8. He Didn’t Touch The What?!

KUSHIM

The steady thump, thump, thump of the music grows, then fades as the door behind us opens and closes. The man’s bloodshot eyes looked past me to plead with whomever walked in the door, as if they would be of any assistance to him now.

“Sir Iblis, your next appointment is on the line, and there is a woman downstairs looking for you,” Veena says from behind me in her airy voice.

I nod, adjusting one of my rings as I slowly move forward. I miss the tranquility of my estate, but I’m never one to turn down a deal. And just as it always has been, the best deals are struck when others are liberated of their properties. Which is why instead of lounging in the comfort of my home, I find myself in the back room of a casino, with far too nice a couch. A couch that was currently occupied by two dead men. The lush white carpets would need to be replaced because of the blood and other bodies, and the wallpaper should go regardless of the blood. The pickle-green wavy wallpaper is an abomination. It doesn’t go with the aesthetic of the rest of the casino at all.

Did I need another gambling house? Certainly not. However, if there’s anything to be gained from a ceaseless existence, it is, in fact, wealth.

I live for these moments. Merchant, trader, dealer, businessman, entrepreneur. Over the ages, the title has changed, but the task stays the same, and I revel in it.

I enjoy watching the small sliver of hope fade from the casino owners eyes as he realizes my assistant is not going to aid him.

“Please, we can discuss this!” The squealing cockroach stumbles before me, shakes his head, and holds out his hands.

“No. No. I’m afraid we cannot,” I say with a smile. “I have very few rules for my clients. Do you remember my first one?”

“P-please, it was a mistake. I didn’t touch the—” Blood splatters behind him as his head explodes.

I sigh, glancing to my right at Amias.

“Congrats, boss. You are now the proprietor of another casino!” he says as he claps, gun still in his left hand.

His curly black hair is partially pulled back today, and he once again has failed to bother shaving. It has been at least a week. He knows I require all of my staff to look clean and put together. He’s like a rebellious teenager, even though he must be in his late twenties now. I often lose track of human ages, their lives but a blip in time. He’s lucky that I favor him.

He leans back against the wall and gives me a wide smile before he shrugs. “You were going to do it, anyway, and he was looking at Veena.” He waves his free hand in her direction.

“They always look at her,” I say as I adjust my suit.

Veena was just a scrawny little human child in Egypt who had the audacity to threaten a demon with her green-eyed glare that promised violence. But now she has grown up to become a stunning woman who has the skills and know-how to back up her dangerous glares. She makes an excellent assistant. I’ll be… unhappy… when she’s no longer capable of fulfilling her duties.

I glance her way. She is watching Amias from behind the phone in her hand. The moment he looks her way, she glances back at the phone. Today, her caramel hair is braided and plaited with the gold clips someone gifted her last year. It seems they wish to keep it a secret; though I don’t know why. They are both adults now. I don’t really care what they do with each other as long as it does not affect their work.

“And just like last time, guess who’s on clean up duty?” I tell him as I turn, picking up the drink the now dead cockroach originally offered me when I walked in from the black marble desk, downing it in one go.

Amias pushes off the wall, “Aww… can’t we have the cleaners do it this time? Or you could wave your magic fingers and poof them away.”

I simply raise a brow and look at him.

“Most of this mess isn’t even mine.” He huffs, pointing out the six other dead bodies that litter the room.

I just chuckle, walking towards Veena. My head feels lighter and a bit foggy as I head out the door. Hmm… good booze. Turns out he might have been useful after all. It’s been a while since I felt any buzz from alcohol or the like. I take the phone Veena is holding out to me.

“Vee, help me out here,” Amias pleads from behind me.

She shoots him a glare as I walk by them.

“Find me more of that drink, Veena, and insure his finances are relocated to the Westshore accounts,” I say as I walk out the door unmuting the phone.

“Hello, Mike, I apologize for that,” I tell him as I descend the marble staircase, looking over the tables of the well-dressed men and women sliding chips and rolling dice.

A merry chuckle comes over the line. “No problem at all.” I can make out loud voices and the revelry of the bar in the background.

“Do you have my delivery?” I ask, pausing on the steps as I take in a golden-haired beauty clearly very out of place, standing in the center lobby of my new casino. She is dressed in jeans and a worn-out knitted shirt that hangs awkwardly off one shoulder. Her eyes roam the room in wonder.

I want her.

I barely register Mike’s voice through the phone. “Yup, it arrived yesterday. Would you like me to send some of the boys to drop it off tonight?”

She whispers like she is talking to someone, then laughs, and it lights up her face. I tilt my head, not seeing anyone around her, but she does have a strange energy or magic. Almost as if there was more than just her standing there. She seems like a problem, and I avoid problems. Problems are bad for business. When she bends over to pick up a small doll, I catch a glance at a stunning ass wrapped in too-tight jeans. This is one problem I might not want to avoid…

Mike clears his throat after a moment. “Kushim, uhm, Sir?”

I shake my head and grin. How long has it been since I was tempted by someone? Hmm…

“No need.” I watch as one of the staff approaches the woman. “I will come to you for the trade. Tomorrow.” I cut the call and make my way towards my new mysterious guest.