invasato [h.s]

32

Does this make me feel like a horrible person, threatening someone's job? Yes. Very much so. But I have to get it done.

The bouncer adjusts his tie and clears his throat. He looks back and forth between Harry and I briefly before stepping aside and lifting the rope. I have to hide the fact that my shoulders fall in relief, I wasn't sure if that was going to work.

Before I can thank the bouncer, Harry is pulling me by my hand. It was a powerful grip, his fingers clasped around mine as he hurried us past the rope and around the corner into the VIP lounge.

When we arrive inside, I'm taken aback by the luxury. I thought the lobby of the casino was fancy and rich, but this lounge is a whole new ballpark. With hanging chandeliers and red couches and seats, the floor is a black marble and there are waitresses in short skirts and blouses walking around with drink trays.

There are maybe fifteen people in here at maximum. However, upon my brief glance around from my standing position, I can't see Valentino.

There's one door, which is right by the back of the lounge. From here, it looks padlocked shut. Maybe that's where he is.

"Over here." Harry begins to pull me again. He takes us over to a booth in the corner to keep us hidden.

Valentino knows that we aren't VIP, so if he sees us here in the lounge, he'll become suspicious. We need to be careful.

Harry and I sit across from each other and I take this opportunity to take a few deep breaths. This has been overwhelming, because of the job itself but also because of Harry.

I'm so thrown off because of his actions. I know he's playing the part he was meant to play tonight, but my head is spinning.

I look at him as he sits across from me, his sunglasses cover his eyes as he peers around subtly, his bottom lip between his fingers.

I get distracted looking at him, because I failed to notice the waitress walking right up to our booth. I didn't comprehend her presence until she was literally right next to us.

"Anything I can grab for you two?" she asks, an American accent on her tongue. I look up at her, seeing her heavy makeup and revealing outfit. She had a very short black mini skirt on and a red blouse that exposed her cleavage. Her hair was up in a tight bun. She was gorgeous of course, but you can tell that the uniform was made to appeal to men.

I glance at Harry, who hasn't given her a second look, then I look back at her and smile. "Not yet, thanks. We're still deciding."

"Alright, take your time." she says, then flicks her eyes to the side for a very quick moment. It was so brief that I wouldn't have caught it if I wasn't staring at her, but she swallows after she looks off to the side and then back at us. "My name is Nina and I'll be your server so just call for me when you're ready." Then she looks down and she walks away from our booth.

My brows furrow at the exchange. I watch her walk off in a slightly hurried manner.

"Did she seem off to you?" I ask Harry.

He turns his head back to me. "Didn't notice." he says.

I try to shrug it off. She could just be having a bad day and here I am overthinking it. I have bigger things to focus on—like where the hell Valentino and Alec are.

I look past Harry's head to try and locate one of them, or at least something that could indicate that they were meeting up. We haven't seen Alec at all tonight, and I'm worried that he saw us first.

But then, as I'm looking over Harry's shoulder, I see a man with a briefcase in a luxurious suit. His hair is dark and gelled over to look slick. He's slim, and about Harry's height. I remember seeing Alec's face in pictures when we were all at Angela's. That's gotta be him.