"I don't know why I have to come to the casino if there isn't something going on around here," Lena murmured, clutching the handle of the door. "Just open up already!" She yelled out in frustration when the door wasn't opening.
"Don't stress it," Darian said. She scoffed and turned to him. "The doors are locked. So, what now?"
"What?" Lena lunged her hand at him. "What is what?" Her brows creased in confusion. What was he trying to do? She was stuck with him in the car and he was asking her what?
"Why are you complaining about coming to the casino? I thought you said you love to work." He dialed a number on his phone and pressed the phone to his ear.
Lena watched him, saying nothing at all. She waited for him to end the call and then she mumbled, "Please open up,"
"What if I don't?" He asked teasingly.
"Why would you keep me in your car? What do I want to do with you here?" She asked him.
She was getting uncomfortable and didn't know the exact words to say if he didn't open the door.
"A nice question," Darian bobbed his head naughtily. "There are a lot of things we can do in the car. I haven't even thought of any until you mentioned it. So, tell me what do you want us to do in here?" He dropped his phone on the centre console of the vehicle and inched closer to her. Lena didn't roll back, she stayed still and let him do whatever that was running through his mind. "Just tell me, what do you want us to do?" He winked at her.
His chest was close to her now and the proximity between them made her legs twitch. His voice sent chills down her body, causing goosebumps to spring up on her skin. She opened her lips to talk but the words didn't come out.
Darian gently kneaded his fingers on her cheekbone. They stared into each other's eyes, no words were said, just the fast beating of their hearts was heard. He was close to placing his lips on her forehead when a knock at the car's window interrupted them. They jerked away from each other.
Darian groaned when he saw Amy waving at them. She had no idea what was going on in the car because the windows were tinted. But they could see her.
"That was close," Lena muttered silently as she found her purse on the dashboard. "Just unlock the doors already." She said pleadingly.
"Yeah, I have to attend to Amy." He said.
Lena scoffed. She wanted to tell him she didn't ask him to open the door for him to attend to Amy, but she ate her words.
Darian unlocked the doors, and Lena got out before he could. She headed into the casino, leaving him behind with Amy. She didn't care what they had to discuss.
"Is Talia in?" Darian asked Amy.
"Yes, she just got in and she wants to see you urgently." Amy smiled flirtatiously.
"Yeah, I will see her now." Darian slammed the door shut and locked the car. "Is there something that I need to know?" He asked her as they walked side by side towards the entrance of the casino.
"Nothing. Talia isn't carrying anyone along in the investigations." Amy halted her steps and slowly pulled Darian back. He turned to her with a questionable glare.
"Are you good?" He saw the sadness that marred her expression.
"Darian, we haven't had time to talk about this." She breathed hard.
"Amy, I am married." He simply said, he knew where she was heading but he wasn't ready for that discussion now.
"I know you are married. I see it but why her?" She questioned, her nose scrunching up in disgust. "Everyone knows you to be the definition of a perfectionist and I thought we had something going years back before I left New York."
"That was in the past, Amy. We weren't ready, we just played around." Darian responded.
"Played around?" Amy jiggled her head. She smiled to deter the tears that welled up in her eyes. "I told you that I was coming back but you never read my messages and you just went ahead to settle down with that woman? That clumsy ass?" She scoffed, clasping her hands unbelievably.
"You know?" Darian turned to Amy, his eyes flicked from her curly hair to the open chest blouse she wore—he knew she had to dress attractively to win the hearts of the men who came over to play games in the casino. Her cleavage was visible, he quickly looked away. "Whatever happened between us was years ago, and like I said before, we were young, we didn't even know what we wanted for each other. And again, Amy, I would appreciate it if you stopped referring to my wife as a clumsy ass." He wagged his fingers at her, warning her to stay off Lena's business.
"I can't believe this." Amy smiled. "Now you are saying these to me because of a woman?"
"A woman who is my wife." He corrected her. "I will see Talia now and I think you should go back in there and organize the women. You all should get some things in place since you won't be working for one week." He looked at Amy one more time before walking away from her.
Amy wiped the tears that formed in her eyes as she watched him walk out of her. She had never seen him that mad at her.
She used to know and fell in love with the younger and innocent Darian. She had thought things would work well for them when he was older and could decide what he wanted for himself. But there she was, back in New York with the news that Darian was married to Lena.
-
"Wipe the table," Amy commanded Lena. "Now!" She yelled.
Lena squinted her eyes. "Are you talking to me?" She asked Amy.
"We are alone here," Amy retorted.
"Funny," Lena clapped her hands. "That's not part of the things I should do and besides, we are not working for a week. So, why should I wipe the table?" She queried Amy.
Amy swivelled around and took a step closer to Lena. "We shouldn't clean because we are not working?" She scoffed.
"I see no point," Lena chipped in.
"I see, I wonder how shabby your house will look. Darian did marry a pig." Amy blurted out unapologetically.
Lena smiled, she knew well that Amy was calling for trouble. "Do you want to pay a visit to see how dirty our house looks?"
"I am busy, too busy for unimportant visits," Amy said.
"Really?" Lena smiled again. "You are. You know Darian wouldn't mind if you come over though, he would—"
"What the fuck do you know about Darian!" Amy yelled at her. "You know nothing, you know nothing about him!"
"What makes you think so?" Lena asked her.
Amy was right though, she knew nothing about her husband. And no matter how much she tried to deny it. It stung her badly, it hurt to know that she didn't even know the man she was married to. She tried to get to know him but he didn't always open up to her.
"The fact that you are married to him doesn't make you special! You get that into your thick skull. I know Darian so well, more than you will ever know him." Amy said again.
Lena wasn't surprised. She asked a few questions about Amy from Tina.
She told her how close Amy used to be with Darian before she left the country, Tina didn't say too much because she wasn't sure of Amy's relationship with Darian. She only started working for Darian a few weeks before Amy travelled and that was many years ago.
Lena was certain there was something more to their closeness but she couldn't ask Darian and that sucked more.
"Do you wish you were in my shoes as his wife?" Lena wasn't thinking straight when she asked Amy that question.
"Do you think you'd ever get into that position if I didn't leave the country?" Amy retorted.
Amy's response hurt Lena, but maybe that was the truth. And she would have been thankful if she had never had to marry Darian.
She would still be out there in her father's house, living her life as planned without getting involved with the Dawson family, and what a peaceful life it would have been. Going on vacations with Lisa and just having fun.
"And I heard he married you because your father couldn't pay back what he owes him."
Lena's shoulders sagged, that was her Achilles heels.
Amy shouldn't have talked about it at all. That was what always made her lose her confidence. She wondered if that was what Darian told her as they discussed this morning. She swallowed hard, her hands trembling in defeat.
"So, if I were you. I would just stay out of other people's business, work hard to help my father pay his debt so that you can leave this bondage you call marriage, Don's wife." Amy said mockingly, smirking at Lena as she walked out of the room.
Lena slumped on the chair when Amy was gone, tears clouded her vision as she thought of Amy's stinging words.
She was right about everything, but one thing. Her marriage to Darian wasn't bondage, or maybe it was and she had never really thought of it as that.
No husband would hide so much from his wife, so much she didn't even know a thing about him. He's been married to her for months and they've never had a proper kiss not to mention sex.
She laughed. She had been living in bondage but didn't realize it all along.
She thought of things to do and Amy's words replayed in her mind. And she just knew she had to work hard, pay Darian his money, and leave the marriage.
That was the only way to put an end to all of these.