~Two~
The minute I arrived at Direction 96 I realized I probably should have chosen a better place to meet, especially on a Wednesday night. The place was swarming with ladies, which in my world was like walking into a candy store. But since I owned the joint, it seemed the most logical place to meet.
Walking past the row of sex-deprived women, I spotted Kyle talking to two blondes at the end of the bar. Laughing to myself, I shook my head and headed in his direction. When I reached him, I looked to the two blondes, who each had an arm around his shoulder, and said with a touch of cockiness, “Sorry, ladies, I’m going to have to break up this little party. It’s time for my friend’s treatment.”
The look on Kyle’s face said it all as the girls began backing away from him, probably wondering just what kind of treatment he needed. Patting him on the back, I looked across the bar to Russ, who was also shaking his head. When I held up two fingers, he grabbed two glasses from under the bar and a bottle of McCallan’s and handed them over. Patting Kyle on the shoulder, I said, “Come on, bro, let’s head on up to my office.”
It wasn’t long until he was off his chair and following me up the stairs to my office. As we headed up the stairs, the eyes of every woman in the bar were on us. I knew then that tonight was going to another fun one. I also knew that I needed to make sure Kyle got a piece of the fun, especially after what I did to him earlier.
As we entered my office, I hit the switch on the right side of the door, which automatically closed the blinds that covered the windows overlooking the lower level. I wanted to make sure that I had his undivided attention before I began quizzing him about the young woman that was with Colin in the car. Placing the two glasses on my desk, I twisted off the cap, breaking the seal on the bottle of Scotch, and began pouring a generous amount in each glass. Taking a seat on the edge of my desk, I waited for Kyle to make himself comfortable on the couch.
Downing half of my Scotch, I looked at him and said, “Colin has requested another job be done.” I knew Kyle would already know since he knew everything when it pertained to me, but I needed to ease into the direction I wanted this conversation to go.
“Already knew that, London. I don’t think you brought me up here to talk about your new assignment,” Kyle replied.
There was one thing about Kyle, he knew me better than I knew myself. Planting my feet on the floor, I stood, casting away all the BS, and asked point blank, “Who is the girl?”
The way Kyle looked at me, he knew exactly who I was taking about, and based on his response he wasn’t particularly pleased at my inquiry. “Leave it alone, London. You don’t want to go there.”
“I am going there, especially when it involves her.” I responded.
“You aren’t going to let this go, are you?”
“Not in the slightest.”
“Her name is Tessa Sands. She belongs to Colin.” Kyle was hesitant, but at least I knew what her name was.
~*~*~*~
Another drink later, Kyle left and all I could think about how I was going to get to her without Colin knowing. As I opened the shades I thought someone from above must have been listening, because not only was Colin sitting at the bar, but the young woman that was with him in the car was seated next to him. Even from this distance she was more beautiful than I could have imagined. Her hair was long and silky, cascading down her bare back like a ray of sunshine on a sunny day. It was only when she turned to watch the couples dance on the lit dance floor that I was able to take her in completely. My eyes were locked on her, watching as her face lit up in a smile while surveying the dance floor. It was quickly removed the minute Colin leaned over and said something in her ear. Her body shifted in her seat and her face was no longer visible.
Whatever Colin said to her, her body became very tense and I could tell that she was very uncomfortable with the way she began fidgeting with her dress. She seemed to become self-conscious about how she looked. Her reaction alone piqued my curiosity, and I had to find out who Tessa Sands was and what control Colin had over her.
Downing the last of my Scotch, I placed my glass on my desk and headed to the door. My obsession to find out who this woman was had my thoughts in an uproar. Before I could reach the steps leading to the main floor, one of my bouncers was jogging up the steps with a waitress close behind him. I wasn’t sure what was going on, so I stopped halfway down the stairs and questioned their presence, “Is there a problem, Lance?”
“You might say that. There are two detectives waiting to speak with you. Something about a body turning up on the beach,” Lance replied.
When I looked over to Kate, who was the waitress behind him, she held her hand in the air and said, “Don’t look at me. I just came up to see if I could take off early since my babysitter can only watch my kid until eleven.”
After letting Kate know that it was okay for her to leave early, I followed Lance down the stairs to where the two detectives stood looking completely out of place. As we approached them, I glanced over to the bar where Colin was seated. Judging by the look I received from him, he knew something was up. Turning back to face the detectives, their eager eyes were watching our every move. More than that, the way they were looking at us made me think that they were here to accuse us of something before getting the facts.
Stepping up to the shorter of the two detectives, I sneered annoyingly, “I’m Xavier London. I understand that you wanted to speak with me.”
“It will only take a moment. Is there somewhere private where we can talk?” the taller detective inquired.
“What is this about?” I questioned.
“Murder.”
Even though the bar was packed, and the music was loud, the last thing I needed was for our conversation to be overheard. Heading back in the direction of my office, I knew that Colin couldn’t help but watch us as we passed in front of him. Tessa also had her sights on us, mainly me, as her beautiful eyes moved with us in the mirror behind the bar.
Once we reached my office. I allowed the detectives to enter first before closing the door. The walls suddenly felt like they were closing in on me when the shorter detective said bluntly, “Nice place you have. I wonder how a guy who has no history up until a year ago managed to get this far in life in such a short amount of time. Care to explain, Mr. London?”
“Look, Detective….”
“… Sloan. This is my partner, Detective Wallace,” Sloan interjected arrogantly.
“You still haven’t told me what this visit is about,” I responded.
“As you probably know, a man’s body was found on Venice Beach,” Sloan stated.
“That’s too bad, but I still don’t know why you are here,” I reiterated.
“Your business card was found in his pocket. Do you know a Michael Jeffries, Mr. London?” Wallace chimed in.
The minute the detective said his name, I knew the look on my face illustrated my affiliation with Jeffries. The last time I saw him he was alive and breathing. To find out that he was dead suddenly concerned me, especially knowing that he was one of my so-called job assignments. Staring back between Sloan and Wallace, I said convincingly, “Jeffries was interested in advice on starting a business. That’s the only reason why he had my card. Nothing more. Now if you will excuse me, I have a business of my own to run.”
When the detectives left, I turned to my desk and took the bottle of McCallan’s and poured a healthy portion into my glass. I just couldn’t believe that the stupid idiot got himself killed after everything I told him. What was even more alarming was if Colin ever found out that I never followed through with his assignment, I was as good as dead myself. The only question I had was, who other than Colin wanted this man dead? Downing the rest of my Scotch, I headed back downstairs, knowing that sooner or later Colin was going to question me about the two detectives.
When I got to the bar, Colin was no longer sitting beside Tessa. It may have been because he needed to relieve himself or got called away. Closing in on her, I waved Russ over to let him know I needed another drink, and to bring Tessa one as well. When her eyes met mine, it was like I was staring back at a mine filled with blue diamonds. I was totally mesmerized by them, almost to the point that I would never be able to escape the trance they put me in. Taking a seat that Colin had vacated, I turned to face her and introduced myself. “I think you have to be the most gorgeous woman that I have ever seen.”
I am not sure if she thought I was dropping her line or if she believed me. With a small giggle, she covered her smile and said, “I’m pretty sure you’re in need of an eye examination.”
“I assure you I have 20/20 vision. My name is Xavier London, by the way,” I announced.
“Nice to meet you, Xavier. I’m Tessa Sands, but you can call me Tess.” Her smile appeared once again, which met the brilliance of her sapphire blue eyes.
After bowing her head in what seemed to be an act of shyness, her eyes rejoined mine, only this time there was fear in them as they veered to the left. Everything about her changed. Wondering why there was a sudden change in her, I turned my chair in the direction she was looking only to find that Colin was quickly approaching us. He had to have had some control over her for her to react in such a manner and I was going to find out exactly what that was.