“You only need to ring once, Miss Harris,” a female voice came through the little speaker above the button. “What can I get for you?”
“Well, since I’m drinking, I think I should eat something.”
“Good idea. What would you like?”
“Filet mignon, medium rare with braised asparagus and garlic mashed potatoes,” I rattled off.
“As you wish.”
“Wait, I was kidding,” I jumped to say. “Can you really do that?”
“We can do whatever you’d like, Miss Harris.”
“Well, okay. Um, how about some hummus and pita, please?” I asked.
“Of course.”
“Thank you,” I said, and sat back on the sofa, taking another swig of my delicious drink.
Ten minutes later, the door opened, and a young, good-looking man walked in with my food. I saw the open door and glanced at him.
He smiled. “Please don’t try, Miss Harris. You won’t get far, and you’ll just make Mr. Carver angry.”
I scowled. “I think I could take you.”
“You could try.” He chuckled. “I see you found the Barrique de Ponciano Porfidio.”
“Huh?”
He pointed to the bottle of tequila.
“Oh, yes,” I said. “The tequila.”
“The two-thousand-dollar bottle of tequila.”
“Shut up!” I added in a whisper, “Is it really?”
He chuckled with a nod. “Enjoy your refreshments, Miss Harris.”
And then he was gone. I flopped back onto the sofa and grabbed a piece of flatbread, scooping the warm hummus onto it and devouring it within seconds. I couldn’t remember a time I’d ever tasted anything better and I knew it wasn’t just because I was rapidly approaching drunkenness. It was damn good food.
I took another few bites before sitting back and evaluating my current state. I decided it would be a good idea to take a break from the tequila and maybe rest a bit. My head was foggy and I was no longer feeling tipsy and happy. I was rapidly approaching drunk... that is, if I wasn’t already... and I was back to feeling frustrated and angry.
I couldn’t believe that Austin would just leave me here. He had no right. I walked to the button again and this time a man’s voice came over the loudspeaker.
“Will someone let me know when I’ll be released from my cell?” I asked.
“Mister Carver didn’t give me that information, Miss Harris. I’m sorry.”
“Well, tell Aus—MisterCarver that if someone doesn’t fill me in on what the hell is going on, I’m going to call my brother.”
No one responded, so I decided to give them five minutes before I was going to pull out my cell phone and call down the wrath of Dani in the form of Elliot Harris, badass detective with a heart of gold. I giggled at the thought. Maybe I should switch careers. Be an ad person. My brilliance was obviously wasted on five-year-olds.
I was pulled from my thoughts when Austin walked into the room. “What the fuck, Dani?”
“You got my message I see,” I slurred, swaying a little on my feet.
“I can’t deal with you right now.”
