Chapter 14

"What do you mean?" A man in a dark green shirt hissed.

The loud music in the club was making it very difficult to hear over.

"I mean," the lady who was the informant hesitated, clearly ill at ease, "that this will definitely get us all killed but we have no other choice."

A gorgeous blond in very skimpy clothes approached the two as they sat whispering inside a booth of the club.

The male in the dark green shirt shooed her away.

"There's no way it's that serious, surely?"

The informant sighed, "It definitely is. The boss is drinking too much these days. His behaviour is more erratic than ever. His secretary told me he has been thinking about this all week."

"Thinking about what?" The male demanded irritably.

The informant took a staggering breath, "You know our gang isn't the strongest in the country."

The make looked annoyed, "What? We wiped out at least three others in the last year. We're definitely growing."

The informant shook her head, "That was when the boss was stable. He drinks too much now. We're no where near the top ten clans in the country."

"That's obvious," the male sounded subdued, "So what? We'll get there eventually so-"

The lady shook her head excessively, almost in tears, "The Kanes."

A shiver ran up the spine of the male, "Y-Yeah, the Kanes. What about them?"

"The boss wants to order our gang to kidnap Clara Kane."

"W-Who's that?"

The tremble in the informant's voice did not go unnoticed, "That is Adonis Kane's own sister."

--

Leah ran into an elevator and stopped to catch her breath.

Hands on her knees, she heaved and waited to calm down.

The hotel was massive, and it seemed like each person needed their own car to just make it across the lobby area.

Slowly relaxing, she leaned against the tall mirror behind her as she looked forward and through the glass doors.

She perked up quickly, realizing she hadn't hit a button yet and hurriedly did so.

The receptionist had been warm and nodded after looking at her ID.

She had informed Leah that her cousins had gone up almost thirty minutes ago and that their meeting should almost be over.

Going up in the regular elevator to the top-most floor and then handing her ID to a Mr. Frank would get her on the path to finding Ms. Kane's personal floor.

Leah leaned back again and took a deep breath. She should have been calmer about this.

Lead had dressed up perfectly and applied light makeup and straightened her freshly washed hair. She hadn't realized how late she'd gotten though and had had to speed through the traffic to finally arrive.

She had wanted to catch her cousins before they left but maybe she should have waited at home.

The pretty blond shuddered, thinking of staying at home letting thoughts of the previous night and two years consume her.

No, Leah decided.

Hurrying to get dressed had taken her mind off things. Rushing to get to the hotel had helped too.

Thinking of what had happened after Leah reached the hotel, the beautiful girl blushed.

How tardy of her.

She'd made a fool of herself in front of a handsome stranger.

The man hadn't just been handsome, Leah realized as she bit her lip. He had been stunning.

Dark hair and a gorgeous tan. His beard had added to his powerful look and his strong arms around her waist had almost allowed her to melt.

Leah blushed profusely and shook her head to clear her mind.

The man had smirked at her when she'd stared at him like a fool. Had she drooled? Maybe. He was breathtaking. The most handsome man she had ever seen.

She sighed.

Chances of her seeing him again were probably low.

If he was leaving this hotel, he was probably very rich. What were the chances of her mingling in his circles?

It occurred to her that maybe she would start meeting wealthier people soon. If the Kanes' Event was a success, it would propel her cousins and herself forward to reach more famous clients who would seek to do business with them.

Wait, Leah thought, what if the handsome man stayed at the Kane hotel?

She bit her lip. 

Would she see him then? What if, in the course of the next month, when she frequented the hotel, she saw the charming stranger again.

Leah sighed.

What then?

What would she do when she did meet him again?

It was true he had smiled at her. He had helped when she fell but wouldn't anyone?

A flash of the picture of the redhead and Tim, she'd been sent on Dazzle caused her to shrink into her clothes.

She let her head droop slowly.

The confidence she'd managed to muster up in the morning was drying up.

What would she say or do if she ever saw the handsome stranger again?

He was so much more attractive than Tim. 

Would he spare a glance at her?

Would he even want to talk to her when he could probably have any woman who could see with their eyes?

He was stunning, tall, and charming.

He seemed wealthy and had a great physique.

The more Leah thought about it, the more unattractive she felt.

The Elevator was just a floor below the one where she got down.

Leah fumbled, trying to get her phone out of her bag. She quickly opened it and glanced at a picture she had taken with her cousins right after Bruce had left the table and right before they'd started looking at the menu.

In the picture, Leah Dearcroft was glowing. She looked radiant in her beautiful blue dress and gorgeous blond hair, curled and spilling over her shoulder. Her figure was beautiful with just a hint of her cleavage poking out and her elegant shoulders holding up the dress. Rayne sat in the middle with the biggest of grins, a hand draped over each of the female cousins and Sasha was pushing into him as she always did; her face beaming with happiness as she threw the phone camera her biggest and brightest smile.

Leah calmed slowly as she saw the picture.

A little happiness crept back into her chest.

This was her life, she told herself. Her and her cousins running their growing business and enjoying things as they came.

This was the night she wanted to remember.

These were the moments she wanted to have.

She refused to have thoughts of Tim or of what he'd said or done.

This was what she would do for the future.

Enjoy life and grow her business properly.

She took a calming breath, and a genuine smile touched her lips. 

She felt better, so much better.

Straightening up and tidying up her appearance, she waited for the elevator doors to open so she could find a Mr. Frank outside.

The doors opened and she made to step out before her body stopped, a chill going down her spine.

From the corridor outside, she could hear Tim's voice.