Page 28 of Matteo

He wanted soft and demure.

He wanted a weak bitch.

“You could have answered the phone,” I rolled my eyes, my voice dripping with exasperation.

The man said nothing, except grabbing me by the wrist and pulling me after him. As we passed by the hostess who was scoffing at us, I blew her a kiss.

He pulled me on the elevator and only let go of my wrist once we were inside the elevator. Kenji, still holding onto my phone, punched a button and the elevator began to move. Silence filled the small confines of the elevator, and I was happy the moment the doors opened.

“After you,” he finally spoke.

Moving past him, my heels clicked against the marble floors. I walked to the end of the hall where a locked office door awaited. He came up behind me, pressing into me and easing my head to the side. A shiver raked its way down my spine.

“It’s been a long time, Rain.”

His voice had me trembling and just as quickly as the feeling had come, it disappeared.

Kenji moved from behind me and in front of me. My ears picked up that he was punching in a code to his private business suite and we eased inside.

The area was well furnished, looking as if it’d been pulled from a magazine. Seattle’s skyline glimmered and gleamed from the windows and I went over to admire the view.

“Why am I here?” I asked not even bothering to see what Kenji was doing.

“You are here because I wanted you here,” he replied, his voice soft and his tone calm.

He’s fishing, I thought.

“I mean…Cassie,” I needed to see his reaction to her name being said.

He was in the small kitchen area pouring liquor into two glasses. He came over and handed me a glass before steering me to the couches to sit.

“I was told…” He lifted the glass to his lips, the amber liquid shaking before disappearing down his throat.

I stared down at my own murky brown concoction before sitting it on the nearby glass coffee table. I didn’t have a taste for alcohol at the moment.

My attention returned to Kenji. He was staring at me.

He spoke, his voice heavy with sadness and regret. “I was told that you were there when Cassie died…”

Taking a breath, I simply nodded before uttering a word. “I was.”

He brought the glass back to his lips and took another sip. “I was also told that you didn’t see anything.”

Guilt was threatening to tear into me, and memories slammed against me like a tide hitting the sand. Cassie laughing in the salon, or the two of us having a smoke session. Even her telling me that she’d had an abortion earlier in the year because she wasn't with the father.

“I wish I could have done something…” I bit at my lip, suddenly ready to get the hell out of the Hellfire Club.

I was sure I could find something else to do other than talk about my dead best friend. I realized now that this sounded so incredibly selfish of me.

Finally, I reached and picked up the drink, sucking down the contents of the drink.

Kenji sat quietly, still observing me.

“Let’s get out of here,” I said suddenly.

He chuckled. “And where would we go?”

Rolling my eyes, I leaned in close our lips merely inches apart. He smelled like old times and bad decisions.

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