“Where are you off to?” he said, trying to block her path. “Let me get you a drink, we can dance and get to know each other.”
Brianna looked into his dark eyes and cringed. He was already plastered from alcohol and probably something more potent, she suspected. “I’m looking for someone,” she told him with what she hoped was a polite smile, yelling over the music that went from one vibrating, irritating song to the next.
“You’ve found me!” he joked.
Brianna considered just smiling so she could get rid of him, but she was too irritated with him now. “I’ve really got to find my friend,” she told him and, with a firm hand, pushed his arm out of her way. When he grabbed her arm, she was already anticipating his move and her fingers twisted quickly. She might be naïve and scared about this new adventure, but she definitely wasn’t a wimp! Nor was she about to allow a stranger to take liberties with her!
The man’s hand, which had been about to grab her butt, was now twisted painfully in her hand and she looked down at him with that same, polite smile. “I really don’t want to be touched right now. But if there’s ever a time when I want to be mauled by a chauvinistic pig who has nothing better to do with his time and money than to sniff it up his nose, I’ll give you a call, okay?”
The man nodded, his eyes revealing the pain caused by her grip.
“Good,” she said sweetly and moved off into the crowd, forgetting about the irritating man completely as she searched out her prey.
Rocco watched from his vantage point as the man shook his fingers while the beautiful woman walked away. He chuckled at how easily she’d evaded what might have become a very awkward situation. He was also impressed that the stunning brunette hadn’t been even slightly impressed with the young man who was reputedly worth more than one hundred million dollars, although Rocco doubted there was that much left in the young man’s trust fund.
Most of the women here tonight were either celebrities or trust fund recipients themselves, or lovely little mercenaries trying to get their moment of glory by selling their voluptuous bodies to someone from the first group. There wasn’t really anything different about this nightclub and many other social gathering spots, although the two groups of people here tonight might be more avaricious in their motives.
He’d spotted the brunette the moment she’d walked into the nightclub, his eyes captured by a figure that was slender, yet round and lush in all the right places. She looked soft and full, while the other women around him and on the dance floor obviously starved themselves throughout the week so they could fit into their tiny outfits on the weekend. The other women in the club probably lived off of diet pills and coffee; this lush beauty was supple and curved, although definitely not fat. And as opposed to the other women in the room, she didn’t appear to have purchased her curves from a surgeon. In a word, she was naturally exquisite!
Just then, an emaciated blond with enormous, barely covered breasts draped herself over his arm and ground her hip bone against him through the thin material of her dress. He pulled away, signaling to the waitress for another round but stepping away from the group. He wasn’t here for pleasure, but even if he was, the blond with the fake breasts and the anorexic figure wouldn’t have interested him.
His eyes went right back to the brunette, captured for a long moment, entranced by the way she carefully, almost delicately, walked around the nightclub. She looked like a fairy, he thought. She just needed a pair of wings and maybe some star dust and she would be perfect.
He shook his head and pulled his eyes away from his delicate, fairy-woman. He wasn’t here to find a woman. And she was unquestionably out of her league. The men in this nightclub might be attracted to her because of her beauty, but they would eat her up because of that almost glowing aura of innocence surrounding her.
Besides, he was here to get something done. He had to find his friend and get the next piece of their plan in motion.
He scanned the club, keeping his eyes away from the beautiful brunette. She was lovely, but also a distraction. Perhaps if he could get his work done…
He left the idea mulling in his head as he caught sight of the person he needed to meet with. When their eyes caught, he nodded slightly, receiving the same indicator back. Shifting in the opposite direction, he moved over towards the bar, ordering a vodka straight up and leaning back against the rail while sipping his drink.
“Everything in place?” he asked when the other man approached.
There was a slight nod in the darkness. “All set on my end. Do you need any help with your part?”
Rocco rolled his eyes. “Be serious,” he laughed.
The other man chuckled. “Simply trying to help out an inferior partner,” he came right back.
Rocco, laughed softly, not taking offense. In his mind, it was the same friendly banter he and this man had shared since their college days. They carefully went over the issues they didn’t want to be written down or seen by others on their staffs, setting in motion a plan that could be dangerous if everything didn’t run smoothly. When they were finished, Rocco was convinced the plan would work, but it would be risky. “Just don’t forget the time table,” Rocco replied, knowing this was the last time he would see his friend until it was all over. “The pieces of the plan only work out if the sequence and timing are perfect.”
With a nod, the man agreed. “Everything will be fine. Talk to Phillip Jordan. He’ll get the rest done.”
Rocco tried to keep his eyes on the dance floor, but they kept straying to his fairy-woman. She had stepped up to the end of the bar. “You trust him?” Rocco asked, his eyes darting around the room to ensure that no one was catching this conversation. The entire plan would fall apart if word got out that the two of them were together tonight.
There was a flash of white teeth, noticeable only because of the neon flash at that particular moment. “Not at all. But he knows what to do. And I have backups in place in case Jordan backstabs us.”
Rocco looked at the man’s black eyes, working through the whole process in his mind. “Fair enough. I’ll be on standby.” He took the paper that was handed to him and slipped it inconspicuously into his jacket pocket.
With that, the two men separated. To a casual observer, the two were merely greeting each other as strangers. But Brianna snapped picture after picture of the two men, even digitally catching the paper as it was exchanged. She had no idea what was on that paper, but the way it had been surreptitiously transferred between the two men told her that it was very important.