because of his name alone, so it made sense. She only wished that, like them, she could sit down. Between making sure the celebrities were entertained and indulged, keeping the no-names at bay, feeding the press juicy tidbits, and ducking the airborne bartenders scaling the liquor cabinet, Eliza was exhausted. Her nerves were frazzled, and if one more bodyguard demanded that another photographer be tossed out of the club, she would scream.
    Already, she was agitated because Ondine Sylvester, a sitcom star who had once dated pop singer Chauncey Raven's husband, was reportedly on her way. This was bad news, because Chauncey and her hubby, Daryl Wolf, a failed backup singer, were front and center in the VIP room. Chauncey's handler demanded that they not let Ondine inside, lest her client become upset. Ondine had two children by Daryl and had been pregnant with a third when Chauncey had come on the scene. Eliza patiently explained to Chauncey's pompous publicist that they couldn't deny Ondine entrance but that she could promise to seat Ondine on the opposite side of the room. It was important to keep Chauncey happy, since she was the bigger celebrity at the club, but Eliza also understood that they couldn't afford
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    to alienate Ondine either, since they needed as many famous people in the house as possible.
    "Eliza--someone at the front for you--says he knows you," Eliza's headset crackled.
    "Got it. On my way," she replied, straightening her headset. God, it was probably some old friend from high school trying to get inside, Eliza thought. She'd already let Taylor and Lindsay in, just to show that there were no hard feelings from last summer. Plus, how much fun was it to be the one who held their evening in her hands?
    She walked to the front door and saw Jeremy--all six-four of him, looking a bit rumpled in a gray pinstriped suit and a loosened necktie. She'd forgotten how gorgeous he was. His chestnut hair was combed back high from his forehead and curled underneath his ears. He'd told her he would stop by the club that night, but a part of her hadn't believed that he would actually show up. He looked so handsome and businesslike in his suit, and the sight of his red tie askew made her love him even more.
    "I told them you asked me to meet you here, but they wouldn't let me in." He grinned.
    "It's good, Rudolph," Eliza said to the burly bouncer, smiling at Jeremy.
    "Lotsa people say they know Eliza tonight," Rudolph said menacingly to Jeremy, even as he unhooked the velvet rope.
    "Rudolph--I'm taking a five-minute break. If Ondine arrives, beep me on the headset."
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    Eliza led Jeremy by the hand to the back garden, where patrons who'd had enough of the pounding techno beat and relentless posing went for a smoke.
    "What's with the suit?" she asked playfully. She didn't want to appear overly excited to see him, even though she was bursting with happiness.
    "I'm interning at Morgan Stanley. I-banking," he said.
    "Wow. That's awesome!" she said, impressed. Only last summer, Eliza had hated twenty something investment banker types who rented share-houses in the Hamptons and thought they were entitled to everything. But looking at Jeremy in his suit, I-banking suddenly