From her position at the conference table, Meliza Rinaldo opened a folder and flipped through the various glossy photographs, press releases, and pamphlets her marketing team had assembled from the grand opening of The Makai, a new hotel property that had just completed renovation. When Meliza had first surveyed the property, she had seen its potential before buying it from its previous owners. The past six months had been spent rebuilding the property, transforming it into a contemporary structure.

        She was going to be staying there until the hotel staff and management had settled into the work routine of the new hotel. Normally, she would have sent her vice president, Ryan Cooper, to oversee everything, but he was needed in San Francisco.

        Picking up an aerial shot of the new hotel, Meliza turned the photograph around in her hands. As chief executive officer/president of the Rinaldo Hotel Corporation, her job was to oversee everything that happened in the company. It was only two years ago that her parents retired, leaving her to inherit the business.

        She smoothed her hands down the thighs of her dark blue pantsuit.

        Seven years ago, she would have said no thanks. But time had a way of changing things. To a twenty-year-old back then, the idea of a desk job was just plain revolting. But the hotel industry wasn’t as boring as she thought.

        She glanced at the clock and set the photograph down. Her meeting with the managers of The Rinaldo, a high-rise casino property in Atlantic City, would be starting shortly. Since she was going away for a while, she wanted to meet with her staff before her flight tomorrow.

>>>

        The meeting had gone shorter than she expected. As Meliza made her way towards her office, her assistant told her that she had a visitor.

        “Thanks, Delia.” She briefly wondered why her assistant had on a mysterious smile.

        Meliza pushed on her office door to see a newspaper opened and held out in front of her desk chair, blocking her view of the person reading it.

        “How was your meeting?” a male voice asked from behind the paper.

        Her lips turned up in a genuine smile. That voice was music to the ears. “I was wondering if I’d see you before I leave…”

        The paper was lowered and folded before it was set on her desk. “It isn’t easy with your schedule,” he pointed out.

        “I know…With the new hotel that I have to see and everything…” she trailed off.

        It sure was good to see him again. She felt a little guilty…with all the changes happening in the company the last year and a half, she rarely had some free time. It was strange…her boyfriend lived in New York, just a
short plane trip away but they would often go for over a month without seeing each other. Over two years of being together and most of it had been a long distance relationship.

        Having been deprived from the sight of him for a good…oh…six weeks, her eyes moved over him as he rose to his feet. He wore a black pinstripe jacket with matching pants, and a gray button-down collared shirt with the top two buttons left open. Long, black bangs fell over his forehead, slightly obscuring his dark eyes. At six-foot-one, he easily towered over her by a few inches.

        She tossed her file folders onto her desk before greeting him with a brief kiss. Fighting back a sigh, Meliza wished she wasn’t leaving for the Makai tomorrow.

        “Are you going to stay out of trouble this time?” he asked casually.

        Meliza stared up at him innocently. “What is that supposed to mean?”

        His hands tightened ever so slightly around her waist as she shifted. “The last time you were away on business, you won three thousand euro from a banker in an underground casino,” he reminded. “You ended up running all over Rome because he thought you cheated.”

        “I didn’t cheat,” Meliza argued. Honestly. She grew up in Las Vegas. She knew how the games were played. “Who told you that, anyway?”

        “Cooper.”

        Meliza wrinkled her nose at the mention of her vice president. “I’m going to have to talk to him…”

        She stepped away and began to gather some belongings as he settled back in her chair.

        “When will you be back?” he asked before opening one of her desk drawers to find a single deck of cards.

        “I wish I knew,” Meliza admitted as she filed several things away. Then she shook her head. “I can’t believe Ryan told you about what happened in Rome…”

        “He said that you don’t seem the type who attracts trouble.”

        This time, a grimace crossed her features. “I think it’s ironic that he’s saying this to an assassin.”

        “Ex-assassin,” he corrected lightly as he shuffled the deck of cards one-handed.

        “Whatever. You’re still as good as the day we met,” she said fondly, winking at him, grinning as he lifted a brow.

        Meliza was definitely proud that her life wasn’t too ordinary. She ran a chain of hotels…her boyfriend was an ex-assassin/flower store owner…

“By the way, my mother is suspicious of you,” Meliza announced. “She refuses to believe you just run a flower shop, so she’s convinced herself that you’re probably government or something. You just had to randomly visit me the same weekend my parents did…”

        “We could have kept our relationship a secret,” he replied with a slight smile on his handsome face.

        “As exciting as that is…no. She would have found out sooner or later.” Meliza glanced at the clock on her wall. “It’s already four…”

        He sat in companionable silence as she cleaned up her office in preparation for her time away.

        “Meliza.”

        “Yes?” She looked up.

        “Stay out of trouble. Don’t make me come after you,” wry amusement showed in his eyes.
 

>>>

Elsewhere a few days later…
 
 

        It wasn’t as if she went LOOKING for trouble. Her boyfriend’s words still echoed in her mind as the white sedan parked directly in front of the hotel.

        She stood back, smiling to herself as she tilted her head up to examine the property. The photographs really didn’t do this building justice. While it lacked the aesthetic style of typical elegant hotels with Roman columns, its geometric appearance had a powerful design all on its own. And inside…the tropical theme of the Pacific Islands portrayed in art deco made the hotel a casual and fun place to stay.

        When she stepped inside the hotel lobby, a petite redhead dressed in a green sweater and black skirt abruptly sat up from her position on the sofa.

        Meliza greeted her with a smile. “Hi, Erica.”

        They shook hands.

        “Welcome to The Makai, Ms. Rinaldo.” Erica shifted the three-ring binder under her other arm. “I’m sorry to bombard you just after your flight…but I wanted to discuss with you some ideas for the hotel’s next event.” She gestured in the direction of the hotel restaurant. “Have you eaten yet?”

        “No, actually.”

        After they had ordered, Erica opened her binder. “Just two days ago…I finalized all the paperwork…and there’s going to be a tournament here. A Mr. Ken Masters came here to discuss logistics. He liked what he saw and asked me if it was possible to have The Makai as one of the host hotels for this tournament.”

        Meliza paused before sipping her water. “Ken Masters?”

        “Yes…do you know of him?” her sales/event manager looked up with curious hazel eyes.

        “I’ve seen him several times during my travels,” Meliza admitted.

        “I’m not really into this whole fighting tournament thing,” Erica declared sheepishly. “But I thought it would be a good idea to get the hotel’s name out.”

        Meliza smiled reassuringly. “No, I like the fact that you did this.”

        “I’m glad,” Erica admitted, smiling. “Now, I’ve already set a special rate aside for tournament participants…I’m going to talk to the reservations department and try to get a special rate for attendees and press as well…”

        “Good.” Meliza nodded. “You might also want to sponsor a party or some other type of gathering that will build excitement for the tournament. Who else is sponsoring this tournament? Maybe we can work with them on this…”

        “Right…” Erica nodded, writing down some notes on a sticky pad of paper. “Have you ever seen anything like this before? It must take a lot of planning…”

        “Actually…I have seen something like this.”

        Erica looked up. “Really?”

        Meliza nodded, thanking the waiter who efficiently placed their orders in front of them. “About five years ago, something similar happened. I just happened to be at the right place at the right time…” That was about as specific as she was going to get. She didn’t want to scare her manager with the details of Essences, Naar, Shadowlaw…

        Besides, if Ken Masters was one of the sponsors, she had nothing to worry about. And wasn’t one of the reasons why people had these events were to test their fighting skills and meet old friends?
 

>>>
 

Chinatown, New York – USA
 

        “This stupid thing won’t tie!” a female voice grumbled in the corner of the shop.

        She was having a helluva hard time trying to tie the satin bow. It had to be done a certain way so it’d look nice.

        A chime filled the flower shop as the door opened. She looked up to see a tall, lanky Japanese man seven years her senior dressed in a black T-shirt and blue jeans hold up a bag.

        Her face broke into a grin as he placed a Styrofoam box of assorted sushi and sashimi in front of her.

        “You’re awesome,” she declared.

        He laughed. “Hey, Xia. Dev here?”

        She quickly popped a piece of spicy tuna in her mouth. “Yeah, hold on…” The twenty-one-year old made her way around the register and pushed a button on the intercom system installed below the register. “Hey, boss, Tanaka’s here with lunch!”

        The door of an office in the back opened and a tall, Chinese man came to the front.

        “Am I supposed to give you something in return for this?” he asked.

        Tanaka grinned. “Well…my wife really liked the flowers I brought her for her birthday. She’s really into flowers and meanings and stuff. Since I don’t know crap about that…I thought you could make something for me that I could bring her…it’s our anniversary.”

        Mild surprise reflected in onyx eyes. “Congratulations.”

        Tanaka’s grin widened. “Thanks. Going on three years now.”

        The three ate lunch while Tanaka chatted about all the things he and his wife had planned later that day.

        “You know…I’m hearing some strange rumors,” Tanaka spoke up quietly.

        It was known in very small, small circles that Tanaka had been the assistant to the yakuza in Tokyo. Well…the assistant to the first-born son who was currently ‘in-training’. Until Tanaka eloped with an American tourist. In spite of being in hiding for a few years…Tanaka had quite a few underground connections and good friends in those circles.

        “It's weird. All the stuff that's going on,” Tanaka’s voice broke him out of his thinking.

        He frowned. “Like what?”

        “Just that the name Shadowlaw is circulating around again,” Tanaka shook his head. “They’ve kept a low profile for a long time…it makes me wonder what they’re up to…” He studied the other man carefully. “You used to work for them, didn’t you?”

        Xia glanced at him worriedly. There were few people that really did know his true identity. Xia…thanks to certain circumstances a few years ago that nearly got her killed…and Tanaka thanks to his connections. It was a strange friendship, to be honest. He as a flower shop owner, and Tanaka as a sushi chef in his own restaurant just three blocks down. Both of them had been highly involved in a life of crime and had given it up for more ‘normal’ lives.

        “That was a lifetime ago…” came his cryptic answer.

        Tanaka snapped his fingers. “Oh yeah…Kozue told me that some guy came into the restaurant wanting to post some flyers…” He reached into one of the bags of food and produced a piece of glossy paper. “It’s being sponsored by several different companies…”

        He accepted the paper, skimming the information, as his assistant leaned over to read.

        “A fighting tournament?” Xia frowned.

        “You know it’s funny…Kozue mentioned to me that he started hearing rumors about Shadowlaw after he found out about this tournament,” Tanaka spoke aloud. “Think there’s a connection?”

        “Isn’t there always?” he said, bemused.

        Xia cleared her throat. “Um…boss?”

        He turned his eyes to his assistant, whose eyes had gone wide as she stared at the flyer in his hand. “What is it?”

        Reaching out, she pointed to a spot on the paper. “Would…you look at the location?”

        He glanced down, stared for a second and shook his head, swearing inwardly.

        Of all the coincidences in the world. The tournament in the same location as Meliza’s new hotel. If whatever powers that be were nice, then whatever rumors going about Shadowlaw were just rumors. If not…he might just have to follow his girlfriend, after all.