Man Enough For Me Read Free Page A

gotta be in a city like this,” Jules said, taking a sip from her juice. “Toronto doesn’t pull punches.”
    “You got that right,” he said. Jules didn’t miss the serious look that crossed his face for a quick moment. She wondered what he had been through that made him agree so strongly.
    “Thanks for this, by the way,” she said, raising her glass.
    “No problem. You looked like you needed it,” he said, his focus returning to her.
    “I did.”
    “Did you want something to eat as well?”
    Jules couldn’t help but smile. “You don’t have to—”
    Before she could protest, he had signaled Owen to the table and had her order some food. Within moments Owen returned with a large basket of sweet potato fries. Jules narrowed her eyes suspiciously.
    “How did this get here so quickly? You got some tricks up your sleeve, don’t you, Germaine,” Jules said, squinting at him suspiciously before popping a fry into her mouth.
    “And you’re making me use all of them,” Germaine said.
    She laughed lightly and pushed the basket of fries toward him.
    “So, I’m pretty good at summing up people,” Jules began, “and I definitely wouldn’t peg you as a nightclub owner.”
    Germaine shrugged. “It’s not really your average nightclub,” he said. “Plus, it’s something to do in the evenings after the store closes.”
    “What store?” Jules asked in confusion.
    “This store,” Germaine said, looking at her strangely. “Sound Lounge is a record store from ten to seven. Then on Sundays, Mondays, and Thursdays, we close up downstairs and use the second floor as a lounge.”
    Jules looked around and for the first time noticed the stairs at the back that probably led down to the darkened ground level. She had come up via the side stairs outside and hadn’t even thought twice about what might be downstairs.
    “Up here used to be part of the store,” Germaine continued, “but we just moved everything downstairs and capitalized on this space.”
    “Wow. I never noticed that,” Jules said, still looking around. “I thought the posters and LPs on the wall were just part of the décor, but they’re actually part of the store. That’s pretty crazy.”
    “Yeah, well, with music moving to the Internet, the record store thing is pretty much on its way out,” Germaine said. “I figured if we could add some entertainment, feature a few artists a couple nights a week, and charge a small cover, then we could really boost the business. So far it’s been working.” He chuckled. “Your bartender friend actually manages the store during the day when I can’t.”
    Jules cocked her head to the side and looked at Germaine, a small smile spreading across her face.
    “Okay, you got me,” she said. “I’m impressed.”
    “Imagine that,” he said, popping another fry into his mouth. “And I wasn’t even running game this time.”
    Jules threw back her head and laughed.

Chapter 2
    “Y our boy was on fire tonight,” Tanya said, as she pulled her black Lexus GS Hybrid out of the Toronto Grace Hospital parking lot, where she had picked up Maxine right after leaving the Sound Lounge with Jules. Jules and Maxine almost never passed up an opportunity to carpool in Tanya’s luxury vehicle. Unlike that of the rest of them, Tanya’s standard of living was more reflective of her trust fund than her income from running Triad with ‘Dre.
    Tanya had moved from Ottawa to Toronto to attend college several years earlier. Jules had met her at a campus fellowship meeting where Tanya had been trying to rent out her five-bedroom house to students. Even though Jules had not needed housing, she and Tanya had become fast friends. By the time Tanya graduated with her honors degree in business, she was so well integrated into Triad and its network of people that she decided not to leave.
    “Don’t even talk,” Maxine said with a groan. “I am so bummed I missed it.”
    “It’s not your fault. You were on call,” Tanya