CHAPTER II - Connor Harper

Exchanging a nod with the Cole twins as they passed by them, Zachary and the girls stepped into the humongous ballroom that would be serving as the setting for the party phase of the auction. After all, not every guest was invited for the main part of the night, just a select few. The young man attracted the attention of quite a few people as they walked, not just for his good looks, but the three stunning ladies in his company that night.

Refusing more than one drink offered by the waiters making the rounds with their trays, Zack was about to wonder if **** was all they had to serve when Lisa’s voice broke that line of thought.

“Holy shit, I never even dreamed this kind of place existed out of movies,” she breathed out, looking around in awe. She had been to Zack’s manor a few times, but even that didn’t seem to be quite the same as the Windgrad Hotel.

The ballroom was packed with people, fraternizing in elegant clothing and just enjoying themselves. The poker table could be seen near one of the corners, while a stage had been erected toward the back for musical numbers. Both points of interest were still empty, though. There was also a second floor of sorts, overlooking the main ballroom, and some people were hanging out there, observing the people down below.

“Yeah, I must say I wasn’t expecting all this,” Alice slowly nodded. “Well, to be frank, I have no idea what I was expecting.”

Ashley smiled and nudged her best friend. “Speaking of fancy balls, is your grandma throwing one this year again?”

“Oh, she definitely will, you can bet on that,” he replied. “It’s tradition by now.”

“Remember that one two years ago?” The cheerleader asked, snickering. “Or was it three?”

Zack chuckled at the memory. “How could I not? It was two years ago, Heather dancing with all those guys and mortifying the hell out of grandfather will never not be hilarious to me.”

“Now that we’re talking about it, we’ve danced a few songs that night too,” the blonde recalled with a mischievous grin. “Don’t embarrass me if we have to do it again, okay?”

“Only if you don’t make me look bad either, Sparky,” he fired back, snickering at her silent outrage for the use of her old nickname their siblings’ friend, Peter, had concocted years ago.

“Sure…, ICE,” she replied good-naturedly, using her own nickname for him.

Lisa angrily narrowed her eyes at the exchange, while Alice just mindlessly filed it away as she observed the other guests and tried to look out for suspicious individuals.

“Okay, so what will we do before the poker thing starts?” Lisa asked the others. Well, more Zack than the rest of the group.

“We’ve got to keep an ear out for anyone that might mention the tape, or the auction in general,” Alice whispered in response as she left Zack’s side and went to walk beside Lisa, which made Ashley take her place on his left arm.

“But how the fuck do we do that without looking suspicious?” Lisa shot back, causing Alice to roll her eyes as she motioned for the black-haired girl to keep her voice down.

Almost as if on cue, an elegantly-dressed, well-built older guy walked by the group as if to intercept them, turning just at the right moment with an extended hand toward Zachary, who looked stunned for a brief second, but regained his wits just at the right moment.

“I don’t believe we’ve been introduced, Mr…?” The man inquired, flashing his dark-brown eyes at the teen. He tried to play it cool, but Zack and Alice noticed his gaze was much more interested in the three girls than in Zack himself, especially the two dark-haired ones. The Latina felt kind of dirty when his eyes lingered on her deep cleavage before she slightly turned to the side to partially hide her chest behind Alice.

“I’m Connor Harper, pleased to meet you,” Zack tried his best to channel his father, smirking charmingly as he smoothly shook the guy’s hand. “And please, Mister makes me feel old, just Connor is fine.”

“Oh, very well… Connor,” the dirty-blond man returned the grin, though Zack could see something of a fake, pretentious air about it. From up close, the Ravers boy estimated this man to be just a few years older than Taylor, most likely, but admitted he could be wrong. “I am Mick Fisher, my father’s running this… thing tonight.”

Now Zachary was really spooked, and he could sense the nervousness on the girls too, albeit on different levels. They were barely in and one of the Fishers was already on them? There was no use getting **** right now, so he quickly cleared his throat and decided to follow it up by introducing his dates. “It’s one hell of a party, Mick. May I introduce you to my lovely companions for tonight?” He asked before casually gesturing toward the girls, one after the other. “This is Hanna Adams, and these are Beatrix Hale and Luisa Gomez.”

This time, Mick made no secret that he was appreciating the sight of the girls in their sexy dresses. He shook Ashley’s hand, but brought Lisa’s to his lips to drop a quick kiss on her heated skin. “A pleasure, Ms. Gomez, I hope you’re enjoying yourself tonight,” he said in a sleazy voice as she quickly retreated her hand from his grasp. He repeated the gesture with Alice, who took it with more grace than Lisa. “You too, Ms. Hale.”

Zack wrapped an arm around Ashley’s shoulders and slightly squeezed her as he witnessed the scene. “Shh, calm down,” the blonde whispered in his ear. They couldn’t blow their cover over something so silly. It was obvious people were going to flirt with them that night, so the teenage quartet needed to be prepared to keep their cool. The Fisher guy didn’t seem to take offense or find it too strange that ‘Connor Harper’ had brought three dates to the event, so they just assumed it was a common thing in those circles.

“Thanks,” Lisa curtly replied as she sidled up to Zack again, with Alice retaking her position next to her friend’s true girlfriend.

“So, are you hitting the poker table tonight, Connor?” Mick swiftly changed the subject as he turned to watch over the crowd. “As I said, I hadn’t made your acquaintance before today, and well, there’s only a few reasons why someone could be here tonight.”

“Precisely,” Zack nodded, assuming a similar position. “It’s been a while since I tested my skills in such a high-profile tournament like this, so you know how it is, I just had to be here.”

“I see you’ll fit in nicely with that poker crowd,” the blond man chuckled derisively, nodding in the direction of the still empty table. “Me? I never saw the appeal in sitting down and playing with cards. I get too restless, if you know what I mean.”

“It’s the high stakes, Mr. Fisher,” Alice said with a challenging grin. “We just love those situations when we can win big or lose just as badly.”

Now Mick laughed, gazing appreciatively at the undercover reporter and her petite, tight body. “Oh, I like her, Harper,” he said, taking a moment to throw a look in Lisa’s direction. “What’s the last tournament you won? I might not play, but I do follow those things just a little bit.”

Shit! Zack allowed a moment of panic to wash over him before he let the calmness take over, reminding himself that his father never lost his cool. “I did play in the Purple Night, back in Amethyst Shore about a month ago.”

“Oh, really?” Mick raised an eyebrow, confused.

“We didn’t win, though,” Ashley smiled, figuring she could help her bestie. “The Wayne heiress cheated in the finals.”

“Now, Han, she was just trying to get back at me for beating her brother,” Zack entered the game, his arm unconsciously lowering from her shoulders to wrap around her waist, her skin warm to the touch beneath the silk fabric of her dress.

“Still, she didn’t need to be a bitch about it,” Ashley added, clicking her tongue. She had seen Zack playing the Wayne twins from Amethyst Shore a few times in the past, so it was easy to fabricate a story around them. In truth, they were more Heather and Logan’s friends, but went along well with Zack and Paris too.

“He barely got past the guy from Redwater, though,” Alice piped in, reinforcing the story.

“So you have experience, then,” Mick nodded, just a little bit impressed. “Good, you’ll need it tonight. I hope you have your bluff game ready or those guys will rob you blind,” he chuckled before clasping Zack on the shoulder. “Again, pleased to meet you all. I’ll see you around, Harper,” he then nodded at Alice before turning to Lisa with a lecherous look. “Ms. Gomez.”

Lisa just nodded as the man walked away, presumably to bother other guests. The quartet released a breath they didn’t know they were holding, the threat seemingly over.

“Holy shit,” Lisa whispered, her ample chest heaving as she tried to get herself under control. The man’s looks had bothered her in ways she never knew she could feel. But what really infuriated her was being **** to watch her boyfriend and his best friend skilfully deflecting that man’s questions as if they were born for it and having to keep quiet about it. Alice seemed rather calm, as if nothing could bother the smart brunette; men threw her worse glances all the time at her grandfather’s bar, so she was already used to it.

“Here, it’s over now,” Zack wrapped a comforting arm around Lisa’s shoulders, his heart still beating like a jackhammer. He was miffed by Mick Fisher’s behavior as well. Ashley and Alice got closer to their friends, wondering if they could do anything for Lisa.

“I wanna go dance,” Lisa quietly said, and Zack nodded in agreement, but just as he was about to lead her to the space where people were dancing together, someone uttered a sentence that instantaneously made him freeze with fear.

“Zachary Ravers, could you come with me, please?"