Page 49 of Sizzling Nights

Just as he started to steer them toward another group, a chime sounded, and a man dressed in a tuxedo stood on the stage."Dinner is served. Please make your way to your seats. Your table numbers are on your name tags."

Marco steered Theresa toward the dinner tables. They were sitting at table thirty-one.

They found their table and sat, and much to his surprise, the four people who had walked away from them earlier came and sat at the same table. Hopefully, this was fortuitous.

He held Theresa’s chair out for her, and she sat. He took the seat next to her and smiled at their table companions.

Four more people came to join them. The tables were ten-tops, round and large. Conversation was difficult unless you were speaking to the person on either side of you.

Across-the-table conversation in this room was nearly impossible.

The noise level was loud. That was until the chairman of the ball, Torin Terry, walked up to the podium on the stage.

"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. Thank you for joining us here today for this great cause. The monies that are raised here tonight, and generously donated by all of you, will go to help children with leukemia.We donate the money to various hospitals that have laboratories working on the cure for leukemia, and a portion is set aside to help children whose parents can't afford their treatments.That way, we ensure that those children get the treatment they need."

Everyone at the tables clapped.

Mr. Terry nodded his head and held up his hand."Thank you. I ask you all to open your wallets and donate generously, so we can help as many children as possible. Hopefully, the research that is done with the help of the funds you donate will end this insidious disease altogether, so no other child has to suffer through it."

More applause.

Mr. Terry continued, "Now, while we eat, we have an orchestra here to play soft music. Please enjoy yourselves. The food here is phenomenal, and when you're finished eating, I urge you to get up and place another bid for these beautifully donated auction items.Again, your money goes to a good cause. Thank you all for attending."

More applause.

Mr. Terry sat at the table in front of the stage.

Waitstaff began delivering their food, and most of the people at the table seemed to be more interested in talking only to their companions rather than engaging with anyone else. Marco was fine with that. They had microphones that could hear a lot.So, he and Theresa mostly ate in silence.

She sat to his left, and every so often, he would lay his hand on her leg and squeeze slightly, to comfort her. And himself. He wanted tonight to be successful and for him, success meant they'd gather some information and Theresa would be safe. They'd go home together and make love.

As waitstaff began removing their dinner plates and delivering desserts, they ate once more and then waited to see what was going to happen next.Their table companions promptly left the table.Marco thought that was a sign they had things they didn’t want to discuss in front of others.

He looked up and saw two of the men from their table walking to the restroom together.He leaned down to Theresa and whispered, "I'm following them to the restroom. You stay in this room. Maybe take a walk along the auction tables once more. There should be more names on them now. Don't go anywhere else, please."

She smiled. "I won't. I'm fine."

They got up from the table. They walked together until he had to turn toward the restroom. He watched her briefly as she walked toward the auction tables.As he strode toward the bathroom, he passed an empty conference room, or banquet room, whatever it was in this place, and heard men talking.

He decided to loiter outside the door and see if his microphones could pick up any of the conversation.Not wanting to seem too obvious in case someone else came along, he pulled his phone out and pretended to be texting someone.He heard: Celtics, money, late, and a few other things that he thought were important.

He sure hoped this conversation was being picked up and that it was valuable.He left the area before anybody became suspicious or came along and saw him standing too close.He went out to the ballroom.

But he couldn’t find Theresa.

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Theresa casually walked along the auction tables, leaning over to read the names on the clipboards. The amount of money that people were willing to bid was unreal, and she wondered how much of it was ill-gotten gains.

Their bids were likely false. The amounts they were willing to bid were just for show, so the benefit could keep records, but in actuality, that money was being laundered. It made her sick they were willing to use children to hide what they were doing.

She continued walking along each table, stopping when someone called out, "Theresa, is that you?"

She looked up to see Kelsey, who she worked with at the Sandbar.

"Kelsey? Yes, hi! What are you doing here?"

Her mind whirled. What would Kelsey be doing here? She didn’t come from money. Actually, she just had some issue with a ticket or something. What did Marco say? She had to have help?

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