Free NorthWest (John Hazard - Book II) by JH Glaze

to stop the call, “No, baby, not that hundred and fifty dollar a bottle crap in the VIP room. I meant let’s go out for a nice dinner later and really celebrate.” He looked into her eyes, “After all we’re gonna be in the woods for two weeks after tomorrow. It might be nice to have a going away dinner – with real food.”
    “Oh, you mean like that.” Some of her enthusiasm faded as she saw her cut of the hundred and fifty bucks disappearing in a puff of smoke. “I guess so.”
    Karla had enrolled in the Paranormal Investigation class in an attempt to get out of the exotic dancer business. Sure, she loved the money she made here, and the power she seemed to wield when she was on stage, but she also was well aware that as women in this profession got older their attraction faded and she could be left without work.
    Someday the gravy train would pull into the station and she’d have to get off. When that day arrived, she’d have to find some other source of income. Exotic dancing didn’t necessarily qualify as solid employment experience. So unless she wanted to end up in a mobile home park up in the woods with some guy named Zipper or Bubba, she’d better have a backup plan.
    Originally, she had intended to take some classes to get certified as a paralegal or medical assistant. Then she discovered that those courses took up to two years to complete, and she’d have to meet the prerequisites. Instead she opted for the class with no special requirements. One of the best reasons for choosing the PI class, as it was called, was that it could be completed in less than a year.
    Eddie, on the other hand, had a great job and made tons of money, which was Karla’s only attraction to him. No matter how much she tried to convince herself otherwise, he barely qualified as more than just another wallet full of cash. She had invited him into her world even so, and now that he was there, a mutual addiction held them together. Her addiction to money was fed by Eddie’s addiction to her body.
    When Eddie had discovered that she was going to take the PI class, he signed up as well. He figured it would be a chance to spend time with her away from the club. She seemed to work all the time and, if she wasn’t working, he often had no way of knowing where she was. That made it difficult for him to pretend to have some kind of normal relationship with her, which is what he really wanted. 
    His plan had worked out well so far, and he was looking forward to spending two whole weeks with her on this trip. Away from the club and other distractions, she may be able to finally see why he’s the right guy for her.
    Wishful thinking it was, indeed. Karla’s intentions were more along the lines of turning her certification into a moneymaking enterprise. She figured as soon as she got her business going and her office set up with an investment from Eddie, of course, she could break the news to him that she was not interested in anything more than a business arrangement. Until then, she’d have to keep his hope alive, and continue to collect the benefits of her deception.
    Things were going well, and they would graduate soon. They had been looking at affordable office spaces, researching marketing and advertising costs, and short of ordering the business cards, the plan was right on track.
    “So we are all ready to go then? You got the rest of the supplies.” She tried to get a feel for his state of mind and forced a smile to put him at ease.
    “Yes, I think I got everything on the list.”
    “Did you get my sleeping pad, baby?”
    “Honey, I got you the most expensive, top of the line sleeping pad they make. You could lay that thing on a bed of sharp rocks and it would feel like a feather mattress resting on a fluffy cloud.” He smiled back at her.
    It always made her cringe when he called her honey. It wasn’t like a southern style ‘Honey’ or a casual kind of usage like ‘Dude’. It oozed over her like some kind of