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CHAPTERTHREE
VANESSA
Iknew within two seconds that I wasn't supposed to be in that room. It felt like a cesspoolof danger and secrets. I could see the bundle of cash behind the police officer, despite his happy face. I did, however, take my gaze away from it as soon as I noticed it. I wasn't stupid enough to show any sign of me acknowledgingsuch shady behavior. I'd seen enough unexplainable murders on the newswith bodies discovered in ditchesto act naive when witnessing anything weird and out of the ordinary.
When the officerspoke, I found it difficult to make out what he was saying. His voice reached my ears, but the words did not because I was completely distracted by the man on the sofa staring up at me. He had the darkest, mostemotionless eyes that remained fixed on me. It wasn't uncommon for many of The Rose's customers, both married and single, to hit on me. Men did it everywhere, but the man on the sofa unnervedme.
His eyes had a drowning effect on me, causing an eruption ofgoosebumps all over my body. He had a full mouth that I was certain was designed for sin. I had to slap myself for harboring such high school thoughts, but this man could have any woman on her knees. Yet, his gaze stayed gluedon my body, and he made no attempt to conceal it. Whoever he was, he wanted me to know he was interested in me.
What perplexed me was that I was aware of how agitated it made me feel. I also knew he was going to talk to me; I felt it. He was very likely to try to get mynumber before I finished serving them that evening. But I was curious about his first words to me and what they'd be.
He looked quite dashing in an unbuttoned coat over his blazerand clean leather shoes. He appeared to be too young to be dressed so lavishly. From a distance, his stare screamed danger, and I wondered if he was involved with the Mafia.
"Aren't we gettingsomething?" the officer chuckled as he moved his gaze from one man to the other. The dynamic in the room quickly became clear. They were bribing the cop, but I tried to distract myself from what they might have paid him to cover up.
They'd mentioned taking out a man, whatever that meant.
Don't even think about it. He mightnot be a murderer. A hot-looking criminal? Perhaps, yes. But notessentially amurderer, I told myself just before his lips parted and he said his first words to me.
"I can tell this place has some delicious stuff," he said, looking at me. I was the delicious stuff.
I wanted to respond to him, but I knew that doing so would mean starting a conversation and encouraging him even more. I played the part of thepolite waitress that I needed to be anyway.
"Do you want to place an order, sir? The menu is simply—" I reached for the cardboard on the table by his legs, but he moved at the same time. I quickly retreated, keeping a safe distance from him.
He sat closer to me, and I fought to stay where I was. I shouldn'tdemonstrate how much he affected me. Allowing him to know that his presence, husky voice, and hungry eyes had taken a tollon me was equivalent to having myself served up on a platter for his exclusive pleasure.
This isn't a game. You're working. You're on the clock!I reminded myself in Francesca's voice.
"Do you have a boyfriend?" he asked me with the same confident smirk on his face, and I should have expected such arrogance from a man like him. Oh, how I despised this typeof guy.
"I'm sorry, but I'm not allowed to answer such a personal question," I politely replied. His smirk became dangerous as he raised a challenging eyebrow. I was about to run for the door and scream, but he didn't say anything else.
"Taking your orders is mysole responsibility.I'm afraid we waitresses are off the menu," I kept going, not knowing what was wrong with my mouth, and it started speaking on its own. However, the other men in the room seemed impressed. The cop laughed, while the other man attempted to hidea small smile formingon his face.
"That's an intriguing response. Normally, I have a few methods for punishing sassy mouths like yours, but I guess today isn't the day." The attractive man with the bad-boy aura replied in an unintelligible tone and sank back in his seat.
I was fairly baffled. Although it was much safer that such a shady man had no further interest inme, it felta little disappointing that he had given up.
"I'll take number four," the cop said, and I scribbled in my back pocket notepad.
"What about you, gentlemen?" I looked at the other two, both of whom were shaking their heads.
"All right, I'll have your order ready in a minute," I said as I turned to leave. Despite the stares behind me, I made a mental note not to look at the hot and frustrating man on the sofa again.
I only let myself breathe when I was outside in the corridor in a safe distance from them.
As I hurried down the stairs, I could still feel my heart racing. I knew I wouldn't forget the handsome man's face anytime soon.
* * *
ETHAN
After she left, I kept looking at the dooras if thatwould somehowbring her back. Even though I had only spent five minutes with her, I knew I wanted her with every fiber of my being. And I had to have her.
"She seemed like an interesting case," I said, sipping my drink.
"You mean more like a fuckable case?" Tristan laughed a little, but his gaze remained fixed on the cop.
