Page 5 of Room One Hundred and Twenty-Five: All Access

“File’s in the den on the laptop, saved under the file name ‘penthouse’ if you want to go review the details.” He gestures over his shoulder to the room we’ve turned into command central since we got here.

Sure, we have an office space for the business. Once we met Ira face to face, it was automatic for us to default to personally providing as much of his protection details as possible. We’ve got amazing operatives on staff, but there’s no way we would fully entrust Ira to anyone else. I think, even if it’s gone unspoken, we both know how the other feels about him.

I guess tonight is a trial run to see if he feels the same about either of us. And make no mistake; I’ll be happy if he and Gable are the ones who connect. Even if it makes me a third wheel, I know my brother will accept my need to continue keeping Ira safe, long after this current danger is over. Even if they become intimate, there’s no way my brother will cut me out. And that’s fine.

Just fine, I remind myself as I switch places with him and leave him chopping vegetables, so I can go review the file he’s compiled. I’ll be just fine watching the two of them fall in love. So long as I can be on the fringes of their love, it’ll be enough.

And with that, I lie to myself for the first time since I woke up in that hospital bed with my guts crushed halfway to the moon and back.

Five

Hazel

Elevators should ding when they open, right? I think they should, anyway. Otherwise, a girl can look real foolish when they open and she’s not ready and she just stands there staring into space with tears gushing over blotchy cheeks. That’s a thing that happens, yeah? No? Only to me? Yeah, okay. Sounds about right.

“Ma’am, are you okay?” The gentle masculine voice cuts through my daze.

“Huh?” Eloquent, that’s me.

“You look lost. Are you alright? Do you need assistance?” The man clasps a soft hand around my elbow and leads me from the elevator carriage into a foyer so richly appointed I feel like a fraud simply existing within its space.

“Uh…” Here I go again, wowing the world with my incredible articulateness. You know what, though? Screw it. I think I’m allowed to be a mess right now. I just caught my fiancé on his knees in front of another woman the night before we’re meant to get married.

“I have no idea why I’m here,” I admit. “Or even where here is?”

“Dear one, I believe fate leads us to be where we belong when we are meant to be there. You’ve arrived at Club Sin. Have you heard of it?”

I shake my head, and he leads me further into the gleaming lobby.

“Then allow me to be the first to welcome you to our humble space.” The wink he gives me makes it clear he knows how wild it is to consider any of this placehumble.

The man leads me to a small office labeled ‘new members’ and hands me a chilled bottle of water and a packet of tissues. He introduces himself as the club’s concierge and instructs me to call him Christopher.

Maybe, it’s because this entire evening has a surreal quality to it, or maybe, it’s because I have no fucks left to give, but when Christopher explains the purpose and rules of Club Sin, I’m all in.

Christopher explains the club has themed rooms designed for people to explore their fantasies and kinks. He tells me I’m not silly for contemplating spending the honeymoon fund Trevor and I have set aside to pay for a membership. Christopher is my new best friend.

Okay, that’s an exaggeration. Still, it feels as if there’s a bond here. I’ve always needed someone in my corner, urging me to go for it. Now, here’s Christopher in my hour of need, compelling me to do this wild and out-of-character thing for myself. And when I panic about joining as a single woman without a man at my side, it’s Christopher soothing my nerves and letting me know there are plenty of men beyond the club’s doors, just waiting to meet a beauty like me.

“I’m not beautiful,” I argue. He’s hearing none of it, though, and like the magical fairytale godfather he’s turning out to be, he produces a prepackaged amenities kit complete with hair styling tools and makeup to help me repair the damage caused by tonight’s drama.

“Tearstained and pink nosed, yes. Not beautiful? Darling, the unattached straight men on the other side of that door will devour you. I promise you that. Now, before I leave you to your ministrations, please finish up your limits list, so I can input it into the system. If there are any gentleman looking for a match tonight, I want to ensure they meet your qualifications.”

“Anyone ever tell you you’re a well-dressed cupid, Christopher?” I ask, a tremulous smile battling through any lingering sadness. It’s impossible to be gloomy in the face of his relentless positivity.

“All the time, sweetheart. All the time.” He grins and winks before leaving me in the office to finish my paperwork and fix my face.

It takes only a few minutes. Most of my touchup comes from the emergency stash in my purse. But I’m not too proud to admit I absolutely indulge in the luxurious moisturizer provided in the toiletry kit for my face.

When I reemerge into the lobby, it’s still every bit as opulent as I first took it to be. This time, I take a moment to look around at the people grouped in small clusters around the room. There are sectionals and tables with comfortable-looking upholstered chairs spaced throughout. A fully kitted-out bar sits along one wall, though it’s clear no one here is hitting the sauce.

Soft discussions and laughter drift around me, but I don’t feel excluded. I cross to the bar and take a seat, mindful of the wine I had earlier, but any inebriation left behind has long cleared my system.

“May I serve you?” a young woman in a tuxedo shirt and vest with a black skirt asks.

“I, uh, I’d like a gin and tonic. Please,” I tell her.

Quietly, she turns and makes my drink. Her movements are quick and efficient, and in moments, I have a rocks glass with my drink in it, on a coaster in front of me. So that’s killed a whipping two minutes of the evening. At a loss for what to do next, I turn on the seat and rest my back against the leather padded bar rail.

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