"You there! Another drink!"

Snarled a drunk patron from Table 13 as he pounded the table with his meaty fists impatiently.

When the young, sexy barmaid came over to give him a refill, the nasty drunk looked like he was about to overstep boundaries and get handsy.

Lisa Belmont was bracing herself for conflict but none came as the drunk suddenly seemed to be silenced in fear.

He accepted his drink nervously and fanned her away from the table while looking fearfully behind her.

When Lisa followed the man's drunk gaze her eyes collided with Bane Shadowhurst, the younger brother of her boss Tristan Shadowhurst. 

Bane boldly met her stare head on and Lisa saw something flash in his eyes.

A demonic red glow that flickered, it must have been a trick of the light. 

"Everything okay," nudged Chandra while breaking the connection between the two. 

"Yeah," Lisa answered, shifting her gaze to her friend's concerned face.

Chandra asked excitedly, "Boss Tristan is offering us an additional 5k cash to attend the after party at the Posh Strat Hotel. That's more than double what we will earn for being here for the week for just a few more hours, so?"

When she looked back in Bane's direction he was in deep conversation with another guest. "So?" Lisa repeated. 

"Well… are you interested or not?"

Shouldn't she keep a low profile and not get further involved with the Shadowhurst brothers but the easy money was too tempting to ignore.

"Yeah.. I'm in but how will we get home after?"

"Don't worry about that, Lucas promised to take us back to our hotel afterwards."

"Sounds like a plan. I'm down for whatever."

Chandra skipped away merrily to tell their coworkers that Lisa was also coming to the afterparty.

Meanwhile Lisa's stomach churned and for some strange reason Bane's earlier warnings to stay away from his brother flooded her brain.

Nothing was going to go wrong at the after party and Bane was just blowing things out of proportion.

When had Tristan been anything but a perfect host and a gentleman so she definitely had nothing to worry about. 

The fact that Bane had noticed Lisa's feelings for his brother deeply shocked her.

She didn't realize her feelings were so easy to read. 

Tristan was a cool guy, who easily garnered respect from others, from the moment she met him he had a recurring role in her dreams and fantasies.

She wasn't exactly looking for love, when would she find the time when she had a murder mystery to solve and a promise to her dead mother to fulfill.

"I heard you're going to the afterparty."

Speak of the devil.

Lisa swung around to face Tristan, her heart fluttered in her chest, when had he gotten so close?

"Yes, I am." Lisa said hesitantly. "Thanks for the opportunity. I'm eager to please you."

Tristan's liquor flushed face brightened considerably at her offer.

Even though Lisa meant for her words to be taken at face value.

Under the influence of alcohol Tristan obviously heard a different message judging by his facial reaction.

Lisa felt her cheeks redden as his shiny bright eyes held hers spellbound. 

"I'll surely provide you with the perfect opportunity tonight."

Something about the smooth manner in which Tristan answered made red flags flare in her mind as his unspoken invitation lingered in the air. 

"Thank you Mr. Shadowhurst."

"Aren't we friends now? Call me, Tristan."

"My bad, Tristan it is."

"Much better. We are getting ready to leave so if you need a ride to the venue you are more than welcome to join me. I want your time with me to be as pleasurable as possible."

"That's okay Mr. Shadow…uhh…Tristan but I'll be riding with Lucas and Chandra."

"I guess that's fine as long as it's not with Bane. I want you to be able to loosen up and enjoy yourself to the max at the afterparty. I'm afraid my little brother is way too uptight and takes himself too seriously at the worst times. Do you like hookah, Lisa?"

Her brow wrinkled.

Hookah didn't sound familiar; perhaps it's some new type of liquor.

"I've never had it before but I'm willing to try."

"Awesome. You must find me when you reach the afterparty and I'll have a special blend ready for you."

"Thanks, I'm looking forward to it."

Compared to earlier when Tristan looked ready to take Vivica's side over her this was a complete 180 in attitude. 

Vivica was the supervisor for the girls at the Champion Talent Agency hired by the Shadowhurst brothers.

It was rumored that Vivica saw Lisa as a threat and did everything she could to make Lisa's life miserable.

Then Lisa remembered she still hadn't thanked him for setting her up in the private suite. 

"Tristan, I want to…."

When she heard the hotel manager calling out his name diverting his attention.

Tristan said, "see you soon."

Before Lisa could respond his long strides took him in the direction of the manager calling his name. 

Lisa hurried to the room at the back of the bar. 

It was her responsibility to carry the last bag of trash to the outside bin.

A black plastic bag that looked heavily filled to the brim with napkins, plastic cups and plates.

She groaned at the thought of having to struggle down the stairs with it. 

Without hesitation she pushed open the door to the back room expecting it to be empty but the door smacked into someone and the woman yelped loudly. 

It was Vivica and she had her hands wrapped around Bane.