Page 17 of Lost Track

That had been her first hint that that night was not going to be as normal as she’d hoped.

Though normal was subjective.

Maybe what she really meant was unsurprising. Yeah, that made more sense.

For the most part, she didn’t mind a little chaos on her Saturday night so long as no one got hurt.

Besides, working the VIP section at Geekeasy usually meant she only witnessed the chaos instead of participating.

But when she’d walked in on her boss, Big Mike, taking a sponge bath in the sink of the employee bathrooms right before her shift started, she should have expected it to get weirder.

The night had been going fine. Nothing exciting, just the usual.

And by usual she meant predictable.

(Except for that unfortunate couple of seconds when her eyes met Big Mike’s in the mirror. But we’re just going to move past that because what else is there to do?)

But everything else had been predictable.

And Sabine loved predictable.

It’s what helped grow the reputation she’d cultivated among her students of being feared.

And loved.

That part was important too.

At nine, Big Mike stopped avoiding her and told her the VIP Lounge was hers. Someone had reserved it last minute and she already knew the drill. She’d signed so many NDAs by then that she could have given a seminar on them.

She was however surprised to see Sunshine Capone the moment she swiped her badge at the door.

Oookay.

This was the third time this week she’d run into him.

Now Sabine believed in a lot of ridiculous things. Things that often got her laughed at and didn’t earn her any respect. Crazy things such as: true love, friends forever, and the perfect pillow (she hadn’t found it yet, but she would never give up looking!)

Something she didn’t believe in?

Coincidence.

“Good evening, gentlemen,” she greeted with a warm smile, quickly scanning the room.

Sunshine was on the middle of three couches in a semicircle setting, watching the basketball game on the flat screen. Two other men about his age lounged in similar fashion on the furthest couch from her. Two people in suits, clearly professional security, stood at the doors. One by where she’d entered and the other at the door to the exit to the alley (VIPs had their own special entrance).

All in all, it was a smaller group than what she would have expected.

Sunshine Capone wasn’t small potatoes.

She had looked him up online after their second encounter. If you could call it that.

Hopefully that information would help her land a big tip.

She liked big tips and she could not lie.

VIP tips often paid the rent. And with the holidays coming up and Sabine’s propensity to spoil her loved ones with gifts, she could use some extra cash.

“What can I start you out with? I should mention that the wings go fast, so if you want some, order sooner rather than later.”

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