Ten

Chapter Three

Chapter Three – The voice

Most of the guests had made their way into the dining room and taken their seats. There were ten chairs at the table and no arranged seating, so each of the guests selected their own seats next to the people in whom they were most interested. Bibi sat at the head of the table, facing the ocean, while most of the others began taking their seats along the other end. Gabe and Chloe were on one side, while Carl and Dominic sat on the other. Enrico sat all by himself, a few chairs from the others. The rest of the guests were apparently still getting ready. Gabe, Carl, and Dominic were meanwhile caught up in a conversation with Chloe.

It was right then that Kelly entered the room, looking quite stunning in a tight strapless mini-dress, colored a deep purple, which complimented her tan skin marvelously, and showed off a bit more skin (and cleavage) than her earlier outfit. Her hair, unlike Chloe's was down, and her jewelry and makeup were quite extravagant. She sashayed over to the table in a pair of skyscraper heels, much higher than anything worn by any of the other women present, and which accentuated her long legs that seemed to go on for miles.

Carl stood and greeted her, offering her the seat next to him, which was at the end of the table opposite Bibi. She took the seat, and began chatting with him, even though it was apparent that she was a little uncomfortable being close to Dominic.

"Excuse me, everyone," Bibi stood to get their attention, "After everyone is here, I'm going to make an announcement."

Everyone at the other end of the table seemed to nod and acknowledge this, though Enrico did nothing but stare suspiciously, or rather contemptuously, at Bibi. He did this enough that it made Bibi fidget a little uncomfortably. She turned back to her paper work, pretending to read over it.

Isabel, the maid, entered the dining room from the kitchen with two trays of hors d'oeuvres and set them in the center of the table at each end. There were already empty glasses and pitchers of ice water and bottles of wine at each end of the table as well. The guests at the opposite end of the table from Bibi had already begun helping themselves to the wine, which was an expensive and somewhat rare vintage.

This mood was interrupted when Robert stormed into the dining room and smacked the broken camera that he found in his room down on the table right in from of Bibi. The noise shocked her and the whole table's attention was gained rather abruptly.

"You can tell your peeping-tom client that I did not sign up to be spied on for some old sicko's jollies!"

"I don't understand what you..." Bibi started but was cut off.

"What is going on?" asked Kelly out loud. The others wondered the same without vocalizing, some of them standing to look at the broken device on the table in front of Bibi.

"There are cameras in every bedroom," replied Robert angrily, "At least the five that I've checked, including my own!"

"What the fuck?" exclaimed Carl.

"A camera? What the hell is going on?" asked Chloe.

"This old pervert might have his games to play with the people he normally lures down here, but he's not going to play these games with me!" shouted Robert at Bibi, "Now where is he?"

"Please calm down Mr. Hayes!" Bibi demanded nervously.

"Calm down?" he replied, "There's no calming down! I want to see this guy now! Right fucking now!"

"He's not coming!" Bibi blurted out, almost ashamedly.

"What do you mean he isn't coming?" demanded Carl.