Page 188 of Roberto

Finally, he spoke. “If thelaowaicomes back, do what he wants. Keep him occupied. Am I understood?”

“Perfectly, sir,” I whispered.

“Good.” Then he gave me the grandfatherly smile again. “You may go.”

He stood up from where he was perched and walked back around the desk.

I was out of the office before he sat down.

74

As I drove home after my meeting with Lau, I thought about his instructions – and the implied threat if I didn’t follow through.

Both made me seethe with anger.

What was I supposed to do for the Italian, exactly?

Go down on him if he demanded it?

Drop my panties and bend over without a word?

By the time I reached the Summit, my anger had become rage, and it overwhelmed my fear.

I wanted to kill Lau, Han,andthe Italian.

Especially Han.

That fucking asshole… running and snitching to his boss…

As I made myself a microwave dinner and picked at it with a fork, I daydreamed unhappily for the thousandth time about how I could extricate myself from Lau’s control.

And for the thousandth time, I saw no way out.

Thinking about it made me lose my appetite, so I tossed my half-eaten meal in the trash and got ready for work.

I arrived at De Sade shortly after 5.

After checking in with Bowen so he could go home, I began to settle into my nightly routine –

And was immediately interrupted by Chun, the hostess on duty for the evening.

She looked pale as a ghost.

“Mr. Han said to meet him by the bar,” she whimpered.

I seethed inwardly but forced a smile. “Thank you, Chun.”

As I walked towards the lounge, I returned to my earlier daydreams about how I might dispatch Mr. Han.

Something slow and very, very painful…

But then my breath caught in my throat when I saw him:

The Italian.

He had his back to me and hadn’t seen me yet.

Lau’s words echoed in my ears:

---