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“Something else, eh?”
Dance house music hadn’t started up yet. The music was light and New Agey. Exactly what you’d expect in heaven.
“Maybe this is what heaven is actually like. Beautiful surroundings, beautiful music, beautiful people.” Well, if you had to be dead, and you’d gone to heaven, you’d want this. Where everyone was young and pretty and fashionably dressed. Even the smells were heavenly. Very expensive colognes, excellent liqueurs, some kind of ocean breeze smell.
“Maybe.” Raul smiled down at her, the skin around his eyes crinkling. Something a woman would hate, but on him – man. It looked good. “We should try to be good people, then. Here, let’s find a place to sit down before the crowds arrive.”
About twenty people had arrived in just the time they’d taken to look around. If they wanted some privacy, they’d have to find a spot soon.
The underwater effect was mesmerizing, exactly like standing on the beach at noon on a cool summer’s day, watching colors ripple and wash over the sea, which was actually the floor of a club. Emma felt like she could stand there forever, just enjoying the scene.
“There.” Raul pointed to a small cabana—two loungers and a beach bed, half enclosed by the lightweight cotton panels billowing around it. “Let’s grab those seats.”
Good choice. There were technically two other seats in the enclosure, but as long as the place wasn’t crowded, no one would intrude on their privacy. They sat down facing the back wall and the two beautiful men cavorting in the water, like mermen but with strong lean legs.
“So, this is the guy, right?” Unobtrusively, Raul pulled out his cell and showed her the screen. On it was a photo of Toby, taken from PIB’s website. They’d laughed at their company photos. Hers looked like a hostage photo and his looked like he ate small children for breakfast.
“It is, but I can’t imagine anyone recognizing him from that photo. And he sure wouldn’t look like that when he was here in Heaven. Here … hold out your phone.”
He did and she pulled out hers. She scrolled quickly and found three photos where Toby was laughing or smiling, the Toby she knew, and tapped her phone against Raul’s and saw the three she had chosen appear on his screen.
“Those are the photos you’ll be needing. So, what are we going to do? Stop random people and ask if they know Toby?”
He stood and gave her a hand. “Let’s start with the bartenders. Let’s leave my jacket and your shawl. We can keep an eye on them as we ask the bartenders.”
“Sure.” She stood, leaving her shawl on the cushion. Raul had shed his jacket and loosened his tie and he looked absolutely delicious. The breeze off the bay had tousled his hair and a lock curled over his forehead. In any other man, it would have been ridiculously pretentious, someone preening in a mirror, making the lock of hair fall just so. Instead, she’d seen the wind ruffle his hair and he probably wasn’t aware in any way that he looked so handsome and … and dashing.
It was just something about him, the way he carried himself, the long, lean, strong body that moved with an athlete’s precision, the sober expression he had when he wasn’t smiling, that air of readiness – someone willing and capable of reaction if something bad happened. He probably wasn’t aware of it, but she was.
Others in Heaven were, too. As Raul made his way to the bar that had been made to look like the tiki bar in some exclusive resort, heads swiveled in his wake. She smiled secretively and tightened her hold on his arm.Sorry guys, he’s mine.For the evening at least.
They leaned on the bamboo bar and Raul signaled the bartender. He came over. “What’ll it be, folks?” He tapped a QR code on the counter. “Here’s the drinks menu.”
“We’re sitting over there, so I guess we’ll wait for a server. But in the meantime, my brother asked me to look for a friend of his, Toby Jackson. My brother didn’t have an address or a phone number, but said Toby came to Heaven a lot, so I thought I’d try tracking him down here.” He looked slowly around the cavernous space that also somehow was gorgeous and welcoming. “I’m glad Rob told me to come. This place is great. Isn’t it, sweetheart?”
Raul smiled down at her.
Well, she was the sweetheart, so she’d better answer. “Fabulous. I don’t think I’ve ever seen such an attractive club. Congrats.”
The waiter was very good-looking, dressed like all of them were in white slim cut pants and an aloha shirt. He had sleeve tattoos that echoed the colors of his shirt.
“Thanks. I don’t think I know any customers named Toby.”
“Oh!” Raul gave a very good imitation of a man just thinking of something. “I have photos that Rob sent me. Here.”
They both bent over Raul’s screen, the bartender touching Raul’s hand, moving it when Raul scrolled to show all the photos. He seemed genuinely reluctant when he shook his head. “Sorry. Good looking guy. I’d have noticed him if he came in often.”
Emma leaned on the counter. “What’s your shift? Do you get off before Heaven closes?”
The bartender cocked his head. “I study, so I have a light shift. I work from 7 to 11, what we call the ‘early bird shift’. Heaven closes at 4 am and I couldn’t do the whole shift. I have classes at 8 in the morning.”
“Are those official shifts? I mean is there a general turnover at 11 in the evening?”
He pursed his lips. “Yeah, for some. If you can make the whole shift, the money is good but it’s hard to do anything else with your life. So, for those who are studying, or modelling or trying to get into acting, it’s not viable. I’d say about a third of us do half shifts and two thirds work the whole shift. Management’s really easy. As long as the work gets done, they don’t care.”
“Cool place,” Raul said, pocketing his cell. “We’ll keep asking around. My brother won’t forgive me if I don’t track this Toby down. We’re sitting over there. Do I order here or wait for a server?”
“I can send your drinks over,” the bartender smiled. “So, what will you be having?”
