Page 33 of A Corruption Dark & Deadly

“And this is Shawnelle,” Annie concluded, pointing to the tall, slender beauty with black hair. Her eyes were a warm brown color and she wore a short toga-like dress that completely contrasted with her skin tone but made her look like a goddess. She was a tenured professor at Seattle State.

Jericho repeated every woman’s name, shook her hand, and locked eyes with them. They were all charmed by him, Annie could tell, and she felt a swell of pride tie up her heart as she looked at the effect he had on her friends. She knew they would be charmed by him; it was hard not to be. What Annie hadn’t realized, however, was that she was happy to the point of being giddy because of him. That she appreciated what he was doing for them to make them feel special.

“Who will be waiting on us tonight?” Annie asked.

“I will,” Jericho said with a smile. “Of course.”

Annie’s brow pushed up and she couldn’t contain the beaming smile on her face if she tried. Her heart fluttered the same way it did when she thought she was in love with someone. But that wasn’t possible, was it? To love someone so soon, someone she barely even knew?

Possibly. At the very least, she could be open to it.

Jericho led the group upstairs to the private booths. There was already an iced bottle of champagne that Carmen squeaked about when she saw, claiming it was a two-thousand-dollar bottle. Annie shot Jericho a look and he shrugged nonchalantly. On top of that, each woman received a bouquet of flowers and Carmen received a five-hundred-dollar visa credit card, to spend on new attire for her promotion. Annie couldn't stop smiling. There was surprise after surprise after surprise. As the women slid into the booth that faced their private dance floor - which was already half-full of other VIP members for the evening - Annie pulled Jericho into a quick kiss.

"Thank you," she told him in a soft voice. "You're amazing."

"I’d do anything for you," he told her. "You know that."

As Annie slid into the booth, Jericho began to pass out the menus. "Ladies, these are our specials," he said. "However, if you're in the mood for something else, we will make whatever it is you want, regardless of if it's on the menu or not. Completely on the house, of course. I'll give you some time and then I'll come back to take your order. Is there anything else I can do for you before I leave?"

"A dance?" Carmen asked with her signature pout.

Annie cut Carmen a glare. Why was she flirting with her boyfriend? Yes, Jericho was amazing and handsome and rich but Annie was with him, no one else.

"Actually," Jericho said, his eyes a darker shade of green as he regarded Annie and only Annie, "I belong to Annie. She's the only person I dance with, if I dance at all."

Once he was gone, the group of women squeaked and started complimenting Annie on what a catch Jericho was and how lucky she was to have him. Even Carmen sounded sincere when she spoke about what a classy guy he was and how she never expected how out of his way he went to make the group feel special.

"I hope it lasts a while, Annie," she said, reaching across the table to squeeze Annie's forearm. "I can't think of anyone else who deserves this."

Annie clenched jaw from saying something. Why wouldn't it last? Yes, Jericho did have a reputation of dating multiple women a month - sometimes within the same week. However, she knew for a fact Jericho didn't go out of his way for his date's friends the way he was doing for them. There was no way he spent the kind of money on some girl he wasn't going to be with for a while. Even Carmen didn't think it was going to last at all. A while was different from simply saying she hoped it lasted at all.

Jericho came back a few minutes later and took everyone's order. He popped open the champagne and poured each woman a glass.

"All right," he said. "I have a meeting but if there's anything you need, just wave your hand. My office is just over there and I have a pretty good view of you from there."

Everyone thanked him and Annie took a long gulp of the bubbly Amber champagne. Jericho hadn't mentioned a meeting. Not that Annie cared. Technically, he was still working so it wasn't all that off base for him to meet with someone. Plus, she was here with her friends, not with Jericho.

She was going to have fun with her friends, no matter what happened tonight.

--

Jericho slipped into his office after leaving Annie and her group of friends at their booth. He had a small smile on his face as he walked to his desk and pressed the speaker button before typing in a phone number he already had memorized.

“Yes, sir?” Bennet, his second-in-command, answered after the first ring.

“I hear we have an interested buyer?” he asked, sliding in his chair and leaning back into the cushy black leather. His eyes somehow found Annie through the blinds. He had placed her at that exact table for a reason, after all. He wanted to keep an eye on her, make sure she was enjoying herself. “Is he here?”

“Yeah, waiting outside in the rain. Stares too long at pretty girls, though. Not sure if he’s the type of guy we want buying from us.”

Jericho paused, really taking Bennet’s comments in. Anyone else in his position might have snapped at him for talking out of turn. Jericho, on the other hand, trusted Bennet’s insights. The guy had a knack for reading people like nobody’s business. His instincts were typically on point and Jericho had been saved from lots of grief by following them.

“Understood,” he said. “Send him up. Let Stan know he’s coming. I think you might be right but I want to get a feel for the guy myself.”

“Of course.”

Jericho hung up the phone and turned his attention back to Annie. He would have to check on their food in a few minutes, which was fine since he wanted his potential buyer to sweat just a little bit.

He slipped out of his office and went to the kitchen. The cooks knew that the food order was for Annie and her friends so he expected the food to be done in a timely manner without compromising the taste of it. He made sure to let everyone know, after the last debacle with his bouncer, that Annie was the priority over everything else. Whatever she wanted, wherever she wanted to go, she was allowed without any charge or inhibitions.