Page 7 of King of Players

Leisurely, as if he had all the time in the world, he began to step away from the set. “How do you keep it so clean? Every nook and detail are spotless.”

“Anti-static dusting spray,” I said matter-of-factly.

“Ah.” He joined me at the doorway, and I switched off the light. Walking out toward the stairs, he added, “You know a lot about cleaning, then.”

“I like to remain involved. It is my house.”

“Fair enough,” he said as he stepped aside, gesturing for me to go down first.

As he followed, I asked, “I don’t see Abel anywhere. Did he leave already?”

“Nah, he’s probably somewhere here with his lady.”

I glanced over my shoulder, my hand barely touching the rail as I placed my foot down on the floor. “And where’s yours?”

“I told you; I don’t even know her name.”

“After all the help tonight, I think you ought to learn it.”

Smirking, he let his hand slide back to the nape of his neck, as if to massage it. “I don’t think that’s what she’s after.”

“No woman wants to be with a man who doesn’t care enough to ask her name.”

“You’re generalizing. It’s dangerous. Some women walk into my bedroom with the very intention to never tell me their real name.”

I could feel my body stiffen. To conceal it, I pushed up my chin and stared blankly into his eyes. “Mr. Niles. I know that this isn’t your sort of thing, but I do appreciate your efforts.” In a calculated manner, I moved my eyes quickly away and smiled, lifting up my hand in a wave. “I must go now. Someone needs me. Have a good time.”

I didn’t want to wait for a response, since I could sense that he was going to say something else that aimed at prolonging our discussion. To me, the exchange had reached its conclusion, and I wasn’t supposed to invest any more time in Chad Niles. Aware that he was morally a lost cause, I knew that he was going through all of that trouble, only to end up in his bedroom with the beautiful blonde. Doing me a charitable favor was only a bonus point for him.

As I headed over to the catering manager, I saw Chad make a beeline toward the blonde, who received him with an enthusiastic grin. Following a brief search with my eyes, I saw Abel and his date for the night. I couldn’t help but smile, happy that he had finally found someone who matched him well.

“Kaira!” A familiar voice prompted me to turn around. “Hi! Oh my gosh, you haven’t changed a bit.” It was my cousin’s British fiancée, who tried far too hard to sound American when she was here.

“Vera, hello.” I quickly stretched my lips into a grin as I approached her with open arms. “I had no idea you were in town.”

She kissed me on the cheek, and I felt her shiny lipstick stick to my skin. Before I could even think, my fingers got the best of me and rushed to wipe it off as my gaze watched her lips say, “I just landed. But I couldn’t miss all of this!”

“Is Wyatt with you? I’d love to see him.”

“Oh, he’s stuck at work as usual.” She waved it off with her hand. “But I see you’ve made friends with Chad Niles.” Winking, she giggled. “Well done!”

“Uh—No. Not at all. He was invited by a mutual friend.”

“Who?”

“Abel Drakos?”

“Ah, right. Well, it never hurts to have celebrities for friends, darling.” She then turned around, glancing at the bar. “I’d better start catching up with everyone else here, if you know what I mean.”

I forced a chuckle. “By all means, knock yourself out.”

“I’ll find you again, yes?”

“I’ll be around!”

I watched her go before turning away to find myself a new distraction. While Chad’s little game of ‘who’s going to collect more’ was fun, I still had the duty of entertaining my guests. The last thing I had wanted was for Vera to be here, because it meant that I had to invite her to stay. I knew the drill. She was going to swear that she had booked an extravagant hotel room; I was going to say, “Absolutely not. Family doesn’t stay in hotels while I got this whole place to myself.” And eventually, she was going to have her chauffeur bring her belongings over. My first thought after that idea popped into my head was to beckon Miriam over and instruct her to have one of the rooms cleaned and ready for a special guest.

In a quiet corner in the kitchen, I pulled my house manager closer and said, “I don’t know how long she’ll be staying. No doubt, she’s here on business, so it shouldn’t be long.”

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