Imperatrix

chapter 30

Three weeks had passed since the last time Jack saw Harry, and she felt miserable. She was trying hard to distance herself from him. She had ignored his phone calls and had deleted his messages without listening to them.

But in the process of avoiding him, she was snapping at everyone around her. She knew Angela was very well close to exploding at her. Sighing, Jack concentrated on drawing the perfect cat eye and applying her make up. When she was done, she wore her dress.

A long-sleeved deep V-neck cocktail gown in royal blue which exposed her back and had a long slit in front which displayed her legs whenever she moved. Running her hands over the soft material, she removed her silver hooped nose ring. Jack didn't wear the ring everytime. She couldn't very well show her septum to those proud bunch now, could she? Not that she cared what they thought though. She wore nude stiletto heels and flipped her blond hair over her shoulder as she looked at the black rock on her finger.

I miss you papa.

Walking into her office first, she quickly logged out of her computer and made sure that the door was locked. Then she walked down the stairs to meet Lucas waiting for her. He was wearing a tuxedo.

"You clean up well," she said flippantly as she walked out the door.

"You too," he retorted in the same flippant tone. Jack hid a smile as she got into the car.

As they drove towards the hotel Lucas owned, Jack wondered the point of the party. She knew it was to find more business partners and make more deals. Other than that, what else? As the host for the evening, she had to be there early. The Chinese had hosted the party the previous year, and now it was her turn. And as king, it had to be splendid. She gave no room for mistakes.

The mafia ball was something the other lords looked forward to, but to Jack, it was a night of tension where she had to constantly look over her shoulder to see if there was anyone charging at her with a knife raised. She had been attacked at the ball in Jamaica, but Yuri had gunned down the man before he got to her, so she was weary of those sorts of things.

Jose drove into the underground garage of the hotel and she got out. The hotel had been emptied of all lodgers, and the staff had been relieved of their duty for just that night. Only a few select employees had been left behind to take care of the guests, so it was quite empty when they walked in.

Rooms had been provided for the guests, but Jack knew that most would not stay. They thought she would kill them in their sleep seeing that it was her territory and all. Silly people, if she wanted to kill them, she would, and they would be aware. But she didn't go about robbing people of their lives like she had nothing else to do. She wasn't a brainless maniac.

"There is someone here to see you in your office," Dimitri said. He had arrived hours before her. She nodded and he left them.

"Do you want me to come with you?" Lucas asked.

Jack thought for a minute before she responded, "Alright."

They walked to Lucas's office. He opened the door and she stepped in. It was an Asian man and he stood as Jack approached.

"How do you do?" Jack asked as she shook his hand. His palms were sweaty.

Jack tried to inconspicuously wipe her hand on the skirt of her gown as she introduced her brother. "This is Lucas, my consigliere. Dimitri said you wanted to see me, what for?" she asked as she took a seat behind the desk.

The man swallowed and adjusted his tie as Lucas poured a drink for himself.

"My name is Dong Hyun." He was Korean, not Chinese like she had originally thought. They all looked the same to her. He wasn't a mafia lord, they already had the Chinese representing Asia, but he was the boss in Korea, which was why he had gotten an invite.