Embers in the Dark

Suspicion

Vu clapped his hands as he bent over laughing while Mr. Ly slapped a hand on the desk while chuckling. "You not supposed to drink whole thing, Lilly!" Vu cackled.

Lilly rolled her eyes. "Well excuuuse me fer bein' an Irish lass raised by American cowboys and outlaws, gentlemen!" she scoffed, grabbing the bottle and pouring more wine into her glass.

Vu and Mr. Ly continued to snicker at her but she waved them off and sipped slowly on her drink.

"There. Happy now?" she asked in a sassy tone. Vu made a high pitched giggle and Lilly smirked at him. "What the bloody hell was that?"

"You make me laugh like girl," Vu said with a grin.

Lilly eyed him before looking at Mr. Ly. "As I was saying, Mr. Ly, where I come from, we drink real liquor. And with real liquor, we take shots. We don't drink it like we're scared of it."

Mr. Ly snorted softly before draining his own glass, examining it, then looking at Lilly with a smug grin before opening a desk drawer and pulling out a bottle of Jameson whiskey.

"You mean real liquor like this?" he asked politely.

Lilly smiled brightly. "Now we're talkin'," she said before drinking all her wine and holding out the glass.

Mr. Ly poured her a shot then he poured himself one. He looked at Vu and lightly shook the bottle. Vu nodded enthusiastically and drained his wine, clearing his throat and hissing before holding out his glass.

"Fuck it, why not?" Vu said.

Mr. Ly chuckled as he poured Vu a drink. He set the bottle down and raised his glass. "What's the Irish way of saying cheers?" Mr. Ly asked.

"Sláinte," Lilly replied casually.

Mr. Ly and Vu repeated the word, although it came out more as a mumble. Lilly said it again and lifted their glasses before clinking them together, tapping the botton of the glass on the desk and taking their shots. Vu and Mr. Ly both twitched from the taste but Lilly remained unphased which made her laugh.

"That is very good," Mr. Ly said, studying the bottle more closely. "I must say, Mr. Lewis has excellent taste."

Lilly blinked. "Mr. Lewis?"

"Miss White's benefactor and the money behind the tournament," Mr. Ly explained. "Robert Lewis, born in Wales, England, but apparently just relocated to Dublin, Ireland for a spell. And he's heard a great deal about you. In fact, he has followed not just your fighting career, but your heroic deeds done throughout Ireland, England and Scotland."

Lilly's eyes widened. "So he's, what, a fan?" she asked.

"Yes." Mr. Ly chuckled and leaned back, puffing on his cigar. "He also has a mind to ask for your hand in marriage, but he may have been joking about that one."

Lilly cackled loudly and slapped her thigh. "Oh yeah, that is sooo not happening."

Mr. Ly smirked and nodded with a chuckle, then he grabbed the bottle and refilled all the glasses. "I don't know, Lilly. I hear the man is a very handsome man, not to mention extremely rich."