How the Assassin Met the Traitor
She laughed, but her eyes looked elsewhere.
An older, unwanted man stuck beside her.
He likely blamed it on her hair and the way she had pleated it into a Celtic braid herself.
It made her look artistic, he said. He likely blamed it on her purple halter dress with blue lace and the way it accentuated her neck and chest. He blamed it on the way the dress slit up the side, and how it fell elegantly to the floor.
He would, of course, blame it on the alcohol he insisted on buying.
Glass after glass, drink after drink, he pushed for her to drink them, and he made terrible jokes she was forced to laugh at.
Her eyes scanned for an escape route. Her face flushed from the alcohol, and she giggled but backed away when he leaned forward toward her.
His hand touched her wrist, and he acted like it was a happy coincidence and chuckled at it. She laughed back but wondered what she could do to change the conversation. She had come to enjoy a party. She did not come to have a man try to woo her into his bed.
“The music is so loud, isn’t it? It’s a little bothersome.” The man leaned forward more on his seat by the bar. She leaned back as naturally as she could. “Do you like these sorts of parties?”
“Well—I wouldn’t be here otherwise.” She laughed again and cleared her throat. “It’s a good networking opportunity, so this is strictly business.” She pushed the glass of alcohol aside. “Business. Like this party is supposed to be.”
“Of course. If you come with me, I have much to offer you. Professional connections. You know what position I hold in the company, right?”
“Yes! That is why I hold the utmost respect for you, and I’m glad you see so much potential in me for my own business ventures.
” She saw in his expression that he heard her but chose to ignore her.
“While it is lovely to meet you, I do want to go and mingle about with some of the other people here. Can’t spend all night at a party speaking to a single person sitting by the bar! ”
“If it is other people you want to meet, I would be more than happy to introduce you to them.” His hand latched around her wrist.
She forced a laugh, shaking her wrist, but the man’s sticky fingers held on tighter. She glanced past him in search of a stranger for help. As if hearing her silent plea, another man slammed a shot glass onto the table beside them. They both jumped. She gazed upon a young man with a devilish smile.
“Why, how dare you!”
“Mr. Jameson.” The young man leaned over and whispered into the older man’s ear.
The blood drained from the older man’s face, and he grabbed his wallet, darting away faster than anybody she had witnessed.
She turned toward her savior to thank him, but he had already sat down beside her with an amused look in his eyes. “I can’t have you kill him tonight,” he said and ordered himself a new drink. “I need him alive still.”
The light of gratitude in her eyes faded. She grabbed the drink she had coyly pushed away to drain the rest of the alcohol down her throat. “It’s not every day an ordinary man recognizes what I actually am,” she retorted. “I’ll have you know that was a good sum of money in my hands.”
The young man chuckled. “What’s your name?”
“Celia.”
“What’s your real name?”
She turned toward him. “Celia.” Her eyes dared him to ask her again. “Yours?”
“Hui Ye.”
“Cinder of the Night. How very poetic.”
“Chinese names are created with the intention of being poetic. I personally find it quite beautiful.”
“I would be kinder if it wasn’t for the fact that I will not be getting paid for my efforts tonight.” She clicked her tongue. Her heeled boots tapped on the ground. She looked to see if the man still lingered in the room, but saw not even a shadow of his existence. “Why do you even need him alive?”
“I am working on a large project, and I need his vulnerabilities to keep me afloat.” Hui Ye finished his new drink. “I apologize for forcing you to lose your money. I will pay it back.”
“I am very expensive.”
“I believe I have more.” He grinned and offered his hand.
In a connecting room to the bar, rich people danced in their fancy outfits in such boring manners she’d rather choke than mingle.
However, the stranger scared off her entertainment for the night and with no other immediate alternative, she took his hand with a sigh and followed him to the dance floor.
They moved in tandem, and they lowered their voices into whispers. “What gave me away?” she asked.
“Your shoes are clearly different. I’m assuming there’s a weapon hidden in there?”
“What if there is?”
“You should probably get a designer brand marked on there somewhere. Everyone at this stature gets uniquely designed clothes from famous designers—all the way down to their shoes.”
Up close, Celia could see the handsome man in his entirety.
Brown eyes that almost appeared black, pitch-black hair swept to the side, and cheekbones that any woman would die for.
His shoulders were broad but delicate, and he reeked of money without any of the pompousness or ignorance that followed other young men like him.
“You would have better luck tonight with another woman,” she smirked.
“I didn’t come here tonight to find a woman. This was unexpected.” The music changed to another classical piano piece, and Hui Ye kept his hand gripped around her gloved hands. “Tell me—why are you doing this?”
“I don’t follow?”
“Has that man wronged a loved one, perhaps?”
She tipped her head. “You think this is personal?”
“He does have his string of settled sexual harassment cases, and he’s had zero real consequences. The settlement money was pocket change to him. I thought it reasonable someone would eventually snap and go after him.”
An actual laugh escaped from her lips as they swayed.
“Really? Well, here’s a little story for you.
” She leaned closer and whispered into his ear.
“I’m a bored woman.” She stepped back to smile smugly, and her hand gripped his tighter.
“Watching the worst of humanity tear each other apart is quite fun. I wasn’t hired by any of his victims. I was hired by an equally terrible competitor.
It entertains me to kill them and kill for them. ”
He stared before he broke eye contact. His shoulders shook from laughter, and Celia admitted her surprise when he turned back around mirthfully. He returned to their dance position, and his voice only turned more jovial at the revelation. “Do you trap your targets using sex appeal every time?”
“No. Only when I think it’s more fun that way.
” She sang her words. “As you said—he’s had his string of buried sexual harassment cases with far more unreported and continues to grow richer by the day.
He revels in the filth of his own creation and displays it to the world with such confidence—why would I ever let go of the opportunity to take advantage of it? ”
His eyes remained locked on her. “You wouldn’t.”
“Yes. I wouldn’t.” She let go of his hand and swept the side of her dress elegantly. “Will that be all for the dance, Hui Ye?” She curtsied mockingly and left the building.
“Well, what am I going to be doing tonight?” she wondered aloud. She glanced at the people walking past her on the sidewalk. Perhaps she would seduce a stranger for fun. She had, after all, planned to kill the man during the act itself.
“Wait!”
Celia stopped and turned to see Hui Ye chasing after her. Stifling an annoyed groan, she walked back over to him. “Are you that curious about me?”
“No, it’s more that—I did tell you I would pay for the work you lost tonight. I’m keeping my promise on that, and I would also like to pitch something to you.”
She tipped her head. “Pitch?”
“Yes, a business proposition.”
Curiosity piqued, Celia agreed to follow him back to one of the many apartments he owned in Hong Kong. He had his own chauffeur and a fancy car. She enjoyed the warmed seats in the silent ride back to the apartment, and she allowed a second to marvel at the grandeur of his apartment complex.
He turned on the lights and slipped off his jacket and tie as she stood to the great window of the living room that overlooked the blinking lights of the breathing city. “My,” she exhaled, “I do wonder what corruption you partake in to own such a place like this.”
He did not respond and motioned her to join him in the bedroom. She could tell it was soundproof when her shoes did not echo the way they usually did. The door locked itself.
He loosened the top button of his shirt.
“Have you tried helping the better of humanity before? I’m sure you’ll find it just as entertaining and maybe more.
” He sat down on the edge of his bed. “The worst of humanity likes to climb over and sacrifice everyone for their own self-survival and pleasure, but the better of humanity always fights longer and at higher risks because the only people they’re willing to sacrifice are themselves.
Is that not what you want?” He looked at her pointedly. “You want a bigger fight.”
She was thoroughly unimpressed. “You want me to help you?”
“I am working on something, yes.”
“And you think you are the better of humanity?” She gestured to his soundproof room.
He allowed a small smile, but his eyes were downcast. “I just know I am not the worst.”
Celia tapped her chin. He gave little away, which was the right thing to do.
He risked his operation if he told her the details before she agreed.
At first, she thought he screamed generic rich boy with a kinder soul because of good parentage.
However, in the moment he admitted that he wasn’t necessarily the better of humanity, she sensed guilt and a pang of anxiety that had rooted itself deep inside him.