Charmaine’s breath caught when she remembered where she had seen this guy from.  He was looking at her with appraising beady eyes that made her want to scratch them out.  Selena, naïve as ever, was oblivious to it all.  When he stood in front of her and held his hand out to her, Charmaine shook it gingerly and quickly removed her hand but not before she felt his finger lightly caressed the inside of her palm.  She glared at him and he lifted his brows in amusement.

“Let’s sit,” Selena said then pulled Charmaine to the couch.

Kenneth remained standing as he faced them, “What would you ladies like to drink?  On the house of course.”

“I’ll have a gin and tonic,” Selena said then turned to Charmaine, “What about you?”

Charmine kept her expression neutral as she said, “I’m not thirsty.”

“How about some juice?” Kenneth suggested lightly, “Or maybe a soda?”

Before Charmaine could answer there was a brief knock on the door followed by its opening.  A man strolled arrogantly into the room and Charmaine recognized him immediately.  It was hard to suppress her disdain now.  She stood up and turned to Selena and said firmly, “I think we should leave.”

Selena was confused by Charmaine abruptness and asked, “Why?  We just got here.”

With eyes boring down at Selena, Charmaine said tightly, “I’ll explain later.”

Raymond smiled cunningly at Charmaine.  So he wasn’t imagining things before.  Seeing the look of despise on her face amused Raymond and he cooed in a silky voice, “What’s the hurry Madame Sheh?  Like your friend said, you just got here.  Sit and have a drink with us.”

Selena looked between the two and said with awe, “You guys know each other?”

Raymond gave Selena a bewitching smile and said with a chuckle, “We’ve met when Madame Sheh came to one of our other bars to investigate a case.  You might say we’re pretty familiar with each other, isn’t that right Madame Sheh?”  Keeping his eyes trained on Charmaine, he then brought his hands up to pat lightly at the back pockets then front pockets of his pants.

Kenneth who hadn’t said a word since Raymond’s arrival chuckled softly at the subtle reminder.

Charmaine knew he was trying to embarrass her and she met his gaze straight on and said, “Yes, that’s right.  You could even say on a personal basis too.”  She then smiled sweetly at him to let him know she wasn't the least bit intimidated by his tactics.

Raymond was taken aback by her lack of modesty and said with challenge, “So does that mean Madame Sheh is staying for a drink with us?

Charmaine remained poised and in the same singsong voice replied, “No.  We’re still leaving.”

Her answer threw Selena completely off.  “Huh?  Why can’t we just stay for one drink?” she asked then threw Kenneth an apologetic smile.

Charmaine grabbed Selena’s hand and pulled her up, “Come on, I’ll tell you everything later.”

“Are you sure?” Raymond asked when they were at the door, “I promise we won’t drug your drinks unless you want us to.”

Charmaine’s eyes snapped to his and she stared hard at him, “What did you say?”

Raymond saw the flare of anger on her face and took satisfaction in finally able to rile her up.  With an egotistical grin he said, “I was only joking.  You can’t arrest me for that now can you.”

In answer to that, Charmainee said quietly, “One day I will have enough evidence to arrest you.  For now, enjoy what’s left of your freedom.”

Raymond walked towards her and stopped when he was standing directly in front of her.  Looking down at her, he said with a lazy grin, “You won’t be able to nail me with anything because I’m clean.  And that just bugs the hell out of you doesn’t it?”

Holding his gaze for a few more seconds, Charmaine finally looked away.  Without saying a word she dragged Selena out the room.

“That Madame Sheh is sure hot!” Kenneth blurted out excitedly.  Raymond didn’t make any comment as he took a seat.  Kenneth sat down beside him and nudged him, “You think I have any chance with her?”

“You’re kidding me right?” Raymond said with disbelief.  “She practically wanted to spit in our faces and here you are wondering if you have any chance with her.”

After a pause, Kenneth looked at Raymond strangely and said, “You seem to act different around her than with other women.  Are you by any chance interested in her?  ”

Raymond laughed heartily and said, “The only thing I’m interested in is making a fool out of her.”

“Good then I’m going to make a move on her,” Kenneth said with an anticipatory smile.

Raymond chuckled, “I wish you good luck.  You’ll need it.  That Madame may be too much for you to handle.”

Kenneth smirked.  “That’s what makes her so special.  The tougher she is, the more I’ll enjoy the chase.”

“Do you really think you’ll have a chance with her?” Raymond asked with bemusement, “Or have you forgotten that you’re currently dating her best friend?”

“Oh Selena?” Kenneth said dismissively then boasted, “I can handle her with ease.”

“Whatever you do,” Raymond said as he stood up to leave, “Just remember to keep it out of our clubs.  Don’t give Madame Sheh any excuse to come crashing our clubs.  It’s bad for the business.”

“Don’t worry,” Kenneth promised, “I won’t bring any trouble to our clubs.”