Page 121 of Enigma: The Complete Collection
CHAPTER12
ISABELLE
While clutching a piece of paper tightly in my fist, my fretful eyes dart up and down the street. Even in my furious mood, I can't risk the surveillance team, or even worse, Theresa seeing me entering Isaac's nightclub. Not only would my suspension most likely be extended, but I'd also risk being arrested.
Confident no one is watching, I slip into the back entrance of Isaac’s nightclub. It’s only a little after ten in the morning, so there are no patrons inside the club yet, which is surprising. Even during the daytime, his nightclubs have several dozen patrons milling around.
I bounce my curious eyes around surroundings I’ve taken in more via surveillance than in person. The Dungeon is an elegant-looking club that screams sex and seduction since Isaac’s allure is embedded in it. No wonder why patrons don’t bat an eyelid at being charged double for drinks. Even I’d pay the exorbitant fee to dance in a nightclub as elaborate as this one.
My heart beats out a funky tune when my eyes lock in on a mirrored window in the far corner of the room. I’m reasonably sure that’s Isaac’s office. After exhaling my nerves with a big breath, I pace for the door at the side of the mirror.
My quick strides halt when a petite lady with a pixie haircut darts in front of me. She spreads her tiny hands on her even smaller waist before narrowing her eyes. “Isaac doesn’t want to see you.” She toughens her stance by rolling her shoulders and snarling her top lip. “Ever again.”
“Then Isaac will need to tell me that.”
I try not to let irritation be heard in my tone. I fail. Just the petite brunette’s eyes reveal her interests in Isaac aren’t business-related, much less her immediate dislike of me. Although I’d usually be more than happy to put her in her place, I’m not in the mood to deal with her right now. I have much more pressing matters to handle.
When I attempt to skirt past the fairy-looking lady, she blocks my path. I glare at her before stepping to the left. She returns my glare before stepping right.
“Please move.” I'm shocked I can render up any politeness. I’m at my absolute teether.
She all but pokes me in the chest when she gives me a stern finger point. “You may have gotten your hooks into Isaac outside of these walls, but it won’t happen in my club.”
“Yourclub?” I cross my arms in front of my chest, my hackles raised. “Please excuse me if I’m wrong, but I’m reasonably sure your name isn’t written above the door.” My squinted eyes stray to the proprietor’s name displayed at the entrance of the nightclub. “Oh, nope, that’s right, it still showsonlyIsaac Holt’s name above the door.”
The pixie’s stern composure doesn’t flinch at my bitchy remark. She stands her ground, not once lessening the scowl marring her pretty face. “I was here years before you arrived, and I’ll be here years after you leave.”
I tilt closer to the pixie fairy. Because she's so short, I have to bend my knees to glance into her eyes. “As nothing more than a paid employee.”
The pulse in my neck twangs when the rumbling voice of Isaac echoes through the room. “Do you want me to get some mud, or are you two happy to continue wrestling without it?”
He’s leaning against the doorframe of his office. The darkness of his gray suit matches his eyes to perfection, and even with an angry scowl straining his handsome face, my heart still skips a beat.
When he notices my avid assessment of his body, his perfectly etched brow arches high, but before he can articulate either disdain or pleasure to my prolonged gawp, the fairy lady snaps, “I was telling Isabelle what you told me earlier. How you havenointerest in seeing her ever again.”
I stare at Isaac, begging for him to refute her hurtful comment. He does no such thing. He just adds to the bruise my ego just got.
“What do you want, Isabelle?” His tone is harsh, but my body still tingles from my name rolling off his tongue.
“I need to talk to you…” My words trail off when the lady standing beside me huffs dramatically. “In private.”
Isaac takes several heart-clenching seconds contemplating my request. Once he decides, his eyes drift to the pixie lady standing next to me. When she sees his answer before he can voice it, she crosses her arms in front of her scarcely-covered chest and drops her jaw.
Even though she’s aware of his response, Isaac spells it out for her. “Tell Roger I’m leaving five minutes later than expected.”
I try to hide my smile, but the smallest smirk curves on my lips. I can’t help it. Victory has never tasted so sweet. After a final glare, Tina storms toward the bar, murmuring incoherently under her breath the entire way. Isaac tracks her angry march before returning his grim gaze to me. My pulse quickens when he jerks up his chin, requesting for me to follow him. When he spins on his heels and strides into his office, I do precisely that, my knees knocking with every step I take.
As I enter the opulent space, I absorb the lavish furnishing and manly features. This is only the second time I’ve been here. The first time, I was too irate about the gigantic love bite Isaac left on my neck to fully take it in. Now, I'd give anything for him to mark me again.
Halfway through my scan, I stumble onto Isaac standing near a glass bar. He’s pouring himself a generous helping of whiskey. “Don’t you think it’s a little early to be drinking?”
His clutch on the bottle he's clasping firms before he glares at me. His gaze sears me motionless, but not in a bad way. It has me heating up everywhere as blistering as the anger I felt when he didn’t defend me to Tina.
“Have you slept with Tina?”
I’m reasonably sure I know the answer to my highly inappropriate question, especially considering the circumstances of my visit, but my inessential need to know everything gnawed at my insides until I had no choice but to blurt it out.
Isaac throws down a generous serve of whiskey in one hit. Heat creeps across my cheeks when his face doesn’t allude to the sharp bitterness sliding down his throat. After returning his glass to the countertop, he pivots to face me. My breathing halts at how taut his beautiful face is. His eyes are slit, and his lips are furled, but he's still the most handsome man I’ve ever seen.
