Page 16 of A Corruption Dark & Deadly

That was an odd question to ask her. It didn’t matter what she wanted. He had already made that decision himself.

“Thank you,” she said in a voice just above a whisper.

He smiled and nodded. “Come on, then,” he said. “Let’s go.”

Annie didn’t have to look to know that people in line had their phones out. Jericho was practically a celebrity here and to see him lecturing his bouncers because of some girl in a trench coat was a curious thing to behold. She had no idea how Jericho was completely fine with all of this, how he was able to ignore the chaos that surrounded him. It was probably what made him such an excellent businessman, his ability to stay cool amidst everything else.

She had no choice but to follow him, so she did. She walked through the open door and stopped at the coat check. Jericho slid off his own jacket and then offered to take Annie’s. Suddenly, she was embarrassed to have shown up in a plaid shirt and a pair of jeans. Jericho himself was in a white collared shirt and beige slacks, and that was probably his casual attire. However, Jericho probably wasn’t going to leave without checking her coat and umbrella so she untied her belt and unbuttoned the coat.

“Plaid,” he said with a small smile as she slid the coat off and handed it to him. “How fitting.”

She wanted to ask him what that was supposed to mean but she didn’t think it was actually an insult. Instead, she took the ticket the pretty girl handed her, and Annie couldn’t help but notice the curious look on her face as she looked between Annie and Jericho. Annie couldn’t blame the girl; Annie probably wasn’t the type of woman Jericho brought here, although she wasn’t sure if Jericho brought any of his dates to his own nightclubs. That would be kind of lame, wouldn’t it? She wasn’t sure. She didn’t know the proper protocol when it came to dating billionaire businessmen.

Not that she was dating Jericho at all. She was just living with him. For now.

He led her through the entranceway, past the coat check. There was a photo booth set up just before emerging into the actual club for people who wanted to commemorate their evening. There were even props to the side, neatly organized based on what type of celebration people were here for.

Everything was a metallic black, making the club look sleek and modern rather than cheesy and thematic. The music was already thumping, so it was a good thing Jericho wasn’t actually speaking. The dance floor was bigger than a lot of nightclub’s and it was next to a long bar manned with at least six different bartenders, including her brother. Because the club hadn’t officially opened yet, the employees weren’t on the floor. The lights were on so Annie could clearly make out the VIP lounge tucked in the corner of the club, placed where they could see everything. There was also a second floor reserved for private celebrations and housed Jericho’s office and the employee break room. There were rumors that said Jericho handled his side business – his organized criminal enterprise – upstairs simply because no one was allowed on that second floor unless invited specifically by Jericho.

He walked her through the dance floor and to the stairs, where a bouncer stood already.

“Stan,” Jericho greeted with a nod. “This is Annie Brennan, Bruce’s younger sister. She is allowed up here whenever she’d like; she doesn’t need me to be with her. Do you understand?”

“Yes, sir,” he said with a nod. He smiled at Annie and stuck out his hand. “Nice to meet you, Ms. Brennan.”

Annie felt her lips twitch up with a small smile as she regarded the big bouncer. He didn’t look all that intimidating with the genuine smile on his face. She placed her hand in his.

“Nice to meet you, Stan,” she told him.

Annie proceeded to follow Jericho up the black staircase. She placed her hand on the rail and was thankful she decided to wear her converse shoes, even if she stood out like a sore thumb. At least she didn’t have to worry about slipping and falling on her ass.

Once they were up the stairs, Annie tried to take in everything she could. There were cushy chairs and roped off areas. A smaller dance floor was used up here, probably for private shows and high rollers. There was even a special bar in the back. If there was a private party, they would be catered to explicitly by the club while also having a view of what was going on below.

He led her through the floor and to the back. There was a large room with double doors, currently closed. Probably the break room, Annie assumed, considering there was a subtle sign with black letters on white background that stated EMPLOYEES ONLY. Instead of leading her there, however, he took her down a dark, secluded hallway and pulled out a ring of keys after stopping in front of a red door. He opened up the door and led her inside.

It was an office. Probably his. It looked normal, surprisingly, with dark furniture including a desk, a laptop, and a couple of chairs, and a couch against the wall for lounging around.

"I'll let your brother know you're here," he told her smoothly. "Can I get you something to drink? I can have the kitchen prepare you some food, if you'd like."

"The kitchen?" she asked, furrowing her brows at him. "I didn't realize nightclubs had kitchens."

"Not all of them do," he agreed, "but all of mine do. We don't serve food to our typical patrons but if they request a private VIP treatment, then they get a meal out of it. Would you like something?"

It boggled Annie's mind that he was offering to get her something. Didn't he have employees for that? Why was he doing this himself?

"You seem troubled," he remarked.

"Why are you being so nice to me?" she blurted out before she could stop herself. She felt her cheeks turn pink but she kept her gaze focused on him despite the discomfort it caused her. "You cook me breakfast and let me live in the house without paying rent. You pay off the mortgage and you're paying all the bills. Why are you doing this?"

His smile turned slick. "No good deed, hmm?" he asked, pushing his brows up.

She shook her head. "That's not what I'm trying to do," she told him. "I just didn't expect..." She let her voice trail off, unsure how to finish that sentence without coming across as offensive. "I just didn't expect someone like you to be so..." She was struggling and he knew it. Instead of jumping in and saying something about how he understood, he let her work it out for herself. "You're willing to do trivial things like get me food. I didn't expect that from someone with your power and wealth."

"Can I take that as a compliment?" Jericho asked.

Annie shrugged shyly. “Take it however you’d like,” she murmured.

He smiled. “What would you like?” he asked. “Anything you want, my chef will make you. Oysters, lobsters, sirloin. Whatever you wish, I will make it come true.”