Chapter 3: The Official Encounter

Chapter 3: The Official Encounter

Draco’s P.O.V

Who was that woman?

It was the first thought that came to mind as soon as my eyes met vivid green ones from across the room. She stood out like a beacon, a flash of wildfire amid the monochrome of the crowd. She had violated the dress code on purpose, that much even I could tell, especially from the tilt of her lips into a sly smile that few women knew how to pull off.

But why? With the mix of her Italian-American features, paired with that hourglass body…there was no way she would go unnoticed even if she wore a rag to the red-carpet. Then why had she chosen to wear that devil red dress that made her even more attractive than any of the supermodels I had dated in the past?

Well…wasn’t that a question every single person in the party was dying to know?

She walked in slow, measured steps, extending her hand to the passing waiter as he stopped just for her, so she could fetch herself a champagne flute. I saw the waiter transfixed in his place as he kept staring at her face, swallowing hard as he was unable to move his eyes…and that sly tilt to her lips once again that told me that she had the desired effect she was hoping for.

I saw a few men beside me eyeing her with lust-filled eyes, even preparing themselves to approach her. They seemed to have forgotten the charity event, and even the partners that they arrived with.

Well, well. Wasn’t this going to be interesting?

I leaned back against the wall, watching her progress from afar. My men were stationed around the room discretely, and I watched them watching her with keen interest as well. And for some reason…it did not sit well with me. There was no doubt that this woman was playing everyone in this room. If only I could tell what vendetta she had for being here…

I narrowed my eyes as a man of about fifty years, with an expensive suit and a drunken stance sauntered over to her in greeting, clinking his glass against hers hard enough that it could’ve cracked.

The woman’s lips turned up in amusement as my frown deepened. And then I found myself gripping my glass a little tighter as the man threw his arm around her waist and pulled her roughly to his side.

The man was none other than Joshua Bishop, the organizer of tonight’s fundraiser charity event and one of the most notorious businessmen in New York City. What connection could this woman possibly have with Joshua that he would invite her to a fundraiser this grand? Usually he was known to keep his mistresses out of his business ventures and that was one of the many things that I liked about Joshua despite not liking him as a person. The gluttonous son of bitch was trying to compete with me in the real estate establishments and he was winning.

However…my real estate ventures were only a few of my legal businesses, aside from the few bars I owned across New York City. My main dealings were in the dark, so I didn’t really care much about competing with Joshua. Because if I had taken our competition seriously…then he would have never been able to stay in business until now.

“Buongiorno, Signore D’Angelo.” Joshua smiled widely at his lady as he came to stand in front of me with his hand still on her waist. “I hope you are enjoying the party.”

Something about his showoff-ish smile had me wanting to rip his hands off of his shoulders. But that was before I chanced a glance sideways at the woman in red and saw the satisfactory smirk on her lips.

She was enjoying all the attention.

She loved all the eyes on her. She was probably even deciding on her next target while still in Joshua’s arms. But she didn’t turn to look at me. And that had me bothered.

Ever since I had arrived at the party, there had been no shortage of appreciation from the women all around me…then why did I want her eyes on me? Why was I going out of my mind trying to figure out what this one woman was thinking?

“Yes.” I answered Joshua’s earlier question. “I am. I’ll make sure to make a good donation.”

“Err…um…” Joshua looked around first, as if afraid to speak his mind. It took me a second to figure out that he was actually looking at where my men were stationed at. I narrowed my eyes at him over the rim of my glasses as I took a sip, letting the bitter burn ease its way down my throat. “Can I speak to you for a moment…alone?”

My gaze shifted to the woman for a brief instant as I watched her raise her eyebrows at Joshua with interest. Indeed. I would be interested too if I were her.

“This way.” Turning around, I walked towards the fireplace that was almost empty and guarded, so no one can overhear our conversation. “What is it?”

I got straight to the point, because Joshua, with all his charm and charisma…was starting to sweat profusely. And that could only mean that he fucked up somewhere.

“Capo…I-I…didn’t mean it.” He swallowed soundly before gulping down his entire flute of champagne to gather enough courage to speak to me. “I…the building that holds one of your brothels…it was sold to another person. I tried to sway the other party to get the building to you, but…it was sold to a woman. I think she might have had something to do with the party directly.”

My eyes were still narrowed as I swallowed my drink.

A woman?

The building that held the brothel that Joshua was talking about had been under Theodor’s management. And now Joshua was telling me that a woman had purchased that building…and taken over my brothel.

‘I…g-gave…t-t-t-o-o-o…s-s-s-i-s-s…’

My mind went back to Theodor’s stuttered out reply before I shot the man to death. Could this be the same woman that Theodor was talking about? His sister? Maybe not a real sister but…

“Capo.” Joshua’s trembling voice brought me back to the present. “Please forgive me. I’ll get you another building in return, at a location that will make you the talk of the town! Please forgive me, Capo.”

I smirked. “I’ll trust you on this one, Joshua. Get me the Camac Street building near the Central Business Hub. And I’ll consider it even.”

“Y-y-yes…Capo…” Joshua swallowed hard at the offer, knowing it was well above his pay grade. “I’ll try my best, Capo.”

Leaving the stuttering mess of the man to his business before he passed out from fear, I walked back to my table to find the woman still standing there enjoying her drink like she didn’t have a care in the world.

Everything else forgotten, I walked closer, deciding to be the first one to break the ice. She was playing hard to get, but that searing look that she had given me once our eyes met from across the room…it had been more than enough to tell me that she was just as into me as I was into her.

“You violated the dress code.” I whispered against her ears as I leaned down to place my empty glass onto the table; startling her into looking up at me.

Those big green eyes grew wide, her composer slipping away to expose just how I’d caught her off guard…but only for a second. And then she was turning to face me with her lush red lips tilted upwards in that signature smirk that I had come to associate with her only in a short span of time.

“I’m surprised you noticed.” She tiled her head to the side, studying me in a way that made my throat run dry.

She was testing me; teasing me. Usually I didn’t like that. I liked being in control; I liked my women obedient and submissive. Just from the looks of it, I could already tell that she was far from being either. But still, it fascinated me; so much so that I found myself reaching out for her unknowingly.

My fingers touched the back of her hand ever so lightly…and those fierce green eyes clashed into mine with an unknown emotion that I couldn’t name.

The impact of it was even fiercer from up close than it had been when she was standing across the room from me. Something about her was familiar…and yet, I was sure I had never met this woman before. Because a face like hers was hard to miss even in a crowd.

 “Who are you?” I asked, feeling the unintentional rasp in my voice.

For a moment, I saw her close her eyes. I kept my hand on her arm, feeling the smooth, velvety texture of her skin under my fingertips. But then she opened her eyes and the spell was broken as she moved back several steps.

“You’ll find out…soon enough.”

That tilt to her lips before she turned and walked out of the hall, leaving me curious and disgruntled.

Who was this woman? And why did it feel like this was just the beginning of a long and invigorating encounter?