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“You kissed me when we first met.”
He had a point, so I kept my mouth shut and stared out of the window.
As we drove past shiny building after shiny building, what he’d just done sunk in.
He’d ended our biggest contract because of me.
For me.
Chapter
Fifteen
Ever notice that the whisper of temptation can be heard farther than the loudest call to duty?
EARL WILSON
ARIANA DE LUCA
About an hour before my shift ended, Vince, Gio, and another man had come into L’Oscurità.
The tailored suits on Vince and Gio could pay for my New York City rent for the next two years, but their companion—a John Doe—looked like he couldn’t afford two months of utilities for my tiny apartment.
I had tried to study them from my perch beside Graham, but they’d gone inside Bastian’s office and hadn’t left since.
The bar was closed, most of the staff had already left, and still, not a peep from the office.
Under the guise of helping a busboy with table cleaning duty so he could get home early to his pregnant wife, I positioned myself at the center of the bar, where I had a direct line of sight to the hallway that led to the office door.
“Dana,” Graham called from the entrance as the busboy slipped past him. He had a jacket in one hand and his car keys in the other. “I’m leaving. You wanted a ride?”
Dana, who sat at a bar stool, no doubt waiting for Bastian to show his face, looked between me and the general direction of Bastian’s office.
Indecision marred her pretty features before she finally heaved a sigh, her desire to avoid walking in her high hostess heels winning.
“Ari?” Graham turned to me and raised a brow.
When I realized I’d been cleaning the same table for about ten minutes, I straightened up, my fingers clenching around the rag, and said the first lie that came to my mind.
“I’m alright. I’m catching a movie with a few friends at the 24-hour theater a few blocks from here. Thanks, though. Drive safe.”
He nodded to me and opened the door for Dana, who gave one last lingering glance in the direction of the office, narrowed her suspicious eyes on me, and left with a soft huff.
The door slammed shut behind them, leaving me alone with just the men behind the door.
As soon as Graham and Dana left, I tossed the rag with the other dirty rags, washed my hands, and made my way to the small section of the hallway that laid between Bastian’s office and the employee break room.
Close enough to Bastian’s office to hopefully hear, yet close enough to the break room that, should I get caught, I could say I was on my way to the break room to gather my things to leave.
I’d done something similar yesterday when Bastian had almost caught me eavesdropping on his phone call with someone.
Everett.
I needed to find out who Everett was.
I made a mental note to pass his name along to the bureau.
My phone felt heavy in my hand as I pretended to text. Several security cameras lined the hallway, so I needed to look like I was doing something.
