Page 30 of Roberto

Her eyes widened as she stopped in surprise. “Oh – hello.”

Her voice was absolute music: soft and warm, with the sexiest and most demure British accent imaginable.

At 5’7” in heels, she was about six inches shorter than me. Up close, I could see that her black cheongsam had a dark green dragon embroidered on it. The head and claws extended down the front of her dress, while the dragon’s body curled over her shoulder and presumably down her back.

“I had to come over and meet you.” I extended my hand. “My name is Roberto Rosolini.”

She smiled as she took my hand. “Chan Mei-ling.”

Her skin was like silk; her grasp was so soft, it was like I was holding the petals of a flower.

In Asian countries, the family name comes first. Chan was a common family name, so I knew her ‘first’ name – her given name – was Mei-ling.

May-LEENG.

“That’s beautiful… does your name have a meaning?” I asked.

“‘Beautiful spirit’ or ‘beautiful bell,’ depending on how you wish to interpret it.” A change in her expression indicated she was about to brush me off. “Mr. Rosolini, I – ”

“Call me Roberto. May I buy you a drink? Say yes.”

“Mr. Rosolini – ”

“Say yes,” I repeated in a slightly different voice.

“I don’t – ”

“Say yes,” I said one last time, trying to make my voice as mischievous as possible.

The third time was the charm. She laughed silently – just a smile and a couple of movements of her shoulders.

“…alright. Just one.”

“What would you like?” I asked.

“Jiangbei knows,” she said as she gave a slight nod of her head in the direction of the bar.

The female bartender in the tuxedo nodded in return and started preparing something.

I noticed that Han was grinning like an idiot as he watched me. I chose to ignore him.

“Why don’t we sit?” I asked.

“I’d love to,” she said with a smile, and led the way to one of the recessed booths. We sat on opposite sides. I could smell her perfume – an intoxicating mix of floral notes and delicate spice.

“Is this your first time at De Sade?” she asked politely.

“It is.”

“Is everything to your liking?”

“It is now that I’m talking withyou.”

“Mm.” It was a pleasant sound, and she said it with a smile, but I could tell she was humoring me. I was sure a hundred men told her every night how stunning she was.

This was the part I hated: trying to interest a woman I’d just met. I wasn’t a natural seducer like my youngest brother,Valentino. I couldn’t rely on wit and charm like Niccolo. And I had nowhere near the magnetism of Dario, or the ‘I don’t give a fuck’ attitude of Adriano, or the quiet confidence of Massimo.

To be honest, I always got lost in this stage of the interaction. I had no idea how to make myself seem interesting.

---