Black Diamond

19. Chapter 19

Kamella surveyed the changes to the House of Cards with a satisfied smile. No Queen had ever made so many changes to the House for a holiday party, and after tonight, none of them would ever be able to.

The entire first floor had basically been gutted -- revamped to an open floor concept that turned the House of Cards into more than just an expensive karaoke bar. In just a month, Kamella had all the walls torn down on the first floor karaoke rooms, converting the space into upraised, intimate, VIP booths with plush seating and views of the wide open dance floor in front of it.

The kitchen remained as it was, but now the swinging double doors opened into a bar where patrons could order food or drinks, and take it back to the tables. The dance floor was lined with high-top jet black tables and leather bar-height chairs, shiny and obviously new. The overhead lights still flashed in an array of colors, but the brand new, glittering black tile on the floor caused the shimmering light show to reflect this way and that. It was truly an absolute overhaul for the House of Cards.

Given that Kamella had been tasked to plan a Halloween party, she added decoration to the renovations with a classy, but spooky theme. Cobwebs had been spread across the new furniture, complete with strategically placed LED candles and old fashioned lanterns. There were spiders and skulls as the centerpiece on the tables, and a giant stack of pumpkins against the bar. For added effect, Kamella had ordered two smoke machines that spit out a rolling fog over the dance floor.

Kamella moved to take a seat at the bar, winking at her friend Simone Veloza over the counter. The gorgeous Afro-Latina was sure to rake in tips with her sun-kissed, russet brown skin and a caramel ombre bob. Her wide, doe-like brown eyes were an enticing combination of sweet and sinful that had drawn Kamella to get to know her during a trip to Las Vegas with a client. Simone was a little taller than Kamella, standing at 5’7” with a slim figure, betrayed only by her wide hips and thighs. Since Kamella had money to blow on the party, she had called Simone over to handle the entire bar for her tonight.

“I can’t believe you flew me all the way out here for this! I’m hype as hell! Gracias, amor!” Simone exclaimed excitedly, blowing a kiss at her friend over the counter.

Kamella smiled widely, “I’m glad you could make it. It’s been a while since we saw each other, but I wouldn’t trust anyone else to handle this.”

Over the speakers, classic American Halloween songs were already playing while the DJ set up his gear on the stage at the front of the dance floor. Olivia walked over to lean against the bar, whistling loudly as she took a full look at Kamella’s Snow White costume for the party. The Queen of Diamonds sported a royal blue dress with a fitted, corset-laced bodice and a short, yellow mini skirt that flared out to just the tops of her thighs. The top of the dress had attached puff sleeves and a white standing collar. To complete her “seductive Snow White” look, Kamella had on white thigh highs fishnet stockings with white garters and glittery red high heels. She paired her outfit with a bold red lip, and a black ringlet wig, topped off with a pretty red ribbon tied in her hair.

“Poor Ty -- he’s going to lose it when he sees you.” Olivia complimented, nudging Kamella with her shoulder. Olivia didn’t look to shabby herself, in a jet black, skin tight, spaghetti-strapped mini dress and a velvet cape of the same length. She grinned at Kamella, baring fake vampire teeth. “Where’s Koko? I want to see her costume!”

“Unlike you two, I’m here to work, remember?” Nokomi called from behind the bar, stepping out of the kitchen with a tray of spider-topped cupcakes she had decorated by hand. All three women turned to see Nokomi dressed as an adorable black cat, her natural hair bound into a high ponytail behind her fake kitty ears. Nokomi’s black strapless dress was midi-length, but was just as skin tight as Olivia’s, and she wore a collar around her neck, with a golden bell. She was somehow managing to bake and serve in black wedges and black fishnet stockings, a fake cat tail trailing behind her as she moved.

“Ah, I should have bought a costume for this party,” Simone lamented, wiping down her end of the bar.

Kamella laughed, “I told you it was a Halloween party.”

“You look so cute!!” Olivia shouted, moving towards the swing door at the end of the bar to reach Nokomi. She held out her free hand to stop Liv, placing the cupcakes down at the edge of the bar with the other.

“Stay over there, you weirdo!” Nokomi teased, hurrying back towards the kitchen to grab more desserts. Two House of Cards employees walked over to grab the treats, taking them upstairs to the buffet table.

Olivia shook her head knowingly, “Ten isn’t going to let her out of his sight.”

“I’ll actually let him bother her tonight,” Kamella mused, thinking about all the plans they had carefully made for the party. If Ten could keep an eye on Nokomi, she wouldn’t have to worry about the younger girl getting caught up in the coming hellstorm.

“Is everything ready?” Olivia asked tentatively, lowering her voice to a soft pitch.

“As much as can be on our end. Oppa won’t be here until later,” she replied, and that was the end of the discussion as Dealer leaned over the railing from the second floor. He wasn’t happy about the renovations or the price tag they came with, but he had to oblige all of Kamella’s demands -- those were the rules.

As other House of Cards members came out of the kitchen, arms laden with Nokomi’s Halloween treats, Kamella stepped across the dance floor to the table where the champagne display had been arranged, cups filled to the brim. She made sure her two servers were ready to hand out glasses to SM’s artists and employees. One of the servers was one of her Diamond kids, and the other… an undercover police officer.

The man was attractive, his face chiseled enough to actually fit right in with the other House of Cards employees. He gave her a simple nod and went back to filling glasses as if he had been working events his entire career.

Besides them, the staircase leading up to the second floor had been decorated with more candles and cobwebs, another fog machine creating a rolling smoke that cascaded down the staircase. Just a few steps away from the top landing, three full buffet tables formed an open-sided rectangle, the entire surface of two tables covered in foods from all over the world. The third table featured Nokomi’s desserts and a chocolate fondue fountain.

The corridor leading to the private rooms on the second floor had been sectioned off with velvet rope.

“Is everything ready?” Dealer called impatiently over the music, and Kamella rolled her eyes. She simply waved in his direction instead of verbally responding, hoping that was answer enough.

“I’m wondering that too.” Sung Joon’s voice questioned in Kamella’s ear, and she nervously adjusted her hair, making sure that the bluetooth earpiece in her ear was covered by her curly locks.

“Oppa, you’re too early,” she answered softly, turning her back on the champagne display. She headed towards the front door of the club, where two buff bouncers waited, and spotted Sung Joon’s car parked directly across the street.

“I’ve been outside for an hour already,” He replied humorlessly, and Kamella huffed.

“You’re going to mess everything up,” she complained, heading back inside. The wind was a little chilly against her bare midriff.

“I won’t, I promise. Just make sure that kid can put on a good act.”

“We won’t have to act at all, I promise,” Kamella hummed, lowering her voice an octave. Even if it was for show, she couldn’t help the flutter in her chest at the idea of putting her hands on Taeyong. Would he like her Halloween costume?

“Ugh, I don’t need to hear that. I’ll check back in when it’s time for my grand entrance.”

Kamella didn’t reply since Sung Joon’s voice already went silent. At that moment, Nokomi came rushing over towards her.

“Mel, Ten just texted me to let me know everyone is on the way!” Nokomi squeaked, feeling a rush of excitement.

Kamella smirked, “Let’s introduce them to the best party of their lives.”

With NCT

The big black vans carrying each SM group moved like a procession among the streets of Seoul. Taeyong had hopped into a van with Johnny, Jaehyun, Yuta, Ten, Mark, and Lucas. They were all in Halloween costumes, though Taeyong was probably the most nervous about his.

“So, I want to bring up the elephant in the van,” Johnny began, his eyes crinkling as he smiled slyly. Lucas leaned forward in his seat, already laughing. Jaehyun chuckled.

“The what?” Mark questioned, gawfing at Johnny’s joke.

“What costumes do you think the noonas are wearing to the party?” Johnny asked, as if he was reading off an interview question.

“Which noonas? We have so many that will be there tonight.” Yuta added, his mind recalling a laundry list of names.

“Koko isn’t a noona,” Ten replied testily, making Johnny hold his hands up defensively.

“Whoa whoa, Ten. I didn’t even know Nokomi would be there today.” Johnny explained, laughing off Ten’s threatening tone.

“Olivia said she’s going to be a vampire,” Jaehyun commented, redirecting the conversation.

“Mella-yah is going as… Oh actually, she didn’t tell me,” Taeyong realized belatedly, thinking of potential Halloween costumes the Queen of Diamonds could be wearing for the event. He wondered if she would recognize him easily with his intricate costume.

“Maybe as Elsa?” Lucas offered, thinking of characters that would suit Kamella.

Taeyong pouted, “Kamella’s too warm to be an ice queen.”

“She’s THE ice queen. Maybe even ice personified,” Ten teased, thinking about his first few encounters with Kamella. She wasn’t the type of person he’d describe as a warm personality at all.

“There’s a reason people call diamonds ‘ice’, you know? Even her title at the House suits her. But it isn’t a bad thing either. Diamond-noona is just cautious in life,” Jaehyun complimented, seeing the positive aspects to Kamella’s otherwise prickly personality.

“And that hot-cold personality suits her too,” Johnny declared, fanning himself playfully.

Taeyong huffed loud enough for everyone to hear his displeasure, not taking too kindly to their discussion on Kamella, “Anyway, Mella-yah will actually be working tonight -- try not to ask for too much from her.”

“He’s only saying that so he can keep her close the entire time,” Ten surmised, making the other guys in the car laugh.

“Should we bother Nokomi instead?” Yuta joked, winking at Ten. Ten pouted, cutting his eyes at Yuta. The rest of the van burst into laughter as the vehicle finally slowed to a stop in front of the House of Cards.

All the members piled out to find the sidewalks full of fans, holding up lightsticks and giving loud cheers as each group climbed out of their carrier vans. When all the members of NCT had gathered at the curb, they waved to NCTzens amongst loud cheers of their name, and tried not to go blind from all the camera flashes. Two bouncers stood at the door of the House of Cards, nodding at the members as they stepped in one-by-one.

The party wasn’t quite in full swing as they filed into the club, but the excited energy was certainly in the air. The members of Red Velvet were already on the dance floor, with some of the EXO members hovering around a few of the empty tables surrounding the floor.

Behind the bar, Simone was doing an elaborate bartending routine while the other bartenders watched her in awe. She was making a drink for EXO’s Kai, who seemed much more interested in the bartender than the drink she was making, and apparently, so was Jaehyun. He didn’t even say goodbye to the other members when he ventured off to where Kai was standing, earning a playful wink from the woman behind the counter.

“Where should we go first?” Doyoung asked over the loud music, taking everything in. The club looked totally different from what he remembered, but he definitely liked the changes. It looked like the second floor remained much the same as the last time he visited.

“I’m going to get cupcakes!” Haechan cheered over the music, grabbing Mark’s arm and pulling him towards the stairs. Jungwoo followed the two, dragging Jeno behind him. Kun wrapped his arm around Lucas’ shoulder and steered him towards the bar where Jaehyun was standing with Kai.

Nokomi hurried out of the kitchen with one last tray of desserts, walking directly by the NCT members that had gathered on the dance floor. She was too busy to notice them, but they certainly saw her.

Doyoung gasped, “Is that-?” He was blushing, and didn’t even realize it, covering his mouth as a dazzling smile crossed Ten’s face.

“Woooooow,” Taeyong uttered, appreciating her cute costume as well. He almost felt bad for Nokomi -- she had no idea that Ten was ready to pounce.

Win Win grabbed Ten’s elbow, reeling him in for a second, “Ten-hyung, she has to work tonight, remember?” Ten nodded absentmindedly, already pulling away from Win Win to follow Nokomi up the stairs. The younger member heaved a sigh, “He’s not listening at all.”

Taeil laughed, shaking his head, “He’s long gone by now. I’ve never seen him act like this.”

Seeing Nokomi made Taeyong wonder where Kamella was. He searched around the room, but he had yet to see her.

“Let’s go sit at that table over there,” Johnny offered, pointing at one of the circular booths against the wall. NCT took up two of the half-circle booths, seating all the members in one section. A waitress came by with a tray of champagne flutes for everyone, just as Jaehyun returned to join them. Taeyong kept an eye out for Kamella, but she was still nowhere to be found.

“Taeyong-hyung, where’s our sister-in-law?” Kun teased, and Taeyong nearly choked on his drink.

“I don’t know-” Taeyong was too flustered by Kun’s words to continue, but he didn’t have to, because all of a sudden, the DJ cut the music. A drumroll began and two spotlights searched around the room until the lights landed at the top of the staircase. All eyes turned to see the Queen of Diamonds standing at the top of the stairs in her Snow White costume.

All the noise fell away when Taeyong’s gaze landed on her form. Kamella looked gorgeous. “Beautiful” just didn’t cut it for her tonight. He wondered if s could hear his heart exploding in his chest.

There was a low hum from someone beside him as Kamella gracefully descended the stairs, and headed up to the stage where the DJ had set up for the night. The man handed Kamella a mic, and she gave them a warm smile, so out of character for her, but so heart-stopping that Taeyong surely thought he would melt on the spot. He could feel his cheeks getting warm.

“On behalf of the House of Cards, I’d like to welcome the SM Entertainment family to our paradise. Anything goes here, and your wish is our desire. I hope you’ll leave your worries behind for tonight, and let us provide you with the ultimate escape. Please enjoy the party.” Kamella finished her speech with another dazzling smile, winning her a round of applause from everyone in the room.

She set her mic down and the DJ helped her off of the stage, before turning back to the music. Nokomi walked over to Kamella to loop arms with her, and the two of them started to make their way around the edge of the dance floor to greet each person at every table.

Ten came over to the table with the older NCT members, and sat down at the edge of the booth, pouting.

“What happened?” Yuta questioned, patting Ten’s back comfortingly.

“Koko said she’s working, and can’t talk to me right now.” Ten replied, keeping his back to the two women. Taeyong was trying to listen to Ten, but his poor heart was going crazy as Kamella got closer and closer to the table where s were. Their gazes caught for a brief second and Kamella had the gall to wink at him. He felt like he was going to faint. Was this how his fans felt when he looked at them?

“Taeyong-ah, what are you doing? Why would you sit in the middle?!” Taeil admonished, already scooting out of the booth so they could rearrange themselves. Taeyong didn’t answer him because he was trying to think about what he should say to Kamella when she got over to them. He was excited and nervous all at once.

Finally, Kamella and Nokomi made it to their table, but Kamella made sure to pay attention to the other members instead of Taeyong.

“Thank you for coming, everyone,” the two women told the members, bowing their heads respectfully.

Ten, who sat at the other open end of the table, pulled Nokomi towards him by her tiny waist, leaning into her to whisper something in her ear and flick the little golden bell at her neck. Everyone quickly averted their gazes from the two of them, focusing on the other guests at their table.

“What made you choose Snow White, Noona?” Jaehyun asked her curiously, over the music. Kamella smiled, and sat on the edge of the seat beside Taeyong, not even asking him to make room for her because he had already moved over a little. She was halfway sitting on his lap and halfway sitting on the bench, with no shame or remorse whatsoever. He smiled when her familiar cinnamon scent wafted into his nose, mixed with the perfume she was wearing.

“I was listening to a song the other day, and someone told me to ‘Cosplay Snow White’. It sounded like fun, so I decided to try it out,” Kamella replied, grinning shamelessly at Taeyong. His cheeks reddened, and he realized belatedly he should have put his face mask back on.

“Taeyong-ah, is this a cosplay too? What character are you supposed to be?” Kamella questioned, tweaking the zipper of the tight, cold-shoulder turtleneck he was wearing.

“Tokyo Ghoul!” Yuta shouted in excitement, before Taeyong could respond.

“Hmmmmm, I’ll have to check that anime out -- I’ve never seen it before,” Kamella replied thoughtfully, looking over all the guys one last time. “Koko quit flirting with Ten -- we have to go to work.”

Nokomi bit her lip, bowing her head to hide her embarrassment as she slid off of Ten’s lap (how had she gotten there in the first place?), and moved over to Kamella’s side.

“Kamella-noona, I have another question for you,” Jaehyun interrupted quickly, leaning across the table so Kamella could hear him over the loud music. He inclined his head towards the bar, where Simone had started yet another elaborate bartending routine, “Who’s that?”

“Simone? I brought her over from Las Vegas.”

“Is she permanent?” He mused, a small smile gracing his lips as his gaze went directly towards the woman they were discussing. Kamella lifted an eyebrow at his expression.

“She’s here for one night only. I flew her out to do me a favor, but she’s going back to Vegas soon.”

Jaehyun nodded thoughtfully, his curiosity satisfied for now. Kamella nodded, tapping Taeyong’s chin, “Don’t drink too much, ok?” When Taeyong laughed nervously, she leaned in to whisper in his ear, “If you need someone to take a shot for you, just call for me,” she teased, pressing a quick peck to his ear. His entire face inflamed, and he quickly put his mask back on. The rest of the guys cheered playfully.

“All right, guys, have fun!” Koko added, waving at the NCT members before the two women walked away. Taeyong wanted to faint from embarrassment.

“I can’t believe our Taeyong’s girlfriend is so aggressive,” Taeil commented, an amused smile on his face.

Jaehyun laughed, “They really get along so well.”

Johnny nodded, “I was thinking the exact same thing!”

Taeyong hid his face, wanting the floor to open up and swallow him whole. Hopefully, he’d be able to play his role tonight without getting too star-struck by the seductive aura of his Queen of Diamonds.

End Chapter 19