“Miss Wonder, perhaps you should take a moment to cool down.”
“Get off me, Chet!”
I try to wiggle out of his grasp, but his grip on my arms remains firm.
“Thank you, Chet,” Rouge says.“I was worried that this might get out of hand.”She looks around.“Where did Mr.Hathaway go?”
Chet raises an eyebrow.“I believe he was grabbing Miss Wonder’s coat.They’ll be heading out.”He lets go of me and turns to Rouge.“But I do need to speak to you for a moment, Rouge.Somewhere private.”
She nods.“My office.”
Chet raises a hand.“I’d rather not meet there.We’ll just go into a private area.”His lips twist.“It won’t be a moment, I promise you.”
She narrows her eyes but then relents.“Fine.”She turns to me.“Ms.Maravilla, I hope you know that we have a zero-tolerance policy when it comes to physical altercations at Aces Underground.”
I brush myself off.“I didn’t see you stopping us.”
She chuckles.“In an outfit like mine?I don’t think I’d be very successful.That’s why I called Chet.”
“It took him several minutes to get here.”I meet her gaze.“Admit it.You were enjoying the spectacle.”
She widens her eyes, making the wings framing them take flight.“Nonsense.I loathe violence.Nothing upsets my poor heart more.”
I hold back a laugh.A woman who loathes violence would hardly behead one of her own employees for a simple violation of her absurd rules.
But I can’t let Rouge know I’m aware of that.
Not yet.
Not until Maddox reveals what we’re looking for.
Then we can put her behind bars for life.
35
MADDOX
Alissa’s a genius.That fight with Pia was the perfect cover for me to slip away into Rouge’s office.I’m able to slip in easily—she keeps it open during operating hours—without attracting the attention of any passersby.A lot of people are running to see the fight in the Diamonds section, and the people in Hearts—the closest to Rouge’s office door—have eyes only for each other.
Rouge’s office is decorated just as lavishly and obnoxiously as I imagined.The walls are upholstered in rich crimson velvet with gold trim.The lighting is deliberately low, with jewel-toned sconces shaped like inverted goblets casting a moody glow.A chandelier—massive, dripping with garnet and ruby crystal—hangs from the ceiling.The floor is dark mahogany, polished to a mirror finish and half-covered in layered Persian rugs in rich reds and golds.A decanter set rests on a bar cart in one corner.
Rouge's desk is lacquered cherry wood overlaid with red mother-of-pearl inlay.The legs are carved into sinuous curves like blooming roses.The desk accessories—penholder, paperweight, letter opener—are all gold and black.Behind the desk sits Rouge’s throne—a high-backed chair upholstered in crimson crushed velvet with clawed brass feet.
Interspersed through the office are curiosities, no doubt from Rouge’s travels to find waitstaff.There’s a Fabergé egg, a gold-dusted Venetian mask, a tiny carved obsidian panther.I look around for a knickknack that might be the writing raven from my father’s riddle, but no dice.
I’m also not seeing a way to get into Rouge’s private space where she and I fucked all those years ago.It must be through her office.The last thing I remember before those damned shrooms took hold was her escorting me into her office.There must be a hidden door somewhere.
I’ve seen it before.I close my eyes, try to remember… But I started hallucinating the moment I walked in her office.
Guess I’ll have to figure this one out for myself.I walk the perimeter, trying to find an obscured passageway.I look behind a painting of a grave-looking man—Ruskin Montrose, Rouge’s grandfather—but no luck there.A dark cherry bookshelf stands in one corner.I pull out books at random, seeing if one will trigger the opening of a secret passageway.
God, I feel like I’m in the middle of a fuckingScooby-Doocartoon.
This is getting me nowhere.
Then I see an object in the far-right corner of the office, beside a lavish fainting couch layered in red cashmere throws and silk cushions.An antique armoire.
An armoire…in an office?Seems a little fishy.
