Chapter 17

17

H adley | Sacramento, California | Early 2000s

The soft fabric of the large sixteen-person sofa felt like cool velvet against Hadley's skin. What once was a room filled with burlesque performers and tables of food was now a lush paradise for relaxation. Hadley let her body sink into the extra deep cushions. She giggled because when she sat back, her feet barely hung off the edge. She felt so small, so innocent, before reminding herself of the reason that she was there.

While looking around the room, the only familiar item was the grand staircase, and she wondered if it might look like a normal house on the upper level now, or if it was still a romanticized version of an elevated adult dungeon.

Sheng entered the room and held the pack of playing cards he had promised to retrieve.

Let the games begin .

"Ready to play?" he asked, sitting a few seats away from her, arching over the glass coffee table. He opened the card pack and let the deck slide out smoothly into his hands before bending them into a shuffle, ending the action with the sound of a final card slapping against the rest of the deck.

"So, Sheng, what is it that you do?" Hadley asked as Sheng focused on dealing out both of their hands. Hadley counted as five cards were placed before her face down, the backs reflecting blue and black patterns.

"As for my career?" Sheng asked.

Hadley answered with a simple nod, her chin now resting on her hand.

"I'm a momma's boy, so ultimately I just do her bidding. My family has a long history of shipping goods from China. I've taken over the operation and, unfortunately, have to travel often."

Hadley picked up her cards, not knowing anything about the shipping trade but relieved to hear that the little she had already known about him was confirmed to be true.

"It's very dull, with lots of board meetings and answering financial concerns of investors," he added.

"I'll raise you a piece of clothing." She leaned back and batted her eyelashes. "How about a . . . flip-flop. From my left foot?"

Sheng's eyes turned positively mischievous. "Now, how does a flip-flop count as a piece of clothing? Looking at my hand, I think I'd like to raise the ante. Let's make it a shirt."

"You are already not wearing a shirt," Hadley cocked her head, her gaze unwavering.

"Should I put one on for the game?"

"No," she snapped back, her eyes trailing down to the area between his navel and the button on his jeans. "I mean, there's no need. I think I've already won this hand."

She laid out her cards, a flush with low-numbered clubs.

"Unfortunately for your shirt, that's not the case," he said, laying down his hand of four of a kind.

Shit.

Hadley sighed and rolled her eyes, pouting her lips as she lifted herself onto her knees, bouncing on the couch cushion before stripping off her t-shirt, leaving her with only a thin white bralette comfortable enough to sleep in. It was more translucent than she would have preferred.

Sheng's eyes devoured her body. His mouth hung open as Hadley took in his reaction. His body tensed, his eyes both narrowed.

"For the next hand, I propose pants," she said, picking up the deck and shuffling with the speed of a casino dealer, showing off.

Only a few more hands needed to be played before they sat facing each other, wearing only their underwear.

"Tell me something about yourself, Hailey."

"Like what?" She snorted, not expecting a personal question when she would be perfectly comfortable sitting nearly naked in front of him.

"What's something you've always wanted? A goal or a dream, perhaps."

"Can you give me an example? How about you go first," she requested, pulling her legs into a tucked position.

Sheng began while dealing cards. "I've always wanted to build a family, but it's really hard to let people in. Everyone seems to linger around me but are often untrustworthy."

Hadley understood that it sounded like a true problem that someone could have with the kind of wealth that surrounded him. She nodded and smacked her lips.

"When I was in grade school, I had a teacher who told me that I was destined to be a writer. It seemed to have stuck because now whenever I have a free moment, I work on writing stage plays."

Sheng smiled, looking slightly stunned.

"What are you writing right now?"

"Oh, I'm casually working on something derivative of Neverland. I thought it was sad and dramatic at first but as I reread it it feels a bit more comedic than I thought," she replied, embarrassed when talking about her little hobby. It wasn't something she shared often. Only Hector really knew about her dream .

"I would love to read it, Hailey," Sheng said, putting the cards down, his face kind and excited.

"I don't know if it's worth reading," she said. Sheng jumped to his feet and walked to the backside of the couch, lining up himself with Hadley.

"You, Miss Hailey," he whispered as his fingers found the tops of her shoulders, "are the most worthy person I've ever met."

Hadley jumped at his touch before relaxing into it. His fingers trailed down her arms and then returned to the back of her neck. He paused momentarily before outlining the visible part of her birthmarks, the triangles on her shoulder blades.

"Perfect," Sheng whispered, his lips moving forward until they were just inches from her ear. "You are an absolute sensation."

She turned her head to meet his gaze but was hit with a blast of pain. She grabbed her throbbing nose as Sheng rubbed the side of his face, smiling with amusement back at her from their collision.

"I'm so sorry," she closed her eyes, mortified, wondering how she ever made it this far in this line of work. "I've truly never assaulted a client before."

A rough grunt and clearing of a throat signaled Hadley to gasp and look up to see Amis staring at the two of them as if the scene in front of him was a perfectly acceptable situation for a weekday.

"Your guests are here, sir. All of them, surprisingly, are weapon-free today," he said. Sheng nodded, thanked Amis, signaled him to exit, and jumped up to put his pants back on.

"Weapon-free?" Hadley couldn't help but ask.

"Ah, you know, a bunch of politicians in one of the less liberal cities in the state. Gun regulations are not a popular topic around this crew," he smiled reassuringly. "Come on, let's get dressed and head out back. I'm looking forward to you meeting them."

Hadley sat motionless for a moment, trying to decipher how comfortable she felt until she realized that it was irrelevant. No matter what she would do from this point on, it should be something she did with clothes on. She began to move, sliding on her jeans, feeling the weight of the envelope and cell phone in her back pocket. She slipped her shirt on and ran her fingers through her hair before slipping her flip-flops back on.

Sheng stood there watching her, waiting with bare feet and a smirk. He bounced on the width of his feet in anticipation. Hadley pulled out her phone, seeing a few texts from Hector.

Wrapping up here. How much longer do you have over there?

Are you okay?

Please answer me.

Hadley, I don't know what to do.

Ok, I will drive over there and call the cops if you don't answer in the next five minutes.

He would do that, she was sure. The last text was only from a few minutes ago, and she prepared her fingers for the speed text typing test of her life and instinctually replied.

I'll be here for a few more hours. I'm safe.

Why did she write that? She could leave. Sheng said that nothing was holding her here. Why would she stay and meet a group of people, being introduced as Sheng's escort? She pulled her text message screen back up on her phone to signal to Hector to pick her up when Sheng put his hand over her phone and pushed down, her arm falling by her side, still holding the device. He grabbed her opposite hand and tugged her back towards the kitchen.

She let herself go and followed. The two walked arm in arm into the kitchen, through the French doors, and out onto the brick patio. Hadley heard voices ahead and then spotted at least fifteen or twenty people gathering around the table and grill.

"What is going on?" she murmured to Sheng.

"What do you mean? It's just a few close friends here to blow off some steam and swap stories from last night's conquests. Our version of a post-party brunch, I suppose."

The people in front of her had attended the masquerade the previous night. She didn't know why this bothered her since she, too, was there, but she hadn't had a single experience with anyone that felt comfortable to be around.

"Sheng, baby, please come join us!" A fabulous brunette bounced away from the group, separating herself while jumping up and down. She was tall and thin, the physique of a runway model proudly displayed in her multi-colored crop top and baggy army green pants.

Hadley, still being guided by Sheng, walked right up to her. The smile on her face fell at the sight of them together, but the woman recovered quickly and embraced Sheng, pressing the full scope of her body against his for a lingering moment.

Sheng pulled away, looking right at Hadley.

"Hailey, this is Jenny, a friend of my family. Jenny, this is Hailey, the girl I'm determined to fall in love with." Jenny's eyes widened, and they looked down at Hadley with slight disbelief.

"It will be quite impossible not to fall in love with this one," she cooed over Sheng before pushing him away with a nudge of her hip. Jenny placed her arms around Hadley's waist, guiding her away.

"Let's get you a drink, shall we?" Jenny said, as they walked over to the table where glass pitchers of different colored liquids served as centerpieces. Jenny picked up a pitcher with golden amber liquid and poured it into two glass cups decorated with hand-painted lemons. It looked so quaint, opposite of the group of people who had debauched the entire house behind her last night.

"Here, the spiked tea has notes of a peach today—it's refreshing," Jenny said, handing out a glass to Hadley. Hadley took the glass and immediately lifted it to her lips, hoping to ease the social anxiety that was building up in her chest. She drank much deeper than originally intended.

"Woah, you are putting that down! Can I pour in some more?" Jenny asked in delight. Hadley matched Jenny's infectious smile and nodded, handing her cup back .

"I thought I recognized you!" A man's voice came from behind Hadley. Before she could whirl around, the voice's arms clasped around her and pulled her into their body.

"You better put that precious cargo down, Saul," Jenny demanded. The hands loosened and put Hadley back down to the ground as she spun around and took in the familiar bone structure of the pirate from the party.

Hadley took a few steps back. He glared at her in challenge. His mask was removed, but there was no mistaking the need for power displayed so publicly in his eyes.

"You don't understand, Jenny, this little one and I have a history." Saul smirked, crossing his arms over his chest, nursing a glass bottle of beer that he picked up off the ground in a quick, swooping motion.

"No, no. You don't understand, Saul," Jenny challenged, "this girl belongs to Sheng."

Hadley watched with curiosity as Saul's eyes darkened. After just a few moments, he let his head fall, like a dog with its tail between his legs.

"I didn't realize you two were an item. My apologies, ma'am," Saul said, raising his gaze back to meet hers.

"She's a lot more than someone who belongs to me, Jenny," Sheng came into the conversation, saving her like a lovesick boyfriend.

She didn't even know Sheng, yet this all felt too familiar. He acted like they were in a real relationship. He was sweet, he had saved her, he was wealthy, but she felt like she had stepped into a life that she didn't belong in.

Hadley flinched as Sheng slung his arm over her shoulder, pulling her in closer to him in front of all his friends.

"Here, Hailey, try some of this," he said, indicating the cup in his hand, the liquid shining a sparkling blue with swirls of gold. It looked like a potion.

"It's edible glitter. I had the kitchen staff put together a cocktail table. They're sitting in the kitchen waiting to be served."

Hadley obliged as a sweet, thick liquid coated her tongue and teeth, giving her the sensation of drinking gummy bears .

"I quite liked it—everyone should have one," Sheng said in a jolly, relaxed way. "Let me introduce you to everyone else here."

Sheng pulled Hadley away from Jenny and Saul, which was a relief, before moving over to a group of men in front of the grill.

"Crew, this is Hailey. Hailey, here with the shaved head and short stature, we have Mark, then Francis is the owner of the small theater in the old town. Next in the red baseball cap is Lawrence; he is a lobbyist, and then Killian here works under the governor."

Hadley nodded awkwardly at the group and waved her hand, realizing that at least four other people were standing there that Sheng did not directly address.

"Francis, Hailey here is an aspiring playwright. I believe you are looking for local artists to add to your productions. Is that right?" Sheng said, pushing Hadley forward.

"That's great," Francis replied, putting his drink-free hand in his pocket. "Have I seen your work anywhere?"

"I'm still in that early stage where I haven't had a chance to workshop anything," Hadley admitted, feeling her cheeks turn red.

"That's not a problem. You should stop by during business hours sometime next week. I'll be in the office the whole time preparing for our spring intern program. We can look through some of your work and see if there is a place for you in the future."

Hadley couldn't believe what she was hearing. In just a span of a few hours, she was more financially secure than she had ever been and had a real opportunity to work on her art.

"I would love that!"

Her head felt lighter and her body wobbled. Sheng held onto her tighter.

"Excuse us for a moment," he said, pulling her out of the group before turning back to her, concern written on his face. "Are you okay?"

"I am more than okay, Sheng. I . . . I don't know how to thank you for that." Hadley said in a hushed voice, the late afternoon sun bearing down on her face .

"If you want to thank me, you can text your ride to let them know you will be spending the night." Sheng winked at her.

Hadley took a moment and considered the proposition. Technically, he had more than paid for her to spend the night already. Maybe she didn't want to burn this bridge, this connection, after all. She certainly didn't see herself falling in love with Sheng, but would it be the worst thing to have him on her team?

The hissing sound of heavily seasoned carne asada hitting the grill filled the air, with the fattening, savory smell quickly following. Hadley's head was light again. She felt a bit loopy and made a note not to drink any more before having some food.

"Okay, I will stay here with you," she agreed.

"Really?" Sheng asked with a hint of disbelief. He did nothing to hide the satisfaction in his eyes.

Hadley took her cell phone from her back pocket and dialed Hector's number. The phone rang three times until he picked up.

"Hello? Hadley? What's wrong?"

"Nothing, nothing is wrong. Why do you ask?" She tried to whisper into the phone as she walked away from the gathering to keep their conversation private.

"You're calling me. People only call if there's an emergency. This is a known fact," Hector's voice sounded from the other side of the line.

"I'm just letting you know that I will spend the night over here. You can pick me up in the morning and we can get your car fixed."

"Hadley, you dirty slut," Hector shrieked. Hadley held the phone a little further away from her ear and laughed.

"Okay, I love you, bye," she said, hanging up the phone after Hector returned the sentiment. She walked back to the gathering, her head feeling light again and her vision blurring. She waved it off and kept moving forward, looking for Sheng.

"It's done. I'm staying," she said to him, putting her arm through his in front of the guests he was talking with. Jenny was among them and raised her eyebrows, looking back and forth between the two of them.

"This woman right here," Sheng announced in front of everyone paying attention, "is not only someone who will soon realize that we are destined for each other . . ."

"Get a room," Jenny jokingly shouted as a few others around her chuckled.

"No, no, she is much more than that. Hailey here is the one we've all been waiting for. She is a full-blooded Kinnari descendant. The first, the only."

Hushed whispers broke throughout the group, even among people in the background who didn't seem to be listening. Everyone hosted a range of emotions on their faces, not excluding panic, fascination, or awe.

"What did you just tell them I am?" she asked Sheng, having understood none of it. Her eyes flitted back, her head now also unable to support herself. Her vision turned black as she collapsed, unconscious, into Sheng's arms.