Chapter 13

"So that is the timeline for the new shipment." Kirsten Bosch said as he sat with Johnathan Derby in the dining room of the Linga Longa Lodge.

"Johnathan…?" Kirsten said getting no response from the man.

"Who is that woman?" Johnathan said not really listening to what his friend was saying, he was captivated by the woman with long black hair that had just entered the room.

"Who?" Kirsten said looking in the direction his boss was. "Oh…her, don't know."

"Find out."

"Johnathan we have other things…"

Johnathan tore his eyes of the woman to look at his friend, the look said it all and Kirsten rose without another word to go and find out who the new guest was. He knew that Johnathan would not be able to concentrate on anything else until he knew who she was. His friend was a womaniser of note and could not resist a beautiful woman at the best of times.

Sophie could feel the eyes of Derby on her as she made her entrance. Luckily this was a very high end lodge and getting the outfits she needed for this con was easy. She had no idea what type of a man Derby was, but usually a beautiful woman could capture any man's interest, and it was her experience high powered criminals had a weakness for beautiful women. From the way he was looking at her, she was sure getting close to him was not going to be a problem.

"Her name is Lauren du Bisson, checked in about two hours ago. She's traveling alone, but is married to some big business man or the other back in Portland, very well off." Kirsten said as he sat down at the table.

Johnathan nodded and then rose walking directly over to the table that Sophie had occupied.

"Mrs du Bisson…" He said coming to a halt at her table.

Sophie looked up at him a cold look in her eye as if she did not welcome his interruption of her meal.

"Sorry to interrupt, may I take a seat?" Johnathan continued undaunted by the look and sat down without waiting for her to respond.

"I don't know how you got my name but I don't think you should be doing that sir." Sophie said softly then looked back down at the menu she had been studying.

Johnathan studied the woman for a minute before reaching over and tilting her menu away from her. As his hand reached over another hand grabbed his arm in a vice grip.

"The lady said leave." A cold hard voice said softly. "I suggest you do."

Johnathan moved his arm away and looked up at the young man standing beside him that had appeared out of the blue. He saw from the corner of his eye that his friend had stood and was ready to intervene at any moment. He shook his head slightly to indicate for Kirsten not to take any action.

"A wise move…" Eliot said releasing Johnathan's arm and moving to stand behind Sophie who was now looking up at Derby with a bemused look on her face.

"I want no trouble." Derby said holding his hands up. "I just wanted to introduce myself to the most beautiful woman in the room."

"You flatter me." Sophie said coyly yet with a hint of sarcasm in her voice. "Eliot…" She said turning to him and indicating with her head that he should back off. "My husband is a very cautious man and values my safety." Sophie told Derby in explanation of Eliot's presence.

"And so he should, if you were mine I don't think I would have an arm left…" Johnathan smiled at her.

The conversation carried on from there wish Sophie throwing in a giggle every now and then at his jokes and so on. Eliot stood nearby with the prerequisite unhappy look on his face, keeping his eyes on Derby and his friend who remained seated at the nearby table.

"Well Mr Derby…"

"Johnathan please…"

"Well Johnathan I have an appointment at the spa so will have to take my leave, thank you for making my morning pleasant, I love travelling, but my husband… well he only loves two things… money and business, so I travel alone a lot... well almost alone…" Sophie said motioning towards Eliot. "So it was a pleasant change to have some lovely company."

"Your husband is a fool and it was my pleasure." Derby said smiling at her, he had detected the tone of disdain in Sophie's voice and noted that She did not include herself as one of the things her husband loved. "It would be my honour to share dinner with you tonight?" Johnathan asked the question as a statement of fact and Sophie smiled coyly at him nodding consent. "Let's say around eight?"

"Well I do believe we have a date…" Sophie said slyly casting her eyes towards Eliot and lowering her voice. "I look forward to it."

"As do I…" Johnathan said rising with her and watching as she walked away with Eliot following behind.

Thanks for the reviews and thanks for reading, hope you are all still enjoying the story.