Chapter Thirteen
“What can I get you?”
I startled and looked at the bartender. Instead of asking for a drink, I heard “Did you know Coca-Cola was originally green?” come out of my mouth.
His forehead wrinkled. “So, you want a Coke?”
I smiled. Finally a person who understood me.
I turned around from my spot at the bar and looked at the club. It was dark, lit with blue lights, and very modern. The people matched the décor—sleek and stylish. It was just the kind of place I’d expect Lydia to frequent. It didn’t surprise me that she’d pick this place for a date.
I cringed at the word
date
. It was simply disgusting thinking of Luc going out with my boss. Kind of like thinking of your parents having sex.
Okay—I realized I was the one who set them up, but I never expected it to carry over into a second meeting. If I knew that, I would have gone out and dragged someone off the street instead of calling Luc to save me.
“Here you go.” The bartender slid my Coke toward me. I almost fell off the bar stool when he told me how much I owed. I pulled out a bill and handed it to him, telling myself this was for a good cause.
I sipped my drink and looked out into the thin crowd. I guessed it was still early because the club wasn’t full. A few people gyrated on the dance floor to what I supposed was music (it was more like an incessant thumping if you asked me).
No sign of Luc and Lydia.
There was a small booth in the back where it was dark. It looked out on the whole establishment without being noticeable—it was the perfect place to set up surveillance. I’d just slid off the stool and picked up my drink to go claim it when I heard a dark voice behind me.
“Fancy seeing you here.”
I whirled around, spilling Coke over my hand, only to find Drake. He was dressed casually in a bloodred shirt (like dried blood really) and black slacks, but he looked as powerful as he did in his suits.
I frowned, set my drink down, and wiped my hand with a napkin. At least I didn’t spill on my new clothes (yes, the ones Luc bought me)—the pants were dry-clean only. “What are you doing here?”
He cocked a brow. “I could ask you the same question since I don’t see this place as your kind of hangout.”
Asking
why not?
was on the tip of my tongue. But I didn’t. Instead I repeated, “So why are you here?”
“Probably the same reason you’re here. To see Lydia.” He grinned at my wrinkled nose. “Can I get you another drink? What are you having?”
I looked at my drink and cringed. I could imagine the amused look in Drake’s eyes when he found out a Coke was all I could handle.
So I squared my shoulders, tossed my head back, and acted like one of the actresses in the old movies Luc liked to make me watch. “I’ll have whatever you’re having.”
He eyed my drink but didn’t say anything. Signaling the bartender (who came over immediately, I noticed), he said, “A Bombay Sapphire martini and a cosmopolitan, please.”
The bartender nodded and set to making our drinks. I wondered which one was mine—they both sounded exotic.
The bartender set the drinks in front of us. Drake tossed a bill (I had to cover my mouth not to gasp out loud at the large denomination) and handed me a pretty pink drink.
“To a successful evening.” He clinked his glass against mine and took a sip.
I took a sip too. A cautious one—I didn’t drink alcohol. Oh my. I pushed my glasses up and looked at it closer. It was refreshing and tasty. I smiled at Drake. “I like it.”
The corner of his mouth twitched. “I thought you might.”
I drank a little more. Really tasty. And it matched the wraparound top Luc had bought me that I was wearing.
“Let’s go sit at that booth back there.”
I looked to where he gestured—the same booth I’d been heading for before he accosted me. “Okay.”
He escorted me through the club with a hand on the small of my back. As I slid into the booth, I tried not to think about what kind of activity usually took place back here or what I might be sitting in.
Drake slid in next to me and set his drink on the table. “A perfect view of the room, isn’t it?”
Looking up at him, I wrinkled my nose in thought. “How did you know Lydia was going to be here?”
“I asked her secretary. How did you know?”
“I asked Lydia.” I tried not to preen at his impressed look.
“Enterprising.” He calmly sipped his beverage. “But that doesn’t explain your interest in Lydia’s life.”
I drank as I tried to figure out how much I could tell him. I was a little surprised when I realized my glass was empty.
“Another drink?” he asked, lifting his hand to signal a waitress.
Drake didn’t press me to answer his question until after the waitress brought over another drink for me. Then he swept in for the kill.
Leaning back in a deceptively casual pose, he stared at me with his disturbingly frank gaze. “Did Lydia ask you to meet her here?”
“No!” I shuddered to think what would happen if Lydia—and Luc—found out I was here. I picked up my pink drink and downed half of it in one gulp.
“Then why are you here?”
Why was he interrogating me? I scowled at him. “I could ask you the same question. Why are
you
here?”
“To spy on Lydia.”
I pushed my glasses up. “That was a straightforward answer.”
He shrugged. “No reason in beating around the bush. Now why don’t you tell me why you’re here.”
Did I dare confess? I threw back the rest of my beverage for courage and set the glass down a little too hard on the table. “I’m here to spy on Lydia too. She’s going out with my best friend.”
“Ah. I see.”
He did see, I could tell. I relaxed in the corner of the booth, at ease for the first time all evening. Everything was all hazy, and I felt good. Damn good. “They went out Tuesday night, just like I wanted them to. Only they weren’t supposed to go out again.”
“I see.”
It was so nice to have someone understand you.
Another pink drink appeared in front of me. I leaned down to squint at the glass. “What are these anyway?”
“Cosmopolitans. Vodka, cranberry, and a touch of lime.”
Cranberry juice was very good for you. “Did you know ten percent of the Russian government’s income comes from the sale of vodka?”
“I didn’t know that.”
I narrowed my eyes at him. “Are you amused? You sound amused.”
“I’m merely enjoying your company.”
Suspicious. I kept a wary eye on him as I sipped my cosmopolitan. I felt so worldly drinking it.
Then something occurred to me. “Why are you spying on Lydia?”
“I found out about her date and wanted to see for myself.” He gazed at me over the rim of his glass.
I got distracted by how manly he looked—a contradiction with the delicate glass in his hand.
Had to shake my head to clear it. The room tipped over a little bit. “Whoa.”
“Are you okay?”
“Why is everyone asking me that lately? Don’t I look like I’m okay?” I held my hands out and glanced down. I didn’t just look okay—I looked smokin’ tonight (I’d heard that expression in the mail room one day when I was delivering a package). In addition to the wraparound shirt (pink, just like my cosmopolitan—could I have planned that better?) I had on a pair of super-tight bell-bottoms on with lots of zippers—who knew bell-bottoms were in? And to top it all off, I left my hair down. It didn’t look as nice as the other night when Rainbow styled it, but it was decent.
“You look wonderful,” Drake assured me.
His mouth quirked again—I was sure of it. I leaned closer to him. “Did your mouth just twitch? I swear I saw your mouth twitch.”
“I doubt that.”
“There it is again. Definitely twitching.” As I pointed at his lips, I almost tipped over into his lap. “Oops!”
“Careful.” He righted me, holding my arm overly long.
I glanced down at it with a frown. “Are you making a pass at me? Because I don’t think you should make a pass at me. I like you and I’d hate to have to slap your cheek.”
This time he really did grin. “Then I’ll make sure I control myself.”
“Do that.” I picked up my drink and swigged. “I
love
lime.”
“I’m glad, but maybe you should ease up on the cosmos.”
Cosmos! Such a cute nickname. I tipped the glass up, sucking every last drop. “I love this drink. You know what?”
“What?”
“I bet you Rainbow would love cosmos too.” I gasped. “Is vodka organic?”
But Luc and Lydia walked in, so Drake didn’t get a chance to reply. Or if he did I didn’t hear him. My vision narrowed to the circle of light that haloed the couple.
I wrinkled my nose in their direction. They really did look like a couple. Luc was holding her hand, and Lydia was leaning into him.
“She’s leaning.” I pointed, catching my balance on Drake’s thigh as I almost fell over. “Do you see that? She’s leaning.”
“Yes, she is.”
I stared up at him, frowning. He sounded irate. I kind of thought he might have been thoughtful, but he sounded royally ticked.
Squinting, I leaned closer to get a better look at him. Yep—he was definitely ticked. I could see the tightness around his eyes and his jaw. “I knew it.”
“Hmm?” He glanced at me for a second before returning to his study of Luc and Lydia.
“You care.”
He gave me his full attention. “Excuse me?”
“You care.” I grinned triumphantly at him.
“I think we should order some water and maybe a cup of coffee.”
“Did you know a Saudi Arabian woman can get a divorce if her husband doesn’t give her coffee in the morning? That’s hard core.”
He patted my arm and smiled at me. “You’re really a cute drunk.”
Oh my. I pushed my glasses up and stretched up to get a better look at his dimple. I reached up with a finger to poke its center.
“Katherine.”
I pushed my glasses up again and blinked. “Luc?” Setting my elbows on the table, I rested my chin in my hands and grinned. “Fancy meeting you here.”
“Who’s your friend?”
I looked to where he pointed. That’s when I realized I was practically sitting on top of Drake. Funny! I giggled. “Oops—I’m on your lap.”
Lydia growled. “Viggo Drake.”
Luc raised his brow. “You know him?”
She nodded. “Unfortunately.”
Drake just smiled, but it was a pale smile compared to the one he gave me. I knew because his dimple didn’t come out to play. “Lydia. I trust you’re having a good evening.”
Lydia growled again.
I looked at Luc, only there were suddenly two of him standing there. I took my glasses off and rubbed my eyes. “There’s something wrong with my vision. I need new glasses.”
Both Lucs scowled. “Have you been drinking?”
“Like a fish.” I grinned. “Drake got me this really scrumptious drink called a cosmonaut and I
loved
it.”
“A cosmopolitan,” Drake corrected gently.
“Thanks.” I beamed at Luc. “I really love this guy.”
I think something happened to the lighting in the club, because the faces of both Lucs got really dark.
Drake cleared his throat. “Would you like to join us?”
“No,” Lydia snapped. She tightened her grip on the Lucs’ hands and pulled. (Somehow she was holding both Lucs with the same hand.) “Let’s go, Luc.”
The Lucs nodded. “I’ll talk to you tomorrow, Katherine.”
I watched them disappear into the growing crowd. “That sounded ominous. He never calls me Katherine, and that’s at least twice today.” I gazed up at Drake. “What do you think that means?”
“I think it means I should take you home.”
“Oh.” I bit my lip. “But I can’t go home with you because my work clothes are in my closet and I need them for tomorrow.”
He grinned again. “Your Luc is a lucky guy.”
“He’s not my Luc.” I pouted. “Either one of them.”
“Come on, Ms. Murphy.” He got up and held out a hand. “Your carriage awaits.”
I followed him, but when I stepped out of the booth the ground wasn’t where it normally was. “Someone moved the floor.”
Drake slipped his arm around my waist. “You really are a lightweight, aren’t you?”
I nodded. “I only weigh a hundred and ten pounds.”
He laughed and pulled me closer.
I sniffed. “You smell really good. But not as good as Luc. Luc smells good even when he’s sweating.” I frowned. “But maybe that’s just pheromones. Sweat is chock full of pheromones, you know.”