And found the urge to clamp her jaw in impatience.

        He was late.

        Exhausted, Meliza fought the urge to rub her eyes. She had been up since four that morning. Thanks to a brand new wing added to The Rinaldo Casino Resort in Las Vegas, she had been doing a lot of
traveling to Las Vegas.

        Ever since her parents retired six months ago and had given her the hotel corporation, she'd been pulling long hours, getting accustomed to the new job. Her parents thought that the company needed a fresh start...and under Meliza, the company had gone through a few changes and was more successful than ever.

        But she wasn't going to think about that right now. No more thinking about work. Waking up early, thinking about work, and being tired from travel would just make her snappy. She didn't need to be that
way.

        Especially on her anniversary.

        She hardly saw her boyfriend to begin with. Well...since she took over as chief executive officer six months ago.

        A silver Accord Coupe pulled to a stop directly in front of her. A glance through the windshield told her that her ride had arrived. Fifteen minutes late. The trunk popped open, and she dragged her rollaway behind her, pushing down the handle to store it in the trunk. After she shut the trunk door, she made her way to the front of the car, sitting in the passenger seat.

        He pushed dark sunglasses to the top of his head, meeting her gaze with observant black eyes.

        "You look tired," he stated.

        She sighed. "Nice to see you, too." Meliza leaned towards him to give him a quick kiss on the cheek before closing her door and buckling up. "How are you?"

        "Not bad. Busy week."

        She understood that. She always had busy weeks. Meliza looked up to see his eyes still on her. "What?"

        He was quiet for a moment before saying, "I can always take dinner to go if you want to rest instead."

        She groaned aloud, finally giving in to rub her eyes. "Is it that obvious that I'm exhausted?"

        He shook his head slightly before putting his sunglasses back in place. "You've been up since what time?"

        "Right. I didn't even sleep on the plane," Meliza commented as he pulled into traffic.

        "Then what did you do?"

        "Turned on my laptop. Looked over a lot of reports..."

        "You're supposed to be enjoying some time off," he reminded.

        "I know..."

        "Why do I get the feeling you're going to have work on your mind the next two days?"

        Meliza smiled wryly. "It's a big problem I have. Ever since my parents quit...it's all I have time for...As much as I hate to admit it..." She glanced out the window. "But...I'll try to keep work to a minimum."

        "You can start by turning your cell phone off for the weekend."

        Her eyes widened. "It's been off thanks to being on a plane."

        "Good."

        Meliza leaned back, looking outside her window, just enjoying the drive. It took a while to navigate through traffic and the bridges, but she could immediately tell when they reached Chinatown. She had never visited him the past year...they'd usually meet in the middle to spend time together or he'd come out to see her. When her parents began making plans to retire, Meliza immediately began to travel to the various properties to familiarize herself with them and familiarize herself with the business. That way, when she took over, it wouldn't be too much of a shock.

        So much for that. She was still working hard.

        He pulled over into a narrow street before stopping the engine.

        Meliza got out of the car, examining the side of a two-story brick building. The smell of fish and soy sauce was in the air. She followed him as he entered the two-story building from the front. Natural wood tables and matching chairs took up the dining area which had begun to fill up with the dinner crowd. Japanese scroll paintings took up two walls of the restaurant, and from the sushi bar in the back, a young man wearing navy blue called out a greeting of welcome.

        She then noticed that the man stopped, doing a double take as they made their way to the sushi bar.

        "Ah..." he greeted with a warm smile. "Tanaka is counting inventory in the back. He should be finished soon..." He gestured with his hand to two seats directly in front of him. "Please, sit."

        "Kozue, this is Meliza," Devlin spoke up. "Meliza, Kozue...Tanaka's assistant."

        Kozue smiled at her. "It is nice to meet you, Meliza."

        "Likewise," Meliza responded. He was probably a few years younger than her, and very skilled at his job. She watched as he arranged salmon on rice.

        "So what are your plans for the weekend?" Kozue asked them both.

        "Don't bug him, Kozue," came a voice from the kitchen doorway behind the sushi chef.

        Meliza looked up to see a lean Japanese man balancing a small tray of sake and two cups in his hand. He was handsome, with tanned skin, almond-shaped eyes and a teasing grin.

        "Don't ever ask him what he's doing on his anniversary. You'd never get an answer," the man continued, making his way towards them and setting the sake in front of them and giving Meliza a smile. "Kozue is always asking for advice on how to spend time with women. It gives him ideas for his girlfriends."

        "You must be Tanaka," Meliza concluded.

        His grin widened, and he shook her hand. "It's nice to meet you, Meliza. Dev doesn't say much about you. For the longest time I didn't think you really existed."

        "Menu."

        Meliza fought the urge to laugh at her boyfriend's statement. Nothing stopped Tanaka from laughing, though.

        "We're taking this to go."

        "Why's that?" Tanaka asked his friend. "It's not as if-"

        "She's tired...been up since this early morning," came the answer.

        "Did I ever tell you how much I love it when you talk as if I'm not here?" Meliza spoke up, watching Kozue prepare some sushi.

        "It's your anniversary weekend," Tanaka pointed out. "If you can't think of anything to get rid of her being tired...then you're not being a very good boyfriend."

        "Oh, he has good points," Meliza declared with a sly smile before helping herself to some sake.

        "He must have..." Tanaka shook his head, ignoring his friend's dark look.

        "Menu."

        Meliza smiled as Tanaka retrieved the item requested before going to assist a customer who just entered the restaurant.

        She studied her menu before saying, "This is...different. Seeing you in this light, I mean."

        Only a select few knew her boyfriend's secret.

        It had taken a while for it to sink in on her.

        Even with his new identity, she'd always think of him as Locke Koh, ex-assassin. She had met him three years ago, when he was on assignment. His target had been several of her friends. But circumstances had changed and he switched sides, only to retire from the criminal world and settle in New York. He had gone to great lengths to build a new life for himself...a new look, a new name, a new career...

        She glanced around the restaurant. When he had first told her about Tanaka and his staff here at the restaurant, she almost didn't believe it. Ex-yakuza running a sushi bar? It was a strange story how he befriended the group at Tanaka's Sushi Bar and Restaurant. Almost two years ago, a group of three from an organization called The Black Hearts had tracked Locke down. One of the members had come for revenge, saying that Locke had killed someone in the organization very close to him. Tanaka and his crew had helped him out, making sure to cover their tracks so that the organization wouldn't come after them. Tanaka and his staff hadn't asked any questions. Besides, Locke wouldn't have known where to start when it came to the Black Hearts. Even when he had been an assassin, they were the one group he tried to avoid. Apparently, they took children at a young age and trained them to be killers.

        When she had met him at one of her hotel properties in Atlantic City a year ago, she almost didn't recognize him. One of the casino patrons had made a couple complaints about the dealer winning too many times at his table. Meliza had sent the dealer on break and negotiated an agreement with the patron - if she lost, she'd give him the money he 'should have' won. If he lost, he was to leave. The man had underestimated her due to her looks. She had beat him easily in blackjack and the patron left, grumbling about the house always winning. Two of the customers - two college females, a blonde and a redhead, enjoying some time away from school - at the table thanked
her and the other customer...

~

        "You handled that very well," the Asian man sitting to the left of the two women commented casually.

        His voice hit her first. Smooth, quiet...the last time she heard a voice like that had been...but...that was...impossible, right? Meliza studied him carefully. He was dressed in a white collared shirt and black trousers. Black hair tapered down to brush his collar in the back, and long bangs fell over his eyes. He was good-looking, and he carried himself with confidence, in a way that practically screamed he was in control of his own life, no matter what Fate shot at him.

        There was definitely something very, very familiar about...

        She must have been staring at him for too long, because a hint of a smile crossed his lips, the humor reaching his eyes.

        "Excuse me," a couple in their late forties spoke up. "Is this seat taken?"

        Meliza blinked, turning her attention away. "Ah...no. Your new dealer should be arriving soon...but we can start now..."

        She shuffled several times before distributing the cards, but when she got to her right side, the man was gone. A white card had been left on the green felt at the spot where he had been sitting. Meliza immediately snatched it up, turning it over to see in black print on the upper left corner a logo of a flower vase and single flower in what appeared to be brush calligraphy style. And farther down, text information. 'Devlin Cai, Chinatown Flowers'. She skimmed the location information before seeing handwriting on the far right side that simply read 'You told me to look you up some time'.

        Her jaw dropped. Oh my...

        "Hon, did he leave you his number?" one of the college students asked.

        "Yeah...I...I think he just did..."

        "Damn," the other student said with amazement. "Why can't college guys ever be like that??"

        As soon as the next dealer arrived, Meliza hurried to the nearest house phone and asked the operator to connect her to Devlin Cai's room.

        "Hello?" a male voice answered.

        "Very funny," Meliza chided.

        "I thought so. It's not very often a person catches you off-guard."

        "You've developed a sense of humor since I last saw you..."

~

        "Definitely different..." Meliza declared, pouring herself some sake.

        Tanaka easily made his way to them, notepad in hand, pen ready. "So what'll it be?"

        "Meliza??" a female voice from the kitchen doorway cried out in surprise.

        A tall brunette practically flew in their direction, nearly knocking Tanaka over.

        "Tina?" Meliza could barely breathe as her old friend hugged her in greeting. "What are-?"

        "I wasn't aware my girlfriend knew your wife," Devlin directed the comment to Tanaka, who was staring in shock.

        "Same here..." came his friend's reply.

        "Oh my gawd, I haven't seen you in sooo long!!!" Tina stepped back to examine her. "You look great! How are you?" She suddenly looked over Meliza's shoulder to the Chinese man sitting behind her, calmly drinking sake before turning to her friend. "Wait...you're Dev's Meliza - the hotel executive?"

        "Last I checked," came the answer.

        Tina pouted at the man sitting behind her friend. "Not funny." Her green eyes lit up in excitement. "This is amazing...look at you! Last time I saw you, you were teaching me to play cards..."

        Meliza smiled at her old friend, shaking her head. "I can't believe you're married now...and what a coincidence to see you here. Of all places..."

When she heard about Tanaka's wife, she had no idea it would be the same woman she had rescued from lecherous gamblers in a Southeast Asian casino several years ago.

        Tina laughed. "I know, I know..." A wicked smile crossed her lips. "Things have changed...particularly your taste in men."

        "Times change," Meliza replied mysteriously, shrugging.

        At that, Tina laughed, hugging her again. "It's so good to see you..."

        Kozue had set down his knife, watching in awe as the two friends greeted each other. "Excuse me for saying this...but seeing two women hug is really hot."

        Tanaka threw his notepad at him, not caring if it landed on any food.