Without thinking, I spoke. “Where do you live?”
I heard Dorian ease back in his chair, the fine leather groaning under the weight of his shifting torso. “You’re at my home, in Las Vegas.”
I swallowed hard but didn’t turn to look at him.
Las Vegas? How far could I possibly be from my apartment? What if I got away somehow? Could I make it?
Dorian interrupted my escape fantasies. “You live in Las Vegas. Don’t you?”
Turning my attention away from the windows, I looked at him. Dorian leaned over his desk, a pen in one hand, writing away. I found myself staring, again.
He was incredible. I shook my head. What the hell is wrong with me? It must be exhaustion.
What was the question again? He asked me something right?
Dorian put his pen down and looked at me. “Not much of a talker are you?”
I shrugged. “There’s nothing to say.”
Dorian changed subjects, catching me off guard.
“I’m sorry for your loss,” he began, placing his hands on his desk and interlacing his fingers. “I didn’t know that you were engaged to Todd, or even with him for that matter. Of course, that is until after everything happened tonight.”
I couldn’t believe how much this guy knew about me. Good-looking or not, his smugness about what he did know was already wearing thin on my nerves.
I snapped at him. “How did you find out about that? The engagement?”
Awareness hit me like lightning. I looked down at my finger. The ring. It was gone.
Where was it? Did he have it? Did I lose it? I couldn’t remember.
Dorian didn’t say anything, just arched an eyebrow at my question.
“No, you know what? Never mind,” I snapped, deciding to keep my mouth shut about the ring for the moment. “I don’t want pity from someone like you.”
Only, he wasn’t finished.
“Information is easy to come by and cheap to get, Tempest. I know everything about you. Not just where you live but that you’re an only child, your mother died of cancer, your father is in prison, and you’re a cocktail waitress at the Bellagio.”
Gritting my teeth, I felt my pulse quicken. My fingers curled into balls of hard flesh.
“I also know that your real name is Tempest, it’s not just the name you assumed for work. Maybe a byproduct of having parents who were drunk or high all the time?”
Fucker.
I crossed my arms over my chest, squeezing them together tight. “My parents didn’t drink or do drugs, asshole.”
I barely got the sentence out. By now, I was biting my lip so hard I thought it might bleed. Whatever stupid game he was playing, it annoyed me I was so far behind in it. I didn’t know anything about him except that being in his presence made me uncomfortable, in more ways than one.
He smiled at me, oblivious to my frustrated inner state or maybe in full awareness of it. I had no idea.
“Have you changed your mind yet?” he asked.
“About what?”
“Something to drink? Are you thirsty?”
“No.”
“Something to eat then? Are you hungry?”
“No. I’m not either, so just quit asking.”
He seemed to study my face, trying to figure out if I lied or not. He turned over his shoulder and looked behind him, calling for Oksana. Before long, she was standing next to him.
“Oksana,” he began, pointing his index finger upward while he thought. “I’ll have a gin and tonic. Prepare something for Tempest in case she changes her mind later.”
I couldn’t believe the nerve of this guy.
A few minutes later, Oksana returned. She passed him a glass filled with clear liquid and three ice cubes. Dorian took it from her and raised it to his mouth, gulping down a healthy swig. Oksana walked away, and he put the glass down on the table with a thud.
“Of course,” he began, circling his finger around the rim of the glass. “I didn’t know Todd.”
I looked away from him. Dorian stopped talking. I heard the sound of him picking up the glass and drinking from it once again.
“Tempest.” He paused. “Look at me.”
With reluctance, I turned my head towards him.
“Like I said, I didn’t know him.” he stopped, holding the glass in his hand. Dorian swirled it, ice clinking inside before he continued. “Here’s the thing. He took something that didn’t belong to him to give to another man -- a very dangerous man.”
I scoffed at him.
“Dangerous!” I snapped. “You had him killed or at the least, you were involved! What could be more dangerous than that?”
His eyes narrowed at me. My comment bothered him.
Good! Finally! I got under his skin for a change.
“Yes, his death was unfortunate, but trust me when I tell you both of you would have died if he’d been allowed to deliver that case to Reno. Even though you may not realize it, I saved your life. If the person who was to get this case would have gotten to you before I did, you would have wished you were dead.”
On the one hand, his smug self-assuredness pissed me off. On the other, I had no way of knowing if he was telling the truth or not. The simple fact was I was still alive and Todd… wasn’t. I really didn’t know how to react – how to think or feel.
“I see a lot of men do desperate things for money. Crazy shit, just like Todd. It had nothing to do with you. The guy was a piece of shit. You are far better off without him. He didn’t deserve a woman like you.”
What the hell was that supposed to mean?
Before I could ask, Oksana returned with a plate of food and a glass of wine. A juicy burger and a healthy helping of fries tantalized me, causing my mouth to water. I wanted to restrain myself, not give him the satisfaction of knowing he was right about how hungry I was, but I hadn’t had anything to eat since early in the morning.
Oksana had placed the meal down at the edge of his desk. Dorian reached towards the plate and nudged it forward with his index finger.
“Why are you being so stubborn? You need to eat.”
My eyes darted back and forth between the half inch thick patty and Dorian. By now, the aroma from the burger began to permeate my senses.
“Go on.”
I sat forward in my seat, reaching for it and sinking my teeth into the first bite. Salted meat and hickory flavor cascaded across my tongue. I’m not sure if it was the best burger I’d ever eaten or not, but hell, it was close. After my second bite, I grabbed the glass of wine and took a big sip.
I gulped down the first few bites, probably giving him the satisfaction he wanted. At that point, I didn’t care. I was too tired and too hungry. Another couple of swallows of wine, and the glass was nearly empty. Oksana returned and refilled it.
“How is it?” Dorian asked, pinching his chin between his thumb and forefinger. One corner of his mouth curled into a smile, a dimple mocking me followed not long after.
“It’s good, very good,” I replied, wiping my face with a napkin. “Thank you.”
He didn’t say anything. He just nodded and returned to his paperwork. I ate in silence for a little while longer, watching him work. Eventually, I started to feel full and eased back into my chair.
The insanity of everything that had happened combined with my exhaustion, half a hamburger and two glasses of wine were all starting to take a toll on me.