It's a fact that you can't help who you fall in love with. And for Rosaline Davenport and him, it definitely shouldn't have been each other.
Because, sometimes, love stories have blood on them.
[warning: this is the mother of all slow-burns]
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【 47.
Forty-seven
Jawaab 】
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[ Jawaab • answer/solution ]
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ZACH KNOWS THE conversation he's about to have cannot be held within the premises of his company, which is why he and the warden of JCC agreed on The Gold Lantern—a high end bar in the heart of New York City. The interior is something to marvel at, with chocolate-brown leather banquettes, nickel-trimmed black glass tabletops, the intricate and large black granite bar, and most exquisite of all—the twenty-four karat gold leaf-covered ceiling.
The Gold Lantern is a timeless location, a centuries-old establishment that still attracts the elite—the socialites, the politicians, movie stars, and even the moguls like Zach himself.
It's not only renown for its extensive drink menu and nightly live entertainment, but also as the perfect place to arrange the kind of meeting he's about to engage in. Considering the bar has a reputation for the type of clientele they host regularly, Zach is more than confident the staff would know the importance of privacy and turning a blind eye to the faces they see meeting together.
It's how this place has lasted for this long, after all—by knowing to seal their lips and throw away the keys.
Soft jazz infiltrates Zach's ears and he leans back comfortably, watching as the man he's expecting walks towards him.
“Mr Hawthorne,” the warden of Jefferson Correctional Center greets him with a nod.
“Take a seat, Warden,” Zach gestures towards the dark-leather clad seat across him, choosing to address the man by his position in the prison rather than by name. Just in case. As a safety measure.
If this ever goes south and backfires, Zach can use plausible deniability. If anyone tries to use this conversation as leverage or material for blackmail, he won't be implicating himself by using the warden's name, seeing that there are several prison wardens all over the country.
Always have an escape plan. That's the motto. At least, it should be in a case like this where Zach is severely blurring the lines between lawful and illegal.
He's never done something of this nature before, and he'll be lying if he says it doesn't make him concerned.
Fake it till you make it, Zach, he tells himself. Fake it till you make it. Everything depends on the other party not being able to tell he's not a pro at what he's about to do. He needs to put on an air of someone who's a master at this game.
