Page 185 of Roberto

Say we’d spent three hours together.

I could have made twice as much money…

Although I would have had to trade away my self-respect to do it.

So…no.

Still…

Hehadbeen very handsome.

And Italians were reputed to be great lovers.

Although, if he had to payfor it, he probably wasn’t that good.

And God only knows what he wanted me to do for that amount of money.

I pushed him out of my mind and took the pouch from Bowen.

“See you this evening,” I said.

My workday started at 6 PM. De Sade entertained customers 24 hours a day, but therealmoney didn’t start flowing until night fell.

“See you later, boss,” Bowen replied as I headed for the elevator.

As I drove away from De Sade, I mused that anyone who tried to carjack me could have made alotof moneyveryquickly.

But no triad gangster would dare try –

Because they knew who I worked for.

Only an amateur would be stupid enough to attempt it.

And even if he killed me, he would be hunted down and slaughtered within an hour.

Which is why I felt completely safe driving around Hong Kong with over a third of a million US dollars in my lap.

I finally reached my destination and parked in the underground garage. I took the elevator to the lobby, and from there went to the 70thfloor.

Eu-Meh was working reception. We exchanged smiles as she buzzed me through.

I went straight to Accounting and Mr. Gongsun’s office.

Gongsun was a fat, middle-aged man with thinning hair and dark circles under his eyes.

He stared at me as he did every time I saw him, his lecherous gaze pausing at my breasts before his eyes reached my face.

I had to say this for the handsome Italian: he might have been a jerk, but at least he hadn’t leered at me like I was a piece of meat.

“Good haul?” Gongsun asked in Cantonese.

“Typical weekday,” I replied as I laid the zippered pouch on his desk.

He pulled out the money and the flash drive, then looked at the paper with the crypto totals on it.

“By the way, Mr. Lau wants to see you,” he said absent-mindedly.

My stomach tightened.