"You there! Another drink!"
Snarled a drunk patron from Table 13 as he pounded the table with his meaty fists impatiently.
When the young, sexy barmaid came over to give him a refill, the nasty drunk looked like he was about to overstep boundaries and get handsy.
Melisandre 'Lisa' Belmont was bracing herself for conflict but none came as the drunk suddenly seemed to be silenced in fear.
He accepted his drink nervously and fanned her away from the table while looking fearfully behind her.
When Lisa followed the man's drunk gaze her eyes collided with Bane Shadowhurst, the younger brother of her boss Tristan Shadowhurst.
Bane boldly met her stare head on and Lisa saw something flash in his eyes.
A demonic red glow that flickered, it must have been a trick of the light.
"Everything okay," nudged Chandra while breaking the connection between the two.
"Yeah," Lisa answered, shifting her gaze to her friend's concerned face.
Chandra asked excitedly, "Boss Tristan is offering us an additional 5k cash to attend the after party at the Posh Strat Hotel. That's more than double what we will earn for being here for the week for just a few more hours, so?"
When she looked back in Bane's direction he was in deep conversation with another guest. "So?" Lisa repeated.
"Well… are you interested or not?"
Shouldn't she keep a low profile and not get further involved with the Shadowhurst brothers but the easy money was too tempting to ignore.
"Yeah.. I'm in but how will we get home after?"
"Don't worry about that, Lucas promised to take us back to our hotel afterwards."
"Sounds like a plan. I'm down for whatever."
Chandra skipped away merrily to tell their coworkers that Lisa was also coming to the afterparty.
Meanwhile Lisa's stomach churned and for some strange reason Bane's earlier warnings flooded her brain.
Nothing was going to go wrong at the after party and Bane was just blowing things out of proportion.
When had Tristan been anything but a perfect host and a gentleman so she definitely had nothing to worry about.
The fact that Tristan had noticed her feelings for his brother deeply shocked her.
She didn't realize her feelings were so easy to read.
Tristan was a cool guy, who easily garnered respect from others, from the moment she met him he had a recurring role in her dreams and fantasies.
She wasn't exactly looking for love, when would she find the time when she had a murder mystery to solve and a promise to her mother to fulfill.
"I heard you're going to the afterparty."
Speak of the devil.
Lisa swung around to face Tristan, her heart fluttered in her chest, when had he gotten so close?
"Yes, I am." Lisa said hesitantly. "Thanks for the opportunity. I'm eager to please you."
Tristan's liquor flushed face brightened considerably at her offer.
Even though Lisa meant for her words to be taken at face value.
Under the influence of alcohol Tristan obviously heard a different message judging by his facial reaction.
Lisa felt her cheeks redden as his shiny bright eyes held hers spellbound.
"I'll surely provide you with the perfect opportunity tonight."
Something about the smooth manner in which Tristan answered made red flags flare in her mind as his unspoken invitation lingered in the air.
"Thank you Mr. Shadowhurst."
"Aren't we friends now? Call me, Tristan."
"My bad, Tristan it is."
"Much better. We are getting ready to leave so if you need a ride to the venue you are more than welcome to join me. I want your time with me to be as pleasurable as possible."
"That's okay Mr. Shadow…uhh…Tristan but I'll be riding with Lucas and Chandra."
"I guess that's fine as long as it's not with Bane. I want you to be able to loosen up and enjoy yourself to the max at the afterparty. I'm afraid my little brother is way too uptight and takes himself too seriously at the worst times. Do you like hookah, Lisa?"
Her brow wrinkled.
Hookah didn't sound familiar; perhaps it's some new type of liquor.
"I've never had it before but I'm willing to try."
"Awesome. You must find me when you reach the afterparty and I'll have a special blend ready for you."
"Thanks, I'm looking forward to it."
Compared to earlier when Tristan looked ready to take Vivica's side over her this was a complete 180 in attitude.
Vivica was the supervisor for the girls at the Champion Talent Agency hired by the Shadowhurst brothers.
It was rumored that Vivica saw Lisa as a threat and did everything she could to make Lisa's life miserable.
Then Lisa remembered she still hadn't thanked him for setting her up in the private suite.
"Tristan, I want to…."
When she heard the hotel manager calling out his name diverting his attention.
Tristan said, "see you soon."
Before Lisa could respond his long strides took him in the direction of the manager calling his name.
Lisa hurried to the room at the back of the bar.
It was her responsibility to carry the last bag of trash to the outside bin.
A black plastic bag that looked heavily filled to the brim with napkins, plastic cups and plates.
She groaned at the thought of having to struggle down the stairs with it.
Without hesitation she pushed open the door to the back room expecting it to be empty but the door smacked into someone and the woman yelped loudly.
It was Vivica and she had her hands wrapped around Bane.
She eased off of him when Vivica saw Lisa enter the room and shot her a dirty look for interrupting them.
Bane looked angry but she ignored both of them and collected the extra large trash bag.
The couple might as well have been furniture in the room for she paid them no mind as Lisa hauled the trash bag out the room and down the stairs.
Neither had bothered to look even the slightest bit guilty at being exposed and having intimate relations with each other while on duty.
After hauling the trash bag outside Chandra came to get her, as Lucas, a close friend of the Shadowhurst brothers, was ready to drive to the afterparty.
The couple was forgotten as they sped down the road in Lucas' brand sparkling new Rolls Royce Silver Shadow.
That wasn't even on the market and was still being pre ordered according to Chandra.
Lisa couldn't have cared less, she was more than ready to try Tristan's hookah or anything else that would numb her mind and help her to forget what Lisa saw in the backroom earlier.
They pulled up at a huge parking lot in front of the Posh Strat Hotel, sharing the same space as a miniature golf course and the Pure Love Chapel.
Chandra wanted to play some mini golf and Lucas indulged her and of course they dragged Lisa along.
They were having so much fun that by time they entered the hookah party patrons were already looking high and plastered.
Chandra got on the bar and started dancing coyote ugly style pulling Lisa along with her which seemed to wake up the crowd and had the party looking lively again.
Lisa was having a little too much fun, good naturedly accepting the shots handed to her when Tristan pulled her off the counter.
He took her over to a table where Tristan and the other heartbreakers aka the close friends of the brothers were hanging out.
She didn't see Bane or his best friend Shinto with them, not that she cared but Vivica was lounging on a couch smoking some mango flavored shisha and her eyes looked spaced out.
Her minions were giving some of the heartbreakers lap dances and no one paid them any mind.
"Come over here," said Tristan.
He pulled Lisa over to the corner where there were several different sized bongs in a kaleidoscope of colors across two long tables.
Tristan picked up the closest one and emitted a really strong smell so her nose crinkled.
Lisa asked, "what's that smell?"
"That's cannabis, you'll get used to it."
He pulled out a new hose from a clear plastic wrapper and reattached it to the bong.
Then Tristan advised, "put this up to your mouth and suck it like a straw."
Lisa did as she was told, at first she coughed a bit but then got into it, each new concoction that Tristan put in her hands when she wasn't drinking a vodka mix.
The room started to sway with the music and Lisa was too invested in the hookah to pay attention.
Where did Tristan go, was he coming back?
Especially since the room was hazy with clouds of smoke, making it difficult to talk with others much less breathe.
Someone pulled her closer to his side and she couldn't make out his face; everything was a blur.
They started dancing and groping each other slowly.
Her lids felt heavy as this unfamiliar guy led her outside away from the others.
Lisa asked him to stop several times but the guy would not listen.
Outside of the hotel he dragged her into a dark alley and proceeded to have his way with her. Before the stranger got her completely naked a punch sent him flying into the wall.
Several punches and possibly a few broken bones later the new victor emerged by her side.
Lisa giggled, "why are you touching my lacy underwear, isn't it soft?
A familiar deep voice responded, "do you not want me to touch it?"
"The only way you get inside my panties is if you're going to put a ring on it."
"That can be arranged," said the sultry low voice as he pulled Lisa in the direction of the Pure Love Chapel.