Juliet set her drink down and listened to the sound of the pounding bass. It matched the beat in her head. It was nearing three in the morning and she’d been working since the previous morning. Nine hours of that time had been in stilettos. God, she loved this job.
Sarcasm aside, she did enjoy it. The party had been a success. There would be images from the night in tomorrow’s newspapers and in the latest tabloids, further skyrocketing Alex’s playboy reputation in the media—and hopefully her prowess as an elite event organiser.
Juliet surveyed the expansive foyer area. She’d just watched the last of the evening’s guests depart. She glanced at the empty glass. She shouldn’t have drunk it. She’d already had one earlier and she’d barely eaten all night. It had seemed poor manners, though, when one of the waiters had brought her the drink and gestured to Alex at the far side of the garden.
‘Compliments of the host,’ the waiter had explained.
Under the watchful eyes of Alex, she’d raised the glass in his direction. He’d smiled and nodded. If it meant she could skip sharing a drink with him and avoid his playboy antics, she’d drink the whole thing.
In the entrance foyer, Juliet picked up the glass. She turned towards the stairwell and the direction of the music. Her toes pinched painfully in her shoes as she made her way down the stairs. She would leave the glass in the kitchen and farewell the last of the catering and waitstaff, then head straight home to bed.
Five minutes later when she was done, Juliet paused at the bottom of the elaborate marble stairwell. She caught her reflection in a giant gilded mirror positioned above an intricate wooden hall table. Juliet frowned. Her eyes looked tired, which was to be expected. She stepped closer, her frown deepening. Her eyes were bloodshot. Definitely time to call it a night.
Juliet hesitated and glanced towards the source of the pumping bass line. With a sigh, she walked in the direction of the noise, which was muffled by a door on her far left. She wasn’t sure why she was bothering. While it was her standard practice to personally farewell the party’s host before leaving at the end of an event, something told her that Alex probably wouldn’t notice if she slipped away. Still, she hadn’t built one of the country’s best event businesses by being lazy.
The deep bass muted the sharp sound of her heels on the marble foyer as she approached the door. Pausing, she debated whether to knock or just walk in.
She knocked loudly a few times. When there was no answer, she pushed the door open. Juliet blinked and covered her mouth instinctively when a cloud of cigarette smoke wafted her way.
The room was dark as well as smoky. Squinting, she made out the rectangular shadow of a spa and half submerged bodies at the far side of the room. Naked bodies, she realised. As her eyes adjusted to the dim light, she was able to see exactly what those dark bodies were doing. In her surprise, Juliet inhaled a mouthful of smoke and started coughing. She backed out of the room. She was no prude, but she had no intention of breaking that sort of party up.
God, so much for her perfectly respectable event. It was no surprise to Juliet that Alex was continuing the celebrations with a few of his close friends. She had underestimated Alex’s playboy eccentricities, though. The sooner she got out of here, the better. Juliet didn’t want her company’s name—or God forbid, the Temple name—connected to this sort of behaviour. She had no idea if the people in the spa room were all guests or had been hired for recreational purposes, but she didn’t pause to think about it.
Juliet took the stairs two at a time, ignoring her protesting feet.
‘Leaving so soon?’
Juliet stopped abruptly at the top of the stairs, the polished marble making a light squealing sound beneath her heels. Alex leaned against the wall languidly, with what Juliet considered an indecent smile on his face. Away from the party celebrations, his black tuxedo seemed out of place and it looked more like a costume for a part he was playing.
‘Yes, I’m all done, so I’ll say goodbye,’ she replied lightly. ‘Enjoy the rest of your night.’ Juliet gave him a bright smile—she couldn’t care less if it appeared fake, she was just eager to get out of there. She started to walk past him, but stiffened when he grabbed her by the arm.
‘You had a drink, after all.’ His smile was friendly, but there was something dangerous in his dark eyes.
‘It was lovely, thank you.’ She went to pull her arm away, then winced when his fingers dug into her skin. Her heart pounding, Juliet forced herself not to resist his grip. She glanced over at him and felt sick. He was drunk. Very drunk. And now he was leering at her. ‘Alex,’ she said quietly. ‘You’re drunk.’
‘So are you.’ His fingernails were leaving an impression in her arm.
Juliet swallowed. He was so drunk he had no idea what he was talking about. ‘I’m fine, but I need to go home.’
He released her arm with an odd smile. ‘Are you sure? You don’t look very well.’
‘Goodnight, Alex.’
Juliet turned and made her way down an endless hallway, which she knew led back to the front door. Talk about pot calling the kettle, Juliet thought. Alex was in no condition to make judgements about her appearance, although it secretly upset her that she looked bad enough for him to comment on it.
Halfway up the hall, Juliet stumbled and caught herself by placing a hand on the wall. Her vision clouded momentarily while she fought back a wave of dizziness. She really hadn’t eaten enough and she was very tired. Juliet continued walking, more slowly this time. At the end of the hall she reached out to steady herself again. She felt sick, and a wave of nausea pushed a mouthful of bile up her windpipe. Juliet scowled in distaste. She needed to get home.
‘Not feeling very well?’
Juliet started at the sound of Alex’s voice. He was standing casually in the foyer and for a moment she wondered if she was hallucinating. She’d only left him moments ago at the top of stairs.
Juliet squinted at him, the bright overhead lights hurting her eyes. ‘I really need to go home.’
Alex came up beside her and slipped an arm through hers. ‘I’ll have someone take you home. You’re in no condition to drive.’
‘No,’ Juliet breathed, because the room had started to spin. Without meaning to, she leaned into Alex’s side to keep herself upright.
Alex turned her away from the front door gently. ‘On second thoughts, you’ll be safer here. I’ll find you somewhere to lie down until you feel better.’
Juliet wanted to protest. She opened her mouth to do so but all that come out was an unintelligible moan. What was happening?
‘You really have overdone it,’ Alex commented, as if they were having a normal discussion and she wasn’t about to pass out. He continued to lead her back down the hallway. ‘Not good practice for the party organiser, but I’m hardly one to judge.’ He bent down and whispered in her ear. ‘I promise I won’t say anything.’
Juliet couldn’t even nod. She was finding it hard to focus as a bone deep exhaustion settled over her. She desperately wanted to close her eyes but somehow managed to fight it.
‘Here you go.’
Alex opened a door at the far end of the hallway, or at least she thought that’s where they were—she couldn’t remember getting there.
He led her into a dimly lit room and eased her onto a leather lounge. Juliet slid onto her side without consciously deciding to and closed her eyes.
‘You’ll be safe here,’ Alex said softly.
She thought she heard his footsteps leave the room and the door click closed, but it was hard to tell because even with her eyes closed the room seemed to be spinning. She wasn’t sure how long she lay like that.
When she heard the door open again, she didn’t move because she was unable to.
‘Watch her.’
It took Juliet several moments to realise Alex wasn’t talking to her. Juliet sensed movement behind her closed eyelids and thought she heard the door click closed again.
Distantly, Juliet understood the exhaustion was about to claim her. With one last burst of willpower, Juliet opened her eyes again for a second.
One second was enough.
She saw the girl—because that’s what she was, barely thirteen or fourteen—sitting in a chair, watching her from across the room. She was Asian and very beautiful. The girl’s eyes met hers. A rounded, haunting brown that somehow appeared older than her appearance.
Even through the fog clouding her brain, Juliet recognised something wasn’t right. What was a girl this age doing here in the middle of the night? She didn’t have the strength to contemplate it further.
Juliet closed her eyes again and gave in to the darkness.