At precisely seven in the evening, Angela and Nina walked into the French restaurant where Gael made a reservation that included the best service from the Chef himself. As they were seated at a corner table with the best view of the Manhattan skyline, they were given a choice of dishes from a nu.
Before they arrived, Gael recomnded Angela to try their Confit de Canard—the latter aning "duck" in French. It was a dish that she didn't particularly like, but because he said it was one of the Chef's masterpieces, she decided to give it a try. Nina also ordered the sa.
And oh my goodness…holy mother of all ducks! Gael was right. Whoever had the idea to cook the duck in its own fat was a genius. The duck was pan-seared with a side of duck fat-fried potatoes. She couldn't stop the praises. The dish was mind-blowing and mouth-orgasmic—she thought she cheated on Gael and even loved every second of it.
She licked her plate clean, and so did Nina.
The two polished a thousand-dollar bottle of red Bordeaux and shared a serving of French Lemon Tart to end their al on a fresh and sweet note. The dinner was phenonal.
"I gotta say…" Nina started, patting her food baby belly. "I'm quite blown away by Mr. Moneybags for everything he did for you today. I know he didn't do all this for because I'm visiting you, but if he's trying to impress to get my approval for you, tell him he's succeeded well and beyond."
Angela smiled, swirling the last sip of wine in her glass. "I think it's just his way of making sure I'm okay after I broke down on him last night. He'd expressed he didn't want to leave alone after what happened. Guess he wanted to take my mind off it."
Leaning her elbows on the table, Nina wondered, "Did it scare him, seeing you like that?"
"I…don't think so. I hope not. I an… I know I would have if I saw myself. You didn't see last night, Ninz… Even I couldn't believe I cried so much in front of him."
"Maybe you cried so much because you were with him."
"What do you an?"
"I'm saying… I've known you since we were kids. I know you're always trying to appear like you have it all under control when you're in front of people, and then you let go when you're all by yourself. Maybe with him around, you've stopped pretending and started being yourself more. You know… Because you trust him?"
Angela swallowed, not knowing how to respond to that, so she could only mutter, "Maybe."
"Did what happened with your mom last night made you cry more than you did when…you know…that ti three years ago? Does he know?"
Angela's hand that was holding the wine glass shook before she gripped it tightly and finished its contents. "Can we not talk about that?" She set the glass down and waved at their server to co over.
After telling Nina about last night's eting with her mother, she realized she was still upset, but it didn't hurt much, unlike last night. However, when anything that happened three years ago was brought up, it was as if living the nightmare while she was awake. She still had to tread lightly around the subject, and she didn't think she would ever move on from that completely. Things were sotis better left unspoken.
"Of course. I'm sorry. I didn't an to upset you, Anj." Nina reached for Angela's hand and squeezed it. "So… Gael's still working? You said he'd et us later?"
"That's what he said. He'll et us sowhere after dinner."
The server ca over, and Angela asked for the bill. Even though Gael was the one who made the reservation, she didn't assu he would pay for dinner—no matter how wealthy he was. She was able to pay for herself.
A couple of minutes later, the restaurant's manager and the Chef ca to the table and told her that the bill had already been paid for by Mr. De Luca. She wasn't surprised that he did. Though, she still insisted on paying for the tip and handed over her credit card.
The manager waved his hands to refuse. "Oh, no. Ms. Su… Mr. De Luca already gave a generous tip. Thank you for letting us serve you for tonight's dinner. It's our pleasure."
Angela persisted one more ti, wanting to make sure that their dedicated server and somlier were tipped appropriately. After the manager assured her that Gael gave a 100% tip, she stopped. Of course. Gael had always been generous with tips—she shouldn't have questioned that. But Nina was floored to know he gave that much, considering the total of their dinner.
Trigger ca to their table just in ti that they got up. He had been standing not far from them with one more guard during dinner. Angela invited the two to dine with them, but Trigger emphasized that if he as much as sit down at the table, his head would be served on a platter for breakfast. It was obviously an exaggeration, but Angela didn't insist anymore.
"Do you want to go ho for a change or sothing before we head over to Brooklyn? The apartnt's only ten minutes away," said Trigger as they settled in the leather backseat of a black Town Car—he sat on the front seat while the other guard drove the car.
"Why? Where are we going?" asked Angela.
"To The Phantom's Empire. Boss said he'd et you there later."
"Wait, what's The Phantom's Empire?" Nina wondered.
Angela, who was biting her bottom lip, answered her best friend, "Gael's night club." She hadn't been in Gael's club at night. Tonight would be the first ti. The first ti she went there with him, there wasn't any loud music or patrons dancing as it was mostly empty except for the bar serving drinks for happy hour. She wondered why Gael wanted her there and not in Giovanni's like the other ti and if their clubs were the sa at night. Angela was actually excited.
She was wined and dined and pampered all day. Ending tonight with a party at one of Brooklyn's best nightclubs to enjoy and let loose was much appreciated.
"Sweet! He has a nightclub?" Nina squealed. "I an… We're already dressed up. I'm down with that!"
And so the Town Car brought them out of Manhattan and into Brooklyn. There was still traffic at quarter to nine in the evening, so by the ti that they reached the club, it was already 9:50 p.m.
A long line stretched on the side of the club with people dressed to the nines, waiting for their turn to be allowed entry to the luxurious superclub. When Angela and Nina reached the entrance, the bouncer held up a hand, stopping them from entering, and wordlessly jerked his thumb sideways as if telling them to go to the end of the line.
Angela didn't mind, and she was about to walk away when Trigger stepped in and whispered sothing to the bouncer.
Instantly, the bouncer paled, and he imdiately pulled open the red velvet rope of the stanchion to let them through. "My apologies, Ma'am, I didn't know. Please enjoy your evening."
"Thank you…" muttered the two won as they passed through.
Once they were in the covered hallway that separated the reception area and the rest of the club, Angela leaned towards Trigger and asked, "What did you tell him?"
"The truth. That you're Boss's woman." Trigger shrugged in nonchalance.
Boss. Gael's woman. Her stomach fluttered at the label. She didn't think she'd ever get used to that.
The giddy feeling inside her slipped when Trigger stopped abruptly at the end of the hallway where the club's party started. "Holy shit," he cursed at the sa ti that Nina muttered a "wow". His eyes were wide as he stared at the middle of the club's dance floor.
"What?" Angela snapped her head, following Trigger's and Nina's gazes and her mouth hung open. "Oh. My. God."
The music thumped from the speakers and the colorful lights danced on the floor while a spotlight was directed at a square stage. There was no stage like that when Angela ca here the first ti so that was definitely new. But that wasn't what shocked the three of them.
It was the surprising fact that seven half-naked n were dancing on the stage, grinding like they were Magic Mike strippers and ladies in pink and white worshiped them below the stage.
"Woah!" Nina chuckled, her eyes sparkling as she gaped at the scene. "I could get used to this. Damn… Gael surely knows what won appreciate, huh?"
On the other hand, Angela was confused about what was going on. She was sure that Gael's club wasn't a strip club, so why were there seven hot dancing n in the middle of the floor? She elbowed Trigger and swallowed before she questioned, "Are you sure he wanted to be here?"
Peeling his stare away and then facing Angela, Trigger gulped audibly. "Honestly…I don't know. D'ya think he'll kill ? He was the one who told to bring you here."
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