❝You do to me so well
Hypnotic takin' over me❞

Chapter Two:
STING Operation

The night air was chilly when I stepped out of the car.

"Your escort is waiting for you in the lobby," the driver informed me. With a small smile and nod, I started to drag my feet forward, eyes set upon the glass doors of the hotel in front of me. With each step, my heart grew heavier and the dread turned to pure terror. This was nothing like any other social event I had been to before. It felt more like a goddamn STING operation.

I shoved the negative thoughts to the back of my mind as I entered the lobby, eyes scanning the area for an attractive man. There were many, I noticed, but all with their respective dates. Where was mine?

I started to open my clutch and take out my phone when I felt a warm hand settle on my lower back, followed by hot breath near my ear.

"Ms. Williams."

I jumped out of my skin, flinching back from the human contact but was prevented from doing so by the strong arms that wrapped around my waist. My head whipped upward to confront the over-friendly stranger but the words at the tip of my tongue vanished almost instantly.

They say eyes are windows to the soul. I wasn't quite sure what to make of his, apart from the fact that they had the power to rob me of my voice. One of his eyes was a pale, glacial blue. The iris had a thin black rim surrounding it, like that of darkness clouding the silver of the moon. The other, however, was a warm green with flecks of gold around the pupil, the kind of gold that looked like droplets of the sun. Ice and fire; such beautiful contradictions...and they were staring right down at me.

Sucking in a deep breath in place of one I hadn't noticed I was holding, I steadied myself in the stranger's arms before taking a wobbly step back.

"Is this how you greet all your dates?" I meant for myself to sound annoyed but it came off as a weak, pathetic whisper.

"My apologies," he said, sounding it but the smirk on his face told me otherwise. I wanted to come up with something witty to inform him that I wasn't in the mood for games, and this was serious business. But all I could do was stare at the man in front of me. And was he a man all right.

I didn't have any experience in dealing with escorts but it's like the universe had delivered the best one yet. He was dressed to impress, in a three-piece suit that looked custom made. If I didn't already know he came from the agency, I would have placed him as another rich kid. But it wasn't his sense of fashion that had my insides flaring up in unwarranted desire.

It was the first time in my life I'd felt physically small next to someone, having a tall stature myself. But he towered above me, with a magnificent, strong frame. Strong enough to have his way with me against the wall, against anything if he wanted to. Inky black hair framed his sinfully beautiful face, sheltering his eyes from view. It was slightly long, trailing over the collar of his pristine white shirt. There was a scar too, like a tiny trail cut through his right eye brow leading to the treasure below it. Down the arch of his nose to slightly plump, sculpted lips that would make Da Vinci weep.

"Are you going to spend the whole night eye-fucking me like that, Rae?"

I gulped down the lump in my throat and tore my gaze away from his lips to his eyes. He winked at me and added in a low, tantalizing rasp, "We can make it happen." He just had to have the voice of a crooner. Icing on top of a quickly melting cake.

Fuck you, Deborah.

Clearing my throat that suddenly felt parched, I said in a fairly quiet tone, "I hope your agency filled you in on my conditions. I'm looking to have just-"

"You made it crystal clear over the phone, Rae."

"That was you?"

His lips fought back a grin. Stepping forward, he grabbed my hand and twirled me around effortlessly so my side was pressed up against his hard body. His fingers pressed into my waist as he took the liberty of leading us toward the party hall, all the while whispering into my ear.

"I couldn't pass up the opportunity of meeting the fascinating woman I'd spoken to over the phone. Although, you're not quite what I was expecting, Ms. Rae Williams."

Something about his comment ticked me off. Hell, everything about him ticked me off. From the way I could feel the pads of his fingers gently yet firmly holding me against him, to how effortlessly he was able to whisper into my ear; a conversation with me that was more teasing, than anything else. The worst part of it was, I had nothing on him. Except for the fact that I literally wanted to be on him.

All I could do was keep my mouth shut and hope not to make a scene as we entered the party hall.

It was odd that we were let in without anyone asking for my invitation card but that question shot out my mind the moment we'd entered. My eyes zeroed in on the packs of business people around me, my insides starting to squirm at the idea of what I was going to do. Almost instantly, a few people surrounding us turned to look in our direction. At first, I thought I was the center of attention before I realized it was the tall drink of water next to me. Deborah's plan was working all right, but not in the way I'd expected.

Wrenching myself free of his hold, I spun around with a fixed smile on my lips. Whoever was watching us lost interest, going back to their conversations I desperately needed to hear. No way was that going to happen with him around.

In a honey-coated voice, I asked, rather endearingly, "Darling, you wouldn't mind getting me a drink, would you? A glass of Zinfandel would be perfect."

A line of irritation crossed his face. He clearly wasn't used to being ordered around as part of his duties. A higher class of an escort, perhaps? Ha, right. How many classes could there be to begin with? He forced a rather stony smile to his face and with a nod, left to go fetch me my drink. Without further ado, I started to make my way toward a group standing near a table of drinks and delicacies.

It'd be best if I got the information I needed and got the hell out before Innovus' official representatives showed up and kicked off the real party. I didn't want to stick around for the shots, dancing and less-than-subtle business delights of another sort. I caught the words, 'Innovus', 'share price' and 'management' and knew this was a good group to start with.

"Why bother busting out their cash on holding this party when they could make an effort to save their tripping company with it instead?"

Oh yeah, definitely the place to be.

"I guess this is their way of falling gracefully. They've got their goodwill to think about, haven't they?"

My words caught the attention of the whole group - two women and three men, all turning to look at me, sizing up the new entrant to their clique.

"And who might you be?" The blonde to my left sneered, an eyebrow raising.

"The name's Rae Williams. I work for Mrs. Beaumont."

The resulting reaction was instantaneous. Eyebrows raised, and the gentleman to my right let out a low whistle.

"Consider us honored to be in your presence," the blonde from earlier said, lifting her glass in the air as her eyes practically glowed in appreciation. "And where might Mrs. Beaumont be?"

"She's otherwise engaged," I said, my lips turning downward in a small pout. "It's a real pity since she was looking forward to being here tonight, but that's why I'm here."

"Seriously? I doubt Mrs. Beaumont would be interested in picking on a small fish like this one." I turned my head to face the older man. Graying hair, thick mustache and a glass of scotch whiskey in his hand; he was, without a doubt, a 'grandpa' of the playing field. With a cough to cover up his amusement, he added, "The last thing she would be interested in is taking over the remnants of what Innovus has become."

"And you are?"

He flashed a smile at me and stuck his hand out. "Brady. John Brady."

The others in the group did quick introductions of themselves. It was made clear to me that luck was certainly on my side. Three of them worked with Innovus, and as far as organizational loyalty went, they seemed to be showing the least of it. Brady, himself, had good connections with their Board and wasn't too ashamed of pointing out the sparkling flaws in Innovus' performance.

Five minutes in and I'd already gotten most of what I needed to know. Their Board was a mess; conflict and disagreements sprouting every where with which way to pick the company up again. Some were insisting on succumbing to a friendly take over, others insisted on sticking it out longer and investing in newer R&D; but their finances weren't looking too promising for that to happen.

The whole purpose of the party was to make the state of affairs clear to Innovus's greatest allies, and rivals. It was like an unofficial press note to all the tech-corporates. Thankfully, my presence wouldn't be required when that happens.

I quickly migrated from group to group, talking to different people and gathering information. Deborah had given me a good cover-up. The mere mention of Mrs. Beaumont sufficed in getting me into the best circles and juiciest conversations. I made sure to constantly move around so that the escort wouldn't find me either. The job was better handled without him there as a heavenly distraction.

In the thirty minutes I'd been here, I had pretty much circled my way around the whole room that had gotten slowly, but steadily, crowded. Innovus's own employees didn't seem too happy with the situation. Anticipating a downsizing situation, they were quick to spill the beans. Plus, the alcohol helped. I had formed a handy routine. When the conversation moved from corporate affairs to 'who was climbing into whose pants at what meeting', I made sure to excuse myself and move onto the next group. I was in the process of doing so again as a lovely Rose Wilkinson started chortling about her boss's peculiar foot fetish. It was a step too soon.

I backed out of the group with a quick farewell and turned, only to come face to..well, chest with my escort (again reminded of the fact that he's a freaking tree). And the worst part? I walked straight into him as he happened to be holding my drink in hand...tipping nearly all its contents right onto my beautiful white dress.

"Sonofabitch!" I jumped back, one second late. The stains were already setting into the pure white, blotches of red spreading through the front of my favorite gown. Helena was going to murder me.

"Sorry, sweetheart." I barely noticed him set the now three-quarters empty wine glass on the table close by. But I did take notice of the fact that he had tissues readily available on him, as he started to dab at the dipping V section of the dress, focusing more on my cleavage than the actual stains that were setting in. Releasing a deep growl, I grabbed his hand with both of mine, squeezing them as painfully as I could.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?"

His eyes seemed to be telling two different stories. One was that of utter regret for the sudden turn of events and the other, seemed to be delighting in the fact that he'd gotten me into it in the first place.

"I'm just cleaning you up, baby doll," he crooned, trying to slip his hand out of my smaller ones. "Although, you should really look where you're walking next time."

"Are you fucking with me right now? I'm not paying you for this...this...disaster."

His mouth curled into an infuriating smirk that made me want to tear his face off. I probably would have after hearing whatever comeback he had if not for the voice that called out to me.

"Miss Rae, is everything alright?"

Giving him a drop-dead glare that let him know this wasn't over, I turned around with a small smile on my face to face Mr. Brady. He wasn't the only one tuning in on the show. I guess my little outburst had been a little louder than I'd meant for it to. Putting on the smile of a silly little girl's, I said in a fairly composed voice, "Everything's fine John. I just got into a little accident with my date, here."

"Your da-" Mr. Brady's voice caught in his throat as he looked past me to the man standing directly behind me. I felt my escort's hand slide around my waist, as he took a step closer to position himself next to me. "You're with him?" Brady choked out, his eyes boggling.

"Well, yes." I frowned. What was the problem? Had lover-boy here gone and made a fool of himself in the time I'd escaped from him? My mind was silenced upon hearing the next words out of Mr. Brady's mouth.

"You disappoint me, Ms Williams. I expected you to be more than just another notch on a bedpost." His formerly warm smile had turned into a cynical, cold one. Goosebumps rose on my skin, as did a bruise judging by the way the hand on my waist turned into an iron-clad grip. "And you, Castellan. You're sure to have made your father proud tonight."

Whispers broke out among the people closest to us. I felt the heat start to pool at the heels of my feet. It was my body's way of telling me to get out of here because whatever was happening was not good. People's eyes flickered between me and the date that finally had a name, but more so at him. His name incited a wave among the crowd, as more and more people started to turn to have a peek of us, or of him.

"Accompanying your toy rather than making her do all the dirty work, I must say I'm impressed at how much you've grown." Mr. Brady let out a laugh that sounded dry and pained. "Although, this one," he gestured at me with a hand accompanied by a drink, the ice swirling in it with audible clinks, "she really acted the part."

"You done, John?" Castellan's voice was steely. All I'd heard of him this night had been coated in a teasing, playboy type tone but the voice that resonated behind me belonged to a man who had reached his limits. Dropping his hand from my waist, he stepped forward until he was right in front of Mr. Brady. Prying the whiskey from his hand, he said in a low, almost threatening tone, "You've had one too many tonight."

"You would be an expert in that area, wouldn't you?"

The two men stared each other down. Mr. Brady, as intoxicated as he may have been, seemed to sober up in that instant. Of equal height and stature, it could have easily been mistaken as an argument between father and son but one quick survey at the people's faces around me told me that this was something more than a familial relationship gone sour.

Mr. Brady won. My date turned his back on him and returned to my side, casting a dark look over the people around us that got them scrambling away from their clusters. I was still trying to wrap my mind around everything but I wasn't given the time as I felt a hand wrap around my elbow and lead me away, forcefully.

"What are you doing? I need to-"

"I think you've done enough for tonight."

The brute force of his voice shut me up in surprise. I made it a point to stare at the ground in front of me rather than meet the curious gazes of people whose eyes were fixed on my back. This was not how I handled parties. This was not how I handled anything. But instead of putting up a fight against the man responsible for my failure, I let him drag me out of the party hall, and into the main lobby where he stopped, finally letting me go.

I could still hear the sound of music, chatter and glasses knocking against each other. But it permeated through the walls, seeping into muteness as the cogs in my head turned.

What was I to say to Deborah? That I had gotten all the information I needed but possibly involved myself in some other nasty fight at Innovus? This was never the plan for tonight. In fact, everything had been going perfectly until he showed up.

I finally looked up at the figure in front of me, the man that had been silent all through out our little exit. His back was turned to me, but he had an arm raised, hand running through his thick hair, tugging at the strands in what I assumed was frustration. But I didn't give a flying fuck how he felt. My job was on the line.

Fear, giving way to anger, I walked up to him and jabbed him on the shoulder, spitting out venomously, "What the hell just happened in there?"

He didn't budge an inch at my punch, but he did look down at me. My heart stilled in my chest when I met his eyes. They were far from the playful role of an escort's. Gone were the fleeting glimpses of sarcasm and mockery. He wasn't just looking down at me. He was looking down on me. Though, that didn't stop me.

"I give you one job and you couldn't even do that right. I don't know what you did to Mr. Brady to get him to hate you that much, but go fix it. Because I can't afford to-"

"Did you really think I'd be stupid enough to let you weasel your way into this party?"

My words caught in my throat. Blinking, I stuttered, "W-what are you talking about?"

"John was right. You do put up a good act." He turned to face me completely, a sneer plastered across his face. Taking a step toward me, his hand reached out and grabbed my wrist, curling around it to stop me from running which is exactly what I wanted to do at this point. The other trapped a stray strand of my hair, twirling it around his finger.

"You were smart enough to get what you wanted but I'm not dumb enough to let you go."

Lowering his head to my ears, he whispered in a voice that chilled my blood.

"Do not take me for a fool, Tris Henderson."

_____

Song: Hypnotic by Vanic x Zella Day

Dedicated to SudaricanLove. You were one of the first people to welcome me to the wonderful world of Wattpad and I have you to thank for a lot of the stories I've published here. I love you. Thank you for being so supportive, always! <3