She was seated in the back-left corner of the restaurant, next to the kitchen doors. She was ready to escape through the emergency exit in the kitchen at any time, but didn't think it would be necessary tonight. On the placemat in front of her was a small white plate with silverware on its right and left. Across from her was an empty seat. Surrounding her table was a blur of other diners, couples celebrating the initial ecstasy of love's carefully planned trap. She quickly discerned which diners were harmless- all of them- then, just for the fun of it, identified which ones will ruin their marriages by engaging in a new cycle of love's trap with someone else.
Dozens of micro-expressions in a lover's face foretells their destiny, and Amy can sort through them and place them in buckets of different fates faster than anyone else. Cheating from one side, cheating from both sides, clean divorce, messy divorce, murder, mysterious death, true love for the remainder of their lives- she had buckets for every conceivable possibility. So far she tallied seven cheaters, three dead women and one poisoned man, and one true love (the silent couple reading books by the fountain). In the end, she placed each small bucket into one large bucket that blended them all together into a giant gray blob. This was how she entertained herself while she waited the 30 minutes for Mr. Lu to show up.
“May I suggest our house red?”
Amy glanced at her young, handsome French waiter, then at the degenerate across from her as he settled into his chair. She tasted the suggestion in her head. She swirled Mr. Li's blood through her teeth and gulped it down. Satisfying. Fantastic, actually. We’ll have a whole bottle, merci.
Amy ordered the duck. Mr. Lu ordered the stuffed venison. The blob ordered expensive soup. The restaurant was buzzing with foreplay, and Amy was the game's queen bee. This would be a romance begun at the backend of the brutal cycle. A romance sparked from divorce and death of the couple's business interests, culminating in ecstasy for both. Amy treaded carefully and patiently.
“It was me,” she told him. I killed the deal. I sabotaged your whole plan. It's me you've been hunting for the past six months. Except now I'm hunting you. And I've got you right where I want you.
“I was the anonymous donor to your charity a couple months back,” she continued. I am the one you should be grateful for. I am the one who propped you up when things were looking bleak. I am the generous donor you've been wanting to meet, the one you want to turn on like a faucet whenever you want.
“I have to admit I am surprised, but it couldn't have come from a nicer, more beautiful woman.” Mr. Lu reached his arm across the table as if he was beckoning for a lover's hand. He felt a rush of sexual energy surge up to his head. He took a sip of wine, then shook his head.
“If you wanted the donation to be anonymous, why did you want to meet now?” Mr. Lu was already fondling his hotel key card. There was only one way dinners like this ended for him. He was used to getting what he wanted, especially since he became the king of private equity in France. He got the companies he wanted. He got the prestige he wanted. And most importantly, he got the women he wanted. Apart from investments in legal enterprises, he was the premier venture capitalist for criminal ones as well. It was only a matter of time before he would meet the gorgeous leader who seized control of his first home-run investment.
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“I wanted to add a little mystery to your life,” Amy flirtatiously replied as she winked at him. She was trained in the art of seduction from a young age. No one could escape her spell when she put on the act. Mr. Lu, she knew, like so many other weak men, would be one of the easiest targets of her life. The only drawback was his taste for expensive wine. This would set her back a few thousand euros. But not to worry, as Amy always had a plan to recoup her investment.
“A mysterious woman with an excellent business sense. It's hard to find that nowadays.” Amy blushed and Mr. Lu felt the tip of a high-heeled shoe graze his leg. This would be my greatest coup yet, he thought. A rich, sexy woman with a taste for wine that matches his? He always landed the best, and tonight would be his best yet. The rewards just kept on coming.
“It's also hard to find an honest man. I love what you are doing with your charity.” Amy fully realized his charity was just a tax shelter for his criminal activities. Ever since funding the first import of girls from Rwanda, Mr. Lu and his organization faced an onslaught of new business from the rural villages. All of a sudden, African parents all around the country were willing to send their daughters abroad for extra cash. This was a business opportunity Mr. Lu could not pass up. His partners- never himself- wandered the villages of Northern Africa, poaching women as young as 12 and sending them to agencies for quick and discreet shipment to Europe. Eventually, Mr. Lu bought into the whole supply chain, investing in the agencies, boats, and docks.
“Rwandan farmers are some of the friendliest people in the world. They provide some of the best coffee beans for our newest coffee chain. They deserve more for their efforts than the corruption they continually face out there.” Amy did her homework. What he said was correct. They were the best beans, but the major players wouldn't even touch them because of first-hand reports of child labor on the farms. Corruption was rampant too- farmers often paid off militant groups for protection after some of their own workers were kidnapped. They lived a tough life and made little money. Thanks to Mr. Lu's triple shot of coffee, co-op initiatives, and girls, Rwandan farmers could now enjoy life a little better.
“I've decided to stay in Marrakech tonight. Something about the colors in this place just makes life so romantic.” Amy gazed into his eyes. She would get what she wanted. He would get what he wanted. No reason to waste any more time. When they finished eating, she paid the bill and walked with him, arm-in-arm, back to his hotel, laughing generously at his jokes along the way. As soon as the elevator doors in the hotel closed, she pushed him up against the elevator wall, kissing him with a maniacal passion. Before the doors opened to the top floor, she deftly slipped a piece of paper in his jacket. Part one of her mission was complete. Two more parts to go and she would be able to breathe easier. Her sister was out there, being held against her will for no crime other than being a good person. But first, she had to make love to the world's darkest man.